Those are the core skills! "Fundamentals of Music" for musicians of all styles

A: Basic Musician Skills

The following is by jazz saxophonist Joe Lovano, but concepts are same for all playing styles

1. Voice:

The most recognizable features of musician, as well as use of different colors.

Sound quality: to make sound of instrument in hand more mature and be able to fully control power: control of various facial expressions;

Pitch: not only original pitch, but also ability to change it to suit different musical performances (e.g. portamento, overtone, etc.)

A sense of space. The surrounding space should not only contain your voice, but also make it more bearable.

Second, harmony:

Responding to chord progressions and mastery of harmonic techniques.

Chord matching scale: which chord should have which scale first;Harmonic Rhythm: use harmony density techniques to create impromptu. Find melody in harmony: In a complex chord progression, you can still find a smooth melodic line running through it, such as Voice Leading technique, etc.

3. Melody:

Melody line is most direct element for expressing musical ideas.

Phrase interpretation. Which expression to use to represent what you want to say and story;Rhythm of melody: use tension and density of melodic line. to build an impromptu grammar;Harmony as a melodic line: The chord progression is still heard in melodic line, and development intensifies.

Fourth, rhythm:

Musicians need to constantly strengthen their sense of rhythm so that it becomes part of body.

A sense of space. It talks about how to use arrangement and combination of notes and rests to create a unique charm;Various rhythm changes: use different rhythms The combination of patterns can expand and give more possibilities; Harmonic Rhythm/Melodic Rhythm: Same as above.

5. Interpretation:

The way to make music "live" is also best expression of personal style.

Style Mastery: comprehensive knowledge and understanding of origins and currents of various musical styles;

Technique of expression: what kind of feeling should be used to convey musical idea to listener;

Ensemble Experience: The ability to communicate with other ensemble members in real time, understand key points and feel at ease.

6. Vocabulary:

The combination of accumulating traditional vocabulary and reusing new vocabulary becomes a personal style.

There are many more details and practical steps, such as overcoming limitations of musical instruments, creating a more complete concept of music, etc. This part is certainly result of long listening and absorption, not only listening to your own musical instruments, but also in general Listen, listen to how sound of whole band is built, and even imitate rhythm of drum kit, whether it's a score or practicing a drum kit tutorial.

In addition to practicing more with real people, you also have to play along with classic records and masters that can be imitation or repetition to feel charm and momentum.

After all, a thin piece of paper will definitely take life of a musician.

B. In pop music industry "the most basic" skills and common sense in harmony theory

1. Identification and recording of various types of chords;2. Arrangement and common combinations of major and minor chords (chords in key);3, cycle of fifths in key;4, secondary dominant chords (decorative dominant chords) and related use of IIm7 chords;5, diminished series of chords through chords (ascending part of root note and root note of descending part);6. Various proxy chords: chords in key replace each other, diminished chords are used as substitutes for minor dominant chords, tritones replace dominant chords and related chords IIm7;7. Minor chords and mode changes;8. Using inversion;9. Chord configuration (most missing only for those who studied classical music theory, how many chords can be right to taste?); );11. Main mode harmony (in response to various styles of modern black music that has not yet reached modality Level of modal jazz);12. Other common applications and exercise examples to match:

a. A large number of repetitive listening and recognition exercises (it is necessary to train power of hearing)b. Integrate and compare same harmony of classical music, jazz music and various styles of pop music (you can't see it blindly) One name and one type)c, many operations and 12 keys should be familiar (increase training relative pitch to hear corresponding relationships between notes and chords, reduce dependence on absolute pitch and only listen to notes)d , open-mindedness, incomparable patience and endless curiosity

Once everything is in order, it is time for advanced transmission transitions, using different musical styles and characteristics, researching development of "sound" in jazz, influence of sound characteristics of non-original musical instruments on harmony theory, etc. This requires for teacher to attend classes, and to achieve this, regular and quantitative courses are required (for example, regular schools abroad). If you only rely on self-learning, reading books, or internet, you will still be back to old problem mentioned earlier and your hearing is underdeveloped!