You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - 3 Things To Make You Sound Better TODAY

Episode Date: October 15, 2021

Not all practice advice requires doing something a million times until you get it right. Here are three ways to immediately improve your sound.* Have a question for us? Leave us a SpeakPipe at link.youllhearit.com/speakpipe* Support the pod by spreading the word with the link openstudiojazz.link/yhi* Learn more about Open Studio Pro: openstudiojazz.com/proInterested in more music advice? Go here to browse our catalog of jazz lessons and courses available for purchase. And be sure to check out our All Access Pass - every course from Open Studio on every instrument.Let us know what you think by leaving a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review, or head over to our YouTube channel.Follow us on Twitter | Instagram

Hey, Peter. Yo. I want to get better, but I want to get better right now. Right now. Right now. Today, today, today.

You can't wait for the end of the day? Right now. All right. All right. All right. All right. I'm Adam Manus. And I'm Peter Martin.

And you're listening to the You'll hear a podcast. You'll, uh, music advice coming at you. You got it, man. Music advice and inspiration. There you go. Brought you today by us. You got me so nervous with that.

I know. I know. What is it? Peter, what's the tackle line? What's the tag on? You got it's so edgy here. Go to OpenStiodoJazz.com for all your jazz lesson needs.

Peter, today, I thought it would be fun. Desperation is in the air, my friend. What's up with that? Well, you know how sometimes it's like you've been working a plan? Yeah. You've been planning your work and then you've been working your plan. But the plans work in you, sounds like. Well, it's just like I got to switch it up, right?

I just need one day where I'm not working my plan. Something that I can just change it up and maybe get better. Steps the steps. No, no, I got an hour. What can we do in an hour here? I like that. So I thought we could talk about three things. He's like a Coke fiend in the early 80s, New York City scene or something.

Three things that could make you better today. So there's a couple of guardrails with this. Yeah. Really? Quote unquote. Yeah, the guardrails. Today, it has to happen today? It has to happen.

Well, you have to be able to do it in a day. Okay. So now do you have to start in the morning or can it be like at 1158 p.m. You can, no. Well, you should have at least an hour, I think, cordoned up. But this isn't something that's like learn all of the Chopin A tunes, right? Like, you wouldn't be able to do that in a day. Not at 1158, but.

No, definitely not. But these three things you could do in a day. So perhaps bite-sized chunks is what you're suggesting. And then also it's like they don't require too much follow-up, right? Like once you do them, they actually make you a little bit better. So how is this going to be different than our famous three hacks to help you today practice better? Well, because those were hacks. And these are things.

Thing one, thing two and thing three. Okay, got it. So way different, obviously. Okay, got it. So I love it. Okay. So that's the guardrails is has to happen today. Yeah.

And it has to actually make you better by the end of the procession. Right. Yeah. Cool. Would that be something you might be interested in? I didn't think so, but now I'm getting interested. I mean, listen, we're talking about practice. You know?

Not a game. Not a game. Not a game. We're talking about practice. Yeah. I need to get a couple more sound facts on there. I got to admit, it's just the same too. They're really solid.

Yeah. But so let's get going here with number one. What do you think? One thing to make you better today. Okay, come on, today. Yeah, yeah. So number one, I would say to take inspiration from another art form. Okay.

Okay. Now, by this, I mean, you know, get a little bit out of your comfort zone, but get into something that you're not normally using directly for your musical development. So we might think of like the normal stuff, technical practice, great stuff. Learning a tune. Really great. Learning a solo. Working on repertoire. working on your time, working on feel, all these different things.

So sometimes in order to get better and to get that breakthrough, even if it's a quick breakthrough, you've got to go outside of the realm of music. But we don't need to go outside of the realm of art necessarily. So example, maybe a piece of poetry, a poem or a poem. Poem. Poemim. A poim. I think you put an eye in there.

A poym. It's a poietic. But you might take a piece of poetry. Yeah. Or some verse that you. like something very simple because you got to do it today totally and then maybe apply that to your improvisation over a tune that you're working on absolutely or maybe take you know pull up a picture from an art book or the internet a beautiful piece of abstract drawing maybe some metis because

he was into jazz so i don't know can't we still take back from from matisse something that's you know maybe not like the mona lisa that's just so specific but some abstract art and see if you can kind of look at that and see what kind of inspiration basically Basically, you know, you're kind of forcing a little bit of inspiration, but from some interesting places in an unusual way. And I think that that will get you better. That'll open up a different kind of story to come out. Oh, man, I love this so much.

So we had fun in the pandemic, my family. We had Manus family film festivals. We watched all kinds of family films together, but we would go in series. Tiger King. Did not let the kids watch Tiger King. But we did do like, you know, all the Marvel films, all the Pixar films. Yeah. All the Harry Potter's, that kind of thing.

And at a certain point, I started to get really into story structure, really for a lot of what we do around here in Open Studio. I'm always looking for ways that we can better explain how to learn music. And I find that stories are a great way to learn anything. But I started getting into it and researching it. I thought, it wouldn't be fun to kind of watch these movies. And the kids started getting into it, too, of like kind of pinpointing in these very digestible, broad movies. Yeah. Like where the story arc was.

Nice. Where things, because there was definitely a first act. and then this happens in the second act. And then at the end, there's a storming of the castle and there's the, you know, which has its own structure. Everything has a very, every Hollywood script has a very, usually has a very, predictable story and structure.

Yeah. And then, man, I started doing a couple gigs. And I started putting that story structure in some of my solos. Is that when the, I started to see in the Twitter sphere, some, some compliments of folks going to your gigs talking about the epic nature of your solo. the turn that they took, right?

