I'm just trying to learn Jazz here and its taking a lot of time and effort. I'm thinking it all through, analysing it until it makes some kind of sense and just putting it out here for anyone to comment on. Of course, I realize that, as Tomo says, thinking has to take a back seat when you are performing, but when practicing you have to think about every little thing.
so, this first song in the Jazz Standards section is a 32 bar format in E flat. I'm just taking the 1st 16 bars for now. The chords change 13 times in those 16 bars using 11 unique chords, and its not exactly a slow song giving you plenty of time to think of what scale or what arpeggio to play. There's no way I can keep up with and play over those changes without fumbling all over myself if I try to think of each chord individually. Is Jazz really this demanding and difficult?
My solution, and believe me I'm no expert, I'm just winging it here, is to find some underlying context that will tie these myriad chords together into something more managable. Using a concept I read about called "key of the moment", I find that 2 major scales,or "keys", Eb and Ab, with a few minor tweeks here and there will get me through those 16 bars because all those 11 unique chords derive from those 2 scales.
So, for the 1st 6 bars I play Eb major scale, Ab for the next 4 bars, then back to Eb for the last 6 bars. There are a few non-diatonic dominant chords that require a tweek or two to the major scale being used, but aside from those minor accommodations, those 2 major scales will carry me through the entire 16 bars. Some note choices will sound better than others, but they'll all be right notes, and its a lot easier on the brain to just have to think about 2 different scales instead of 11 different chords.
Ultimately I think the game is to be able to see and play over the individual chords while at the same time being aware of the underlying "parent" scale, but that's a ways off for now and probably comes with a lot of practice. In other words, the ability to solo either chordally or modally or both, as you wish.
As a final thought, I find that I can play along with a backing track fairly well just letting my ear guide me with little regard to the techbnicals. Then if I analyse what I played, I find that I was playing fairly closely to those 2 scales as a natural result of following my ear. I think thats what we want, feel it, don't think it, but have your feeling be in sync with whats technically correct. So what came first, the feeling or the thinking? I think the theory part is secondary, but necessary and helpful in its own way also.
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