Mulgrew stressed that the answers are all there in the recording, you just have to have the drive to get them. By actually hearing the progression instead of reading it, the correct chord became painfully obvious. Surprised, he went back to the recording and found that sure enough, he had learned that wrong chord from the real book. Some time later he was playing the tune again, this time as a sideman to a well know saxophonist.Īfter the set, the leader brought him aside and informed him that he was consistently playing an incorrect chord throughout the tune. As a young musician, Mulgrew said that he had learned the tune Four from his real book. I remember Mulgrew Mulgrew giving an example about his own experience in learning tunes from a book. It’s also important to note that just because the melody and chord progression are printed in the real book, doesn’t mean that they’re correct. Before you learn a tune, make sure you are getting the definitive progression by checking out numerous recordings. Many times, I have learned a tune from a book only to realize too late that it’s normally played in a different key. You have no way of knowing unless you check out the record for yourself. That chart may have been based on substituted chord changes, a different key, or even an embellished melody. So why not look up the changes in a real book?Ī chart in the real book represents just one version of a tune taken from one recording. Whether it’s because of a poorly recorded track, a fast tempo, or just flat-out inexperience, taking the time to figure out each chord to a standard can be frustrating. Sure, it’s simple enough to get the melody from a record without looking at a book, but deciphering all the chord changes can be another story. This is a great question and one that I’ve often struggled with myself. So when I learn a standard by ear, how should I approach figuring out the changes?” On recordings, a lot of the time all I can hear is the linear solo, and can’t hear the changes in the rhythm section. When I’m blowing through changes or learning licks, it all comes down to the chords. I would be more than happy to toss my lousy sixth edition real book, but have some questions about learning tunes by ear. A reader recently wrote: “I was reading your “ 6 mistakes” article and was intrigued by the first rule.
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