On The Subject of Range...

Ben Dowling: The Jazz Perspective

• Is America Dead?
  It was an accident of history. The New World enticed so many different people to its shores, that there were few alternatives. Either there would be a hundred different countries established on this new continent—with the attendant war and conflict—or somehow people would figure out a way to live together. We opted for the second of those.
• Music Improv Basics: Four Strategies For Playing Wrong Notes (properly!)
  While it probably doesn't seem like this would help - let's face it - if you are unwilling to play a lot of wrong notes, you're never going to learn how to do anything hard. It isn't something that you can do safely, with the assurance that you will look good while trying to get good at it. You won't look good. You won't sound good -- and the sooner you realize this, the sooner you will be able make real progress.
• Music Improv Basics: Eight Vital Things
  This article discusses 8 important things to remember as improvising musicians - whether advanced or just getting started: 1. Your technique is probably miles ahead of your ability to think - This isn't just true for classical players. I've known lots and lots (and lots) of jazz players who have let their technique run the show as opposed to their brains. Happens all the time...