You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - Why Aren't Piano Solos as Good as Horn Solos?

Episode Date: November 17, 2020

It's another live edition of You'll Hear It where Peter and Adam take your questions. On this episode, they tackle a controversial question about solos, as well as queries on the Suzuki Method and stride piano.Interested 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.Tuesday's Open Studio Live Events:1:00 PM - Adam's Daily Guided Practice Session (for Members Only)3:00 PM - Jazz Piano Method Live with Peter on YouTube8:00 PM - Brazil Special Listening Sesh with Helio Alves and Romero Lubambo on YouTubeFor the rest of this week's calendar, follow this linkLet us know what you think by leaving a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review, or head over to our YouTube channel.Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

All right. What, what, bro, what is your win of the week? Okay, so I was thinking, okay, this is, okay, my first win of the week is passing a series of COVID test in order to be in. Congrats. In the movie, yeah. That's, this is, I did learn about this. The way that television and film is being able to continue now is, I think possibly a flawed system, but it's, it's what we got. It's better than nothing. And that's a series of rapid test in which everybody on set is supposedly safe and you're in some kind of.

of a bubble. Now, did everybody stay on set? Did nobody leave and come back? I don't know. So, but they did it as we were. So anyway, I passed all those feeling good about that, knowing that they're also just a snapshot in time. But a much bigger win for my family. And I love my family so much. I know you love, I love your family too. But we had a big win with my daughter who got accepted to a master's program to public health school at Boston University. Oh, congratulations. Which is crazy because she's still an undergrad, and she's going to start in January. No way.

Yeah, if she's watching this, she's going to be very pissed that I'm putting her business out on the street. I have, but congrats about that. That's amazing. Yeah. And that's incredible. That seems like it all happened very fast. I know. I mean, it was just yesterday.

She was, you know, here, as you would say, teasing me and bullying me in our, in my very own studio. Actually, I remember writing an arrangement for her to play strings on not too long ago. That's right. She seemed like such a little kid. She was a little kid there. Wow, wow. That's so great, man. So that, that's cool.

And then, of course, public health. is a very topical issue now and it's a very popular thing. And it's like top five programs. So we're excited about that, you know? And the thing is, you know what it is? What? We've had, we should do, you know what we're going to do? We won't do it today because I won't get to these questions.

But let's make the wins. Let's not always make them. They don't have to be great things. Because you know what? We had some things, maybe not this week. We had some setbacks too in my family. I mean, nothing like death or illness or anything. But we've had some setbacks at different times too.

And you know what? The older I get and the more, I'm like, I like those. Setbacks? Yeah, because that's when, you know, are you going to get back up? Are you going to get back up on that horse and stuff? So the wins do not have to just be bragging things. They're a little bit bragging for us this week, no problem. But they could be, because that's ultimately how you really win, especially with developing.

Oh, for sure. So if we're talking about personal musical things, you know, get knocked down a little bit and then getting back up is. That's what it's all about. Yeah. It's what it's all about. Cool. All right. Let's take some questions.

If you all have a musical question, a piano question, hell, we'll even take your win questions. That's right. And your fitness and diet check-in questions. And thank you guys, a bunch of folks saying, congrats to Rachel. And yes, that, yeah, Joe, that's the correct spelling. Or as Rachel says, the only spelling.

Rachel's are very funny about that with the several spellings, you know. I see a bunch of jokes about this. There's some funny people in here, funnier than us. I know. About the wind of the week. being related to the plant-based diet.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah, there was that too. So if we go up to the top, let's take a look. Let's go up to the top. Oh, Joe has a good question here. Hey, from H-Town. Peter, do you think there's a way to teach little kids jazz Suzuki style?

And if so, how? Oh, great question and something I've definitely thought about before. And I even have a little bit of experience with this. I'm Suzuki trained. Yeah. As I think I've mentioned before, and actually my mother is a Suzuki teacher. She's still teaching, and she was one of the original teachers back in the 70s to bring the Suzuki method. Well, she worked with John Kendall, who was like the OG, who was the first guy, I believe, to go over and study with Suzuki.

My mom went over several times and stayed at the school in Matsumoto in Japan and stuff. So, like, we're totally indoctrinated, and she made sure we were. But I think it's an incredible method. And I actually think just the way the system is set up leads very well to jazz. I've not done a scientific study, and I'm forgetting, but I've met several other musicians of our generation and a little younger that came up as Suzuki kids. Jason Marsalis is one. He played Suzuki violin with a really good teacher in New Orleans that I knew.

