Quote Blog
157-176
Up to this point in John Coltrane's life, I have learnt a lot about how his life played out. Coltrane's first real musical influence was his father, who was a part time musician. Coltrane began to study the alto saxophone and the clarinet. He soon moved to Philadelphia and began schooling at "Ornstein School Of Music". From there Coltrane learnt about jazz. It was this knowledge that he then took too the navy as a member of the navy band. Once released, he began playing with Dizzy Gillespie. When looking at the style of Dizzy, I am not surprised where Coltrane got his sound. Dizzy was a very crazy outgoing musician who would play some things that the normal musician would not typically play. Yet the one thing that differentiated him from those like Ornett Colman, who would play outside for the technicality of it, Dizzy would play outside for the feeling of it. From here, Coltrane soon moved on and began playing with Miles in what was called the "First Great Quartet". This is where Miles created "Kind Of Blue" which started the new phase of modal jazz.
The significance that modal jazz had on Coltrane's playing was that it reinforced feeling into his playing. Due to the simplicity of a lot of modal jazz, the soloist must evoke an attitude that serves as its own motif in their solo. Coltrane would sway between beautiful sounds and simplicity in songs like Naima, to total chaos in tunes like Countdown and Giant Steps. This, I think, relates to the quote below. Good technique is subjective, but also, it does not always produce the best music. Playing extremely quickly like Coltrane does over Giant Steps and Countdown is technically incorrect technique. He should be using a lot more space and rhythmic variation. However, space and rhythmic variation would not match the intense quick feeling of the song.
"After all of the investigation, all of the technique-doesn't matter! Only if the feeling is right." Coltrane 1
After taking lessons since the third grade, this is something I have definitely realized. Knowing how to use good technique is a fantastic skill as it is part of the foundation that lets one play many different styles without weakness. However, using good technique for everything does not produce the best music. A recent event in my life that proved this was in a lesson with my teacher. We were playing a blues and I was told to solo. Going into my solo, I approached it as I would any other blues, using the "incorrect" techniques of the blues players that I have always listened too. I was quickly stopped. The reason I was stopped was because I was technically using poor technique. The correct technique that I was told to use in this situation was the exact opposite than that of what the foundational blues players used. They would pick hard and dig in to play the blues. To use correct technique, one must play lightly and make sure to be dynamic over all different strings. As that is good technique, it does not particularly sound the best over the blues. This is what was explained to me by my teacher after I was told to use good technique. In our lesson, we were working on good technique.
Up to this point in John Coltrane's life, I have learnt a lot about how his life played out. Coltrane's first real musical influence was his father, who was a part time musician. Coltrane began to study the alto saxophone and the clarinet. He soon moved to Philadelphia and began schooling at "Ornstein School Of Music". From there Coltrane learnt about jazz. It was this knowledge that he then took too the navy as a member of the navy band. Once released, he began playing with Dizzy Gillespie. When looking at the style of Dizzy, I am not surprised where Coltrane got his sound. Dizzy was a very crazy outgoing musician who would play some things that the normal musician would not typically play. Yet the one thing that differentiated him from those like Ornett Colman, who would play outside for the technicality of it, Dizzy would play outside for the feeling of it. From here, Coltrane soon moved on and began playing with Miles in what was called the "First Great Quartet". This is where Miles created "Kind Of Blue" which started the new phase of modal jazz.
The significance that modal jazz had on Coltrane's playing was that it reinforced feeling into his playing. Due to the simplicity of a lot of modal jazz, the soloist must evoke an attitude that serves as its own motif in their solo. Coltrane would sway between beautiful sounds and simplicity in songs like Naima, to total chaos in tunes like Countdown and Giant Steps. This, I think, relates to the quote below. Good technique is subjective, but also, it does not always produce the best music. Playing extremely quickly like Coltrane does over Giant Steps and Countdown is technically incorrect technique. He should be using a lot more space and rhythmic variation. However, space and rhythmic variation would not match the intense quick feeling of the song.
"After all of the investigation, all of the technique-doesn't matter! Only if the feeling is right." Coltrane 1
So your teacher wanted you to work on the technique that lesson not the sound? Did you know that before you started? (It seems kind of key.)
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