I have a 12 sided dice so when I finish a song I roll the dice and then play it in that key. I do this with scales and arpeggios as well, so I get to keep fluent in all keys without having to think too much about it or get worried about a method to keep track.
The ability to play in every key gives me the freedom to fly in the universe of sound that we call music. Knowing the number system is the easiest way for me to organise the names of the sounds. Been doing it since i was 16 and I am 73 now. it is still fun and the vibe of each key takes my fantasy to new places. It will open your ears-I promise!
I've noticed that the better I get at playing in different keys, the more I rely on my ear to guide my playing. I am no longer thinking theory, interval, or what chord I am playing, but instead, I am just hearing the tune in my head and my hand can find my way through the instrument in that key. I guess you can say that it's a more "direct" way of playing where you are just reacting to what you are hearing, and IMO that's what music is really about, and it feels so much more genuine and connected than just reading through changes and playing. As much as lead sheets have helped me learn the music as a beginner, I've come to realize that it can be a clutch and can really hold you back from developing once you get to a certain point... and the people I listened to recorded didn't learn it that way either because lead sheets simply didn't exist back then. I can understand now why some teachers and musicians I met had a real disdain for using charts to play standards, and I really wish I got off that habit sooner, because jazz is really meant to be played by ear.
Mark Levine, in, "the Jazz piano book," says he occasionally picks a finished arrangement - takes it through 12 keys: intro, voicings, licks, ending - just as in the original arrangement. Then he chooses one new key and plays the piece in that new key at the next gig. I tend to learn a piece in at least one other key after I have it memorized in the first key. I had one piano teacher who would learn a piece a fourth up , he said that helped with singers because a fourth up you could in that way get closer to a key the singer might be comfortable with. He also said, when a singer wanted to play in B, " not in this house," he'd say . . 😀
you are one of the best guitar channels here on youtube. Being a metalhead you really opened my eyes on many many things.. i think i love jazz now :) thank you jens!
I knew this day was coming. I've started a little. I play Wave in D so my alternative key is G. Kind of like flipping everything upside down and like you say you start noticing that many of these standards aren't as different from one another as they seem. Great video Jens.
Had a video of Charlie Byrd playing Wave, he played it in G. It opens up some different possibilities on the guitar , open strings in some of the chords for instance.
Another excellent video Jens! Really like the use of graphics to highlight the chords of the tune while being able to see how you were negotiating these on the neck of the guitar. Really helpful for myself as a beginner with regards jazz guitar. Brilliant work Jens!
I do practice in all keys... but often neglect my flats and sharps. I am trying to learn my theory to move beyond the patterns and playing by ear to really knowing all my scales in all the different keys off by heart and bridging the gap between theory and execution... glad I just recently found your channel Jens!
@@JensLarsen Thank you. That is the path I am following. I am trying to move from a mainly ear/pattern guitar player with some theory to a scale/chord theory musician... great tips and plenty of challenging but hopefully achievable stuff in your videos for me. I simply love playing the instrument and have a lifetime to keep challenging myself and learning more!
Loved this video! I'm guilty of sticking to favored keys. Really liked the part about playing behind vocalists. Got firsthand knowledge of this in Las Vegas in the late 1980s. When you hear a vocalist saying, "a-hem, a-hem", you know you're abut to transpose the song to another key!
Thank you Jack! I find that in Jazz we get to do a lot of keys, but not so many sharp keys like E, A and B. Playing with vocalists and especially playing bossanovas really helps with that 🙂
haha Angus the jazz cat!! great video and as always many great tips. will keep us mortals busy for the next century or so....btw, the progression and licks you are playing over the vid is based on Back in Black, right?
I think I learn to play some what fast at the beginning just to get the Work done faster so I could spend time playing lol when I started playing I saw the value in practising in all keys because I didnt like getting lost, lol I did get lost in other ways in life though lol
Jens Larsen Agreed, the embarrassing fact is I used to know this inside out. I played clarinet from 3rd-12th grade, classical and jazz. The overdub of the standard on AC-DC is fairly close to the bone... 😎. It's in there somewhere, I just have to be disciplined and go get it. Thank You!
