Just a quick check-in here to thank all of the thread respondents who weighed in on my question.

I made it through the class - and that's what it feels like. Based on my assignment grades and the quizzes, I achieved an 87.6% grade.

However, I did not internalize the learning - yet.

Someone pointed me to the http://www.learnjazzstandards.com/ website which has play-along files and charts.

Plenty of fodder there to help me internalize. I really want to get the modes built-in as brain stem activity type of material. I see where my original posted idea could get in the way of that.

I also see where BIAB/RealBand could be a real boon to learning and internalizing modal approach, as I don't have good access to other folks that would be willing to school me live, at least none that I'm aware of. I can also see where I could enjoy composition in jazz stylings using these tools. I've always been more of a rock, country and folk guy (mainly because I can play guitars and keys in those stylings on my own without much need for support instrumentation).

Several outcomes that were a bit unexpected for me from taking this class:

1. I'm a Keith Jarrett convert. I remember checking out the Köln concert CD from the library perhaps 25 years ago, because I read in Keyboard magazine how cool the dude was at keys. I remember being nonplussed in listening the first time through - if I even made it all the way through. Big change for me having to learn Memories of Tomorrow and listening/watching Keith play that - oh man what a rock star! And I have an appreciation for his drummer and bass player, DeJohnette and Peacock - the abilities of all 3 together are magical. I also found a Youtube of the drummer and bass player talking about the importance of their abilities to sit at the piano and work out parts and melodies.

2. I have a renewed love for Vince Guaraldi - I have always loved 'Christmastime is Here' and the ever popular Charlie Brown theme as well as the other themes in the cartoons, but now I am able to play 'Christmastime is Here', with relative ease for my ear for my own enjoyment, but I hear so much more intelligence in how Vince picks notes and thick yet open chord voicings.

3. Gotta bust out ye olde Weather Report, Chick Corea Elektrik Band and other stuff that I've had gathering dust.

4. I thought that taking the class might help me to appreciate bop/bebop. It did not. I can appreciate the technical mastery needed to play such styles, but dang it if it doesn't just makes me bored and tired of hearing too many 'wrong notes' (to quote Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel) "Naima" remains my favorite Coltrane tune by a huge margin. Why? A melody that one can follow through the entire piece. With the note blitzkrieg that happens often in bebop, it's like one is having a nice conversation with someone; on a topic that is shared, and then the soloist decides it's time to become a teenaged girl on the phone and yammer on incessantly and simultaneously about five different boys, the latest teen fashions, 3 different movies, all the while texting and posting messages to facebook. My ears 'glaze over' and I simply lose interest. Maybe I'm just slow! For example, on Giant Steps, I'm in for the first 30 seconds - then after that it's just noise to me. I can follow bits of modal stuff here and there, but I'd much rather hear more development on the melody introduced in the first 30 seconds. I can't wait for it to come back. He takes way to long to come back in my opinion. I realize this is blasphemy to read for some.

Anyways, I'm already hoping to waitlist for the next run through the class. I'm hoping to nail Memories of Tomorrow and 500 Miles High with aplomb between now and then.

Enough rambling - thank you all again for your advice given in this thread. And for those of you interested to give jazz improvisation a crack - can't go wrong signing up for the free Berklee online course: https://www.coursera.org/course/improvisation

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