Learning Jazz with Dave Frank: Learn the Rules Before You Deviate
January 8th, 2011
In my line of work I came across a number of people who can’t wait and learn a few essential skills, and hit the ground running. They think that doing the idea right on is more important than learning the skills on how to do that idea properly.
People like this wants immediate gratification and pass over things that are “childish” or “time consuming”. There were even some musicians I know that even skipped completely over the basic chord patterns and progressions that were all necessary for them to progress and grow as an artist, in the hopes of “becoming the rock star of tomorrow”.
Everything takes time to grow and nurture. You can’t really plan the seeds in your garden and expect to harvest apples the next day. This rule of nature applies to almost everything in the world. However, that basic law of nature can simply be overlooked because our modern society pushes the idea of “do THIS instantly!”
If you believe this hype, you might just lose a couple of pound in 7 days, learn Yoga in three days, and get your Master’s degree after 6 weeks. When you look at these things in a slower pace, what is the quality going to be like? Thinking at a slower pace, what is the quality that you will have? How many moves can you readily memorize in 7 days? Can you do a Head-stand without killing yourself if you rush Yoga?
A lot of musicians can’t wait to learn to play the bass guitar and form immediately a rock band. They get the latest equipments, start making noise, and find themselves hitting a brick wall.
What I learned from Dave Frank’s workshop last week when he showed us the very entertaining and equally talented Marx Brothers, is this: you have to learn he rules first before you can break them. Although the techniques and the exhibitions that Chico Marx did was definitely beyond any formal piano lesson, I am certain that he knew the basics at the very least. Although Chico fired the wrong notes for laughs, it still sounded great – they were the “perfect wrong notes”. Of course, there is no other way of learning which notes to miss if he did not know which ones he was supposed to hit, in the first place.
The rules should be learned before they can be bent. As a musician, it is important that you learn that you know the proper scales and chords before you can improvise.
In case you have not heard the name before Dave is one of the hottest solo jazz pianists music educators on the scene today, the man behind Hal Leonard’s best-selling book series Joy of Improv.
The Dave Frank Master Class on the Marx Brothers is available on Youtube. To view visit Youtube and search for Dave Frank Marx Brothers.
Categories: Music and Gadget