I have a really hard time not relying on the visual and position memory when it comes to transposing. And I know that knowing the notes is way more useful when improvising but I am still working on knowing notes, not positions.
At the same time, if you just start by using the visual thing and then sometimes force yourself to think (like staying in a specific position) then you will get there. I think you just need to connect some information :)
Jens, when you improvised over those implied chord changes, how much do you rely on 'hunting the tonic and applying the appropriate shape' to facilitate having the 'bag of right notes' at your disposal? Do you actually think in keys/modes and then all the notes on the fretboard just light up? It's all so crazy to think in pure music theory especially at the hyper speed of improv/comping ..
Difficult question :) I don't think about the root and certainly not about any scale or arpeggio shape when I am playing. I am not sure if you consider that scary, but I am aware of where the notes are, what the chord notes are etc. But I don't think about it. The best analogy I know is driving a car. You don't think about turning on the ligth to go left and then turn the wheel, you just think about going left. I really don't think that much, there isn't time for that. I just play and rely on all the things I have practiced.
That's genuinely amazing .. I can 'find' the right notes for a given chord just by what the context calls for. Maybe that's it .. Hearing instead of thinking so much. Sigh .. this might take the rest of my life .. he,hee.
@@JensLarsen 😂 tricked me well Sir by starting on Ab. I just listened as a Podcast and wondered why there is an #4 (in relation to the tone you started with) Proves that i lack on perfect pitch 😆 Enjoying your vids... Keep on
To me, practicing in all keys don't make sense for an instrument like guitar, it's just knowing only a few different positions and transposition using your mental capo. There is no different finger positions you need to be aware to play in different keys, like on a piano or on a horn. Practicing in all positions would be the better advice for a guitarist.
Yup. For the most part you are just going in the circle of 4th in the key of Ab and Eb on the A section, and the last A2 is completely diatonic. There are some tricky parts for sure, but big chunk of the song is actually pretty straightforward.
Practicing in all 12 keys is a standard thing in Jazz about moving a piece of music to other keys. It's been an expression since the 40's. We sometimes even do it in concerts (but mostly with blues and rhythm changes though). It is about having technical command and overview of your instrument. Think about it this way: I doubt if it makes any sense to play Happy Birthday in minor keys for example? (and the options would be much more than 30 if you did given the choices available for minor scales) or Autumn Leaves in Major? Besides that I don't think anybody needs to practice in E#, as a professional musician I have played thousands of gigs and hundreds of pieces without coming across a piece in E# or B#. Probably the only one that you come across as both sharp and flat is Gb/F# But of course you don't have to take my word for it you can look up some of the aebersolds with backing tracks in all 12 or some of the common jazz books on the topic
@@JensLarsen It may be colloquial, but 12 is still not correct. I'm no theory expert, but iknow that and people shouldn't be lead to believe false things; even for traditions sake. And why do you assume no one would try to play Happy birthday in a minor key? I can assure you it has been done. I've seen people do it. A quick search will confirm, and it was all done for the sake of it being possible or not being done before. Ergo, hiding possibilities from people is hiding potential and/or misleading. I didn't comment to tear you down or be rude. Just to be sure people were aware 12 is not the number. There are 30 keys no matter which way you shake it.
So please finish this sentence: "you have practice melodic minor in all...." I think there are much more cases than you think where theory is not literally translated to practice. Interpreting chord symbols would be a good one to start with 🙂 It's actually interesting that Dave Welsh is himself talking about why he is wrong in the article. This is becoming a really interesting conversation
Do you practice in all 12 keys? What do you work on? 🙂
I know that I should be doing it. I'm gonna implement what you describe in the video in my practice regimen. Great video as always.
