"If you can't play what you think, you are reduced to playing licks and patterns on the fingerboard... that is not creative" -- thats the most beautiful thing I have heard about playing music.
Many years ago my guitar teacher gave me a couple of cassettes he had taped at a Barney Kessel guitar clinic. This was in the 70's. The content of those cassettes is essentially the same as in this video. What this tells me is that this is a time honoured method for learning to improvise and that Mr. Kessel has been teaching this for a long time. He really does know what he is talking about. A variation of this is to lay down a chord track and scat sing a solo over it whilst recording. Then learn your solo. 45 years of learning the guitar has taught me that singing is the quickest way to the music that is inside you. After all, when you think of a melody what better way to express it; we know our voices far better than we know the guitar. I have also found that this is a good way to ensure you don't get lost on the chord progression. Scat several solos, play them on the guitar, then improvise directly on the instrument. You will find your sense of the chord progression is really quite well internalized.
Man... Anyone who is wanting to undertake any musical studies and improvisation should listen very closely to what Barney is trying to teach here. It's the heart and soul of any music style. Save this to come back to... Thanks very much!
The modesty and the sheer joy of this jazz giant while disseminating his wisdom that runs so deep gained after decades of playing with the best without a trace of ego brings tears of joy to one's eyes. They don't make them like this anymore. Thank you so much Rumark for sharing these treasures on your channel.
Amazing comments and exactly why we started with this lesson when we created this video series. Glad you are all enjoying the lessons. Please help spread the word that they are available for free!
really though if it means something to the person who created it THAT is musical value Mozart got told he didn't have musicality.. and John Coltrane too.. by various critics who did not feel what they were doing had legitimate musical value
Learning to do it on a pretty simple percussion instrument was one of the best feelings, like there was no filter between my imagination and my hands. The feeling of free expression felt so euphoric. It's my dream to learn to do so on guitar or melodic instruments in general. Adding melody and harmony on top of rhythm is like going from the second dimension to the fourth.
Thank You. This 1st lesson is the foundation for all musicians to build off of. In the back of my head I knew playing what you hear is the first step, but you have teachers, and other musicians telling you to learn scales, licks, site reading, songs, now we have online teachers and apps to teach us music visually and through patterns. Every interview I’ve ever heard with a legendary musician or anyone I’ve met who was very proficient had one thing in common. They learned by ear. Whether it was playing old records over and over to learn songs or just playing notes until they figured out how to play, they all developed their ear and the ability to transpose.
I'll say they are not mutually exclusive. Learning the patterns and fundamentals of music support the ability to play what one hears. And for most people, it's necessary.
My goodness, so many ‘how to’ jazz videos today have titles like “5 must-know jazz licks for guitar”. This man really talks music. That’s the difference between creativity and formula. You’ve got to do the work, demand something special from yourself, not spit out memorized passages.
My feed gets flooded with "THIS one lick will REVOLUTIONIZE your drumming!!"-videos, and it's always some dude going "here's a cool sticking pattern that you can repeat around the kit and it'll really unlock your ability to flow on the kit" and it's all BULLSHIT. You need to put in work into understanding what you play, TO what you play, to listen and think about what you play, and then do all of those things with what THEY (the rest of the band/group) play and your relation to it. Click-bait garbage
wow ! Barney Kessel.. what a resume !...from Charlie Parker to T Bone Walker, Lester Young , Billie Holiday to The Beach Boys and Sonny and Cher..and a member of the Wrecking Crew ,,when you look at who he played and recorded with its staggering. A
I've seen a lot of these, but this is definitely the very best video teaching improvisation, even for non-guitarists. Finally, the real thing! No need to ever look elsewhere...
One of the few guitarists along side Joe Pass, Wes and Ed Bickert with a true gift for melody rather than simply playing stale arpeggios, scale fragments and enclosures.
I'm soo happy about this video! it is what I try to do and teach about music. If you don't have music inside you it will be very difficult to play anything interesting.