Man, his storming of the castle is just brilliant. Yeah, on course number seven of Monk's Dream, he stormed the castle. But we talk about and you hear people, tell your story, you know, all that stuff. You hear about that, but like, you, like, actually using some of that structure from those films and from, like, something like a Hollywood screenplay.

Yep. And seeing if I could, like, you know, kind of put that in there where it was appropriate, you know. Well, it's just... It was really fun, actually. Yeah, and it's such a great thing because the part of it that applies to this, little quandary that we've put ourselves in

how do we get better today is that for most folks if you've been doing this a bunch this isn't going to necessarily be a breakthrough but it's like when you try something new or you come back to like an interesting thing that first day that you try it you've always got the opportunity for kind of a breakthrough absolutely you know absolutely so it's just going to

whatever you do if it's you know watching shock therapy a little bit absolutely watching a film or reading a poem or or looking at a great painting or photograph you know it's going to inspire you likely in some way that's just going to jolt your system that's not just, you know, go listen to your favorite Charlie Parker album, which is always great and a great idea,

but sometimes it's nice to switch it up. And you can do it today and you can learn something today. Awesome. So that's number one of our three things to make you better today. Adam, why don't you tell our dear listeners. Yeah. By number two. So dear listener, how would you like to not suck? How would you like to sound really good? Yeah. Today. Today. Come on. Tell us today. Learn a tune that was written by the lonious monk. Bam. And you won't suck anymore. You'll hear it.

You will sound great. I'm actually, I'm in the process of making a video for this. I think that's going to come out this Friday. I taught a little session in the Daily Guy to Practice session on rhythm. And man, rhythm is tough to teach because it's very much inert or innate, I feel like. Yeah. And it's part of, it's really the most languishy part of the language. It's really easy to teach triad pairs or pentatonic scales or voicings.

It's just math. You know, but rhythm. This is a theoretical foundation that can be better explained. Rhythm has, of course, it's math as well, but it's more, it's more art than it is science, you know? And the greatest artists of rhythm, I think, in the 20th century was Thelonius Monk. And his compositions, you know how you even have to transcribe monk solos if you don't want. Transcribe a monk composition. Learn it from the record.

Play along with Thelonius playing a monk composition. And you're going to find a lot of what you might call the quarter note syncopation, where monk syncopates his phrases in odd quarter note meters. And just that sentence is too technical for what's going on. It's way more human, way more beautiful than that, way more artistic and way more brilliant when monk does it. Just learn a monk tune. And you will sound better by the end of the session.

Absolutely. And then look, if you're going to do it today, maybe don't choose Ruby My Deere. No, or Carpestcal with Nelly. Yeah. Choose something dual. But there's like, there's some less heralded. and less known monk tunes like,

what do you know about Monk's Point? I don't know about Monk's Point. Yeah. A little blues there. That's the whole tune. Take a patient right there. That's right. Maybe if you want to,

I mean, this would be a little bit of a challenge for a day, but certainly doable. Monk's dream. Yeah. Woof. Right?

That's doable. That's so good. Yeah. Any of those or even... That could be a little bit more for a day. But possible. Well, you needn't might be a good one.

Yeah. evidence could be a good one if you're a little more advanced, but it doesn't actually really matter. They're all good and you will get better because he's he's a rhythmic and harmonic genius. And if you absorb monks rhythm, even if you just listen and imitate. Listen and imitate. That's the key. Don't, don't make it a science project this of the day. Make it a fun like listen like my French teacher used to say in high school. Ecute a repetit. No, but seriously, if you want a little project, learn five or ten monk tunes and you'll be a better.

musician by the end of that project. Today? No, not today. That's for a longer project. Long-term project. I love that. I love that. Okay, number three,

for our things to make you better today. And that is to write a song. Done. Yesterday. No, an original song. Oh, an original song. A non-copywritten song. A song that's not going to get a suit here at the You'll Hear podcast.

Sorry, sorry, sorry. And look, I mean, write a tune. I shouldn't even say song. I mean, it doesn't have to have lyrics and everything. Because you've got to get it done today. But the Great Raibre Brown taught me this. He's like, if you want to get better as a composer, he said for 30 days, write a tune a day. Absolutely true. You know what I mean? And look, not everyone's going to be

great. In fact, you're lucky if one out of those 30 becomes a classic. But yeah, but you know what? Here's the process. It's the process. The honest to God truth is you have to write at least 30 bad tunes that's right before you write a great tune. Right. But, you know, in terms of developing your ear, developing your chops, you know, getting better. Yeah. Like it's pretty much equal when you write a bad tune and a gray tune. Yeah. Because, in fact, dare I say, you might even get more improvement on the days when you write a bad tune. Your bank account will do better if you hit it.

If you write a hit song. Yeah. But this is not about how you get richer today. This is about how you get better today. How do you get better? Write a tune because it's, think about it like solos. I'm going to write one right now. Go ahead.

How many solos before you felt like you played a good solo? I mean, maybe for the first one, you were like, that's a great solo. But really, you have to play like a hundred or more solo. They call me noodles. Oh my gosh. They call me noodles. This is beautiful, man. Hold on.

I'm stunned. Byron lovely. Byron Lovelace. All right, folks. That was number three. Noodles McGee. There's a tune. It's not good.

We didn't say write a great tune. I think we're, I think we got to go out on Noodles McGee, man. We just wrote a tune. I don't know why I'm doing it so straight. It's like I'm in the... Okay, I'm going to help you out here. I am noodle. I have noodle.

Bruce McGee. Biring love. Biring love laces my man. Not like that. Not like that. Living like what? My main man. Until next time, everybody.

You'll hear it.