Also, 13-53. Damn ! You're a lot tougher than me !
Thanks Paul! I think having this in your technique or scale practice is important and also not that hard to implement
I don't bend a lot :)
I have a 12 sided dice so when I finish a song I roll the dice and then play it in that key. I do this with scales and arpeggios as well, so I get to keep fluent in all keys without having to think too much about it or get worried about a method to keep track.
The ability to play in every key gives me the freedom to fly in the universe of sound that we call music. Knowing the number system is the
easiest way for me to organise the names of the sounds. Been doing it since i was 16 and I am 73 now. it is still fun and the
vibe of each key takes my fantasy to new places. It will open your ears-I promise!
Yes I think you are very right about this, though I probably use a slightly different system than your numbers :)
Yes - the number system is the easiest way 🙌🏾.
Started at 16 to 73? Absolute legend
I've noticed that the better I get at playing in different keys, the more I rely on my ear to guide my playing. I am no longer thinking theory, interval, or what chord I am playing, but instead, I am just hearing the tune in my head and my hand can find my way through the instrument in that key. I guess you can say that it's a more "direct" way of playing where you are just reacting to what you are hearing, and IMO that's what music is really about, and it feels so much more genuine and connected than just reading through changes and playing.
As much as lead sheets have helped me learn the music as a beginner, I've come to realize that it can be a clutch and can really hold you back from developing once you get to a certain point... and the people I listened to recorded didn't learn it that way either because lead sheets simply didn't exist back then. I can understand now why some teachers and musicians I met had a real disdain for using charts to play standards, and I really wish I got off that habit sooner, because jazz is really meant to be played by ear.
wow...I never knew Angus is such a great jazz player!
Haha he is amazing 🙂
Mark Levine, in, "the Jazz piano book," says he occasionally picks a finished arrangement - takes it through 12 keys: intro, voicings, licks, ending - just as in the original arrangement. Then he chooses one new key and plays the piece in that new key at the next gig. I tend to learn a piece in at least one other key after I have it memorized in the first key. I had one piano teacher who would learn a piece a fourth up , he said that helped with singers because a fourth up you could in that way get closer to a key the singer might be comfortable with. He also said, when a singer wanted to play in B, " not in this house," he'd say . . 😀
Your teacher is quite on the money with learning songs a fourth up and down as well 🙂
you are one of the best guitar channels here on youtube. Being a metalhead you really opened my eyes on many many things.. i think i love jazz now :) thank you jens!
Thank you very much Alessandro! I am really glad you like the videos and even more that you are getting into Jazz!
When it comes to jazz, you and Scott of Scott's bass lessons are the two I go to.
Thank you Mark! 🙂
I knew this day was coming. I've started a little. I play Wave in D so my alternative key is G. Kind of like flipping everything upside down and like you say you start noticing that many of these standards aren't as different from one another as they seem. Great video Jens.
Thank you Tom! I think realizing that the songs are really similar only in different keys is a huge advantage :)
Had a video of Charlie Byrd playing Wave, he played it in G. It opens up some different possibilities on the guitar , open strings in some of the chords for instance.
Another excellent video Jens!
Really like the use of graphics to highlight the chords of the tune while being able to see how you were negotiating these on the neck of the guitar. Really helpful for myself as a beginner with regards jazz guitar.
Brilliant work Jens!
Thanks John! Glad you like the videos! I will pass on the kind words to my editor as well! 🙂
Superb as always. Provides an understandable way into a daunting but essential technique.
Glad you think so, Mike!
I do practice in all keys... but often neglect my flats and sharps. I am trying to learn my theory to move beyond the patterns and playing by ear to really knowing all my scales in all the different keys off by heart and bridging the gap between theory and execution... glad I just recently found your channel Jens!
