What an excellent way to break down a perceived complex stuff in jazz. You're simply the BOMB and you ROCK. Thanks for sharing this beautiful insight....very impactFULL
I don't normally comment on RU-vid. It was something about your spirit. The light in you came thru and added to your message. And your message.... Thank you. The way you shared your experience and growth in music theory made something click in me. Misty was a good example. I going to have to watch your video a few more times because you packed a lot in a short video. Excellent presentation
My experience has been that most subjects are taught with little information on the "how," and none whatsoever on the "why." A good example (but by no means the only one) is math. "Do this to these numbers. Now do this, and this, and then do this. Here is your answer." Like learning magic tricks. I was (I am ashamed to admit) in my fifties when I started asking, but wait...how? Why? About many things. Better late then never.
You have just described my math journey. And as a kid I was far from a genius but usually one of the smartest kids in the class (by modern academic standards and metrics but, that's a different conversation). I still struggled with math and mainly because there was no "why" to it. Everybother class had this exciting if not at least interesting why. But not math. Or at least not how it was taught to me. Then in my 10th grade year we literally had no books and went through almost about 8 teachers. I pretty much checked out as far as math goes at that point.
This is because, when you take instrumental lessons, you are just learning to play the instrument. In order to get the rest of the information you need, you should take a music theory class, and preferably one that focuses on composition (harmony, counterpoint etc), before entering college. However, schools like Berklee (where I teach) offer very basic theory and harmony classes for students with little to no background with these topics. Having said that, you’ve done a good job, presenting this clearly.
You learn strictly nothing at school. Especially for Jazz. The key thing is MELODY you got to sing everything. Bud Miles Monk you name it are driven by melody. As a Jazz musician that's my advise. You gotta to be talented too, the key point is here. One in a million. Sad but true.
Im 43 now. 🎸 i started when i was 13 learning guitar and it still teaching me kinda like life. I feel music like my brokenheart. It keeps me going. Knowing i still have a heart to feel and still human most people these days forgot that and cold hearted due to their personal insecurity and failures and disappointments. Keep playing music be you
I feel that Jazz music CAN NOT be taught in school. Jazz musicians should learn from elders like Ellis Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk , John Coltrane, etc... I feel that Jazz can not be put in a box as far as playing this way or that way. Improvisation is a living art living and playing in the moment
I'm very surprised she wasn't taught ii, V etc. while studying classical piano. I had hard-core harmony theory courses in music school while studying classical. We had to analyze Mozart, Beethoven, Bach.
Thank you for sharing your jazz journey with the world. I'm an autodidact in jazz. I will incorporate your idea of expressing scales as chords into my practice. How beautiful is Misty too. Best of luck in your jazz studies!
I struggle with scales, but love playing/finding chords…your scales as chords will really stretch me into knowing the scales, as I already live chord shapes. I just gotta practice now😁
There is no such thing as "best tension" chords. These are voicings that suits in a certain context and suits your liking, period. Jazz is open to infinity.
After studying this from Monday (Yesterday) I realised that the root 7 and 3rd sounded familiar… it’s Carl Thomas “I wish “ it uses the same Voicing in the key of Bb flat manjor I think 💭 thanks For all your videos and lessons.
Hello! I’ve had a keyboard and have been playing on off for about 6 years now. I’ve never had proper musical training or anything of the sort, but I am deeply interested in learning how to play jazz. I know how to read music and maybe 7 out of the 12 major scales (no minor scales yet) and a rough understanding of how to build chords. I suppose what I am getting at is: where do I start? I don’t have access to a teacher right now, but I am hoping that will change in the near future. Still I want to learn as much as I can on my own in case my situation doesn’t change. I’ve purchased a few piano books that include basic music theory, but I find it hard to create a consistent practice routine because frankly, I don’t like the pieces. If you have any advice or knowledge relating to the matter pleaseee share🙏🏾. It would be so appreciated.
Thats what I did as well, never understood anything in school but when I was 23 I decided to do that in all 12 keys and now im 29 and have made insane progress in jazz funk and gospel in all 12 keys def recommend to go back to the basics even if you you've been playing for decades.
Standing from a progression, Have you conceptualized the Melody notes? perhaps when a functioning chord has a root or something else on thee, why is it consonante then disonant or is just consonant or i.e.: sometimes a fifth, third or something else? Thank you for your consideration
Cordle degrees is really important. This is one of the basics that a school that really focuses in jazz should teach. And cord construction is also very important theory
I used Diatonic theory to play before, but it is not as efficient for quick thinking as it requires a lot more memorization in my opinion. you may benefit from learning about Barry Harris' method: It might be confusing at first but it is much more applicable to jazz harmony and MOVEMENT (all harmony and movement to me). I only use the method of description that you use to speak to other musicians really. I use Barry Harris' method to actually improvise and play and it is much more comfortable, and when I play, people honestly think my knowledge level is far better than it actually is.