I'm glad that this is a RU Mark channel. There are so many people uploading pirate videos. You did the work. And this is a fantastic lesson by Kessel. My guitar instructor was wistfully talking about this like it was lost to the ages. I searched today and found you. Thrilled.
I bought the three-tape (VHS) series in the 90s, and I got quite a bit out of it. I'd had lessons with great players and studied composition with a Pulitzer prize finalist, but Barney did as much as anyone to help me learn to create on the instrument.
Someone made a lofi song out of the monologue about not relying on the patterns etc. and now I can't find it anymore. Really someone ought to make a new version of it.
Good lesson in developing creativity ! This is what jazz is all about,free creative leaks and imaginary walks without referring to keys and modes too much
Breaking that dependence on fingering charts and patterns can take awhile, especially if your vocabulary IS the collection of licks over patterns, as mine was. I was forced to take a lot of time off the guitar, and I noticed that my creativity has been increasing as I scat or create harmonies vocally. I can’t wait to bring that new way of thinking back to my instrument.
@@rumarkvideo M m . M. . M m M M m M M mm m M m M. M M M Mmm m M m M mm mm mm m. Mm mm m M m M m M Mmm mm m M. M m M m M mm.m M.m M M . Mm mm. Mm m M m M mm M m. M. M M M M M . Mm M M M M M M M M . M M. M mm . . .. . M . M M .. M M M M M Mmm. M M M M M M M M M M mm m M M M M . M M M M M . M mm M .M ..M .. M M. M . . M Mm mm Mm M M M . M.. . M M Mmm mmm m M M... .. .M .M m M M M. . M M . M M M M M M .. M M M M . M M Mmm mm .M. M M M M M M M M M M M . Mm M M . M .M m Mm. mm .M m M M M . . . M mm M mm mm m Mm M Mmm m M mm mm m M M M M M M M . M M mm m M M mm .. M M M . M . M M . M M . M . M Mm M M M mm m M M M M M M M M mm m M M.m M . M . M . M mm mm mm M.m M Mm M . M M. M M mm mmm mm . .M.m mm m M M M mm m M M . M . M M M mm m M . Mm mm M M M M Mm M M M M M M M mm m . M M .M mm .. M M M mm m M M mm. M
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This has been my intuitive approach for many years. Of course he is leaving out some essential pieces, like you get better at hearing how melodic ideas map into the chord or key center, which gives you a shortcut for know how to play what you hear. The other important piece is listening to lots of jazz improvisers and picking out some of their ideas on the guitar.
tells people to play what they hear... proceeds to decide that what comes from the heart needs to be "more challenging" to play and comes up with a CONTRIVED melody that is just created TO be "more challenging" just play what comes from your heart folks.. you can do technical stuff to build ability but i learned the hard way it's best to not get lost in technique etc.. just play from your heart.. that's what all the greats do (yes they build technical ability too, but the GREAT pieces come from our heart
I saw Barney with Herb Ellis and another great, i forgot who, back in the early 80s with my dad. I was more into Jimi and Eddie at the time so didn't appreciate it as much as I would now.
2:21 “…be sure that what you hear is WORTH PLAYING….” Words of wisdom. I’ve spent hours playing things that have no “musical value”. Complex riffs and exercises that are fun for me to play but otherwise useless for anybody else to hear. Barney nailed my #1 weak point as a guitarist.
i already do this, but the problem is that i'll sing/improvise over backing tracks and i leave the guitar out of the equation. i kind of feel as if i'll eventually learn to improvise practicing this way, but at what point do you start to learn about the theory that's behind what you're playing? i regularly come up with all sorts of licks all over the guitar and i'll even throw in a chord or two, but if you were to ask me what key is that in, what scale are you using to play that melody/lick, and what's the chord you're playing, i'd have no idea. i'm sure if i took the time i could possibly figure things out, but i feel as if it's easier to just go with what sounds right to my ears. still, i'm curious to know what others think about barney's method of learning to improvise and when to begin using theory to back up what you're already playing.