Glad you like the videos! I would just start by doing scales in all 12 :)
@@JensLarsen Thank you. That is the path I am following. I am trying to move from a mainly ear/pattern guitar player with some theory to a scale/chord theory musician... great tips and plenty of challenging but hopefully achievable stuff in your videos for me. I simply love playing the instrument and have a lifetime to keep challenging myself and learning more!
Loved this video! I'm guilty of sticking to favored keys. Really liked the part about playing behind vocalists. Got firsthand knowledge of this in Las Vegas in the late 1980s. When you hear a vocalist saying, "a-hem, a-hem", you know you're abut to transpose the song to another key!
Thank you Jack! I find that in Jazz we get to do a lot of keys, but not so many sharp keys like E, A and B. Playing with vocalists and especially playing bossanovas really helps with that 🙂
Just completed my prank call to Kenny G! I think of it as "community service"
Great video, Jens!
All of Jazz is grateful 🙂
@@JensLarsen ROTFL
Thank you for spliting this up into 3 main ariers
You're very welcome Sam :) Glad you like the video!
Very good lesson and very nice edits, more of this please :D
Thanks Simon! I shall pass that on to my editor :)
superb tips!
Thank you Nick!
Thank you!!!
You're welcome!
haha Angus the jazz cat!! great video and as always many great tips. will keep us mortals busy for the next century or so....btw, the progression and licks you are playing over the vid is based on Back in Black, right?
Thanks Claes! I think this is one of the things that you work a little on when you need it or feel like it and not something to give top priority :)
All 12 keys have got me on my knees . It makes me sly and that's no lie ;)
But now go forth and conquer! 🙂
I think I learn to play some what fast at the beginning just to get the Work done faster so I could spend time playing lol when I started playing I saw the value in practising in all keys because I didnt like getting lost, lol I did get lost in other ways in life though lol
Love the Angus clip. I use tessitura pro now
Thanks! What do you use tessitura for? I would imagine working on this would be the best way to train it?
Love that lil ACDC roast 1:25 😂 great video as always ❤
Thank you 🙂👍 Best 10 minutes I spend that day!
Truth...! I play in all 12 keys but I do not think in all 12 keys. This leads to moments of hesitation and groove stumble. Yes perfesser... 😎
Haha! Well, it is not that difficult to learn 🙂
Jens Larsen Agreed, the embarrassing fact is I used to know this inside out. I played clarinet from 3rd-12th grade, classical and jazz. The overdub of the standard on AC-DC is fairly close to the bone... 😎. It's in there somewhere, I just have to be disciplined and go get it. Thank You!
I have a really hard time not relying on the visual and position memory when it comes to transposing. And I know that knowing the notes is way more useful when improvising but I am still working on knowing notes, not positions.
At the same time, if you just start by using the visual thing and then sometimes force yourself to think (like staying in a specific position) then you will get there. I think you just need to connect some information :)
Jens, when you improvised over those implied chord changes, how much do you rely on 'hunting the tonic and applying the appropriate shape' to facilitate having the 'bag of right notes' at your disposal? Do you actually think in keys/modes and then all the notes on the fretboard just light up? It's all so crazy to think in pure music theory especially at the hyper speed of improv/comping ..
Difficult question :)
I don't think about the root and certainly not about any scale or arpeggio shape when I am playing.
I am not sure if you consider that scary, but I am aware of where the notes are, what the chord notes are etc. But I don't think about it. The best analogy I know is driving a car. You don't think about turning on the ligth to go left and then turn the wheel, you just think about going left.
I really don't think that much, there isn't time for that. I just play and rely on all the things I have practiced.
That's genuinely amazing .. I can 'find' the right notes for a given chord just by what the context calls for. Maybe that's it .. Hearing instead of thinking so much. Sigh .. this might take the rest of my life .. he,hee.
It's a process, just keep playing and coming up with new stuff and you will get there 👍🙂
I believe after you have practised the work, scales, arpaggios, scales and tunes earlier on, it becomes second nature to you
Yes, you just have to put in the hours :)
Interesting!
