Playing too many notes and rushing. Those have always been my biggest flaws. Working on it all the time! What are your biggest struggles that you find yourself constantly working on?
Yeah as a flute improviser it’s really hard to just not do glissandos all the time. Actually, I’ve gotten a lot more compliments when I did long notes with vibrato than when I did a lot of glissandos. So...I seek validation, therefore I do vibrato long notes
*Drum lessons should be as popular as piano lessons* because a sense of time and rhythm is extremely underrated. There was a quote from Thelonious Monk that said *“Just because you’re not a drummer doesn’t mean you don’t need a good sense of time”* or something along those lines. So I think that we should keep that in mind when we improvise and create phrases. Singing is also obviously underrated, and we should play the exact notes we hear in our head, usually with the professional’s thousands of hours of fundamentals to back it up, all for the audience. *TLDR: Time feel is also important. Informative and interesting video Charles!*
Funny as a string player I’ve played with percussionists in orchestras with worse tempo keeping than most of the rest of the orchestra. Playing instruments also teaches you rhythm
You mean drum lessons should be a part of every pianist's training (and not just because the piano is a percussive instrument!) (which is a part of what it can do)...
Heck it's even true in dance.. sometimes a veeery slow movement needs much more (or different) muscles to be involved to make it look flowless and stable and easy than quick little moves where little imperfections can be hid from unprofessional eyes
I am by no means a professional, but I’ve been a jazz musician for almost 10 years now, and this is by far one of, if not the most informative and insightful videos I have ever seen in improvisation and style. Thank you so much!
In auditions, how do you balance between playing “more notes” to show your technical ability and not playing too many notes without melody or rambling? (Speaking specifically about jazz soloing)
Not a pianist here (vocalist). You need to show your musical depth and mix it in with flexing skills. Yeah, I could sing really high and loud and powerful the whole time, but it wouldn't mean anything. Think of the identity of the piece and use your instrument to lock into that feeling. Once you're locked in you can use your technical ability selectively to accentuate what you're playing.
Ethan Locke well, in my opinion, that's where it comes down to feel. Your feel for the song might be different to mine...we would probably play the same song differently, that's what sets players apart. Listen to the other musicians. Don't stomp all over the other players. Choose the gaps where flashy playing will work and remember, less is more :)
I'm not good, so take this with a big grain of salt. I play what I'm feeling at the time. It feels more authentic to me that way. So depending on my mood I'll focus more on different skills. Edit: I've heard guitarists play crazy stuff but it sounds dead, but others it's full of life. I think music is more about the feel than the ability to cram stuff in.
This whole topic reminds me a lot of the "unitar" (Adam Neely talks about this concept every so often). For guitarists, a great tool for breaking out of muscle-memory and patterns is by practicing soloing on only one string. Limitations generally breed creativity, so without any memorized licks/etc. each note is more conscientious. I was thinking it'd probably be useful to translate this concept over to keyboardists/pianists by limiting yourself to only one finger when soloing. That way you can't rely on the common shapes you've memorized and are forced to play more lyrically and thoughtfully.
I think a great exemplar of “playing more with less” is the pianist Bill Evans. Anytime I listen to Bill I feel like his music breathes. If you listen to “You Must Believe in Spring” you feel like the music is just breathing. I dunno, it’s hard to put that into words.
Yeah I was going to say Bill Evans. I think too many notes can be overwhelming and unnecessary, and tbh it just gets a bit boring if all someone does is do a wanky solo everytime. If you find a sweet spot at playing "too many notes" and no notes then in my opinion that's when the music sounds better. I usually equate playing too many notes with people who just want to show off what they can do, I think its definitely necessary and important *to* learn technical ability, just to shut up all the people who say "u HaVe To PrOvE yOuRsElF tO mE", but to continually put on and flex your technical ability gets tiresome in my opinion. I tend to go towards people like Bill Evans and abstain from people like Oscar Peterson for that reason, because once you get over the *wow* factor, for me it kind of turns into a *meh* factor. Also the reason I could never get into guitarists like Eddie Van Halen or people like him because I knew it was just boys showing off, so I was like "meh", but I don't doubt his greater influence.
Could be that in those 8 years, you rarely try to learn in different ways. Some people have 8 years of experience, whilst other people have 1 years of experience 8 times.
@@jasknid9131 Same dude, you missed my point though 😂 Look at it this way, have you studied improvisation for all those 8 years? That's unlikely. He's had many years to practice and study improvising, so with time you'll be able to do the same 👍
I'm working on this very thing right now! I just recorded and transcribed a vocal Chet Baker solo and man it's beautiful how melodic and spacious his music is! It's helping me with being more reserved and patient with my playing! Thanks for the video Charles, couldn't have posted this at a better time! Cheers :)
Lee Konitz is a great example of what youre describing. Starting in the 1960s-70s, he'd often take the sax out of his mouth, sing some, and then play a continuation of the vocal line on his alto! really impressive stuff
With my writing style, I bond what I hear in my head with a simple question of "would someone be able to sing this?" and that usually works. I take what I want to do, do it for a singing voice and then add complexity from the voice version and that gives me a happy medium. This video confirmed to me that this is a more balanced thing to do but made me realise how stuck in my ways I am with music, hence, why all I write sounds similar. Thank you for the information 😊
I love these videos that give you an excuse to noodle around on the keys. I could sit here and listen to you play for hours like we're hanging out in your living room and you felt a song coming on.
It may sound like I want your attention (yes, but no), but I really missed your videos lol I know u uploaded a q&a not so long ago, but idk ur videos are really amazing! Greetings from chile. You're a huge inspiration bro
As a pianist who has spent a majority of my life playing by ear (even after being classically trained for a decade), there are very real topics and areas that I've attempted to address on my own but haven't been able to fully understand or articulate for lack of even understanding if I could feel it. The difference between what we hear and our playing styles, bringing out the autopilot of a vocabulary built up over years is such a fascinating insight that once you keep that in mind while playing, really changes to way you approach improv and playing in general. Thank you for such an interesting and helpful video, Charles!
