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Joe Pass - Chord Melody Genius


JoeJazz

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This is my first post in this category.  As I was surfing this forum I noticed two words in a topic.  Joe and Pass.  Joe Pass is my absolute hero.  I have (I think) 90% of the collection of his work both as a soloist and group participant.  I have accumulated every bit of text and booklets and DVD's that are available by him and about him.  The work he did in Europe and Japan was more difficult to acquire.

Anyway, I'm working on a chord melody solo of his, the popular song 'Misty'.  The version I'm trying to copy from the master is on his Virtuoso #2 CD.  It's a long version and he plays each verse and chorus differently which was normal for him.  I'm working on it in sections, playing slowly, watching my fingers, and many other recommended techniques but it's been nearly 8 months and I'm still getting his "add in" lines mixed up on the first two verses.

Any other ideas with regards to memorizing when you're trying to copy a piece exactly from the source?  This ambition obviously takes out improvising to cover up memory flaws.  Perhaps I should be asking a classical guitarists this question.  I don't read music so I'm relying totally on my handicapped memory ability. :)

Take Care All, come visit us sometime up in 'acoustic guitars'.

 

 

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How are you going about learning this Joe Pass piece?

Are you transcribing by ear?  From a tab?  From a JP book?

Joe Pass was not just a great technical player, he knew his jazz.  He knew all the chord and scale relationships and could put these all together on the fly.  His depth of understanding was immense.

I suggest getting your hands on some of JPs books and studying them.

Learning to play like JP takes more than just copying finger positions.  However that is one step in the process of understanding also.  JP was adept at both using a pick, hybrid picking, and fingerstyle. 

Do not get discouraged and don't be afraid to develop your own style. 

Enjoy the journey.

 

 

 

 

 

 
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Virgman wrote:

 

 
 

 

How are you going about learning this Joe Pass piece?

 

Are you transcribing by ear?  From a tab?  From a JP book?

 

Joe Pass was not just a great technical player, he knew his jazz.  He knew all the chord and scale relationships and could put these all together on the fly.  His depth of understanding was immense.

 

I suggest getting your hands on some of JPs books and studying them.

 

Learning to play like JP takes more than just copying finger positions.  However that is one step in the process of understanding also.  JP was adept at both using a pick, hybrid picking, and fingerstyle. 

 

Do not get discouraged and don't be afraid to develop your own style. 

 

Enjoy the journey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

You may have failed to read my post thoroughly,  I know of Joe Pass as a person, and as a Jazz Player.  I already have all of his material and I can say that with the utmost confidence.  I have never stopped collecting his thoughts, his theories, his imagery, his books, CD's and DVD's.  I have read his material.  Do I understand all of it, no.  Can I play it even close to his ability, no.  I'm an eternal Joe Pass wanna be when it comes to playing jazz chord melody. 

I am not very good at reading music but I can at a very elementary level.  I understand jazz chords and I've been playing jazz for a while but I play mostly by ear.  In summary, the purpose of my post was to ask if anyone had any little tricks to memorizing a difficult piece of music.  I was looking for some tricks with imagery.  Thanks for your response.  You got anything?

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Firstly, huge admirer of Joe! He was absolutely fantastic. Seriously, in every way.

 

To your question, for me learning these kinds of things is all about understanding what is going on. If I can logic out the chord progression he is subbing things in for, then I have a much better time memorizing these things. So for me it is listen listen listen analyze analyze listen listen etc.

 

Perhaps you aren't really digging down deep enough on the songs as opposed to a bad memory? Hard to tell through an Internet posting : )

 

Cheers!

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Virgman wrote:

 

 
 

 

How are you going about learning this Joe Pass piece?

 

Are you transcribing by ear?  From a tab?  From a JP book?

Joe Pass was not just a great technical player, he knew his jazz.  He knew all the chord and scale relationships and could put these all together on the fly.  His depth of understanding was immense.

 

I suggest getting your hands on some of JPs books and studying them.

 

Learning to play like JP takes more than just copying finger positions.  However that is one step in the process of understanding also.  JP was adept at both using a pick, hybrid picking, and fingerstyle. 

 

Do not get discouraged and don't be afraid to develop your own style. 

 

Enjoy the journey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

this is accurate....Joe's deeeeep understanding of chord harmony on guitar was deeper than anyone else Ive ever heard. Also as you state he seemed very familiar with ALL standards to say the least. He is probably in my top 3 favorite jazz guitarists of all time.

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