Chick Corea - Notes From the Road

It was awesome seeing you guys playing here in Austin. I’m a Brazilian living in Texas, and I aways wanted to see you playing… It was amazing. We were talking to some guys during the show, and we were wondering about one thing:

What do you listen when you are not working? Any non-jazz style? Or… is there any other groups you like to hear?

Anyway… thanks for dedicating your life to music. You are certainly the kind of person that inspire a lot of other musicians. Thanks for inspiring us.

— (clebert.suconic@gmail.com)

Hi,

Glad you liked the Five Peace Band! It’s a joy playing this music with John and the band!

I listen to a lot of different music. Lately, I’ve been listening intently to John Coltrane’s legacy of recordings—especially the recordings “Sun Ship” and “Living Space.” I find the music of this quartet to be of the highest order and constantly inspiring to me. I also have been listening to and studying the piano and orchestral music of the French composer Henri Dutilleux. I only just discovered his great compositions a few years ago and have been listening to and playing some of his piano music ever since. A couple of new recordings that I think are really great are: Victor Wooten’s Palmystery and Jimmy Herring’s Lifeboat.

Good luck and all the best to you,

—Chick

Although I know that I already have had the great fortune of having one of my questions answered by you, Mr. Corea, I would like to submit another one since it sadly enough doesn’t seem like you get as many questions as I expected when you first offered your cheap advice.

So here it goes: When playing in a Jazz-band and the drum solo comes along I sometimes find myself lost in the form of the song. It could be because of some poly-rhythmic beat that the drummer is playing, or it could just be that I get sort of caught up in listening to what the drummer is playing and lose track of where I am. So how do you approach this thing of not losing track of yourself in the drum solo? Is it intuitive or do you have a constant beat that comes first hand (and by that I mean before listening in on what the drummer is playing)? And I might add: what do you do if you do get lost? Perhaps a bit of a weird question.  : )

Thanks for this opportunity, you’re the best!

Eric

OK, here goes:

Hi Eric,

What you ask about keeping the form of the song during a drum solo is an interesting point concerning playing together in a group. The simplest way I have of looking at that problem is through understanding the exchange of communication that is going on.

To break it down, if two musicians in a group “lose” each other one way or the other, then there’s a breakdown of communication. Between any two in a group, when the communication is good, it is 2-way. Let’s take the pianist and the drummer. They’re “playing together.” Communication-wise, that means they’re “agreeing” over and over again where they are and that they’re hitting “together” - every note, every phrase. If one “loses” the other - and it’s agreed that they shouldn’t - then something the drummer played didn’t get understood by the pianist - or vice versa. It then becomes a responsibility on both their parts to become more understandable to the other. Again it’s a 2-way proposition: the pianist must learn what the drummer is playing and the drummer must play in a way that’s understandable to the pianist.

Ok, so much for theory. Practically speaking, if you “lose” the drummer and if he’s playing the form correctly, then you may have to listen to recordings of the performances and try to work out what he’s doing. If that’s a problem, ask him to show you what he’s doing. On the other hand, if he’s blowing the form and you’re trying to understand that, then it goes downhill from there.

And even more practical piece of advice: talk to the drummer about it.

Good luck.

- - Chick

Q: Hi Chick,
I just heard The New Crystal Silence, and it’s just incredible, the work that you’ve done on that record.
My question is: What do you think are the options to learning orchestration?
Studying in institutes seems to be the standard option, but is there any alternative?
Thanks a lot!!

The 2 alternatives that pop to mind are:
1) Read scores while listening along to your favorite pieces and check out how the composer/orchestrator did it. 2) The other is, apprentice under a great orchestrator and observe and learn.
In the arts, and possibly in any field where skill is required, apprenticeship is a sure way - - work with and for the individuals who know and do the art at the highest level.

Good luck.

– Chick

Rome, Italy

Glad to get all your communications recently. Well, this is the last night of some rest before we play the last string of 5 concerts in a row - one a day. So you may not hear from me until after that jaunt. But, as always, it’s a real joy to be in Italy. I always relax when I come here. I love the people and the language and the FOOD! I had some spaghetti aglio e olio tonight - - killer!� One of my favorite dishes. I grew up with my mother Anna’s great cooking, so tonight’s meal made me feel very much at home.

Ok, down to business - - cheap advice. This time in answer to Eric from Sweden.

