Volume V · Practice and philosophyStage 14 of 15
14
Practising
How to drill: slowly, in time, every degree, every key, by ear.
- 14.1 Start with the basics; practise slowly, exactly, in time; repeat until it is yours Barry’s practice starts with the plain material students would rather skip: scales, triads, arpeggios, diminished chords. Play it slowly, exactly and in strict time, and repeat it until it comes out without a plan. Then practise simply playing tunes in tempo.
- 14.2 Every key, every degree, every way Whatever you learn in one key is only a start. Barry wanted every scale, chord and figure taken through all twelve keys, most easily by minor-third families, and played from every degree and every way: up, down, in thirds, triads, chords, pivots and rules.
- 14.3 Learn from the masters by ear; study the small things Barry learned bebop by ear: from records he slowed down, and from watching the players around him and taking their chords into every key. He wanted students to listen the same way and to understand every small, simple thing the masters did.