Major Scale Improv Course Impressions – 7.16.17

[Stefano50]

Hello all !
For anyone wondering about the value of this Improv Course….. for me, it came along at just the perfect moment as my Sax education journey is right at the frustration point where I am comfortable on the instrument and REALLY READY to use it as an INSTRUMENT of my personal expression and creativity….. but, I was being held back by lofty academic teaching and dry Theory books that just DON’T connect the dots for me…….
Along comes Johnny with this GREAT GREAT course……… he is obviously a working musician who knows his stuff on all levels….. and has been kind enough to share his PRACTICAL and VERY USEFUL approach to all of this……… cuts right through the lofty crap and in 15 minutes explained in a down to earth way ……. all about MODES, how to learn them logically and easily, and how to immediately begin using the knowledge of keys and modes and PRACTICAL CHORDAL THEORY to let you pick up your horn …… and begin creating improvisations on just about anything you desire …..
Not to say you don’t have to spend some time here ……. nothing worth having comes easily …. but at the end of the day….. he gets you right up to speed doing what your heart and soul are yearning to express.
It is like the SUN JUST OPENED UP AND SHINED THROUGH INTO MY MUSICAL BRAIN.
For me, the small price of this course seems a bargain.
Guys and Dolls ………… JUST DO IT !!!!
Keep swinging’
Steve S.

[Michael Bishop]

Hi Steve–I share your exact same sentiments towards Johnny’s Killer Blues course that I’m in right now. Your situation sounds exactly the same way that I was feeling and facing. There’s loads of information out there on Music Theory, scales, etc. in the way of books, youtube videos, and so on. But you said something very important: These folks don’t show us WHAT to do with all of the stuff. And that’s one of the many things that makes Johnny so good at what he does. He doesn’t just try to show us all kinds of info, theory, etc and leaves it at that; he teaches how to apply it to real-life situations. As an example, I nailed an audition about a month ago for an upcoming talent show to be held on Nov.14—it will be my first-ever live performance…pretty cool 🙂 There were some other Sax players who auditioned and played Jazz ballets and so on. I just showed up and played what I know……it worked and I got picked! Unbelievable to say the least. The folks who did the judging said that they we’re “tired of hearing the same old thing” from everyone. When I started playing those high-screaming Altissimo notes, looked at them while I was playing and saw the smile on their faces, then that’s when I knew I had a chance to get picked. AWESOME feeling to say the least! 🙂 I saw for myself, with my own eyes, that even though we’re mere student players and have so much to learn/make many mistakes; there’s still something distinctly different about applying Johnny’s teaching’s in our own playing that people seem to pick up on…..and they love it.
I live here in Arkansas…to say that the Blues is huge here would be a gross understatement. Just google “Arkansas Blues Society” and look at the endless weblinks you find for live events that take place here. There’s something happening here almost every single weekend..it’s that big. In fact, I pasted a google search link here below, take a look at what you see afterwards! But here’s the crazy thing….there a VERY FEW saxophone players involved with these Blues events! It’s mostly guitar, bass guitar, keyboard players, and so on. That’s not to say that they’re not out there, of course they are..but they’re few-and-far in between. Go to any of those websites to come up, even one facebook page, and tell me how many Saxophone players do you see at these events? In all of the references I checked out, I saw only 1 Sax player! After I nailed the audition, it opened up a small network for me with local musicians. Currently, we’re getting together 2 times per week. We’ve been having lots of fun and I’ve learned a lot to say the least in the short amount of time that I’ve been meeting with them. They’ve been very eager to share things with me, teach me things, etc.. 98% of the Saxophone players here are into Jazz-type stuff v.s. hard-core Blues, killing solos, etc.. and I’m wondering if that’s the reason why the kind of playing that I’m learning from Johnny right now really connects with these guys here? Because there’s so few doing it with the Saxophone here where I live, combined with the fact that the Blues is so big here…how could playing the Blues with the sound of the Saxophone not appeal to these guys? That’s something I’ve wondered about…maybe that’s why I nailed the audition about a month ago? And then, I got invited to ANOTHER audition in December for the annual River fest to take place here next Memorial Day weekend! Yeah, I’m excited to say the least at the prospects 🙂 But no matter, I’m still going to have fun doing it and I’m sure I’ll make great friends along the way, learn more things, etc. whether I get picked or not…getting picked is not my motive for doing the audition if you get my meaning.
I would love to jump on Johnny’s new Improvisation course, but taking into consideration where I’m at right now/my needs at this moment…and the time to do it LOL It would work against me. But I definately do plan on doing it when I have everything I’m learning in Blues/Rock under my belt first. But just like you said, Johnny has given us all the tools that we need. I know one thing: Here locally, everyone LOVES to hear the kinds of Blues/Rock Improvising that I’m learning from Johnny. It’s almost gotten to the point where that’s all they want to hear from me now…do away with sheet music & memorizing songs is their take! LOL Here’s the google link I was talking about, take a look at all of the events/things happening here. It’s ALL nothing but the Blues!
https://www.google.com/#q=Arkansas+Blues+Society&start=0

