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Woodshedding - Learning to Play!
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Joined: Oct 2023
Posts: 2
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2023
Posts: 2 |
Hi all -- I'm a classically-trained horn player making the transition to jazz.
On ballads I can hear the changes coming and have time to play truly by ear, and because I'm already technically capable I can always play what I hear in my head to good effect.
But when things start speeding up I get seriously flummoxed. It's not a strictly technical thing, I can play almost anything when reading sheet music, but I almost immediately get behind on the changes and its a mess.
So, I ask you, how did you work up to playing fast? What practice techniques or other work can you recommend that will help me keep my head on faster tunes?
Thanks for any help...
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Woodshedding - Learning to Play!
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,586
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,586 |
Hi. Welcome to the forum.
Tough question. We could be here awhile.
I’ve played horns professionally in jazz for sixty years. Looking back, I could cite ear training and transcribing solos as useful techniques. Starting out, I simply played in lots of groups and played along with LP records. I also played along with the radio (AM at the time!) to sharpen my skills since there’s no rewind.
Turning to now, if I had Band-in-a-Box at my disposal, I would enter the chords to a song then woodshed by continuing to ramp (increase) the tempo. Skills will increase.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Woodshedding - Learning to Play!
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Joined: Oct 2023
Posts: 2
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2023
Posts: 2 |
Hi all -- I'm a classically-trained horn player making the transition to jazz. On ballads I can hear the changes coming and have time to play truly by ear, and because I'm already technically capable I can always play what I hear in my head to good effect. But when things start speeding up I get seriously flummoxed. It's not a strictly technical thing, I can play almost anything when reading sheet music, but I almost immediately get behind on the changes and its a mess. https://100001.onl/So, I ask you, how did you work up to playing fast? What practice techniques or other work can you recommend that will help me keep my head on faster tunes? Thanks for any help... I got this,...
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Woodshedding - Learning to Play!
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,778
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,778 |
.................................
So, I ask you, how did you work up to playing fast? What practice techniques or other work can you recommend that will help me keep my head on faster tunes?
Thanks for any help... As I tell my students "if you can't play it slow you can't play it fast so always start with a slow tempo, practice until you get it, then increase the tempo". As you are an accomplished player and reader pick something that is difficult to play and use said techniques. For my students I use the identical technique that Matt suggested using Band-in-a-Box. I record backing tracks for each song at various tempos and give the student an MP3 recording to practice with. It does work wonders with backing tracks. YMMV
Dad, how will I know when I've become an adult.
When your day is ruined because they rearranged the grocery store.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Woodshedding - Learning to Play!
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 892
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 892 |
One trick I use playing fast over complex changes is to try to simplify the changes.
For example a 2-5-1 can easily be thought of as a 5-1. Others suggest it is a 2-1. Either way its 33% fewer changes and either approach sounds good.
Also you ignore as many of the upper partials (9,11,13, natural, sharped or flatted) as you need to stay up with the changes.
Focus your initial arpeggios on the root, 3rd, and 7th of the chord. Add some chromaticism, approach from above or below and you have the start of a pretty good solo.
Often those upper partials are part of the melody. You may or may not want to focus on those tones in your solo anyway.
Target the 3rd of the chord you are moving into as your first note. Not every time, but it always sounds good.
Ignore some of the more complex harmonies. A tri-tone subsitituion on a dominant chord is a cool outside sound. I love it and use it a lot.
But ultimately its a 5 chord (dominant7) resolving a 5-1 cadence. Treat it as a dominant 5 chord and leave the tritone stuff for later.
The great guitarist Joe Pass often stated he thinks of only 3 chord qualities- Major Minor and Dominant.
Great advice.
It may not get you through every song, but it helps to keep up when the changes are flying fast and furious.
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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Holiday Weekend Hours
It's Victoria Day Long Weekend in Canada. Our Customer Service hours are:
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
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Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
Check out all the 202 new RealTracks (in sets 468-488)!
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
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- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
- Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
- Playable RealTracks Set 5
- RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
- SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
- iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
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- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
- RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
- SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
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XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
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XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
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Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
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