I think this is one of the issues with some more modern composers/performers even in the classical world (myself included) - they equate more notes and faster pieces with better skill. It's technically true, in that you're more technically proficient with your fingers, but it often comes at the expense of musicality and nuance. Arguably, some of the most memorable works are those with singable melodies, like in Scheherazade or Beethoven 6, but they're written off as being "simple". The really technical works with lots of notes are fun to watch, listen to and play, but they tend to be ultimately forgettable. As you said, the best music is a combination of both, because you want music that makes an impact, but is also memorable. And as an artist, your goal is to resonate with as many people as possible.
Honestly, I've never been a fan of playing so many notes. It's always been disheartening as a trumpet player that so many solos that are called out are a slew of notes. Never liked the way those solos sounded. Hit me with that slow shit, please.
A perfect sonic signature palette of sound from 7 .50 onwards.....to my ears . Ideal chords and lovely diminished scales..... splendid dinner jazz piano !
My choir teacher always told our class "never sing past pretty" and I think that advice also works for this too. We all know someone who tries to play or sing "really good" or we are that person (kinda guilty of that). I play both harp and piano and your advice and that advice my choir teacher gave has really changed the way I see music and definitely impacted the way I play now.
Someone should have told Ozzy Osbourne... as for change, if you're young, you should be wildly progressing from day to day (as in, "Wow, I'm way better today than I was yesterday). What happens when you finally reach your ultimate potential (or an adequate level that you like)? You ask yourself why you did it in the first place.
I just get this feeling that brass and wind players who are a bit past the “operator drone” phase all pick up a bit of this vocal instinct connecting with the breath more. It’s like a whole chromatic continuum and we’re all somewhere in between the two extremes
Dear Charles, I was wondering if you could give some tips on how to become more naturally, and overall better at piano. I’ve been playing for about 5 years and I’ve learned all of my keys, scales, and chords. I also know a fair bit a music theory, but my playing isn’t where I want it to be. What are some of the things you did that as a kid that helped you become more precise and soulful with your playing :)
practice and passion! putting in the work to just keep playing even when you dont have something in particular to work on as well as continuing to love the music and the instrument is the key to any musicians success. of course a video on this would probably be more helpful, I hope this helps and you keep this in mind next time you sit down to play.
I literally love all the videos you post!! For me it's a lot easier on the ears to hear LESS notes. And way more impressive to hear what he's actually 'singing' on the spot rather than a diarrhoea of notes
It's the exact same with sweep picking or just fast shredding on guitar. When someone finally learns it (good on them) they put it in everything, from every solo to every normal song. It almost ruins the technique and makes it bad to listen to. But using it tastefully is always nice to listen to.
Dude you are literally 100% my most favorite content creator!! As a classical pianist myself (and my sis is a multi-genre career violinist with a jazz guitarist husband)... I nerd out to your vids daily (and everyone else is also forced to cause I constantly share them lol). 😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄
I guess that’s the good thing about playing French horn and singing. I don’t have a lot of technically difficult music so I never fell into the need of notes trap
You speak poetry man. I can listen to you all day, not only playing the piano amazingly. But you have a lot of deep and things to say and in a warm and refreshing way, and I'm listening. Keep doing what you're doing, stay safe, and blessings!
Learning to sing along to your improvisations is a really good way to fix this problem. It teaches you to be really intentional about every note you play, and as you get better and better you often start playing faster and faster all over again... but this time it actually sounds way more musical even if you *are* playing a similar "amount" of notes to what you were beforehand.
A few of my favorite stock phrases: "Aw beans", when empathically acknowledging someone who is sharing their plight Jean Pierre: I tried to make a case for Purple because I seen them vent but somehow everyone voted me out instead Me: Aw beans "Tremendous.", to signify or agree the magnitude or quality of something, or to show amazement or disbelief; usually said with a mundane tone, the period is essential for correct inflection. Jean Pierre: Alright, I found a enough people to fill the entire lobby. Me: Tremendous. "Oh I don't like that", has a particular cadence, used when encountering, or hearing about, something undesirable or disagreeable Jean Pierre: I finally managed to talk to my crush today. But it turns out they are a flat-Earther Me: Oh I don't like that
You should pleaseeeee do a video on writing piano music and some tips you have! I'm a drummer, guitarist, bassist, and have a little piano experience but piano is the one I struggle with the most.
As a jazz singer and vocalist, I truly enjoyed watching this analysis, Charles. Improvisation to me, is always about what you feel in the moment and singing it-scatting. Additionally, learning different cliché jazz licks and having them in my arsenal also helps to create that journey from the beginning to the end of scatting or the jazz tune. I love Ella Fitzgerald as she to me is a scatting goddess but I admire Chet Baker as a brilliant trumpeter and vocalist. His finesse is very captivating, vocally especially. Charles this is a great video and you explained yourself well. Hope to see more like it.
Man there’s a lot of music theory channels out there, but you do a really great job of making it more approachable and explaining in a successfully pedagogic way. Loved the video and subscribed!
Great leader, I’m terrified of how similar our taste is. I’m subbed to you and have seen you on poofesure, Drew Binsky, AND this channel. Maybe we are destined to be homies...
I must not have watched enough of your vids, cuz dang was I caught off-guard by how good your vocal improv was I find myself stumbling into the trap of "I want my solos to sound like cultured, fast be-bop all the time" and never really succeeding with it, so this vid definitely helped me gain some valuable insights on the balance between improving off of bits of things you do know (the musical vocabulary/stock phrases) and improving completely from scratch!
I used the photo on his desktop at 5:20 for a photoshop examination just 2 weeks ago. That’s pretty cool to see how a photo like that can spread all around the world.
Man I LOVE this Charles! That piano/vocal improv session was awesome to listen to. Also shows a lot how tightly tied your vocal improv is to what you play on the keys. I struggle with that on brass, really being able to *hear* the things and execute them exactly as I hear em ON the instrument as I'd sing em.