[Stefano50]

Hey MB……
Thanks for your GREAT post !!!
Although I am at heart a Jazz player …… if you have not studied and internalized the Blues (at least in my humble opinion) ….. there is no way to connect well with Jazz……. ’cause it all started from the Blues !!!
I am originally from New Orleans and now banished to the cold and heartless state of Connecticut for the past several years (looking toward retirement and getting myself back down South where I BELONG !!!). Incredibly, there is a VERY active Blues scene in this state as well …. even with a Blues Society and Newsletter listing venues…… so, I can satisfy my Blues needs pretty well too.. I am thrilled to hear that there is such great enthusiasm for the Blues in Arkansas but, of course, it DOES make sense. VERY exciting to hear that you are out there playing LIVE and with a kickass Blues group. For me, NOTHING advanced my musical progress better then when I finally “manned up” and took the leap to playing with others in a live setting ……. and I get what you are saying about how there is almost a “vacuum” that lets you walk in with your Sax and just “kill it” for an audience that has heard enough guitar and harp playing the Blues to last a lifetime …. good to get down and dirty and FUNKY with a Blues Saxophone ….. and wake ’em all up !
I did not know that Johnny has a Blues course out there …… so, I am gonna head to the website RIGHT now and scope it out…. THANKS!!!
How blessed are we to be able to do this!
Keep it funky,
Steve

[Michael Bishop]

Just to clarify something…I’m not officially part of a band yet, but when I nailed the audition last month–which was strictly about solo playing–then things started to happen in the way of networking with other musicians….I still got a LONG way to go as I am just a mere student player; no where near a very high level of playing. In about a week-2 weeks I will be uploading to Johnny’s blog and entire 5 minutes Improvised Saxophone Instrumental that was inspired by the Blues Brothers Song “Shotgun Blues” so keep an eye out for it, as everyone’s feedback has really helped me learn a lot. With the cpu. we create a custom track for that song, and we’re still experimenting with a few things on the backing track. It’s almost where I want it though. I could upload this song now, but I’m in the process of getting a high-quality ligature for my Tenor; I’m ordering it next week. I had plans to order it 2 weeks ago, except $400 of unexpected family van repairs changed those plans LOL As you know, ligatures make a huge difference in our overall sound/projection. Those cheap, stainless steel ligatures are the worst in the world, they constrict the reed so much, almost “choking” the reed. Thanks to a demo that Johnny did on Trevor James Saxophones (I have 2 of them) paired with Claude Lakey Mouthpieces, I discovered that Claude Lakey Mouthpieces really suit me VERY well….easily the best MP that I’ve used for myself. But we’re all different as you know, what works for me may not be good for someone else, and vice-versa.
You didn’t know that Johnny has a Blues course? I put the link for you here–when you get into the real “meat” of his lessons, you come to realize that it’s just not enough to merely “memorize” the exercises that he teaches if you get my meaning. You got to really take the time to break down & analyze the how-to’s and why’s of everything he teaches and be able to apply his lessons “at will”. When you take that approach, you see for yourself that there’s A LOT to take in from this book…so don’t let the number of pages fool you. When I first really started getting into it, my wife thought that it was a “small” book/course..until she looked at its contents.
Talking about blog uploads coming in a 1-2 weeks from me (doing them in preparation for my upcoming live performance to get much-needed insights from Johnny and everyone else) it would be cool to see you upload something too! 🙂

Blues Saxophone Improvisation Info Page

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