The Jazz Musician's Guide to Creative Practicing

there are a few things in this book I wish someone had explained to me years ago. very good, and very inspirational. Most importantly, it's actually fun to just sit on the couch and read it !!!

David Berkham's "The Jazz Musician's Guide to Creative Practicing: Notes on the difficult, humorous, endless path of becoming a better improvising musician" is an outstanding collection of essays on problems and issues in improvising. Mr. Berkman has sorted out several of the issues causing difficulty for the improvising jazz musician, especially, piano players, and presents a combination of imaginative mental approaches, and practice approaches to solving these issues. He succeeds very well.However, this is not a beginners book, but an advanced treatise on improvisation. While he spends 14 pages at the front of the book on jazz music theory, the user (note I said user, not reader) needs to know the chords and scales thoroughly before embarking on this journey. This extends to understanding and being able to apply secondary dominates and tritone theory at the keyboard. If you don't know what those are, you should find a more basic book to start with. The first chapter is "Jazz Theory," and is a good quick overview of jazz music theory. Mr. Berkham uses theory extensively throughout the book. The second chapter is "Spelling Chord Changes." Working through the concepts and exercises of just these first two chapters is hours of diligent, disciplined work. For instance, as an intro exercise, he asks the user to play the basic 12 bar blues through with each of the 5 scales for the dominant chords, and then goes on from there.If you want to be an excellent jazz improviser, this is an excellent book. But you will pay your woodshed dues in the process. Mr. Berkham encourages the user to be playing gigs so as to learn his/her weaknesses. And I agree playing is also important in the development of an improvisor. So if you have the basic tools, and the time to devote to developing your skills, here is an excellent guide.The book need not be, and Mr. Berkham so states, used linearly, but the user can pick and choose his/her issues and work on them in the order he/she desires.This is a great buy for a musician wanting to become a great improvisor.

If you consider after a whole to go back to the beginning of your jazz studying ...Good book as well..!

I had this book before thought it was good but worked on it for a little awhile then gave it away and moved on to other books or lessons. Well years later I go to a David Berkman masterclass and really got into the things he was presenting and decided to check this book out again. Wow this time I see and understanding so much more and lovin this book. So glad I bought another copy of this book and started working out if it again.

This is the clearest, most intelligent guide to understanding jazz harmony that I’ve ever seen. I’m a guitarist, closer to an ‘advanced’ level than anything else, and I honestly can say that I’ve learned more about understanding the harmonies used in jazz standards from two weeks spent with this book than I had in the previous two decades.Definitely not for the ‘beginner’ but an incredible book for anyone interested in playing standards.

I am about half way through this book and like "The Jazz Harmony Book", also by David Berkman, it is excellent. I don't know if these books are exceptionally clear or after three years of studying other jazz theory books, I am finally getting it. Either way I believe these will be my go-to books for jazz study for a long time. Neither are elementary but if you are intermediate to advanced, you can learn a lot from these books. By the way, don't be put off by the "15% for keyboard" description -- there is plenty to learn if you are a keyboard player.

Left-hand voicings were brilliantly covered by John Mehegan many years ago and are still current and available at very little cost. Right-hand techniques are less well covered but this volume is remarkable for its comprehensiveness and accessibility. Although useful for all instruments it is very much a book for keyboardists written by a keyboard player. Much as I admire Aebersold he is very much primarily a sax player although his volumes of transcribed comping are invaluable. We need to buy them all and practice!

Really good book with practical exercises to apply to your improvising. Explains concepts very clearly and it’s definitely a book you’re going to use for several years. I would consider it being for intermediate players

Aunque se enfoca en el piano, es útil para cualquier estiudioso del jazz. Te da tips y consejos desde como aprenderte una progresión o un estándar hasta cómo realmente ser creativo con el instrumento. Realmente es una guía con muchos recursos para desarrollar todo el potencial que se puede lograr en el jazz.

David Berkman‘s teaching approach to Jazz Piano which also works for other instrumentalists is a hodden gem, without a doubt the best and quintessential bible on the subject.As opposed to the Levine book, Mr Berman‘s lessons are immediately leading to making music.Not to mention the musical direction is infinitely more hip.Wish I had found this 25 yrs ago

This is an incredibly good book which outlines some great ways to practise Jazz. It's not a theory book and it doesn't contain many lessons on how to play Jazz, it only contains methods for practising what you already know. That is not a weakness, that is in fact its key strength. I found this book a cure to confusion surrounding what to practise and how to improve. It is the best music book I have ever bought and I have been reading and working with it constantly for many months now.

Fantastic book for the jazz piano musos!