Progress, My Practice, Your Comments Please

[etalent]

:)Here's what I started doing in my (3 1/2 hour) practice yesterday (Sun, 12/14/03). The simple progressions that are my immediate goal to play include purely Maj and min chords. One chord is played typically for 1 measure before a chord change.

My "some-teacher-should-have-shown-me-this-trick" trick I figured out is what I consider to be a song learning method, which starts out simply yet quickly progresses in difficulty through 6 "levels." By level 6, I've basically got the capability of playing the progression in the most difficult to play montuno style for me, namely Merengue.

Through each of the first 4 levels, the right hand plays the same thing. The real trick is in what the left hand does. Basically, the left hand starts out with a 2 note tumbao but ultimately progresses to playing a broken arpeggiated triad in rhythm with the right hand.

For level 1 the left hand starts in root position, playing a root to 5th tumbao like what the bass guitar plays. The right hand usually starts in 2nd inversion, with the pinky and thumb on the same tone an octave apart. That's level 1. Of course, everything is contingent upon inversions. For example, if the progression starts with "C Maj" and goes to "G Maj," the left hand plays the notes "C" to "G" and then "D" to "G." The point is that I'm more often than not playing the 1st and 5th in some inversion, and for the sake of enriching the harmony I try to minimize playing the same tones at the same time in both hands. Limiting the notes I'm playing in the left hand to only 2 while playing a full triad (with doubled octave) in the right hand is readily within reach of my brain baby step-wise. Furthermore, playing the tumbao in the left hand places my left hand in proper position for playing a full broken triad ultimately.

Level 2 has the left hand still playing the two notes of the tumbao but in montuno rhythm.

Level 3 has the left hand playing the notes of the triad in the tumbao rhythm.

Level 4 has the left hand playing the notes of the triad in the montuno rhythm (we have arrived).

Level 5 has the left hand playing the notes of the triad in montuno rhythm, with an arpeggio on the first part of the bar.

Level 6 has the left hand playing the notes of the triad in montuno rhythm, with an arpeggio across the whole bar (as in Merengue).

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Here's what I'm beginning to find the guts to work up to as scales go. I'm trying to approach it light-heartedly, and forgiving of myself, like a warmup, so I don't get discouraged.

The right hand plays a two octave scale up and back down, with the first note a quarter and the rest eights (1  2 + 3 + 4 +). That way everything works out handily to a full two measures up and a full two measures back down.

The left hand plays a broken triad son montuno, starting in root position, then 1st inversion, then 2nd inversion, and back.

So far I can't get my left hand out of root position, and my right hand fingering is still really clunky, especially with keys like Ab.

Ultimately I want to use all possible variants: (1) both left and right hands up-down; (2) left hand up-down, right hand down-up; (3) left hand down-up, right hand up-down; (4) both left and right hands down-up.

I'm not even thinking about playing scales with the left hand yet or playing chords with more than 3 notes in the left hand yet. For that matter, I've thought very little of playing right hand chords beyond Maj and min, with the thumb and pinky an octave apart. 7ths don't scare me much, and I have understood before how to form augmented, diminished, sus, 6th, 9th, 11th, and 13th chords. I just don’t want to set my sights so high that I miss my target. Really, though, once I'm comfortable playing Son and Merengue montunos and scales with Maj and min chords, I really want to get into jazz chords and all their unconventional voicings. Nonetheless, everything else is based upon Maj and min chords and scales, right? So I'm on track, right?

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I've not even begun thinking of 3-2 clave direction, 6/8, or odd time signatures. Sometimes it just seems best if I don't let myself think about all I've got to learn. It seems that the more I learn, the more I discover that I have yet to learn. I do make breakthroughs, though, and that's very encouraging because what works in one key is basically true for all the rest. Then it's just a matter of woodshedding. For me the hard part is the understanding. The fun comes in applying that understanding sufficiently until it becomes skill, and that comes only through practice, I've found.

The real fun will be when everything comes together enough that I can lead! Oh what a day that will be! I want it worse than anything!

[lagin]

Wow!