Step one: acquire a piano Step two: lift finger Step three: no no not that finger, the other finger Step four: what no not your feet Step five: kicked out of piano lessons
Beginner pianist, started self-teaching a month ago. I started with pieces that looked complex, but in reality are not that overly difficult. I still never try to play anything that looks way above my experience level (I haven't even touched classical or romantic music yet). And I also started slow. Not extremely slow, but just enough that it would still sound right and could be easily followed. I feel like the most important thing is expression and how you utilize the dynamics of the instrument. There's no sense in playing a cascade of notes if there is no expression to how you are playing them. If you play slow, every single note can be expressed the way you want it to be expressed. Every pedal press a precise decision, every push and pull of time and rhythm a choice for how you genuinely feel like playing. Every single pulse and articulation on chords, a deliberate expression of how you want the piece to sound. THAT is way more important than just being able to play fast or play flashy. The really good pianists out there (and I suppose any musician, really) are the ones who can take a simple thing like Chopsticks and turn it into a beautiful piece of music loaded with tons of dynamics, articulation, and expression. And the only way you can really achieve that kind of articulation is to be slow, be deliberate, and be precise. And if you can do that even faster, with even more notes, more power to you. But you can't get there by just jumping in and playing as many notes as possible, as quickly as possible. You need to feel the rhythm, you need to feel the sense of power you are putting into each and every note, you need to feel how long you're holding a chord and when you want to let go of it. If you start off going fast and hard with everything, you will never develop that delicate sense of expression. This video has a lot of good advice for how to tackle this problem, and I hope more people see it. I suppose I was lucky with how I jumped into practicing, because I started with the idea of trying to achieve expression and emotion with how I play. Before I started learning, I would often hear songs played on the piano and think of ways I would change the way it's being played, if only I knew how to play the piano. Now that I'm learning it, I can begin to do exactly what I've always wanted to do.
That metaphor with language was a really good insight. I think some of the problem is that many people are taught exercises so that they would eventually be able to convert those different tonealities and phrases into actual ideas, but the part where we learn how to use that practice to express ideas is left out. So instead of using exercises to express our ideas we just use exercises to express the exercises
I play Bass Instruments and as this has shown and I learned years ago when a beginner, playing my instrument is just like singing. Unless the music calls for very busy notes, keep it simple like a vocal and it will be so much better. Busy is generally not better if you are the only one getting busy with it in the group.
As a guitar player I went through this phase as well.. If you listen to many older guitarists and compare to their past. You can hear the transition of emphasis on complexity to subtlety, nuance, and holistic writing.
“Put your instrument down and this time you have to sing whatever your improvisation is.” On behalf of the singers I would like to say we feel attacked...
Great video, as always! This reminds me of a video I saw where John Maher and B.B. King went back to back with some blues guitar solos. One thing I noticed was that John Maher went for these complicated solos with all these different notes, and it wasn't bad, but 'wordy' I guess. But B.B. King's solo... it wasn't so fast, it wasn't so complicated, but it was lyrical-- every note he played, he played with conviction. I realized that I, when playing and even composing, often tried to make up for a lack of confidence in the quality of my playing with an overabundance of notes, like a smokescreen. And while of course there's definitely place for many notes, its more important, I think, to play with conviction, because that's where beauty starts.
as a jazz trombonist, playing lots of notes has never really been a part of my needed skillset just because thats not really possible on a trombone but when i was first learning to improvise i didnt actually know any famous trombonists to listen to and transcribe and be inspired from so id be listening to saxophonists and trying to play those solos. obviously, i never could but one day i played one the best i could for my band director and he told me that the way i was playing it (leaving out notes and just trying to stay in time) could be refined into a great trombone solo instead of a janky sax solo with some new articulation and simplification. After taking his advice, I ended up with something i was proud of and it felt good and it sounded good. Anyway that's how i learned this same lesson that i dont need to play a lot of notes to make something feel and sound great.
Unfortunately some of these videos are very specific to jazz and jazz-like music (given that is Charles' specialty). However, if you consider expanding your abilities enough that you play guitar or piano solos from Rock, Pop, Metal, etc. These tips do often transfer relatively well to other genres.
This was a very well explained video! 10/10! I struggle with these problems too. I play for a worship band and maybe perhaps sometimes I get carried away playing some arpeggios when I’m not supposed too🤷♂️
As a non-musician, this episode makes me think of Tim Minchin's piano solo on the song Dark Side; or even Hilary Hahn playing songs at double-speed during the Ling Ling workout. As a listener what I appreciate about both of those artists is that even though they both have a lot of notes fast; they have dynamics, accents and phrasing so it sounds like music not notes. I guess that ties in with the idea from this video about music works when it reflects speech/vocals, because good speech involves phrasing.
That makes much sense. Style can have its measure yet is only a contrast to simplicity. Those spaces in your play give time to fully digest the idea. The best example I canyhink of is Misty. It can be played without the lyrics and still be complete just by the nature of its construction. I at my very best am hardly able to accompany let alone play anything more than a simple 5,6 or 7 cord progression with some notes define. Yet songs like Misty play nicely with that method. And yet, there are those who can incorporate a musical oration and stand well on its own. I only discovered you a week or two ago and while you have mastered keyboard chatter, your understanding of style says a lot is not always better. I really enjoy you man, and look forward to much more. 👍
Great point, and some excellent playing. I might add that the percussive voice of the piano encourages the use of many notes, whereas the non-percussive human voice is more like the continuous voice of an organ. Perhaps we need a new piano option with organ style expression (aftertouch) when needed to help mimic human singing.
Not only do I completely agree with what you posit in this video, I also suggest to every player to take this lesson to its logical extreme. Its not that you should play only what you can sing, Its that you should ONLY EVER play what you FEEL. Sometimes you dont know what you feel and you have to expirement on the instrument to figure out which notes melodies sounds create the feeling you have inside. Most of the time though you can explore your feelings through the scales that you already know. Listen to yourself. Give space and time to yourself to listen for your feelings and then patiently try to bring them out. Otherwise youre denying yourself the potential to puzzle out your 100 personal music, your feelings, your essence.
