0:07 Herbie Hancock 3:03 Victor Wooten "When you hit a wrong note, It's the next note that you play that determines whether it's good or bad." -Miles Davis
As my teacher explained: ''It is neither the note nor the chord it accompanies, it's the context that matters. If it feels wrong, change your context.''
@@Jesterday31 Funnily enough, he told the story about Miles, turning a ''mistake'' into something uselful, and said that you can go from any note, to any other note. Much like in grammar, certain sentences can be non sensical, or they can make perfect sense, depending on the context you view it in. IDK how to explain it properly, I am not that proffecient at music theory but i took a lot of the abstract to heart.
I met Thelonious Sphere Monk, Jr. back in the day, and he told me that his father once said, "If you play a note that sounds wrong, keep playing it until it sounds right." True story.
I totally use that Technique when I hit a sour note I start repeating it and eventually it sounds like it was done on purpose and then I can move on from there
If I played bass for him he would quickly rethink that idea. Sounds nice, but if it were the case, every single person could play jazz/music flawlessly, all the time. No need for auditions - there are no wrong notes, or time signatures or accents....etc.
"If you play a note that sounds wrong, keep playing it until it sounds right." That is how I learned to play by ear...keep hitting keys until I hit the right one...lol
That’s not what he said though. He said to play that “wrong” note until you find a way to make it sound right, not to play “wrong” notes until you find the “right” one.
My favorite is when my jazz teachers or my friends playing jazz would play some riff on a trombone or something and say "ohhhh..... Ooohh..... That's NASTY" and then they'd scowl but they would just continue playing playing it while scowling. Not even skipping a beat, there's no mistakes, if it brings forth an emotion, any emotion, and it resolved, it's good
@@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266 Funny story- many years ago I picked up a gig w/ my buddy and he ending the 1st tune on Maj7. Very nice. I bet him he couldn't end every song w/ Maj7 but he did. It was cracking me up but the bandleader threatened to fire us after the first set. Had to cut that out 😂
I can’t remember who said it, but someone once said, “A wrong note played timidly is a mistake, but a wrong note played with authority is an interpretation”.
Jazz is the art of not only not being defined by context, but by creating the context. A wrong note is only wrong if every other note is right. When every note is wrong, the right note stands out as the one that sounds off. The context is the notes that make a note sound wrong, and being able to change it on the fly is the art of Jazz. Of course, there's more to Jazz, there always is... But it's versatile in it's very nature, playful almost. And i just can't help but love that part of Jazz.
Wow! This is crazy eye opening! When he played that G flat over and over my mind was like “please god resolve this!” lol and then it hit me….it’s not a mistake, just the tension before the release. So sick ❤
Damn, this will impact my playing and my life. This isn't just advice for your instruments, this is advice for your life. Weird how an artisan in their respective field can give advice that applies to that field but also to other things as well, true wisdom between the lines.
Honestly, one of the most helpful, yet simple, music teachings I have come across. So liberating to see how ' there is no such thing as a wrong note ' is actually put into practice.
I was mentored in music since my childhood to never view music as a mistake, ever and it’s allowed me to play some crazy things by “accident”. Miles found a challenge in your “mistake”.
Herbie's anecdote is not only a testimony to Miles' greatness, it also reveals one of the pivotal points of his evolution into the unique jazz artist that he is today...he has made recordings in f-i-v-e decades
My band teacher told me " you're only a half step away from where you want to be!". 30 yrs later and it's still one of my favorite tricks to this music thing! 🙂😀
This is so enlightening. I could hear Victor Wooten Speaking and playing all day. What a master of his craft. And Herbie Hancock, well, he his a legend.
As a guitar player I learned how to read tabs and just started pushing buttons and fishing for notes remembering the patterns and intervals, not even knowing what a scale or octave was when I first started. I guess I was doing something right all these years... I have always played intuitively, although I do know a little theory now, but I'm glad I came across this video, because I never thought of this, I'm definitely going to add this to my practice and see what I discover.
Same for me. It's like I was running the fretboard with my eyes. Using mostly pentatonic scales. Now I tend to write my solos with my ears and that makes me go "out of the box"
-Follow band members' playing -Keep confidence so the other aspects of your performance doesn't fall apart, keep feeling the sound to orient yourself I hope I can learn from that even though I'm not a jazz musician (more electronic side, but I dabble in some instruments) and even less so a band member myself. music shouldn't impose itself too rigidly because if you want precision too much it can cost your confidence, and the fear that it'll sound bad can hinder your playing further playing (and the mistakes that come with it) is natural and alive.
