Learning A New System "by Ear"

[Trilby]

Yes I found that I think in C or at times of great jazz improv inspiration scale ( ouch) the dizzy heights of G !

I tried to get round it by playing a scale a couple of times and then doing the humming.

Since doing this on EC I find a certain ability to do it with B flat. Maybe I should have taken up trumpet ( I think I'm right about home keys for trumpet keys)

 

I am also trying very hard to play with my eyes closed and have discovered that I move my mouth when playing. Obviously the musical equivilent of moving lips while reading not a very good sign.

 

Did anyone see a fascinating documentary a few weeks ago about the reclusive canadian pianist who used to hum along. Can't remeber his name though.

 

Trilby

[PeterT]

I look forward to hearing any other points that help you to crack the Jeffries, however.

Hi Steve,

 

Did you have your Jeffries Duet at Witney? I was trying to work out whose it was in Tim Laycock's Duet class.

 

After Marcus asked how I was progressing on the Jeffries Duet, I thought that I'd better find out, since I've hardly touched it in the last six weeks. The good news is that I don't seem to have gone very far backwards, so I've obviously remembered the basic keyboard layout. I think that this bodes well for future progress. I said to Marcus that I'd have two or three tunes up to playing standard by the end of this year, so that's my target.

 

Regards,

Peter.

Latest update as follows.

 

I can't record a "step change" discovery, but something seems to have dropped into place in the last few days. I'm still playing in the key of "C" (although playing around with one or two tunes in other keys, just to get more used to the keyboard layout). Suddenly, I'm finding many tunes which work well on the duet. Also, I'm finding that the Jeffries Duet is incredibly fast in "C". I'm a fast Anglo player, but latest progress suggests that, on simple tunes at least, I'll be equally fast on the duet. Whilst it isn't necessarily a virtue to play fast, it's nice to know how to!

 

Exciting times, and all this whilst listening to the football on the radio! Target should be exceeded.

 

Also, I've been able to switch from Jeffries Duet to Anglo, and back, without getting confused. I think that I now have the finger patterns "wired in" (for "C", at least!), and my ears are telling me where to look for the appropriate notes on the duet.

 

Regards,

Peter.

[PeterT]

I can't record a "step change" discovery, but something seems to have dropped into place in the last few days. I'm still playing in the key of "C" (although playing around with one or two tunes in other keys, just to get more used to the keyboard layout). Suddenly, I'm finding many tunes which work well on the duet.

My notes indicate that I've "played around" with some 35 tunes on the Jeffries Duet, plus 1 song! Virtually all in "C". Some slow tunes, some fast ones. Even some new (to me) tunes.

 

What I have found is that some tunes, which were lurking in the depths of my memory, work well on the Jeffries Duet, but are a nightmare on C/G Anglo (I'd need to put them into a different key). Some French dance tunes and some Playford dance tunes seem particularly suited to the Jeffries Duet.

 

Next comes the hard part; trying to whittle down the tunes to a workable repertoire of about 15, and then working seriously on just these tunes (plus the 1 song!).