[Harp-L] Was Jazz improv, now working on chords

[The Coogans]

Wow, it's always cool to see your name on this forum, even if the thread
really isn't about you.
I play keys and sing, which makes chord progessions/ patterns more visual,
more understandable.
I get away from the sheet music (usually a Real book chart), as soon as
possible, usually on the first day I start to work on a jazz standard.
There was a time when I would painstakingly arppegiate all the chords of a
tune on harp up thru the 9th.
Thank Goodnes muscle memory finally kicks in, and progressions become
recognizable, and it all starts to make sense.
I think working through a Standard jazz-blues is a great place to start.
Then eventually learn it in another key, and another, etc. Mr David
Naitditch posted a nice jazz blues in all 12 keys a few years ago (thanks,
David) that I still go back to from time to time. When you get to the point
that you can play nice lines through an exercise like that, you've got a
pretty darn good vocabulary. For me, this has been a lifelong project, I'm
still far from the musician I want to be, but I practice everyday, and I
love the process. Take it slow and have fun!!
-Ed Coogan
Gainesville, Fl