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But the notion of a chart is static.

Don't these feelings vary depending on the harmonic context?

Sure. It's great to be well rounded. But to get good at something, practice that thing. To get good at improvising, practice improvising. I think it is challenging for teachers to teach creativity,...

My son is playing jazz with top pros in the LA area, and has never learned a tune by ear or sung a line. His teacher would give him some changes, show him various note collections that would work...

One way to expand your creativity is to pose yourself the problem of "How can I incorporate X into an interesting phrase".

X could be
The rhythm "sweet potato pan cakes."
A major 7th note.
...

I think the most efficient approach is to use an outside resource to explain the tools that are commonly used in your genre, be it a teacher, a book or a video. Then spend a lot of time experimenting...

Something to think about as you get more advanced is creating a structure to your solo.

Does it have a beginning, middle and end? Is there tension and release? Are you developing any motifs? Is...

Didn't Hagred get in trouble for owning one of those?

They seem to come from the factory set up for slide.

Lower the action.

The key to rapidly learning to improvise is to spend a lot of time improvising. (Shocking!) I say this because many players will look for non-improvisational things to "master" before they feel like...

Starting young and having a gentle, nurturing teacher is a big plus. When a little kid does a crappy solo, they still get a standing ovation. When an adult does it, it's... awkward.

Been there....

I don't know where you are in Southern CA, but here are some resources for the area.
http://socalbluegrass.org/
http://sandiegobluegrass.org/
http://www.northcountybluegrass.org/link/SDBS

Going...

Are any opinions about documentaries necessary?

Ken Burns manages to make boring documentaries about things I'm interested in.

Slow and Plodding ≠ Serious and Deep

PBS has also never pulled off a decent Shakespeare production.

Improve this skill as you would any other.

Slow down.
Simplify.
Shorten.


Gradually increase difficulty.

Record yourself to assess your progress.

At the end of the day, you get good at what you practice. If you spend a lot of time playing "patterns", you will get good at playing patterns. If you use arpeggios to create interesting musical...

The main thing with The Mandolin Pickers Guide... is to put in the time creating with the tools he gives you until you can do it fluently. Don’t just play his examples and move on.

The IRealB app...

You will become a better mandolinist if you complete the Horne book. But, for me, it covers too much material in too little depth. For example, there are two cross picking exercises, which are really...

Chicken thighs with Lebanese spices.

“Bollywood Party” playlist on Spotify.

Practice doing the thing you want to get better at. Some jams are everyone more or less playing the melody. At other jams people take turns improvising. If you want to get better at improvising,...

Why?

So odd what the Cafe thinks it needs to protect us from.

Praise publicly.
Threaten privately.

Welcome to America.

Americans are paying billions in tariffs and risking a recession partially in an effort to protect intellectual property rights.

All intellectual property owners should be paid for the use of...

I have heard 3 hours as adequate for a professional musician from several pros.

The thing is, pros tend to be busy doing all of the other stuff they need to do to run their business.