Jake Cohan's Blog Archive

When You Awake by The Band

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

This is a masterpiece of a song I attempt to sing. Written by the band, performed by Jake Cohan

Posted in General | No Comments »

Jazzmando weekly tip,

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

This week Ted Eschliman author of, “Getting into Jazz Mandolin,” used a video of mine as an example of chord economy and chord inversions. I’d like to thank the people of Jazzmando.com for featuring me in their weekly tip column. It is surreal being on the other side of the lesson, although it drove home I must continue spending time in the woodshed. Off I go.

Posted in General | No Comments »

Miles Davis, “All Blues.”

Sunday, April 29th, 2012

I play once through the Miles Davis tune, “All Blues,” in the video below. “Kind of Blue,” being one of my favorite albums I often find my fingers trying to emulate it’s sounds. Thanks to the archives at Mel Bay some of my favorite album’s signature sounds have become tactile. A small dose of music theory is in my video details on my youtube channel. This video is a strong boost for any mandolins wishing to go where the grass is blue and beyond.

Chord charts of modal jazz songs are often simple, while the actual comping can be as intricate as one makes it. “All Blues,” has a moderate tempo and begins with 4 bars of G7. Here is my opportunity to emulate the tasteful piano playing of Bill Evans. Evans claimed to have avoided playing the tonic during the recording session. I call this style “sparse chord comping.”

Bill Evans musical genius knew no bounds, in that at any given time he knew the predetermined boundaries. Call it the “less is more,” approach or the, “law of reversed effort.” Established musical rules are heeded, themes are developed, and boundaries are pushed without them toppling over. His playing speaks for itself. For the musician, the understanding of modes can be one of the keys to unlocking this seductive style of playing.

Modes will be explained in full detail at a later date, for it is a lesson in and of it’s own. The basic theory is in playing through the major scale beginning on different scale degrees. If you were to play a C major scale starting on the 2nd scale degree, (D), up to D in the next octave, you are playing in the Dorian mode. If your fingers know the major scale through two octaves, your fingers also know the seven modes.

If I were to examine my lead playing over bars of G7 in, “All Blues,” I might tend to pick notes in G mixolydian, (Same notes as C major scale.) Or a Fmaj scale. For the dissonant, gypsy sound I love I might play something that fits into a C harmonic minor scale. Keep in mind…More important than following scale names is following one’s ear.

For the C7 passage I might use a four-finger closed position (FFCP) of the Bb major scale. Starting with my second finger on the G-string 3rd fret. The options are almost endless once you master your FFCP’s.

The FFCP method has helped my playing tremendously. It seems that visual learners like myself benefit instantly from viewing, then playing the FFCP’s! Horn keys like Eb and Bb no longer give me any trouble. Transposing solos is a cake walk. F and Bb, are now my favorite keys to solo in.

“Getting into Jazz Mandolin.” and Jazzmando.com are resources that have made mandolin playing much more enjoyable for me. They will do the same for you… and oh yeah, you will sound all the better as well.

Questions, comments encouraged.
More info on jazz, theory, modes, and fun to come. Remember, if it sounds good to you, someone else will like it too.

Posted in General | No Comments »

Great show last night

Sunday, April 29th, 2012

I’d like to take this post to thank the folks who came out to the Tin Roof for the Sailing to Denver show last night. Having a good crowd with open ears is a great thing that should not be taken for granted. Caled from No Parachute was nice enough to play with us again. We really enjoyed playing four tunes by The Band in an attempt to pay homage to the great Levon Helm. Levon and the rest of The Band has been an inspiration to all the members of our band as well as countless other music lovers.

Posted in General | No Comments »

Justin Sandercoe, great instruction for any and all guitar players.

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

I stumbled upon justinguitar.com today while I was looking for some jazz guitar licks to play on my new hollow body Ibanez. Three hours later I just got done with the Tour De France that is. You have to see it to believe it. If you get as much out of it as I did, (in only one day,) do the right thing and donate. Justin has mastered many styles of guitar, and provides accurate chord charts and videos for playing songs as well as advice on composition and practice.

I must go work on my instructional material, I have lots to do before I can be on par with resources like Justin’s. In the near future mandolin player’s will have a home where they can lose an afternoon in practice. Stay posted and keep posting comments and questions. Till then check out Justin Sandercoe’s site.