I practise chromatic scales, Victor! And I very occasionally use them when actually playing a song. I find that, on sax, the chromatic scale really helps me to connect with the instrument and understand it better.
This video is indeed enlightening. I play guitar 48 yrs. 6 7 and 8 string. Im going to incorporate these ideas in my soloing as well especially in gospel, jazz, and funk.....
That's what I tell myself about my mistakes, they're not mistakes, they're 'events' and keep playing them... hence why I still suck after 20 years playing guitar
I'm a classical musician and so I was very used to the theoretical approach to music back in high school. In one of my first jazz improvisation lessons in school, our teacher told us: "If you play something completely off, that just sounds terrible, make sure you do it again. If you repeat it a few times people won't think it's a mistake anymore. And resolving it will feel even better." He was right. I wasn't a god at improvising. I even messed up the recovery. But even by chance I was able to resolve it eventually. And by just being self confident, and not losing my temper, I could make it sound good. After the session people came up to me and told me how impressed they were by my improvisation skills. No wonder; it was unique. Because it was wrong. I'll never forget that. All you need is some confidence. And suddenly your weaknesses become your strength. Live by that. Be proud of your mistakes. They're what makes you unique.
I once had a client book studio time to hear / purchase beats, so I showed him all of my best beats, some which would later sell for a decent chunk of change, and he wasn't feeling any of them. So we decided to start from scratch & I play all my best piano / guitar chops, and nothing was working for him, until I accidentally hit a few wrong notes that clashed in a horrible way. His eyes lit up and said ''that's the one!''. We proceeded to make a beat that consisted entirely of ''wrong'' dissonant notes, in no scale / key. Picture 2 cats walking on a piano over a drum loop. I hated it but the client absolutely loved it. The fact that these sounds brought him genuine joy taught me that there truly is no right or wrong, only popular and not as popular.
I have watched this video several times over the last few days. It’s soooooo good and profound. God bless Victor, Miles, Herbie, and all our wonderful music teachers
Transitions, accidentals, and the chromatic scale. All where my favorite topics in music. The concept of observation(which accepts and gives you the power to transition) vs judgement(which causes fear of wrong notes).
Everything in life should be like this. Like creating music and dancing. Some play the music, some dance, but everybody is enjoying every single step and if it's over the only thing you wish is to go again. It's not about the end. It's about the Now.
when i saw this video, i immediately hoped on my piano and started to play random notes and not think of any scale. when i played a note that was "wrong" and then played a "right" note, it felt more like i played a note to add suspense/tension and then i alleviated that tension. its all about your mindset of music. u cant make a mistake if there is no such thing as a mistake. music should be liberating, if we constrain ourselves then all will be bland.
i do this sometimes, it comes naturally after a while, just keep jamming you guys will feel/see it too, when i play a wrong not i just continue the riff, never stop playing when you make a mistake just ignore it, it was just a split second of mistake in the middle of a long song, the audience just wants to have fun (unless youre classical) lol
This is how I naturally learned to play. I fucking sucked at finding the right pitch and correct notes, so I just played a bunch and made up my own thing as I went along. If it felt good, I did it again. If it felt bad…we’ll yeah I suck anyway so I’ll just play it again instead of getting upset. Helped my mentality so much years later and I love exploring “ugly” notes because it’s just different from what you’d expect to hear. It’s fun. Music is fun. Play shit until it sounds cool.
Bass chords sounds so freaking amazing and I play guitar. I do own a 5 string Music Man which I will start playing chords on the bass and the chromatic scale.
Getting comfortable with the sound. Yes! I have been a playing progression built on the root notes F, D, B, and G#. I play it like a 16 bar blues in E (E7 - C#7 - E7 - G7 - Bb7/G7- E7. You can play the diminished scale over all of it, or Ab maj, F minor pentatonic, Eb maj, etc.. or any of the 7th chords with some blue notes and chromatics around the root. The thing is that you get locked into one scale and it sounds great, until all of a sudden is sounds WAY off, then a different scale works, until the ear hears something off and nothing sounds right. It is a strange feeling to be in a groove and then lose it and not one note sounds right. The mind does amazing things, this is a fun way to train it.