Thank you for this series. I've watched the whole series but am focusing here on the 1st one and the 2nd videos. I think I can hear and internalize the chord I'm playing, trying not to name that chord. I can can create a melody in my head (usually a familiar melody I know, rather than an original idea). And, I can play it. Then I play the chord again to see if it matches. But, is there another way to test what I think fits the chord, actually does, other than by ear?
@@jafafari thanks. I'm trying to use my ears to see if any lines I make up still fit the underlying chord or chord progression. I wish there was program or course where I could test myself to see if I am really in the ballpark.
by the way, I am obsessed with the intro theme of this vodeo, playing all the time with thumb in C (6th string) and being able to move rest of fingers so loose to play different chords and arrangements while thumb is fixed on C. Anyone can do that? I can barely do some chords like that and the first strings is so hard to make it sound. Maybe my hands are too small or he has realy big hands. Any of you can play that way?
It's classic Barney and it's great! Ernesto, if you want to practice this technique break it down into smaller more manageable ideas. Perhaps it's easier to move down to A on the 5th Fret. Start with just getting the bass rhythm going. Then use an A major chord (just bar the first two strings and then 2nd finger on the 3rd string and 3rd finger on the 4th string). Then play that chord and the A in the bass on the 5th fret with your thumb. Once you have the chord and bass sounding the way you like, add a simple D chord using the 3rd finger to bar on the 7th fret, Play around with the ideas and see if you can get it sounding the way you like.
@@rumarkvideo Thanks you very much! Very useful information. I felt it was easy on that zone of the neck, yes, but I see he plays that kind of 9th chord often and others with harder fingering. I will try to feel better into this easier exercises you say. Thanks a lot, you are so kind!
"If you can't play what you think, you are reduced to playing licks and patterns on the fingerboard... that is not creative" -- thats the most beautiful thing I have heard about playing music.
Praneeth Gadam that works in improv but the great masters create music beyond what they hear in their head.
facts.
@@vanguard4065 that doesn't really make sense lol
thanks Barney Kessel for exposing my mediocrity 😥😢
@@vanguard4065 Great Masters? Who is greatest than Barney Kessel in his era and style?
Not even 5 mins in this video and he offers more than almost any guitar video i have watched. Great teacher
Many years ago my guitar teacher gave me a couple of cassettes he had taped at a Barney Kessel guitar clinic. This was in the 70's. The content of those cassettes is essentially the same as in this video.
What this tells me is that this is a time honoured method for learning to improvise and that Mr. Kessel has been teaching this for a long time.
He really does know what he is talking about.
A variation of this is to lay down a chord track and scat sing a solo over it whilst recording. Then learn your solo.
45 years of learning the guitar has taught me that singing is the quickest way to the music that is inside you. After all, when you think of a melody what better way to express it; we know our voices far better than we know the guitar.
I have also found that this is a good way to ensure you don't get lost on the chord progression. Scat several solos, play them on the guitar, then improvise directly on the instrument. You will find your sense of the chord progression is really quite well internalized.
Man... Anyone who is wanting to undertake any musical studies and improvisation
should listen very closely to what Barney is trying to teach here. It's the heart and soul
of any music style. Save this to come back to... Thanks very much!
I couldn’t agree more with this.
wish i'd heard it 40 years ago
Not only a brilliant guitar lesson, also a lesson about music in general
Barney Kessel is the best jazz teacher I have ever seen. Thanks!
The modesty and the sheer joy of this jazz giant while disseminating his wisdom that runs so deep gained after decades of playing with the best without a trace of ego brings tears of joy to one's eyes. They don't make them like this anymore. Thank you so much Rumark for sharing these treasures on your channel.
Our pleasure!
Amazing comments and exactly why we started with this lesson when we created this video series. Glad you are all enjoying the lessons. Please help spread the word that they are available for free!
" just because you can play what you hear (in your head), doesn't mean it has any musical value" That's real talk right there!
ngl I screen recorded that quote to play for some of my students I can't match that delivery 😏
really though if it means something to the person who created it THAT is musical value
Mozart got told he didn't have musicality.. and John Coltrane too.. by various critics who did not feel what they were doing had legitimate musical value
I can only play what I hear in my head, regardless of whether it has musical value or not!