Ahl // Nov 10, 2008 at 1:29 pm

I’ve been studying the three tonic scale since a couple of weeks back and even though I know the harmonization and where to apply it through a theoretical point of view, I’m having a bit trouble applying it in my improvising over jazz songs…

…So my question to you, Mr Corea, is: where do you apply this scale? which type of chord do you think suits it best and do you approach the “off-notes” as chromatic leading notes?

First of all, Eric, I don’t understand what you mean by a “three tonic scale.” Sounds interesting, but I’ve never heard that phrase used so I couldn’t tell you where to apply this scale, as you asked. But your question opens the door to a subject that you may get tired of me reiterating over and over again - but bear with me as I feel it’s really an important point to understand (my opinion and therefore my cheap advice).

Try these ideas on for size. They work for me, anyway:�

Let’s define “scale.” I see it as any series of notes that go up from one note ending with a higher note several or more steps above - or that go down from one note, through a series of notes, to another. There are the standard Western scales which I learned growing up (such as the Major scale, Minor scales, Diminished scales, etc. You can find these scales defined in most books on beginning harmony or beginning music). Then there are the scales that are used by non-Western musicians from non-Western cultures that I know the sounds of, somewhat, but am less familiar with - like Indian, Japanese, or Balinese music. But just start with the idea that a scale is ANY series of notes that go up or down or up and down - no matter what intervals make up that scale - and no matter that it’s from our Western 12-tone scale or any other scale. It’s still “a series of notes that go up and/or down.

Ok, now let’s address the last part of your question “… what type of chord suits it best …”� This is the cheap advice that I will continually repeat. It’s that each musician must develop the courage and integrity to make these decisions completely on his own and from his own viewpoint and tastes. That’s a tall order and it may take all kinds of trial and error to attain that self-certainty - - but the end goal should be kept in mind - - that in the matter of what parts of music go together best, your own tastes and decisions are the only ones that really count for you.

So here’s my cheap advice as to how to go about it:

1) Learn all the scales you can find - from books, from recordings, from listening to live music, from questioning other musicians - and especially from transcribing from recordings any scales that sound interesting to you.

2) Take these scales (you can start with just one or two) and start experimenting with them. Play them - fool around with them. See what music you can make with them. See how they may fit into songs or improvisations that you like. Make sure you continue to use your own judgment about what works or doesn’t work - what sounds good to you and what doesn’t.

3) When you find some scales that you really like and the music starts to flow - write songs and phrases with the new scales. Improvise with them. Perform the songs. See how it goes. Then write some more.�

4) Once you see that you can do these first 3 things (and you can do them over and over again) - - then begin creating your own scales. Series of notes that sound good to you. Write them down. Even give them names if you want to. Write songs and improvise with these. Combine them with other scales you’ve learned.

4a) By the way, you can do the same thing (1 through 4) with chords and voicings.

5) And finally - forget all about “scales” and “what chords and notes fit into them” - - and just play what you hear!

You can do 1 through 5 over and over and over - - and build up your “repertoire” of scales, chords and various techniques - - and keep inventing new ones. Eventually these “techniques” become part of you because you are now “inventing” them - - therefore you now never need to rely on “memorization” - - it’s all just a flow of creation, always in a new unit of present time.

Ahhh - - easy to say - - but - - - - the test and the fulfillment is in the ACTION! Good luck - - and many happy (and/or grueling) hours of searching and creativity - and making Music!� - - Chick

jimknopf // Nov 8, 2008 at 3:29 pm�

I would appreciate to play Senor CS with my band. You played the 12/8 rhythm (or do you call it 6/4?) a bit faster in Leverkusen than John did on Industrial Zen, and I totally fell in love with the way this rhythm carried the melodic flow over the changes (with a touch of samba in in the bass while staying in the non-samba rhythm, if I remember well).

John wrote Señor C.S. in 6/4 but, as you heard, the band took it through various interpretations of the basic rhythm. The keyboard solo tends to break down into 2 bars of 3/4 with a little Flamenco flavor. But, yes, the song is basically in 6.

Is it daring to ask if a lead sheet of this song is available anywhere? The other way is the usual way in our band: the (amateur) keyboarder has to to capture everything by listening again and again. ;-)I would readily pay for the material, since it would make my task easier and shorter in the always too limited time I have for making music besides my main job.

I suggest you write to John at his website for a lead sheet of the song. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to transcribe it yourself - it’s great “ear training.”

And while asking, I could add a question concerning improvising over the changes. Of course I know you guys don’t play ’scales,’ but just make music, since you know all about scales inside out and have advanced ways of forming melodic lines while relating to harmonic content. Still it is of great help for someone like me to have an idea of possible scales/moods used for the changes, just to get some basic orientation. Be sure soon as I grasped that I will follow my ear and no scales. I just have to work harder to understand the basic outlines before doing so.