Originally found you from your McCoy Tyner videos, especially the one where you transcribe one of the best licks ever (McCoy is my fav). I enjoyed this video. I felt sad though that you weren't taught harmony by the more technical sight reading teacher, or the jazz school, especially if you were paying to be there. But you learned it anyway by sheer will. And it is the journey of unlocking wizard knowledge that is one of the most fun aspects of music. All music teachers should be able to understand and play music on a purely aural basis, and explain what is going on, not rely only on written music. Though from traditional notation based teachers you will learn good instrument technique, phrasing, dynamics, articulation, tone. Even with teachers at your side, music is a journey of self study with any findable materials, like Thembi's course, or books from the library. Good books to understand how it is all derived, even the major scale itself, how chords relate to each other, voice leading and counterpoint: "The Theory and Practice of Tone Relations" by Percy Goetschius, "Harmony" by Walter Piston, and "The Jazz Theory Book" by Mark Levine. Plenty of exercises in those too.
Thank you for this!! Classical trained violinist, wanting to "understand" jazz harmony better and I have been wanting to practice scales on the piano more, but didn't have a particular idea of how to do it. This seems to make so much sense to me! Especially since it's in the context of a key and a scale, I think this will help me use what I know to understand the things I don't yet. I think I'm gonna start out by not trying to know what the chords are even called, I'll just do them in scales lol. Looking forward to how it will help! Thanks again for sharing!!
You are a great instructor, Thembi! Your lessons are simplified and indeed value adding! Keep it up!💪😎 You are becoming one of my favourite jazz pianists!
This is really an excellent video especially from 4:04, simple & efficient method to master great sounds. Your Misty playing is canonically gorgeous. Thank you so much!
Chic once indicated that EVERY musician has unique conceptual map of rhythm, harmony band melody. Ask any other musician how they think, say, about II-7b5. You will get many answers.
I don't know anything about teaching, but you sound like a great teacher, in part because you had to figure out a path for learning. People who know how to figure out a path are probably better leaders. By the way, the interludes you play in the early part of the video and that play in the background at some points (not Misty)--I don't know if they are improvised or what, but wow!
I’m planning on this soon! In the meantime I have a booklet and video that goes a long with it if you’d like to learn more of what I spoke about in this video. Otherwise thanks for tuning in🫶💯
Coming in at the right time yet again. I chose to learn jazz, I've been watching a lot of Barry Harris, thelonious monk, and Bill Evans concept/voicing techniques but this is what I really needed. Thank you!
@mrquick6775 not every teacher is for everybody. I learn from multiple people jus so I can get a broader spectrum on why and how something works. I understood it when I first heard one of Barry's masterclass but I wanted to take that knowledge deeper. Cause I will admit he doesn't explain well. He jus makes you do it and explains as he goes, which is what I noticed the most.
how do you approach transcription because when i start doing it and get a few bars in, by the time i come back and practice its all forgotten. I also try to write down chord qualities but I have no way to accurately get close to the voicings they use
Transcription is tricky, you have to immerse yourself in the music first, be able to sing the solo and whatnot. Before you figure it out on piano. Also, transcribe something you love. That usually helps
Education is really like that. In math, there are things like the Implicit Function Theorem, that just never get covered because it's too hard and abstract and no one will get it, and then you get to grad school and of course they don't teach such basic things because everyone knows this, and we should have learned it in third grade... 🧐
Jazz is a word they use to sell our music, but to me that word does not exist. John Coltrane The further jazz moves away from the stark blue continuum and the collective realities of Afro-American and American life, the more it moves into academic concert-hall lifelessness, which can be replicated by any middle class showing off its music lessons. Amiri Baraka
I could play well, I had learnt versions of my audition pieces and I played them well I guess. Plus I passed the sight reading test. But no one tested to see how deep my understanding of harmony went, or lack thereof
Just fingering misty today for the guitar and wondering about tension and then your video came along! The tensions should sound good with the melody. What about the tension in tritone sub's? There're also passing chords
Great video and method thank you ! it looks like a great way to absorb all the scale degrees. It will surely make some things easier like replacing a I with a vi, or even any chord by a progression from the same scale. I'm a beginner who learned (1 | 3 7) through ii-V-I progressions along the cycle of fifths and your method is a great complement since I don't know other degrees well. I guess that like scales you could even play the degrees in different orders to make everything really sink in
Yeah. "The family of chords" is really important to learn. Idk....really how to respond to this video. I am self-taught, I do not read music well, if at all. One of my first books that I got about scales talked about the family of chords. I'm confused as to how the classical community works. I have met many classical musicians that do not know the basics of music theory. It really boggles my mind, especially now with the internet. Well, I'm glad that you persevered and found a way to the information.
Thank you for the lessons, they really help me understand what I'm doing when playing chord progressions. One question, are there any unique chord progressions or we all just using the same & voicing them differently? I'm a producer and I particularly love your piano tutorials where you breakdown classic South African songs like Lakutshon'ilanga... . There aren't enough african music piano tutorials that I see (it's you & Kay Benyarko primarily on my feed), could you do more of those when you get the time & if it isn't a big ask. Big Fan.