😥👎🏾
Hands down, the most helpful improvisation advice I heard in years.
I've always dreamed of playing what I think.
Don't wake up!
I’ve always thought about playing what I dream
Pick up the guitar, first step.
I've always played what I dreamed I thought.
Learning to do it on a pretty simple percussion instrument was one of the best feelings, like there was no filter between my imagination and my hands. The feeling of free expression felt so euphoric. It's my dream to learn to do so on guitar or melodic instruments in general. Adding melody and harmony on top of rhythm is like going from the second dimension to the fourth.
Thank You. This 1st lesson is the foundation for all musicians to build off of. In the back of my head I knew playing what you hear is the first step, but you have teachers, and other musicians telling you to learn scales, licks, site reading, songs, now we have online teachers and apps to teach us music visually and through patterns. Every interview I’ve ever heard with a legendary musician or anyone I’ve met who was very proficient had one thing in common. They learned by ear. Whether it was playing old records over and over to learn songs or just playing notes until they figured out how to play, they all developed their ear and the ability to transpose.
Glad you're enjoying it, Rob. There's lots more. Have fun!
THATS THE TRUE JAZZ ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Rob I When you learn to play by ear none of those other people you mentioned get paid.
Rob I that’s not what bach and chopin did. i want to be them not kessel.
I'll say they are not mutually exclusive. Learning the patterns and fundamentals of music support the ability to play what one hears. And for most people, it's necessary.
The most generous teacher ever. Telling his secrets. And he can whistle!
My goodness, so many ‘how to’ jazz videos today have titles like “5 must-know jazz licks for guitar”. This man really talks music. That’s the difference between creativity and formula. You’ve got to do the work, demand something special from yourself, not spit out memorized passages.
My feed gets flooded with "THIS one lick will REVOLUTIONIZE your drumming!!"-videos, and it's always some dude going "here's a cool sticking pattern that you can repeat around the kit and it'll really unlock your ability to flow on the kit" and it's all BULLSHIT.
You need to put in work into understanding what you play, TO what you play, to listen and think about what you play, and then do all of those things with what THEY (the rest of the band/group) play and your relation to it.
Click-bait garbage
Maestro Kessel has summarized the teaching of his fellow guitarist: Joe Pass. Humming is the key. What legends!
Thank you for bringing these videos back!
You're most welcome!
I was lucky enough to see him perform in the 1980s. What a fantastic guitarist.
In life after this, I wanna be a jazzlegend...😃😅💫❤️🎶🎸
BK RIP❤️🙏🏼
Man... years ago I got laughed off a forum thread for seeking the answers herein. Esp. at 7:39. So good.
What a blessed guitar lesson from a master player. Cool!
I´m short of words to describe how happy I feel with thiese lessons
We're happy you're enjoying them!
This is a true gem of gold!! nobody ever talks about this kind of concept but its so simple that most people disregard it!
These videos are precious stones
Glad you are enjoying them! Spread the word!
wow ! Barney Kessel.. what a resume !...from Charlie Parker to T Bone Walker, Lester Young , Billie Holiday to The Beach Boys and Sonny and Cher..and a member of the Wrecking Crew ,,when you look at who he played and recorded with its staggering. A
I've seen a lot of these, but this is definitely the very best video teaching improvisation, even for non-guitarists. Finally, the real thing! No need to ever look elsewhere...
Every time I think I have heard it all, I learn something new.
This so simple lesson is really precious.
Many thanks for sharing it.
Barney was a force of nature.
Led to here by a Jimmy Bruno viewer comment. What a teacher Barney was. Thanks Jimmy!
Same...
Jimmy Bruno is the best!
One of the few guitarists along side Joe Pass, Wes and Ed Bickert with a true gift for melody rather than simply playing stale arpeggios, scale fragments and enclosures.
best lesson I have ever seen.