Thank you! :)
What I struggle with personally is for example switching from a key to another in the same position, would this help?
Yes, certainly
2:34 Why lydian instead of ionian? Well... why not? Just the better sounding one!
Lydian?! It's Eb major?
@@JensLarsen 😂 tricked me well Sir by starting on Ab. I just listened as a Podcast and wondered why there is an #4 (in relation to the tone you started with)
Proves that i lack on perfect pitch 😆
Enjoying your vids... Keep on
Thanks Valentin :) No worries!
May I ask,
If I m playing on ebmaj
When I say the scale should I the eb f g Ab,
Or
Bmi fa so bra?
Whatever fits you better :)
Angus! :)
Of course! Angus rocks that latin jazz 😄
For those about to bossa!
1:28 Yes Jens 😂 please more of this
Haha! Well, once in a while :)
I like the way you say "soloing", Jens.
Thank you! That's also practical since I say it a lot 🙂
Angus never sounded so good!
Thanks Jume! He really knows his Maj7th arpeggio inversions :)
So if I start at the 6 string F root and go down the fret F# and so on that's all 12 keys?
Yes, but there might be a little more to it along the way :)
i'm sorry but 1:25 was hilarious tbh lmao
Your Funny....Thank you
Glad you appreciate that aspect :)
Ebm7-Ab7 to Dbmaj7 or C#m7 F#7 to Bmaj7 is a bit more elegant...maybe
D#m7 G#7 C#maj7 sorry...
You may find that more elegant, but it doesn't fit the melody.. 😄
To me, practicing in all keys don't make sense for an instrument like guitar, it's just knowing only a few different positions and transposition using your mental capo. There is no different finger positions you need to be aware to play in different keys, like on a piano or on a horn. Practicing in all positions would be the better advice for a guitarist.
All the Thing you Are is "fairly diatonic" ? Wait what ?
Think about it, it isn't that crazy :)
Yup. For the most part you are just going in the circle of 4th in the key of Ab and Eb on the A section, and the last A2 is completely diatonic. There are some tricky parts for sure, but big chunk of the song is actually pretty straightforward.
... There are 30 keys.
.... Also for a piece of music that is already in a key? 🙂
@@JensLarsen I'm not sure what you mean, and I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but there are 30 keys.
davewelsch.com/how-many-keys-are-there/
Practicing in all 12 keys is a standard thing in Jazz about moving a piece of music to other keys. It's been an expression since the 40's. We sometimes even do it in concerts (but mostly with blues and rhythm changes though). It is about having technical command and overview of your instrument.
Think about it this way: I doubt if it makes any sense to play Happy Birthday in minor keys for example? (and the options would be much more than 30 if you did given the choices available for minor scales) or Autumn Leaves in Major?
Besides that I don't think anybody needs to practice in E#, as a professional musician I have played thousands of gigs and hundreds of pieces without coming across a piece in E# or B#. Probably the only one that you come across as both sharp and flat is Gb/F#
But of course you don't have to take my word for it you can look up some of the aebersolds with backing tracks in all 12 or some of the common jazz books on the topic
@@JensLarsen It may be colloquial, but 12 is still not correct. I'm no theory expert, but iknow that and people shouldn't be lead to believe false things; even for traditions sake.
And why do you assume no one would try to play Happy birthday in a minor key? I can assure you it has been done. I've seen people do it. A quick search will confirm, and it was all done for the sake of it being possible or not being done before. Ergo, hiding possibilities from people is hiding potential and/or misleading.
I didn't comment to tear you down or be rude. Just to be sure people were aware 12 is not the number. There are 30 keys no matter which way you shake it.
So please finish this sentence: "you have practice melodic minor in all...."
I think there are much more cases than you think where theory is not literally translated to practice. Interpreting chord symbols would be a good one to start with 🙂
It's actually interesting that Dave Welsh is himself talking about why he is wrong in the article. This is becoming a really interesting conversation