This is exactly what I have been noticing lately but for the numbers, I comprehend the numbers according to the key and not so much according to a chord within that key. I see the chord and not the individual parts of the chord. It’s a part of the key not an individual chord. It’s a sequence within a key and not a whole lot of parts. Like the mode, I’m ok with modes as elements of a key. I like the sound of that dropped 6th being included with mixelidian so I will give that dropped ❤6th chonk, it’s not an accent it’s a chonk, even Autumn leaves gets the punk treatment. No it’s not a typo I meant to use the p. That mixelidian needs some love so drop the 6th a half step you will not regret it. And it ok to spell modes wrong because I’m 68 and I know these things 😂
@@thembelihledunjana What confuses me is that these chords also appear in other scales and keys. For example: The Eb maj7 chord could function as the I (tonic) chord in Eb major, the IV (subdominant) chord in Bb major, or even the VI (submediant) chord in G minor. The Bb min9 chord could serve as the I (tonic) chord in Bb minor, the IV (subdominant) chord in Db major, or the III (mediant) chord in Gb major. And the Eb7 chord can be the V (dominant) chord in Eb major, the II (supertonic) chord in Bb major, or the III (mediant) chord in C minor.
I understand, but you have to look at the context of the tune you’re playing in. For instance there’s no way that the Ebmaj7 can be chord 4 of Bb maj; the key of “Misty” is Eb, therefore it has to be tonic at that point. So practice the chords within songs. To get context
ah, I remember how exciting it was to get to the late int/early advanced stage and be able to play pieces like Rachmaninov Prelude C# minor, Brahms Rhapsody in G minor, Debussy Sunken Cathedral, Mozart K332...
The theory of harmony is part of classical music education. It doesn’t cover the harmonic complexity used in jazz but it would the basics would normally be taught to students. But I could see how it could be missed. And I can see why jazz school might assume this knowledge.
You haven't checked out the Mark Levine books? I can't imagine better places to go for jazz harmony on the piano. Also there's a book by John Novello called the "The Contemporary Keyboardist". It has excellent drills for chords and scales and is very thorough. I discovered after I bought the book that the guy is a scientologist, which explains the foreword by Chick Corea. Still, an excellent book.
Good on you Thembi, I find the way you explain music theory in general is extremely simple and useful, being a teacher myself I totally share your views on how jazz is taught in school having being there myself a few years ago. I share your concepts organically and above all practical with my students. Keep going You’ve a knack for making things work simply and every one can benefit from your teaching. Go well 🙏🎶🫶
Beautiful, humble, educated & a great communicater. I like music & beautiful sounds but i don't necessarily want to be a piano player, just want to create beautiful sounds as a therapeutic hobby.
I had a classical guitar teacher who knew a lot of jazz theory so I started learning it early on as I was learning classical. The transition to jazz school was a lot easier after that. At least chord construction wasn’t a mystery! I guess finding a good teacher is key.
00:05 Learning jazz piano presented new challenges after a background in classical music. 02:00 Lack of resources and understanding at Jazz School 03:54 Understanding chords derived from major scales 06:11 Understanding chord progressions and building chords from major scales 08:31 Understanding chords and tensions is essential for jazz 10:44 Choosing tensions for dominant chords in jazz 12:32 Understanding jazz music method and foundational exercises are crucial. 14:02 Learning harmony was crucial and wish it was taught at Jazz School
From experience... The worst thing that I did was trying to go from classical to jazz... Not because I don't like either. But because classical in many ways is the opposite of jazz. Going from classical to jazz to gospel is a road filled with suffering...
You know when you are playing that root, 3rd & 7th scale up to the 4th chord, you are actually playing the chorus part on Alicia Keys song "If I ain't got you". I master playing by ear & I derive my own chords, I quit classic & jazz paino a long time ago. I wish we could hook up, I'll teach you how to play by the ear and you teach me what I lost in classic & jazz paino
Thank you so much to always share some of your experience really appreciate that! I applied recently to conservatory music school unfortunately I didn't get in because I can't read music sheet.. I was wondering if you think at the age of 23/22 could still be a chance to know music sheet reading or any advice
I love Jazz, it's my favorite genre and I think in many ways it's the ultimate genre, but for some reason I would really love to hear you play classical pieces now that you have a masterful understanding of theory
There are lots of books on harmony and chord progressions. I went to art school and still had a book called Modern Chord Progressions for Jazz and Pop Music. I wasn't in music school. I just did it on my own.
i'm just starting on jazz bass after 8+ years of classical method - this is one of the exercises my teacher has me doing - playing the 7th chord arpeggios off the major scales. We go up the first chord then down the next over 3 octaves. I've added the challenge of trying to sing the note before I play it.
Strangely, I learn a lot from you talking, sharing your music learning experiences. Especially those experiences in struggle, discovery and breakthroughs - the realisation you are human is oddly encouraging. In tougher practice days, seeing musicians who are on top of their game like you, gives the illusion you all probably dropped from heaven as musical prodigies and maybe just maybe these heights of mastery were never meant for all of us.
it seems classical piano may be taught sometimes more as a person learing to type. Acuracy and speed are paramount, and understanding WHAT we would be typing isnt as much or a priority,
I just want to say that 5 minutes of focusing on what you are saying has already made me a better player. I knew these things but the exercises you laid out really cemented the concepts for me.
