I have a recording session scheduled in with Jovino on the 12th Novemeber.
He wants me to send him course ideas, subject focus, specific songs.
Does anyone have any ideas/requests/feedback on the last course?
Iāve just collated some requests from my inbox and other forum threads:
āMas Que Nadaā in a very rhythmic way.
āAgua De Bebeā
āSong For My Fatherā
āDesafinadoā
My personal view is that Jovinoās first course has perfectly demonstrated the basics of Brazilian grooves - bossa nova, samba etcā¦ lotās for us all to practice there!
This is how I think we should use the studio time available with him:
3 or 4 x arrangements of Brazilian/Latin tunes.
7 or 8 x ā5 Minute Masterclassā lessons covering lots of different theory areas.
Of course, we should all have a say in the lesson topics and directionā¦ not just me!
more application to jazz theory, chords, voicings, scales (jovino has a great knowledge of this and thatās why I think it will be nice for him to make us more ā5-minute masterclassesā)
make it more accessible to beginners
make more challenging arrangements.
You guys just let me know and I will ensure it is delivered.
Apart from the latin/Brazilian standards I love the work of Marcos Valle - but also Airto Moreira is one of my favourites (and his wife, singer Flora Purim) but no standards from him - so many great songs otherwise, but this is just sublime. Not sure what style youād call it, though:
Not sure if either is approaching standard-dom (probably nearer than the Airto track, I just love sharing that because it is so awesome), but these two by Milton Nascimento are I think considered pretty classic, and both been covered several times (and both are in the iReal Pro Brazilian playlist):
First, Cravo e Canela:
And Vera Cruz:
The one thing I would have found really useful is some practice exercises on rhythmic practice in 2/4. I overthought that one ad infinitum, and not sure if I got much further forward - whereas I picked up the comping rhythms in the other bossa lessons easily in comparison - so some tips for practice in the samba 2/4 would have been great.
Thanks!
Great!
How about Brasil (aka Aquarela de Brazil) by Jobim:
Wowā¦ seems to merge so many genres! I have no idea how to classify that either
A Latin/Brazilian undertone but also clear funky vibes and really interesting voicings.
Love the comping at 3:10.
Iāll run this past Jovino.
Iād love to explore more modern stuff like this myself but Iām currently hooked on Wynton Kelly & Red Garland. I also think Iāll work back to Bill Evans once my ears improve more and I can actually understand what he is playing!
The diversity of your musical tastes inspire me James!
Yes! This is exactly the kind of thing Iām looking for.
What I loved about listening to Jovino whilst he was recording the course, is his connection to the rhythm.
I will pass this message on. Perhaps he can do an explanation on time signatures, and how to practice them and feel the grooves.
Yes brilliant, i will suggest this.
I know Jovino loves all of Jobimās work, and so that would be a good choice for him.
Thanks again for this brilliant feedback James, Iāll send this thread to all students to get more insights too, and then collate everything and send it to Jovino.
Iām working on a new idea similar to this, where we break down the styles, nuances, and āmusical personalitiesā of key musicians. Leave this with me.
Thanks for including us in the process. This is amazing. I would like to emphasize the wish for āBrazilā, āMas que nadaā and āAqua de beberā.
Speaking of Black Orpheus - what about this? Funny, I was thinking about Bola Sete earlier today and thought I would go see what was on youtube - look and golly shucks oh gosh: This is utterly lovely.
I want to let Jovino pick the tunes that he thinks are best, and that will allow him to share the most of his insights and expertise.
Again, thank you all feedback and suggestions, Iām excited to get our latest Brazilian course moving and we now have lots of our suggestions, we have all played a role in shaping the courses content, theme, and direction.
Well, this is not nearly as complex as previous suggestions, and it may not be appropriate for Jovino.
However, It might be nice to get some simple suggestions / examples of adding an improv to a jazz standard without becoming an expert on improv first. Maybe some examples (I emphasize EXAMPLES) of using just chord tones in a manner that has a jazz sound to it without being āvery difficultā. This would give the early intermediate players a chance to incorporate improv into jazz standards sooner. Thanks.
I will pass this onto Jovino. I think he will have some fantastic insights to share on developing improvisation skills.
In the meantimeā¦
Check out this chapter he demonstrates in the Improv lesson - chapter 4 āPlay Less Notesā the key message is that improvisation does not have to involve lots of notes :
The key is that your ideas are logical, in-time, and repetitive. Repetition develops motifs. A motif is something that gives your improvisation structure, cohesion, and ultimately, sounds like a melody.
Here again, he is demonstrating that improvisation does not need to be complex. The key is repetition and motif development.
Let me know what you think of those chapters above ā¦ anything that you think could be improved, anything that is missing, or anything that could be explained/demonstrated in more detail.
Just let me know and I will ensure it is delivered.
Yes, if you read above you will see that I have a recording session scheduled with Jovino on the 12th November - that will be the 3rd Bossa course on the website.
Jazz Piano has always been the main focus of PianoGroove, but we will soon be expanding the Blues and Bossa sections in the same way.
If you have any ideas for Bossa lessons, just let us know and we will create them.
Also some of the lessons in Jovinoās course are Intermediate/Advanced:
For example, these lessons cover some advanced concepts and applications
I feel that this will be a nice combination of jazz standard studies, and also incorporate a good selection of short, concise, and actionable theoretical studies with a Brazilian flavour.
The 3 Jazz Standards - Thanks For Your Suggestionsā¦
I provided Jovino with the list of jazz standards that we have all requested and asked him to choose 3 of them.
Jovino chose the following 3 tunes:
Ćgua de Beber
Desafinado
Sambolero
Jovino chose these tunes because they are all very different from each other. Jovino feels that this will provide our students with 3 unique arrangements and insights into Brazilian Music.
