"Cosy Moments Cannot Be Muzzled!"
Published: Fri, 09/22/23
"Have you thought about writing shorter emails?"
I guess that's more of an AQ than an FAQ, because, much to my gratification, I don't hear that question very frequently at all. As I wrote in my reply to this particular reader, I just assume anyone who thinks my emails are too long either deletes them or, when they get tired of that, simply unsubscribes. And bon voyage about sums up my take on that. The last thing I want to do is impose my musings on an uninterested party.
The question put me in mind of one of my favorite P.G. Wodehouse riffs, from Psmith, Journalist: "Cosy Moments cannot be muzzled!" I have considered writing shorter emails; sometimes I've even done it. Case in point: because this is the last day before tomorrow's online workshop, in addition to this morning's email, there'll be a late-afternoon reminder and a last-call message later tonight.
Those reminder messages are never particularly verbose, though I do occasionally shoehorn them into some kind of verse form, because I feel like if you're still reading my workshop updates at this point in the week, you deserve to be entertained along the way. But the only sustainable way to write a weekly newsletter is to likewise entertain myself, so as long as writing it is part of my job and a quorum of subscribers continue to enjoy reading it, I'm pretty sure I'll keep writing it more or less the way I have been, at least for the foreseeable future. Cosy Moments cannot be muzzled.
That said, I do enjoy a challenge, so who knows? I'm sure I could stand to tighten things up a little now and then.
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It's been fun putting out so many new videos this week, and one of the best things about preparing a new workshop, and making the related Youtube lessons, is how it helps me clarify exactly what it takes to play in a particular style. I've learned from this week's comments – on my channel and in my inbox – that for many people, this style simply looks intimidating. And yet, I think it can be significantly de-fanged by simply breaking it into two challenges: the new chord shapes you need to learn, and the rules for how to string them together in a musical way.
In looking back over this week's Youtube videos, I realized I had done every example using no more than five basic chord shapes. You probably play twice that many open position chords without even thinking about it. And those five Freddie Green chord shapes are all played on the same three strings, with almost the same fingerings.
Now, it takes time to get new chords to the point where you can play them instinctively. But once you can, the only limit to what you can do with them is your understanding of how to fit them together. Meanwhile, one of the best ways to get those chords under your fingers is to start applying them to familiar chord progressions like the blues.
Which are, of course, the main things we'll be focusing on in tomorrow's workshop: what chords do you need, how do you play them, and how should you use them? But if you'd like to start unlocking things on your own, today's lesson lays out those five essential shapes and how to finger them. You can find it at the link below:
The Five Essential Jazz Chord Shapes
If you've been meaning to sign up for Minor Blues Chord Substitutions, or the entire three-part series, you can still do so at the following link. I'll be live streaming tomorrow from 10:30am to 12:30pm, Central Daylight Time, but an on-demand replay of the entire workshop will be available for an entire year afterwards for anyone who signs up, along with almost thirty pages of exercises and examples and a custom jam track to practice to. You can get all the details here:
Register For Tomorrow's Workshop
More soon,
David