jistmufv

This is a very interesting time of year for me. With gigs just about every weekend, I end up working on ideas or studies during the week and then exploring them in context on the weekend. It's getting to the point where I'm getting excited to perform, because I'll get to try out a new techniqure or theory and see how it flies. It also helps my practice because if the weekend is coming up and I haven't learned anything new, then I better get moving.
---------
I went down to the Berklee Bookstore this AM to pick up some books on Jazz etudes. I got the Joe Pass book Tim recommended and I got Fred Lipsius' Jazz Rhythms. Lipsius' book looks at different jazz rhythms and explores them over standards using guide tones, and full out jazz lines. It looks like a great book; a good mix of learning and doing. Pass' book, is just a classic. I have a couple of Joe's books lying around here somewhere, but Tim suggested this one to me for etudes in the back.
--------------------
There sure is nothing like being injured to appreciate the time when you 'can' play.
I'm learning a lot about my injury, and am becoming very sensitive about how I can change my posture and positioning while playing & sitting at the computer. Today was a good example where I had some pain, but alleviated it by alterning my sitting position and getting up and stretching throughout my practice time.
-------
With the weather & hummidty on the rise here in Boston, I'm gravitating to later practice times in the evening, when things have cooled down a bit. This has me with headphones, which I particularly like.
Today I put a lot of my effort into my new Joe Pass book. I spent some time reading it and then just playing it. He's a very interesting man and has some great approaches to the guitar. I worked on a couple of his reharm ideas for improvisation. I got two good licks out of it for the day. One over a minor or minor b5 chord, and one over a Dom7 or ALT chord.
I played through a lot of lines and feel better for it. I was singing my way through everything and would take breaks to improvise over the chords that I was playing. I"m gaining some control over this style of music that I didn't have before.
My ears are getting better as well. I would still like to have a little more structure to my ET, but things are coming along.