Awesome videos to share here Scott!
I have watched them all previously and now they all in one place I will have to watch them again ![:grinning: :grinning:](https://community.pianogroove.com/images/emoji/twitter/grinning.png?v=12)
I’ve read on a number of accounts of people asking Bill Evans what he practiced, and his answer was always along the lines of:
“I practice as few things as possible”
This very much ties into your point, about playing within your own fundamental control permits.
If you listen to a lot of Evans solos, he often plays very ‘inside’, that very Evans-Esque sound of descending arpeggio lines and interesting chromatic decorations. He ensured that he truly mastered these basic elements and he played them flawlessly which for me is the beauty of his sound and his style of playing.
Of course he was a musical genius on all accounts and his playing extended far beyond simple arpeggios, but the point is that he ensured he could play within his boundaries before moving on which gives strong foundations on which to build your own sound.
So how does this apply to us?
In my opinion, Bill’s view was that by constantly searching for new sounds, or more theory to master, it’s very easy to neglect the fundamentals of your playing, and leave things ‘half finished’.
Also, as you highly Scott, it’s easy for us step out of the boundaries of our technical capabilities in search of other sounds, when really we should first gain mastery of lines, chords, progressions, tunes, etc… that are within our ‘fundamental control’. ie. we can execute them easily in all 12 keys. Then it’s time to move on.
Interesting stuff… thanks for sharing Scott - I’m sure our other students will find this interesting.