Barney was the Yoda of guitar instruction as back as I can remember. he taught thousands including Larry Carlton.
A real dream listening to his advices
I'm soo happy about this video! it is what I try to do and teach about music. If you don't have music inside you it will be very difficult to play anything interesting.
This wasn’t what I was expecting but such a great video. I’m going to practice this asap.
Wow. Never heard the man’s voice before. Thanks for this. Practice what he says.
Wow... what an essential and great lesson 😮 that's the thing!
Maestro!! Rest in Peace
I'm glad that this is a RU Mark channel. There are so many people uploading pirate videos. You did the work. And this is a fantastic lesson by Kessel. My guitar instructor was wistfully talking about this like it was lost to the ages. I searched today and found you. Thrilled.
Glad you are enjoying the lessons. Please help spread the word that they are available for free!
@@rumarkvideo I will. Thank You
I bought the three-tape (VHS) series in the 90s, and I got quite a bit out of it. I'd had lessons with great players and studied composition with a Pulitzer prize finalist, but Barney did as much as anyone to help me learn to create on the instrument.
thanks for uploading these videos really appreciate it
The
Legends did not "analize " like the guys today . Barney said to me = create your own sound and work on it . Great Guy .
Wow . He is such an insightful
natural player and teacher .
Barney has been meditative in his teaching
Thank you for posting this
Enjoy the entire series!
Someone made a lofi song out of the monologue about not relying on the patterns etc. and now I can't find it anymore. Really someone ought to make a new version of it.
Ha! I was just thinking this is sample heaven!
una de las mejores master class, de las que se aprende muchísimo
This is a very enjoyable excercise :)
Good lesson in developing creativity ! This is what jazz is all about,free creative leaks and imaginary walks without referring to keys and modes too much
Amazing " awareness ", 😊
Thank you
Breaking that dependence on fingering charts and patterns can take awhile, especially if your vocabulary IS the collection of licks over patterns, as mine was.
I was forced to take a lot of time off the guitar, and I noticed that my creativity has been increasing as I scat or create harmonies vocally. I can’t wait to bring that new way of thinking back to my instrument.
Thank you so much for all those videos ! You're awesome !
You're most welcome. Enjoy!
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@@rumarkvideo
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All the wonderful
teaching aside , WOW , that guitar had a glorious. tone .
A true artist.
This has been my intuitive approach for many years. Of course he is leaving out some essential pieces, like you get better at hearing how melodic ideas map into the chord or key center, which gives you a shortcut for know how to play what you hear. The other important piece is listening to lots of jazz improvisers and picking out some of their ideas on the guitar.
This is a Gold lesson, thank you for uploading !
This is fantastic
This man is incredible
Barney is sooo cool!Thank you!
Great concept
This is REALLY great advice. Thank you.
tells people to play what they hear... proceeds to decide that what comes from the heart needs to be "more challenging" to play and comes up with a CONTRIVED melody that is just created TO be "more challenging"
just play what comes from your heart folks.. you can do technical stuff to build ability but i learned the hard way it's best to not get lost in technique etc.. just play from your heart.. that's what all the greats do (yes they build technical ability too, but the GREAT pieces come from our heart
So, basically, to be a beginner jazz guitarist, you have to be at least an intermediate guitar player.
These individuals that could on the fly play a piece of music that hadn't existed before they sat down and brought it into existence.
Thank you Rumark!
You're most welcome, enjoy!
Brilliant
Glad you are enjoying the lessons. Please help spread the word that they are available for free!
Thank you fine sir for sharing this 🙏
Good advice !
This cat is great 👍
Thanks, Rumark, for sharing this video series. It is amazing to have him playing and exolaining all the time, very useful.
God bless Barney Kessel
This is so interesting!
Awesome way of explaining improvisation,makes total sense.
This is really good advice.
Lovely advice. I keep practicing the formulas as well though :)
Thank you thank you thank you.
I think I have found the Bob Ross of music.
Awesome! Thanks.