Years ago, as a young guitarist, I was inspired in a similar direction by listening to Kenny Burrell's solos. He often begins with a simple phrase and seems to listen to how it sounds in the current context before elaborating, extending, abandoning, and/or reprising it at various points during the solo. To me the take-home always was to take the time to listen to yourself and to sort of predigest it as you grow the solo. I think that this is also similar to what Jeff Blum does, as well as countless other musicians, so it's probably not any kind of great insight, but your comments on this video reminded me of that strategy. It's pretty different from singing along, but when you sing or talk, you also listen (hopefully) to how you sound. If you just sang a bunch of random scales and arpeggios, then singing wouldn't be that helpful either.
Awesome follow up to the Jeff Goldblum vid! One tricky thing I find about soloing in a vocal mindset on guitar is I have a hard time thinking outside of my vocal range. I can hum along and come up with something simple and melodic but it still needs that electric squeal area that I just can't mimic vocally.
Playing too many notes and rushing. Those have always been my biggest flaws. Working on it all the time! What are your biggest struggles that you find yourself constantly working on?
Charles Cornell hi
@@MMCstudios16 lmao
my gosh-darn left hand, dude
I struggle with the same thing as you but additionally playing in time with exclusively bass. No other instruments just bass
life
Wrong. Giant steps at 500 bpm is the only sign of a musician
669 bpm or don't even show up
Blue Bossa at 33 BPM
15 notes a second or nothing.
Then you are into oompha playing (especially the left hand) (which ragtime loves)...
"If you can play it slow, you can play it fast"
Yeah as a flute improviser it’s really hard to just not do glissandos all the time. Actually, I’ve gotten a lot more compliments when I did long notes with vibrato than when I did a lot of glissandos. So...I seek validation, therefore I do vibrato long notes
Same here as a Flute jazz player. Arpeggios are so easy to play but I try to slow myself down.
If you seek validation, why did you choose the flute? 🤔
Music Islife what’s that supposed to mean
Cole Smith I'm sure you can figure it out...
Music Islife I assume you are implying that no one likes flute players
*Drum lessons should be as popular as piano lessons* because a sense of time and rhythm is extremely underrated. There was a quote from Thelonious Monk that said *“Just because you’re not a drummer doesn’t mean you don’t need a good sense of time”* or something along those lines. So I think that we should keep that in mind when we improvise and create phrases. Singing is also obviously underrated, and we should play the exact notes we hear in our head, usually with the professional’s thousands of hours of fundamentals to back it up, all for the audience.
*TLDR: Time feel is also important. Informative and interesting video Charles!*
Funny that Monk said that considering that his rhythm was "odd"
my music elective in middle school taught us how to drum and read rhythmic sheet music. i didn’t like it back then but i’m so glad i was taught it
this is actually a video many drummer youtubers (especially those who throw out all their chops in every single cover) should watch
Funny as a string player I’ve played with percussionists in orchestras with worse tempo keeping than most of the rest of the orchestra. Playing instruments also teaches you rhythm
You mean drum lessons should be a part of every pianist's training (and not just because the piano is a percussive instrument!) (which is a part of what it can do)...
Yes. The Royal ear can only handle so many notes.
Court Composer, I presume. #bestmovieever
first on that one!
Richard Segura less is more
@@cascalavera9388 he's not knocking him, that's also a quote from Amadeus
Lol.
I was here to listen to Cardi B memes. Now I'm into nerdy music stuff when I know absolutely nothing about music.
Welcome onboard
I’m sure Charles has accomplished his mission then :)
ey that’s awesome man! u should consider getting an instrument and just going for it, you might love it
retweet
@@jacobdejongh9042 I... do have a bass at home. I have no speaker tho
My folk highschool music teacher said it really well: _"Silence is music."_ The pauses are necessary to make the notes coherent and meaningful.
Just like visuals, negative spaces are giving character too 😊
Heck it's even true in dance.. sometimes a veeery slow movement needs much more (or different) muscles to be involved to make it look flowless and stable and easy than quick little moves where little imperfections can be hid from unprofessional eyes
Good actors let their scenes breathe
I just said this to my music classes this week!
"STOP Playing So Many Notes"
How bout I do _anyway_
I sang that in my head
Charles Cornell lol same
Bill wurtz applies to all scenarios ever
@@troliskimosko every single thing that happens ever, bill wurtz can soundtrack it
@@CharlesCornellStudios Me too! 🤣
It gets SO FRUSTRATING when people applaud you when you play a fast piece versus a calm legato piece
This video is so perfect for me :)
I know! Like just because a piece is slow doesn’t mean it’s easy
@@erb0362 but it is
@@anuvette nope there’s some very difficult songs that aren’t fast
@@anuvette thats where you're wrong, bud
People forget music is about emotion. Not about beard stroking. This is why some people cannot stand some jazz listeners. Sonic the Hedgehog jazz lol.
As a drummer, this was a huge issue for me in solos and fills, i’ve learned that silence can really say a lot
Even Neil Pert solos have pauses.
"utilizing our instruments in ways that the human voice is not capable of"
Jacob Collier: * visible confusion *
Didn't know I needed Charles doing scat jazz in my life but here we are
Why is it named so disgusting
I am by no means a professional, but I’ve been a jazz musician for almost 10 years now, and this is by far one of, if not the most informative and insightful videos I have ever seen in improvisation and style. Thank you so much!
In auditions, how do you balance between playing “more notes” to show your technical ability and not playing too many notes without melody or rambling?
(Speaking specifically about jazz soloing)
Ethan Locke you just play faster at certain times. If you play fast all the time, it's not impressive, it's boring.
Music Islife well yeah, that’s kinda what I’m asking. How do you balance between the parts where you play fast and not?
