Oh, God, help me, it’s yet another guy with a Substack, talking about something old people with Substacks talk about. What is it we’re going to get out of this one? Jazz. That’s what you’re going to get, and with good teachers.
I’ve been playing music for my entire life, and here’s what I’ve noticed about music resources on the internet:
They tend to be written by people who are very knowledgeable and showing off their knowledge,
They tend to be about performing musicians, rather than great teachers.
(1) can make you feel like a complete moron for not understanding something or not having what someone else has, whether it’s speed or equipment.
(2) is really important. Very few of us are completely self-taught or figured things out by listening to albums, only. We had teachers along the way, whether it was a chance encounter at music store who showed us something like a mode or a fingering that opened up new vistas, a dedicated teacher with whom we took lessons or published resources, books!
For many of us interested in jazz, the first book that taught us how to play was Jody Fisher’s Jazz Guitar. Tens, if not hundreds, of people I have played with learned by working through his book. But when you talk to players, they’ll forget to name him as an influence.
And this is important, because when we talk about who and what influenced our musicianship, very few things are more important than teachers. Jody has taught a whole lot of the world a whole lot of jazz, at least as much as Ted Greene did.
What you will see in this Substack is a group of musicians of all different backgrounds and skill levels working through Jody’s method and writing out what we’re doing and finding, often, acknowledging the confusion and aporias. Maybe you’ll find resources on things to practice or how to think about things. Conversations with people who care about things are the best way to learn.
This is mostly meant as an experiment and a tribute to Jody. If it works out, we can expand to working through Ted’s book, Mickey Baker’s books, etc. Let’s see!