I saw Barney with Herb Ellis and another great, i forgot who, back in the early 80s with my dad. I was more into Jimi and Eddie at the time so didn't appreciate it as much as I would now.
Hypnotic stuff
Barney Kessel FTW
A drummer once told me "if you can say it, you can play it!". The rest of his advice was questionable, but that definitely stuck!
This is a godly advice
thanks a lot for uploading these lessons
Just incredible,,ty LL
Thank you so much
Barney Kessel & Julie London team up and turn "Cry Me a River" into a timeless classic.
ua-cam.com/video/vTDVXgJayRc/v-deo.html
Thank you for your video
Wonderful lesson! Thank you
This is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G
Guillermo Etc how so? this is music 101. you dont need to spend a lifetime thinking about this.
Well I think this guy tells what no harmony lesson told me before, and I enjoyed this knowledge a lot, it's been important to me at least
Saw Mr kessel in a small club mid 80s he could play chord runs as fluent as single runs
2:21 “…be sure that what you hear is WORTH PLAYING….” Words of wisdom. I’ve spent hours playing things that have no “musical value”.
Complex riffs and exercises that are fun for me to play but otherwise useless for anybody else to hear. Barney nailed my #1 weak point as a guitarist.
Always wanted to see these - will you re-release them on DVD?
All 3 will be free here, so view them as often as you like!
That's awesome!!!
If one is not a Jazz musician, are these advic.. advis... are these lessons valid for other music styles?
Just found Gold!
i already do this, but the problem is that i'll sing/improvise over backing tracks and i leave the guitar out of the equation. i kind of feel as if i'll eventually learn to improvise practicing this way, but at what point do you start to learn about the theory that's behind what you're playing? i regularly come up with all sorts of licks all over the guitar and i'll even throw in a chord or two, but if you were to ask me what key is that in, what scale are you using to play that melody/lick, and what's the chord you're playing, i'd have no idea. i'm sure if i took the time i could possibly figure things out, but i feel as if it's easier to just go with what sounds right to my ears. still, i'm curious to know what others think about barney's method of learning to improvise and when to begin using theory to back up what you're already playing.
Learn the theory as progress but you don’t need to be thinking in terms of theory while you improvise.
Thank you for this series. I've watched the whole series but am focusing here on the 1st one and the 2nd videos. I think I can hear and internalize the chord I'm playing, trying not to name that chord. I can can create a melody in my head (usually a familiar melody I know, rather than an original idea). And, I can play it. Then I play the chord again to see if it matches. But, is there another way to test what I think fits the chord, actually does, other than by ear?
Jerry Feldman Not really. If you like what you play, it probably fits ;) I guess you’d hear it if it didn’t fit at all.
@@jafafari thanks. I'm trying to use my ears to see if any lines I make up still fit the underlying chord or chord progression. I wish there was program or course where I could test myself to see if I am really in the ballpark.
by the way, I am obsessed with the intro theme of this vodeo, playing all the time with thumb in C (6th string) and being able to move rest of fingers so loose to play different chords and arrangements while thumb is fixed on C. Anyone can do that? I can barely do some chords like that and the first strings is so hard to make it sound. Maybe my hands are too small or he has realy big hands. Any of you can play that way?
It's classic Barney and it's great! Ernesto, if you want to practice this technique break it down into smaller more manageable ideas. Perhaps it's easier to move down to A on the 5th Fret. Start with just getting the bass rhythm going. Then use an A major chord (just bar the first two strings and then 2nd finger on the 3rd string and 3rd finger on the 4th string). Then play that chord and the A in the bass on the 5th fret with your thumb. Once you have the chord and bass sounding the way you like, add a simple D chord using the 3rd finger to bar on the 7th fret, Play around with the ideas and see if you can get it sounding the way you like.
@@rumarkvideo Thanks you very much! Very useful information. I felt it was easy on that zone of the neck, yes, but I see he plays that kind of 9th chord often and others with harder fingering. I will try to feel better into this easier exercises you say. Thanks a lot, you are so kind!
Would this be the guitar Bruce Forman now has?