Not a pianist here (vocalist). You need to show your musical depth and mix it in with flexing skills. Yeah, I could sing really high and loud and powerful the whole time, but it wouldn't mean anything. Think of the identity of the piece and use your instrument to lock into that feeling. Once you're locked in you can use your technical ability selectively to accentuate what you're playing.
Ethan Locke well, in my opinion, that's where it comes down to feel. Your feel for the song might be different to mine...we would probably play the same song differently, that's what sets players apart. Listen to the other musicians. Don't stomp all over the other players. Choose the gaps where flashy playing will work and remember, less is more :)
I'm not good, so take this with a big grain of salt. I play what I'm feeling at the time. It feels more authentic to me that way. So depending on my mood I'll focus more on different skills.
Edit: I've heard guitarists play crazy stuff but it sounds dead, but others it's full of life. I think music is more about the feel than the ability to cram stuff in.
"Is speaking on autopilot with stock response really hard?"
"Actually, it's super easy, barely an inconvenience!"
"Oh, really!?"
wow wow wow. wow
Speaking on autopilot is TIGHT
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@@darklordthomaspie6293 The first King Crimson drummer knew that...
“I’m gonna need you to get AALLL the way off my back about how autopilot works”
“Alright let me get off of that thing 😀”
This whole topic reminds me a lot of the "unitar" (Adam Neely talks about this concept every so often). For guitarists, a great tool for breaking out of muscle-memory and patterns is by practicing soloing on only one string. Limitations generally breed creativity, so without any memorized licks/etc. each note is more conscientious.
I was thinking it'd probably be useful to translate this concept over to keyboardists/pianists by limiting yourself to only one finger when soloing. That way you can't rely on the common shapes you've memorized and are forced to play more lyrically and thoughtfully.
underrated comment!
Limitations breed creativity... good observation (and the story of my life).
Mr. Numi Who are you waiting for somebody to ask you to tell us the story of your life? Your comment seems leading
That just sounds stresful to me lol
That's a great idea!
I think a great exemplar of “playing more with less” is the pianist Bill Evans. Anytime I listen to Bill I feel like his music breathes. If you listen to “You Must Believe in Spring” you feel like the music is just breathing. I dunno, it’s hard to put that into words.
It's space. He learned this from Miles Davis
Yeah I was going to say Bill Evans. I think too many notes can be overwhelming and unnecessary, and tbh it just gets a bit boring if all someone does is do a wanky solo everytime. If you find a sweet spot at playing "too many notes" and no notes then in my opinion that's when the music sounds better. I usually equate playing too many notes with people who just want to show off what they can do, I think its definitely necessary and important *to* learn technical ability, just to shut up all the people who say "u HaVe To PrOvE yOuRsElF tO mE", but to continually put on and flex your technical ability gets tiresome in my opinion. I tend to go towards people like Bill Evans and abstain from people like Oscar Peterson for that reason, because once you get over the *wow* factor, for me it kind of turns into a *meh* factor. Also the reason I could never get into guitarists like Eddie Van Halen or people like him because I knew it was just boys showing off, so I was like "meh", but I don't doubt his greater influence.
Look I’ve been doing music for eight years and I still don’t get how he just casually does this😂😂😂
right??
Hard work and seeking out the type of music
Could be that in those 8 years, you rarely try to learn in different ways.
Some people have 8 years of experience, whilst other people have 1 years of experience 8 times.
LeifGrethe Henning Well I’m studying music so... think you might be wrong there.
@@jasknid9131
Same dude, you missed my point though 😂 Look at it this way, have you studied improvisation for all those 8 years? That's unlikely. He's had many years to practice and study improvising, so with time you'll be able to do the same 👍
I'm working on this very thing right now! I just recorded and transcribed a vocal Chet Baker solo and man it's beautiful how melodic and spacious his music is! It's helping me with being more reserved and patient with my playing! Thanks for the video Charles, couldn't have posted this at a better time! Cheers :)
Now I'm going to give Chet Baker a listen, thanks (since a lot of good artists are overlooked by The Spotlight)...
@@wbiro cool! The solo I transcribed is from "It Could Happen To You" if you were curious
Lee Konitz is a great example of what youre describing. Starting in the 1960s-70s, he'd often take the sax out of his mouth, sing some, and then play a continuation of the vocal line on his alto! really impressive stuff
Thank you sensei 🙇 You teach me so much I am eternally grateful. I myself have a problem with this sometimes but I didn't even know it was a problem!
With my writing style, I bond what I hear in my head with a simple question of "would someone be able to sing this?" and that usually works. I take what I want to do, do it for a singing voice and then add complexity from the voice version and that gives me a happy medium.
This video confirmed to me that this is a more balanced thing to do but made me realise how stuck in my ways I am with music, hence, why all I write sounds similar.
Thank you for the information 😊
We definetly don´t get enough of Charles singing and playing
I love these videos that give you an excuse to noodle around on the keys. I could sit here and listen to you play for hours like we're hanging out in your living room and you felt a song coming on.
It may sound like I want your attention (yes, but no), but I really missed your videos lol I know u uploaded a q&a not so long ago, but idk ur videos are really amazing! Greetings from chile. You're a huge inspiration bro
jajajaj q pasa chilean!!
As a pianist who has spent a majority of my life playing by ear (even after being classically trained for a decade), there are very real topics and areas that I've attempted to address on my own but haven't been able to fully understand or articulate for lack of even understanding if I could feel it. The difference between what we hear and our playing styles, bringing out the autopilot of a vocabulary built up over years is such a fascinating insight that once you keep that in mind while playing, really changes to way you approach improv and playing in general. Thank you for such an interesting and helpful video, Charles!
"Too many notes, just cut a few and it'll be perfect."
"Which notes did you have in mind?"
