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Mouse said:
Jazz/Standards are not for ear players
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Actually, some of the greatest jazzers played by ear. :)
This fellow, for example:

And this guy:

Not to say that they didn't have an understanding of music theory; it's just that it came from practical situations rather than an academic setting.
All you really need is big ears ... which i know you have, because of your ability to grab all of the riffs and the nuances of your covers (without even mentioning your avatar, LOL).
You could play jazz if you wanted to; it would just take a little time and effort.
Challenge: transcribe just 8 measures of one of those solos.
i bet you will do just fine, and who knows, maybe you'll even want to do more.
 
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frostyjr2 said:
Actually, some of the greatest jazzers played by ear. :)
This fellow, for example:

And this guy:

Not to say that they didn't have an understanding of music theory; it's just that it came from practical situations rather than an academic setting.
All you really need is big ears ... which i know you have, because of your ability to grab all of the riffs and the nuances of your covers.
You could play jazz if you wanted to; it would just take a little time and effort.
Challenge: transcribe just 8 measures of one of those solos.
i bet you will do just fine, and who knows, maybe you'll even want to do more.
Click to expand...

Ha! Fair point but I'd wager you still need to do your homework or at least immerse yourself in the genre. I've learned a bunch of theory over at the other place over the years which has served me well for what I do. It could help with this stuff but the truth is I just never immersed myself in that style of music. It's sort of like the blues. I can fake my way through blues but I'm sure to guys who lived that style for years, they can call me out as a fraud immediately. Despite all the jokes about jazz players playing the "wrong notes", it's not a genre you can fake without it sounding like a cat is walking over your guitar neck...at least I can't fake it in an improv situation.

That said, I may take a stab at one of these tunes one day. It will likely be a pure aping of whatever song it is but often that mimicry gives me better insight into the song structure for future songs.
 
Immersion will definitely do it, LOL.
Here's one of the most ambitious transcriptions i ever took on:

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com www.dropbox.com
It's from a live performance by Stan Getz and Chet Baker.
All done by ear. And total immersion for days.
 
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frostyjr2 said:
Actually, some of the greatest jazzers played by ear. :)
This fellow, for example:

And this guy:

Not to say that they didn't have an understanding of music theory; it's just that it came from practical situations rather than an academic setting.
All you really need is big ears ... which i know you have, because of your ability to grab all of the riffs and the nuances of your covers (without even mentioning your avatar, LOL).
You could play jazz if you wanted to; it would just take a little time and effort.
Challenge: transcribe just 8 measures of one of those solos.
i bet you will do just fine, and who knows, maybe you'll even want to do more.
Click to expand...
My 90 year old mother in law plays piano by ear. Her son a.k.a. my brother-in-law plays bass in a popular tribute band that frequently plays in Las Vegas, he also plays by ear.
 
frostyjr2 said:
Totes!
i'm really all about the practical applications, though. :)
Click to expand...

Totally understand.

It all began for me around my freshman year of college. I was teaching myself guitar and working hard to memorize chord shapes. Eventually, it dawned on me, “There’s gotta be a reason I have to make all these weird shapes with my hand.” Thus, began the journey to learning theory and the guitar just opened up to me and made so much better sense.

Eventually, I minored in music.

But, yeah, it’s not about just having knowledge, it’s about how it expands what you do.
 
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