Jason Lyon Music

Category: c) Musicianship

  • Ch-ch-ch-ch Changes

    —

    by

    Jason
    in , ,

    Everybody has the Real Book, right? As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, my current copy increasingly resembles confetti. I’m talking about the old one – the “fifth edition”. The illegal one. Even if you don’t have the book, you’re bound to have some charts copied from it. The old Real Book is essentially a collection of a load…

  • Talk Isn’t Cheap, It’s Priceless

    —

    by

    Jason
    in ,

    Divisive issue, this. A lot of jazz musicians don’t like razzmatazz – a bit of chat between numbers, some gags and banter, that sort of thing. It’s too casual for them, they think it demeans their art. But oddly, the same guys will sometimes wilfully turn up to a posh gig in tie-dyed pyjamas when…

  • Maria João Pires Handles a Nightmare

    —

    by

    Jason
    in , ,

    It’s like something from a classic anxiety nightmare. You know, like the ones where you dream you arrive at work and suddenly realise you’re in your underwear (which would be fine if you’re one of those people who works in their underwear – I wonder if models and pole dancers have a sort of reversed version…

  • Instant Big Band – Just Add Beer

    —

    by

    Jason
    in ,

    or How to Be an Arranger without Really Trying. If you have a busy jam session it can be great fun to get every horn player in the room up together for a feature number at some point in the night. A gash big band number. Even if it’s all a bit wobbly, the sheer sound…

  • Practising in Your Head

    —

    by

    Jason
    in ,

    Those lovable boffins have been at it again. It seems that “scientists at Cambridge” have established that a lot of the creative process occurs for musicians when they aren’t even touching their instrument. This story was presented recently by BBC News in the final “kitten up tree” slot and pegged around the notion that there…

  • How to Kick Off a Tune

    —

    by

    Jason
    in

    Did you know that Dizzy Gillespie pretty much invented beatboxing more than half a century ago? Honestly. Dizzy wouldn’t just count off a tune: ah one, two, ah one two three four. No. He’d vocalise the entire arrangement out loud to the band – an amalgamation of the way he heard the bass, drums, horn lines,…

  • On Pianos – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

    —

    by

    Jason
    in , ,

    Here comes another blast of unashamed opinion. Looking forward to the comments! I recently got involved in a discussion about a certain piano at a venue. One chap, a knowledgeable listener and amateur tinkler, maintained that the instrument was rubbish and cited a friend of his who had performed on it and refused to touch…

  • I Quit Flute

    —

    by

    Jason
    in

    Originally posted on I Hate Practicing: An amazing young colleague recently had this as her Facebook status: I quit flute. Her friends responded with comments like, “Oh, no, you are SO GOOD!” or, “Don’t quit!!!” and “Nooooo!” My response?  Do it.  (But, it’s not what you think. . .) The late, great, Ed Gobrecht –…

  • Finding Your G Spot

    —

    by

    Jason
    in ,

    No, it’s not that kind of article. But it’ll probably drive up the hit count a bit… So set spam filters to maximum and we’re going in… Go to your instrument and play a single simple G, nothing more. Listen to it, really listen to it. Listen to the attack and the way it rings.…

  • My First Jazz Teachers

    —

    by

    Jason
    in

    A trip down memory lane. I grew up in ‘70s London (well, to reference the old gag, I grew up as much as a musician ever can). I learned the piano from the age of about five, and it was classical tuition, which was the way it was for kids in those days. No problem,…