The ones you’re not conciously thinking about
the butter notes (ahaha get it)
*Z* lol
Amadeus
I get your joke unlike anyone else here
You have no idea how many people I know need to hear this message. Techniques are tools and not every project needs every tool. Really awesome video
I think this is one of the issues with some more modern composers/performers even in the classical world (myself included) - they equate more notes and faster pieces with better skill. It's technically true, in that you're more technically proficient with your fingers, but it often comes at the expense of musicality and nuance.
Arguably, some of the most memorable works are those with singable melodies, like in Scheherazade or Beethoven 6, but they're written off as being "simple". The really technical works with lots of notes are fun to watch, listen to and play, but they tend to be ultimately forgettable.
As you said, the best music is a combination of both, because you want music that makes an impact, but is also memorable. And as an artist, your goal is to resonate with as many people as possible.
I really like Danny Elfman's Batman theme for this reason. Lots of intricacies, but also a powerful melody that's easily hummable.
I’m a junior in my high school and i’ve started to improv in my jazz. I’m glad I can start to use your videos for help lol
Honestly, I've never been a fan of playing so many notes. It's always been disheartening as a trumpet player that so many solos that are called out are a slew of notes. Never liked the way those solos sounded. Hit me with that slow shit, please.
More along the lines of Miles Davis...
As an aspiring jazzer in high school, I really needed this video.Thank you so much for making possibly my favorite ever video of yours!
"More notes does not necessarily equal better"
*Yngwie Malmsteen is searching for your location*
A perfect sonic signature palette of sound from 7 .50 onwards.....to my ears .
Ideal chords and lovely diminished scales..... splendid dinner jazz piano !
My choir teacher always told our class "never sing past pretty" and I think that advice also works for this too. We all know someone who tries to play or sing "really good" or we are that person (kinda guilty of that). I play both harp and piano and your advice and that advice my choir teacher gave has really changed the way I see music and definitely impacted the way I play now.
Someone should have told Ozzy Osbourne... as for change, if you're young, you should be wildly progressing from day to day (as in, "Wow, I'm way better today than I was yesterday). What happens when you finally reach your ultimate potential (or an adequate level that you like)? You ask yourself why you did it in the first place.
I just get this feeling that brass and wind players who are a bit past the “operator drone” phase all pick up a bit of this vocal instinct connecting with the breath more. It’s like a whole chromatic continuum and we’re all somewhere in between the two extremes
Dear Charles,
I was wondering if you could give some tips on how to become more naturally, and overall better at piano. I’ve been playing for about 5 years and I’ve learned all of my keys, scales, and chords. I also know a fair bit a music theory, but my playing isn’t where I want it to be. What are some of the things you did that as a kid that helped you become more precise and soulful with your playing :)
What's one particular are you want to work on?
practice and passion! putting in the work to just keep playing even when you dont have something in particular to work on as well as continuing to love the music and the instrument is the key to any musicians success. of course a video on this would probably be more helpful, I hope this helps and you keep this in mind next time you sit down to play.
Practice slow
Play with other people often.
Try out different music genres!
I literally love all the videos you post!! For me it's a lot easier on the ears to hear LESS notes. And way more impressive to hear what he's actually 'singing' on the spot rather than a diarrhoea of notes
'Only this time, you have to sing whatever your trying to improvise'
Drummers: 🙄
Ba ba tsi tsi ba ba pow ting ba
Konnakol has entered the chat
*Cadets 2005 drumline feature has entered the chat*
Seriously, please check it out it’s so cool lol - they won the championship that year
Just do beatbox so you can feel the 'breath' 😂
@@jamesalexander958 i can hear the sound of that 😂
You could straight up release that cut as a single that exercise was fantastic
It's the exact same with sweep picking or just fast shredding on guitar. When someone finally learns it (good on them) they put it in everything, from every solo to every normal song. It almost ruins the technique and makes it bad to listen to. But using it tastefully is always nice to listen to.
Dude you are literally 100% my most favorite content creator!! As a classical pianist myself (and my sis is a multi-genre career violinist with a jazz guitarist husband)... I nerd out to your vids daily (and everyone else is also forced to cause I constantly share them lol). 😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄
I guess that’s the good thing about playing French horn and singing. I don’t have a lot of technically difficult music so I never fell into the need of notes trap
Yo, I’ve never met another person (besides myself) that plays the French Horn and sings, that’s so cool!
Vanadium that’s epic
You speak poetry man. I can listen to you all day, not only playing the piano amazingly. But you have a lot of deep and things to say and in a warm and refreshing way, and I'm listening. Keep doing what you're doing, stay safe, and blessings!
"Stop playing too many notes"
Me: who can't even play that fast
This guy deserves alot more audience...he's really good at making u understand mind bending stuff
*I would love to see Twosetviolin's opinion in this...*
How about Nahre Sol's opinion? That would also be InteResTiNg.
I would love to see Twoset improvise in the first place
@@lukewarmairballoon6801 There are a few vids of them doing some improv
This wouldn’t mean much to classical musicians because a lot of popular repertoire is tried and tested meaningful compositions.
TwoSet are classical musicians Jazz Players improvise a ton different realms of music but yeah It be groovy to see TwoSet’s opinion as well
Learning to sing along to your improvisations is a really good way to fix this problem.
It teaches you to be really intentional about every note you play, and as you get better and better you often start playing faster and faster all over again... but this time it actually sounds way more musical even if you *are* playing a similar "amount" of notes to what you were beforehand.
Him: stop playing so many notes
Me: I paid for the hole piano so I'm gonna use it
lol
I know what you meant but I want a hole piano now. Sounds compact
Whats a hole piano
@@weakw1ll the 81 keys
@@nombre652 to what
Once again, you are blowing my mind. Thanks again for being so open and articulating your thoughts so well. Big inspiration!
So when are you going to release your album
This reminds me of that classically beautiful Sims 1 piano music. I love how well it holds up.