And then who else? I can't think now, but there's definitely some. And with little kids and jazz, I think the best thing is just to play it for them. I think that it's a Suzuki method because you're learning so much stuff by you. year. It really develops your ear. You don't necessarily have to have a method. Like I've done some stuff at a Suzuki workshop.

They've asked me a big workshop. I think it was in Chicago. I went one time and they wanted me to do like a jazz class with all these kids. And it was just like cellists and violinists like 80 of them or something in all different skill levels. It's like teaching some jazz. And so what I just did was done. Yeah.

I think we did like C jam blues, but I put it in like D. So that, you know, cellos and violins go play it. and just kind of, I didn't try to overanalyze. I just sort of said, like, I played them a recording. I was like, check out this rhythm and just imitate it. And Suzuki kids are so good at doing that because that's the system and that's the method. So I think just introducing its sum there can be really effective, but mainly playing the recordings. If you want your kids to love, and it's not just jazz.

Just play them high quality music. Get off that kid's bob. The kids' bob is not that happening from what I've heard. It's not. So can I ask you a question about Suzuki? so when it goes to more and more advanced levels, I assume it leads to like a classical repertoire

in most cases, yes? Is there anybody who's developed it into like a modern jazz repertoire? I mean, I would think so. The thing with the truth... It seems like it could just seamlessly go in there. Yeah, yeah. I mean, the only thing is that it's definitely,

yeah, there's 10 books in the violin school. That's the one I'm more familiar with than even piano. I never really, I did a little bit of piano. I think the violin school is what was originally developed by Suzuki. He is a violinist. But then the cello has a lot of the same repertoire until it gets more advanced. There's a flute.

I believe there's guitar. But yeah, it gets, it's all kind of classical repertoire. I mean, of course, it starts with twinkle, twinkle, and the variations. And the variations are great because that's very much about like learning to improvise and stuff, you know, from a rhythmic standpoint. But then it goes all the way up to volume 9 and volume 10 are two Mozart piano concertos or the whole books, all the movements. You know, so yeah, it's a lineage of classical.

But I do think that just as it is, is a great foundation. I mean, look, the best jazz, I always try to think about, like, how did the best jazz players that I've been able to sort of see there behind the curtain, how did they learn, like, what did they do? And I would count you among that because we've talked about, like, your upbringing. And I know you did, like, jazz band at school and different situations. And a little bit random. I was like that, too, like.

For sure. And Roy Hager, I remember talking like, I think that, you know, having a really good foundation on your instrument, really good ear training somehow, be it Suzuki or learning pop tunes or playing in church or there's so many different ways to learn to play by ear. But some component. It's part of it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then grasping on and getting the passion for the music. And I think outside of like Joey Alexander and a few other cases, that's normally not going to happen until, what, 13 years old, 14? I think so.

I think so. you know and thankfully in america there's these jazz bands in in now middle schools and high schools because you know for me i don't know about your i do know about your story but i don't know it's similar like i was so enamored with improvisation before i even knew what jazz was right and then someone was like yeah this is all improvised i was like i think i can do that like that's what i want to be to do you know what i mean like that's what i do anyway so yeah i'll go i'll go with that that sounds great yeah yeah yeah you know it's just a great way to do it so should we do this Controversial one next?

I love it. I know you're looking at it. I love it. From Nicholas or Nicholas, as it were. You want to read it? Yeah. Why do piano solos usually pale in comparison to horn solos, especially phrasing and energy-wise? I've noticed this in my transcribing.

I play piano, but I'm drawn to players like Lee Morgan and Coltrane. Well. Wait, wait, wait, wait. I misread this at first. Wow. What does Nicholas say? Which is better? The horn solos.

Yeah, he's saying, why do piano? Piano solo is usually pale in comparison. Okay. Yeah. Come on, Nicholas. Yeah. You're asking that. And you know what?

You're just trying to get on the show, and it worked. And it totally worked. You're coming at a couple piano players. I mean... I like your avatar, by the way. Yeah, that's cool. Yeah. That's almost some of the stuff we were looking at on the session.

Le Hot Jazz. It's definitely a record... Is that a Bird album cover? It might be a Bird album cover. It looks like Bird. It did. But, well, first of all, one thing I would just say, you're saying Lee Morgan and Coltrane are the only names you're mentioned.

Yeah, of course those are great. And what's the piano soul you listen to? Like, you know, Joe Scrub from, from Baltimore? Big shot out to Baltimore. And Joe Scrub, wouldn't let saves. Love you. But you know what I'm saying? It's like, okay, you didn't mention like Thelonious Monk or Herbie Hancock.