You answered your own question in a way. My cheap advice is to go right to the source of the song and the improvisation, in this case John’s recording of Señor C.S., and listen to the scales and melodies John uses to improvise with. That’s a good place to start. Of course, you can find quite easily what scales and notes go with what chords in many different books and you should look into this source of info. But the bottom line is deciding what scales, notes, phrases, etc. sound best to you. Just lots of trial and experimentation will get you there. There is no other way that I know of or would recommend.As far as transcribing music from recordings, I strongly advise you use this method to help develop your ability to recognize and “hear” and also write down the notes, phrases and rhythms. Everyone will start from different basic abilities to do this. But no matter where your ability is in this, it’s an essential ability to develop as a musician, so you can take it to the next level with practice and application.One example of what I mean:The first chord in Señor C.S. (where the main theme begins) I spell out as an Abm7. One scale that goes with that chord commonly would consist of - from low to high: Ab - Bb - Cb - Db - Eb - F - Gb. There are many different names for this scale - but that’s “a” scale, or one possible scale. But, the bottom line, as I said above, is to improvise a melody that You like - whether it uses the notes in this scale or not. There are no hard, fast rules to this game except “what sounds good to you.”

I thought tonight was one of the best shows we’ve done. The band played “Silent Way” and the jam that follows for the encore - - there’s such a great atmosphere when we play that piece - - it’s a heartfelt tip of the hat to our mentor Miles.

To follow up on what I mentioned in yesterday’s note, I really do think that’s a good way to communicate on these nightly road notes. So if I can be of any help to the musicians out there, please write in and let me know how - - I’ve got tons of “cheap advice” to offer - - (By the way, if I miss a� day here or there, it means the travel was hard - - I shall return).

Some twists and turns tonight - - everything revolves around the gig and the music - - every night’s a new challenge - - the days are slow - - the nightly set goes by so fast it’s over before it starts - - John tore up Señor C.S. tonight - -

After the bus ride, I read the blog comments and realized that most are from musicians. I really wish I had the time to meet with all the musicians. I would like to share ideas and hear all the new music and different directions. It’s an area of free expression that must be kept alive. If you have some questions about the music making - let me know and I can try to offer some of my cheap advice.

SO who shows up backstage before our Antwerp gig but Herbie! His whole band was there too - they’ll be performing at the same hall tomorrow night. I hadn’t seen James Genus or Terrance Blanchard for a little while - great to see them. But how great it was to see Herbie - my piano mentor and buddy.

I was finally able to personally congratulate him on his beautiful recording “River: The Joni Letters” winning Record Of The Year, That’s some very special and spiritual playing that Herbie created on that recording - and for music that sophisticated to win Record Of The Year was unprecedented - the music was like him floating slowly through space gently leading all the other musicians to some wonderful place.

So John and I invited Herbie up to play the encore with us - - and we jammed In A Silent Way and It’s About That Time - - the first time Herbie, John and myself have played together since we recorded together that memorable time with Miles.� We all played the music as naturally as we breathe - - It was thrilling . . . . . . . . .

What a pleasure to be making music with John after all these years. We really share a lot of varied tastes in music and musical directions. It’s almost “illegal” what this band of geniuses gets into nightly - - way over the top!! I’m thrilled with the way “Hymn To Andromeda” is developing night after night - - Kenny truly takes the band there - - John calls it “transcendent” - - I call it - - “WOW”!! “Dr. Jackle” is turning into quite an adventure as well. We’ve almost got all the new music nailed into memory - - - It’s a nightly pleasure - a BIG pleasure.

OK - onto the bus in the morning - - - anything is better than the airports! Can’t wait to play again > > > >

CC

We met some Romanian musicians who offered to play for us after the
gig last night - - but with a 7 a.m. rise to make the plane for
Vienna and then the show in Vienna, I unfortunately had to pass. I
asked them to give me a CD of theirs so I could listen to their wild
rhythms - - the odds on getting the CD are about, oh, I’d say 50/50.

The TV interviewer asked me: “Do you know something about Romanian
music?” - - I said: “Not much, so please show me - - some CDs maybe?” -
- I’ll check at the desk to see if he left any for me - - but I’m not
too hopeful.

We’re off to Vienna - - a magic city for music - - Mozart,
Harnoncourt, Gulda, Zawinul, my 2 piano concerti, and numerous
concerts through the years with such receptive audiences.