Charles' singing reminded me of Chet Bakers singing
Yh
This is some of the most legit advice ive ever heard. Youre a legend my dude
A few of my favorite stock phrases:
"Aw beans", when empathically acknowledging someone who is sharing their plight
Jean Pierre: I tried to make a case for Purple because I seen them vent but somehow everyone voted me out instead
Me: Aw beans
"Tremendous.", to signify or agree the magnitude or quality of something, or to show amazement or disbelief; usually said with a mundane tone, the period is essential for correct inflection.
Jean Pierre: Alright, I found a enough people to fill the entire lobby.
Me: Tremendous.
"Oh I don't like that", has a particular cadence, used when encountering, or hearing about, something undesirable or disagreeable
Jean Pierre: I finally managed to talk to my crush today. But it turns out they are a flat-Earther
Me: Oh I don't like that
You should pleaseeeee do a video on writing piano music and some tips you have! I'm a drummer, guitarist, bassist, and have a little piano experience but piano is the one I struggle with the most.
I never knew its possible to feel a video on this level...
As a jazz singer and vocalist, I truly enjoyed watching this analysis, Charles. Improvisation to me, is always about what you feel in the moment and singing it-scatting. Additionally, learning different cliché jazz licks and having them in my arsenal also helps to create that journey from the beginning to the end of scatting or the jazz tune. I love Ella Fitzgerald as she to me is a scatting goddess but I admire Chet Baker as a brilliant trumpeter and vocalist. His finesse is very captivating, vocally especially. Charles this is a great video and you explained yourself well. Hope to see more like it.
“Now this time I want you to sing your improvisation to the backing track”
Confused jazz drum noises
bum tsss bong bong pshh paaa
Man there’s a lot of music theory channels out there, but you do a really great job of making it more approachable and explaining in a successfully pedagogic way. Loved the video and subscribed!
I'm still gonna play all the notes. Because I can
Great leader, I’m terrified of how similar our taste is. I’m subbed to you and have seen you on poofesure, Drew Binsky, AND this channel. Maybe we are destined to be homies...
@@Alphabet_poop and, if I remember correctly, Sheet Music Boss
I paid for the whole piano, I’m gonna use the whole piano
I must not have watched enough of your vids, cuz dang was I caught off-guard by how good your vocal improv was
I find myself stumbling into the trap of "I want my solos to sound like cultured, fast be-bop all the time" and never really succeeding with it, so this vid definitely helped me gain some valuable insights on the balance between improving off of bits of things you do know (the musical vocabulary/stock phrases) and improving completely from scratch!
Cory Henry wants to: *Know Your Location*
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
You got to love the silence in-between the notes and much as playing the notes!
My leg got caught in the pedal trap and now I can’t stop playing the pedal ever
This is why I love Ludovico Einaudis music. Relatively simple, but played so softly and with so much emotion it just sounds incredible!
Charles has one shirt but just changes its color every time he wears it
I used the photo on his desktop at 5:20 for a photoshop examination just 2 weeks ago. That’s pretty cool to see how a photo like that can spread all around the world.
**Franz Liszt wants to know your location**
*Franz
@@lukasantos6991 Perish
Man I LOVE this Charles! That piano/vocal improv session was awesome to listen to. Also shows a lot how tightly tied your vocal improv is to what you play on the keys. I struggle with that on brass, really being able to *hear* the things and execute them exactly as I hear em ON the instrument as I'd sing em.
Charles: STOP PLAYING SO MANY NOTES!
*me not even knowing how to play one note*
Step one: acquire a piano
Step two: lift finger
Step three: no no not that finger, the other finger
Step four: what no not your feet
Step five: kicked out of piano lessons
Aidan Xavier wait notes are the things you press down? Jeeez I’m dumb
Ha jk I’m fluent if you would say in guitar,drums and piano so uhhh yeah I’m just playing dumb
Who's james
-- idk what you mean 🤫
As a singer this is true breathing is necessary rather than playing or singing so many notes..love the vids!!
3:49
That Trump joke got me so hard 😂😂😂😂
Beginner pianist, started self-teaching a month ago. I started with pieces that looked complex, but in reality are not that overly difficult. I still never try to play anything that looks way above my experience level (I haven't even touched classical or romantic music yet). And I also started slow. Not extremely slow, but just enough that it would still sound right and could be easily followed.
I feel like the most important thing is expression and how you utilize the dynamics of the instrument. There's no sense in playing a cascade of notes if there is no expression to how you are playing them. If you play slow, every single note can be expressed the way you want it to be expressed. Every pedal press a precise decision, every push and pull of time and rhythm a choice for how you genuinely feel like playing. Every single pulse and articulation on chords, a deliberate expression of how you want the piece to sound.
THAT is way more important than just being able to play fast or play flashy. The really good pianists out there (and I suppose any musician, really) are the ones who can take a simple thing like Chopsticks and turn it into a beautiful piece of music loaded with tons of dynamics, articulation, and expression. And the only way you can really achieve that kind of articulation is to be slow, be deliberate, and be precise. And if you can do that even faster, with even more notes, more power to you. But you can't get there by just jumping in and playing as many notes as possible, as quickly as possible. You need to feel the rhythm, you need to feel the sense of power you are putting into each and every note, you need to feel how long you're holding a chord and when you want to let go of it. If you start off going fast and hard with everything, you will never develop that delicate sense of expression.
This video has a lot of good advice for how to tackle this problem, and I hope more people see it. I suppose I was lucky with how I jumped into practicing, because I started with the idea of trying to achieve expression and emotion with how I play. Before I started learning, I would often hear songs played on the piano and think of ways I would change the way it's being played, if only I knew how to play the piano. Now that I'm learning it, I can begin to do exactly what I've always wanted to do.
2:13 lmaoooo true esp in jazz solos
Let me hear the notesssss
I do enjoy a good run though
But not for 2 minutes
That metaphor with language was a really good insight. I think some of the problem is that many people are taught exercises so that they would eventually be able to convert those different tonealities and phrases into actual ideas, but the part where we learn how to use that practice to express ideas is left out. So instead of using exercises to express our ideas we just use exercises to express the exercises
wow posted 4 seconds ago? got here so fast before!