Posted in General | No Comments »

Tony Rice is a master musician, but this is for Wyatt Rice.

Sunday, April 15th, 2012

The video I have posted below is a clip from a very useful instructional DVD. A common tendency is focusing on the playing of leads and melodies rather than focusing on rhythm and chords. Our ear is more drawn in by single note playing and our fingers prefer it to clamping down full chords.

Rhythm and chords of songs are being overshadowed by the sexier melodies playing over them. As one’s understanding of music expands it becomes obvious that melodies are contained in the chords and the chords contain the melody as well. The two parts of the music are codependent. The relationship between the timing of a solo, and the rhythm of the song is also one of codependency.

That being said, in agreement that solo playing is over-emphasized, new ways are being used to teach and put emphasis on comping. Some great instructors have gone so far to say, “the chords are more important than the melody, and only after the chords are learned can one attempt the lead.” I agree with the application of this, but not the implication. It is not true that one is more important than the other, it is true that one is much more neglected.

This video is a great illustration of how important and intricate playing rhythm is when it is done well. Wyatt Rice is one of the best, be it bluegrass, jazz, or in-between. His playing is so tasteful and smooth it often goes unnoticed.

Posted in General | 1 Comment »

Searching for your sound

Friday, April 6th, 2012

All of my favorite musicians and bands have one thing in common. That one thing is that they have nothing in common. This seems paradoxical at first glance, but with a more detailed view it becomes much clearer.

For simplicity’s sake I will start by discussing guitar alone. Some of my favorite players include: Django Reinhardt, Jimi Hendrix, Tony Rice, Chet Atkins, and Derek Trucks. The list can go on forever(this is just mine right now, think of your own list if you want). Each player has a singular unique sound, call it tone, or phrasing, or intonation. The technical aspect is not as important as the simple sound. Our ears know best, in a spit second the trained ear can tell what, or who it is listening too. Having an uncommon sound is good! The differences become more apparent with entire bands playing, or in the context of composers, and/or singer songwriters.

Whether you are a maestro seeking mastery of composition, or a weekend bass player trying to have fun in “Joe’s,” garage. The most important thing besides simply being pleasing to the ear, is sounding different. Having one’s own unique sound is what makes players like Miles Davis, Bill Frisell, Doc Watson, Keith Jarrett and the late great Earl Scruggs, “before their time.” It is also what makes their music so awe inspiring and timeless. Find a sound you like and try to repeat it, not to make a carbon copy of it, you might just find your own sound.

Using electronics or different instruments can help this process. But it is not the only way to stand out from other acts. Often having a unique tonal vocabulary can achieve this. Find great music from other parts of the world or stuff you really like that is not on the billboard charts. Often borrowing influences from different genres and incorporating them into one can create a new territory of music that has yet to be explored. If you are a string player listen to horn players you love. This can open doors and create a niche for you making you stand out in a crowd. Simply being technically great does not always translate to great music, one must be creative and original as well. Only with that combination can one find their sound. Good luck and keep delving.

Posted in General | No Comments »

Comprehensive mandolin instruction coming soon.

Friday, March 23rd, 2012

I am in the process of completing a series of instructional videos for beginner/intermediate mandolin players. I have a handful of free videos on my youtube channel under the name JakeCohan. I call them “Jake’s mandolin tricks”. These videos will be posted here on my website as well.

Future videos will be more in depth and will include tab and notation so pickers at home can get the most out of this instructional material. The lesson plan will be a cumulative series of riffs, theory based exercises and songs that will be useful to players interested in bluegrass, jazz, classical, and beyond. Tricks one through six are free and available right now.

I am making a conscious effort to make this mandolin method unique, not something you can find anywhere on the web. I am focusing on intermediate players because in my experience I’ve found that at that level one reaches plateau in improvement. Often something as simple as a new warm-up routine or studying a tune out of one’s comfort zone can accelerate one’s playing over the plateau. The material in this series will be focused on resources that facilitate creativity and expression in playing. Less is often more in composition and playing, but in terms of the tools we use to get there, more is always better.

Stay posted for more instructional material. I have many lessons finished that will be uploaded in the near future. In the meantime I have one tip. Practice smarter not harder. Find a passage in a piece you have difficulty playing and focus on that instead of the parts of the song you already have nailed down. It will pay off.

Posted in General | No Comments »