{"title":"Jedi mind tricks: Lennie Tristano and techniques for imaginative musical practice","authors":"Marian Jago","doi":"10.1558/JAZZ.V7I2.20971","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"In the 1940s, pianist Lennie Tristano was among the first to attempt to teach jazz improvisation as an area of study distinct from instrumental technique. In doing so, he employed a methodology which was considered highly unorthodox at the time and which is still somewhat unique for jazz pedagogy. Chief among these unorthodox pedagogical devices was the use of visualization and other mental techniques for musical practice and composition. These methods enabled students to separate imaginative musical experiences from the habits of muscle memory, while at the same time speeding the acquisition of certain digital techniques and developing the musical imagination. \n Visualization techniques also served to extend available practice time for students who lacked space suited to audible instrumental practice, and to those who were working day jobs and had limited time available for instrumental practice. Recent studies in brain plasticity bear out Tristano’s intuitive use of mental techniques as a useful addendum to more traditional forms of instrumental and compositional practice. Though certainly not the first to emphasize the importance of mental conditioning and imaginative practice methods, Tristano’s use of them within a methodology for jazz instruction constitutes a unique pedagogical approach worthy of further research and discussion.","PeriodicalId":40438,"journal":{"name":"Jazz Research Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.1000,"publicationDate":"2015-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Jazz Research Journal","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1558/JAZZ.V7I2.20971","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"MUSIC","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
In the 1940s, pianist Lennie Tristano was among the first to attempt to teach jazz improvisation as an area of study distinct from instrumental technique. In doing so, he employed a methodology which was considered highly unorthodox at the time and which is still somewhat unique for jazz pedagogy. Chief among these unorthodox pedagogical devices was the use of visualization and other mental techniques for musical practice and composition. These methods enabled students to separate imaginative musical experiences from the habits of muscle memory, while at the same time speeding the acquisition of certain digital techniques and developing the musical imagination.
Visualization techniques also served to extend available practice time for students who lacked space suited to audible instrumental practice, and to those who were working day jobs and had limited time available for instrumental practice. Recent studies in brain plasticity bear out Tristano’s intuitive use of mental techniques as a useful addendum to more traditional forms of instrumental and compositional practice. Though certainly not the first to emphasize the importance of mental conditioning and imaginative practice methods, Tristano’s use of them within a methodology for jazz instruction constitutes a unique pedagogical approach worthy of further research and discussion.
期刊介绍:
Jazz Research Journal explores a range of cultural and critical views on jazz. The journal celebrates the diversity of approaches found in jazz scholarship and provides a forum for interaction and the cross-fertilisation of ideas. It is a development and extension of The Source: Challenging Jazz Criticism founded in 2004 at the Leeds College of Music. The journal aims to represent a range of disciplinary perspectives on jazz, from musicology to film studies, sociology to cultural studies, and offers a platform for new thinking on jazz. In this respect, the editors particularly welcome articles that challenge traditional approaches to jazz and encourage writings that engage with jazz as a discursive practice. Jazz Research Journal publishes original and innovative research that either extends the boundaries of jazz scholarship or explores themes which are central to a critical understanding of the music, including the politics of race and gender, the shifting cultural representation of jazz, and the complexity of canon formation and dissolution. In addition to articles, the journal features a reviews section that publishes critical articles on a variety of media, including recordings, film, books, educational products and multimedia publications.