I play Bass Instruments and as this has shown and I learned years ago when a beginner, playing my instrument is just like singing. Unless the music calls for very busy notes, keep it simple like a vocal and it will be so much better. Busy is generally not better if you are the only one getting busy with it in the group.
imagine if charles and twelve tone did a collab
Man Im so glad I find you, Improvisation is such a scary thing for me, but this type of videos makes me wanna try and do it
THANK U
"should you stop doing this?"
Me: I'm not even able to do "this"
As a guitar player I went through this phase as well..
If you listen to many older guitarists and compare to their past. You can hear the transition of emphasis on complexity to subtlety, nuance, and holistic writing.
“Put your instrument down and this time you have to sing whatever your improvisation is.”
On behalf of the singers I would like to say we feel attacked...
Great video, as always!
This reminds me of a video I saw where John Maher and B.B. King went back to back with some blues guitar solos. One thing I noticed was that John Maher went for these complicated solos with all these different notes, and it wasn't bad, but 'wordy' I guess. But B.B. King's solo... it wasn't so fast, it wasn't so complicated, but it was lyrical-- every note he played, he played with conviction. I realized that I, when playing and even composing, often tried to make up for a lack of confidence in the quality of my playing with an overabundance of notes, like a smokescreen. And while of course there's definitely place for many notes, its more important, I think, to play with conviction, because that's where beauty starts.
Who knew meme piano man is actually really well spoken about music theory
as a jazz trombonist, playing lots of notes has never really been a part of my needed skillset just because thats not really possible on a trombone but when i was first learning to improvise i didnt actually know any famous trombonists to listen to and transcribe and be inspired from so id be listening to saxophonists and trying to play those solos. obviously, i never could but one day i played one the best i could for my band director and he told me that the way i was playing it (leaving out notes and just trying to stay in time) could be refined into a great trombone solo instead of a janky sax solo with some new articulation and simplification. After taking his advice, I ended up with something i was proud of and it felt good and it sounded good. Anyway that's how i learned this same lesson that i dont need to play a lot of notes to make something feel and sound great.
Oh man, i wonder who he was referring to when he was talking about someone who talks a lot but says nothing.
"Don't play so many notes!" explained in 5000 words :D
I'm a big fan of this man!
This video is fantastic! We get to hear you make music AND we also learn something!
Charles: play less notes
me: just plays chords and sings 😏
same 😂😂
Unfortunately some of these videos are very specific to jazz and jazz-like music (given that is Charles' specialty). However, if you consider expanding your abilities enough that you play guitar or piano solos from Rock, Pop, Metal, etc. These tips do often transfer relatively well to other genres.
Bro did you misclick
This was a very well explained video! 10/10! I struggle with these problems too. I play for a worship band and maybe perhaps sometimes I get carried away playing some arpeggios when I’m not supposed too🤷♂️
As a non-musician, this episode makes me think of Tim Minchin's piano solo on the song Dark Side; or even Hilary Hahn playing songs at double-speed during the Ling Ling workout.
As a listener what I appreciate about both of those artists is that even though they both have a lot of notes fast; they have dynamics, accents and phrasing so it sounds like music not notes.
I guess that ties in with the idea from this video about music works when it reflects speech/vocals, because good speech involves phrasing.
That makes much sense. Style can have its measure yet is only a contrast to simplicity. Those spaces in your play give time to fully digest the idea. The best example I canyhink of is Misty. It can be played without the lyrics and still be complete just by the nature of its construction. I at my very best am hardly able to accompany let alone play anything more than a simple 5,6 or 7 cord progression with some notes define. Yet songs like Misty play nicely with that method. And yet, there are those who can incorporate a musical oration and stand well on its own.
I only discovered you a week or two ago and while you have mastered keyboard chatter, your understanding of style says a lot is not always better.
I really enjoy you man, and look forward to much more. 👍
Hey man, your screensaver is kinda distracting being on a slideshow
Great point, and some excellent playing. I might add that the percussive voice of the piano encourages the use of many notes, whereas the non-percussive human voice is more like the continuous voice of an organ. Perhaps we need a new piano option with organ style expression (aftertouch) when needed to help mimic human singing.
- Honey, I'm home!
- …checking coupons… …checking coupons… Oh, here: come on, baby, you got a ticket for love…
Not only do I completely agree with what you posit in this video, I also suggest to every player to take this lesson to its logical extreme. Its not that you should play only what you can sing, Its that you should ONLY EVER play what you FEEL. Sometimes you dont know what you feel and you have to expirement on the instrument to figure out which notes melodies sounds create the feeling you have inside. Most of the time though you can explore your feelings through the scales that you already know. Listen to yourself. Give space and time to yourself to listen for your feelings and then patiently try to bring them out. Otherwise youre denying yourself the potential to puzzle out your 100 personal music, your feelings, your essence.
3:50
Of course I know him, he's me
😔
Years ago, as a young guitarist, I was inspired in a similar direction by listening to Kenny Burrell's solos. He often begins with a simple phrase and seems to listen to how it sounds in the current context before elaborating, extending, abandoning, and/or reprising it at various points during the solo. To me the take-home always was to take the time to listen to yourself and to sort of predigest it as you grow the solo. I think that this is also similar to what Jeff Blum does, as well as countless other musicians, so it's probably not any kind of great insight, but your comments on this video reminded me of that strategy. It's pretty different from singing along, but when you sing or talk, you also listen (hopefully) to how you sound. If you just sang a bunch of random scales and arpeggios, then singing wouldn't be that helpful either.
When you started scatting bro...fire! and yea listening to myself sing makes my body cringe but I don't need to like it, it's for the people.
Awesome follow up to the Jeff Goldblum vid! One tricky thing I find about soloing in a vocal mindset on guitar is I have a hard time thinking outside of my vocal range. I can hum along and come up with something simple and melodic but it still needs that electric squeal area that I just can't mimic vocally.