That is very interesting, it's like a circle of diminished chords where it's the V7 chord as well as the ii chord but in a rotating cycle, the G7 (G# dim) is also the E7 (Fdim) and the Bb7 (Bdim) is also the Fdim is the E7. It's always leading, either diminished leading tone or V7 chord, but it never gets to a I. My mind is blown and I don't even have an instrument in my hand. There goes my weekend.....
Victor Wooten is just one of the best bass players out there - really agree with what he is teaching, the context is important and how you proceed after "making a mistake"
That is the quality of a true creative person. Being able to problem solve INCREDIBLY difficult tasks in seconds BECAUSE you simply do what is in front of you. The power of Humanity.
I love this because it’s like life… Just go forward blindly, mess up and make it make sense afterwards backwards. Smile and nod your head and just be easy.
In improvisation, there are no wrong notes, but there are notes that are more challenging to 'incorporate' than others. Two ways are with rhythm and with dynamics (repeating those aspects of the phrase involved with other 'right' notes, diverting attention away from the clinker). An audience will give you three mistakes, unless you are very good at apologizing for them (in the music) and moving on. Sometimes it is the struggle that matters (whether it succeeds or not, since 'character' is the most important aspect of any art, and good character struggles in the face of adversity, it does not throw tantrums or give up.
It is similar with Yoga method. The Yoga that you know that is right the body alignment thing. In Yoga, they say "when you find a hard spot that makes you feel uncomfortable, just breath in it, spend enough time, and then you will get comfortable". I believe most of famous yoga posture were created in this way.
Very cool and misterious at the same time how that "off" notes became bigger then other notes. I play and guitar and bass and i get idea now how to incorporate chromatic scale and on guitar and on bass guitar. I am stunned by Victor Wutten "ear" theory. 👏👏👏. Thank you Maestro.
Even if you don't, you probably like something that was influenced by it. Also, you don't have to like everything from a genre and usually there's actually many different subgenres within it. Even within the career of a musician, their sound will change from their earlier work to their later work. So without saying you have to like jazz, i think it's fair to say there's probably something out there for you, it's just a matter of stumbling across something that connects with you at the given point in time. Cos your own taste will probably change as you age, too! It can help not to focus on genre but just explore stuff, and never feel like you're obliged to like it because it has cultural capital or whatever. Let yourself not like what you don't like in the moment, and it might have an unintuitive effect which is to open you up more. That might sound a bit contradictory but it works for me, eg it's not that unusual for a lot of jazz annoy me for some reason but the music i most like wouldn't exist without jazz. And the great thing about listening to a genre you don't normally get into is with an archive like RU-vid is you can just rabbithole into a whole new world of music, where maybe you were feeling bored by your favourite genres and artists. Peace! ✌️
As you mess around with this kind of improvisation, you start to get muscle memory of how the spaces between the key signature feels. Like how a c# feels when in the scale of C major, and how that relates to how d# feels in d major. That's where you ascend.
Great video. I was introduced to this philosophy a few years ago by Victor Wooten's workshop (the second part of the video), I recommend watching the entire workshop (multiple times). Thanks for the upload.
i learned these fundamentals listening jacob collier talking about melody and compositions. every note can be used, it only depends of the context and harmony. its really interesting as jazz players can go all over the place and use "wrong notes" but make it sound nice because theres a context that makes the note work.
On point, thank you...I play chromatic harmonica, working a lot on improvisation and i have been always observing a jazz playing style as an infinite journey on chromatic scale...
Do you have any tips for playing chromatic harmonica please? I'm used to play diatonics and own one chromatic in C but the fact that there's twice C next to each other is a mindfuck for my improvisation.
@@hagegesamuel It is much easier to improvise on chromatic harmonica, improvising on diatonic harmonica requires strong bending control. However, I do mostly use diatonic harp, cause it has some kind of tribal feeling in it and gives also opportunities for various improvised tonal experiments. But chromatic also takes its place in its own way. I would suggest you to work on both.
That depends on the context, every genre has utilized chromatic intervals, the aggressive dissonance of alternative rock is practically built upon chromatics and tri-tones, and I was surprised to find many folk traditions from around the world using 2nds and 9ths both in melodic figures and harmony. Those weird micro-tones have been with us right from the beginning, right from when we first started banging rocks together and singing...