McCoy Tyner. McCoy Tyner. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Would they pale? But let's break down what you're saying, phrasing and energy-wise. I don't know. I would beg to differ. Yeah, I would think that, you know, a piano can't compete dynamically with a tenor,

or saxophone or a trumpet, but a tenor saxophone on trumpet can't compete dynamically with a drum solo. That certainly doesn't mean that drum solos are better than saxophone solos. I want to hear Lee Morgan play this. Yeah, exactly. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, let's hear Freddie Hubbard do that. He can't even play two of those notes. Much less with a tremolo on it. Now, but you probably bring up a good point in terms of like phrasing, I mean energy.

Like, you know, we're using different tools than our breath at the piano for the energy. So there's not that direct thing. It's kind of like saying, like, how come a viola isn't as beautiful as a cello? Well, that's obvious. Really? I mean, cell is just the range that it is in. I mean, although viola can be great, but the repertoire, the number of great players. But a viola can be just as beautiful as a cello.

Come on. There's a bit of a viola Renaissance happening right now. Did you know this? Well, ever since the Renaissance. It's a beautiful instrument. And there's some badass players doing some great stuff on the viola. Don't sleep on the viola, as I'm saying. Yeah, it hurts.

Yeah, Nicholas, I think you're wrong. Yeah. I was just going to say. I was just saying. But it's all YMMMV in terms of like which, yeah, some more pedestrian. You know what it is? Like you can get to be pretty good at the piano. Like there's a lot of pianists that because you're learning the chords,

you're generally having a more advanced approach to. harmony than a lot of other instruments to do perhaps that you can kind of be just an okay improviser in terms of your creativity and so it can be a little bit of pedestrian sounding and maybe you're phrasing and your energy isn't great and then you compare it to a great horn solo yeah so there's probably more mediocre piano players than on other instruments so that could be part of the the process Otto has a great question here working on some stride piano got any tips for walking tents and playing creative bass movements love the show thanks Otto you know I'm not a stride piano expert, but I do know that the sort of place to start, and you might

already have started here, is like a lot of music. The place to get proficient first is in that 5-1 cadence, right? So how many ways can you, or just, you know, maybe you have less time? But how much, how much can you, how many ways can you get from 5 to 1? And can you do it in 4 beats, in 2 beats, in one beat? What are those ways? That's kind of like, I think, excuse me, the starting point for that.

Yeah. And then it's all about inversions with those tents. You know, when you see great stride masters, they're playing all kinds of cool inversions on the tense. Yes.

Not always just the root and third or root in tenth, right? It's the third and tenths or the seventh, you know, even. Some awesome stuff happening. And you probably have some

better thoughts on this than me because like I said, I am still very amateurish in my stride. but I know just enough to be dangerous. Yeah, yeah. Well, I think that, first of all, I think the tents are not, look, some people can't reach a tenth and play great stride piano.

So that's not a requirement. It's a nice thing. But really, when you're talking about stride, I don't know if I can get this happen at all. Does it work on why? Oh, yeah. I'm not quite as tall as you. No, man, you got it. We hooked it up this week.

Like, yeah, tents are great, but just the route, like, depending, it sounds really cool with the roads. Yeah, yeah, great stride roads. Like Oscar in the 70s. Okay, forget that. But the idea of like, if you're going just single note and then chord, we can work on this with balance. I always think about like, you know, if you go, that's corny. The idea of like, how do you learn?

The tremolo doesn't help it. I know. But like stride at a fast level. And I'm not, I'll prove you that I'm not a stride master. I'm going to purposely mess this up. Okay. The tremolo. messing it up. But the idea of like

how do you get to some accurate voices while jumping back and forth and making that? Oh, and another little trick, if you can't reach the tense, check this out. I'll slow it down a little bit. Jump down with that right hand, right? You can grab it

with that thumb, for sure. And the other thing is like stride, especially as you start to speed it up. If you're always going, it's hard, like you have to get some, like some ways to break it up. You know, and sometimes that's Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Why am I saying boom?

I don't know. You know what I'm saying? But you got to be able to break it up from not just. There's that, doom, that kind of thing, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But it's like anything that's a little bit difficult.

That was terrible. Technically. That's hard to stride to see, though. It's the worst. Yeah. It's the worst. What's the one? Dina.

Yeah. I remember I transcribe monk. Yeah. We don't think about monk as being like a stride master. Great stride. Great stride. I mean, his accuracy on that. And he had some really slick call.

He had some great voicings. I'm messing it up. But that's a good place to start with there. Hmm.