Acknowledgement Excerpt from Coltranes 'A Love Supreme'

Guitar Scribe?

I need help in transcribing some of the talks that I gave at the last two Shobu Okugyo Aikido retreats. If you would be able to volunteer some time to help with the project please let me know. I'm hoping to shape some of these into a more formal book format over the summer.

Thanks,

- Jay

Gig Friday night @ the Flying Bean

Hi all, ill be playing at the flying bean again this friday night with a local guitarist ted parker. If your in the area you should come check it out!!
I am also playing there on friday may 2 which is more of a open jam so your all welcome to come play some tunes.
cheers
noah

The Flying Bean
2130 Preston Parkway-Levis Commons
419-931-0273

Kurt Rosenwinkel- 'Untitled Improvisation'

Gig Friday night @ the Flying Bean

Hi All,
I want you to know that I will be playing a gig this Friday the 28th at a local coffee shop called the Flying Bean between 7 p.m. and 10. I generally play in a trio with a sax player and bassist. Anyway, it's laid back, and if anyone wants to come and sit in for a couple tunes, you're more than welcome. The Flying Bean is in Levi's Commons and it is a kid friendly environment.

The Flying Bean
2130 Preston Parkway-Levis Commons
419-931-0273

Hope to see some of you there,
-Noah

Lesson on March 20th

During my last lesson with Jay, we went over the song Rondeau where I am playing classical style line with a moving melody in the bass over chords that ring out. Jay showed me how to pluck and finger the various chord voicing’s. This song really challenges me to learn the music well enough to be able to play the piece with others while keeping control of my right and left hands on a different level than most music that I would just use a pick or my thumb to play.

Jay told me that learning just the bass part of the song first might impair my ability to later add the full chords. He told me to break the song down and learn it note by note, phrase by phrase at a time while repeating all of the old material the whole time. This can be slow going at first but it really helps when it comes time to sit and play the piece again the next day when I can remember more of what I have learned and I can feel my muscle memory working faster and faster for my plucking fingers to get where they need to go.

Support the Dalai Lama

Guys -

I just signed an urgent petition calling on the
Chinese government to
respect human rights in Tibet and dialogue with the
Dalai Lama. This is
really important, and I thought you might want to
take action:

After nearly 50 years of Chinese rule, the Tibetans
are sending out a global
cry for change. Violence is spreading across Tibet
and neighbouring regions, and the Chinese regime is right now making a crucial
choice between tougher
crackdown or dialogue.

President Hu Jintao needs to hear that 'Made in
China' exports and the
upcoming Olympics in Beijing will have the support
of the world's people
only if he chooses dialogue. But it will take an
avalanche of global people
power to get his attention. Click below to sign the
petition – in just 3
days, the campaign is almost half way to the goal of
1 million signatures!

Click Here to sign.

- Jay

I have been slacking

I have not posted in a long time, because i have not had time and i forgot.

I have been working on scales that only play the notes in a Maj7, min7 and a Dom7.
in my lesson we went over a song called Tangerine. Jay wants me to record the chord changes and then record
two different solo's over that useing theses scales. it is working out nice but when i play it with the band i tend to
get lost in the chart. Then when it's time for my solo i have no clue were i am and then i just play a F Maj. scale and
that just sounds poo and i don't want that.

I am also working on finding notes on the axe and poping them as well, and there are some scale subs and some
scale paterns that i am working on. I find that the scale paterns are hard for me to get down in all 5 positions but with
practice i am sure to get them down.

The master class on monday was KA.
Thanks Jay.

John Abercrombie and Mark Soskin Master Class

On Monday John Abercrombie and Mark Soskin came to UT and presented a master class session. They played two songs in a guitar piano duo and sounded great doing it. Abercrombie’s playing was very melodic as he used fewer notes to say more. While comping Soskin did a great job of following the lead and adjusting his note choice based on what Abercrombie played. Both are quite talented musicians.

Mark Soskin explained how he plays to compliment the harmony when playing rather than use various voicings or trying to overflow the harmony. He also talked about using what you were learning right away so that you can better incorporate it into your playing style. Soskin addressed the importance of hooking-up into the music so that you were always listening to everything being played and responding by going with the flow and complimenting one another.
John Abercrombie discussed how he tries to establish a good overall tone and volume level that will mesh well with the band and sound pleasing. This way the listener can enjoy your sound before the first melody is even completed and the band will have more of a unison feel. Abercrombie said that if he super imposes he will sometimes use pedal point or just stop playing. The goal is to support whatever is being played while not clashing or limiting any of the possibilities of the person soloing.

Abercrombie clarified that he focuses in where the chord is going – the resolution points – rather than getting wrapped up in a single chord because there is always a steady flow of new chords coming. Focusing too much on one chord means that you can get behind as the flow of the song progresses.

He said that he uses licks when he has to but doesn’t play licks for the most part. He also said that although he no longer practices scales or other certain exercises he still practices everyday by playing new songs and testing his weak points such as playing faster material. He also addressed the point that sometimes the less talking about a tune there is the better it can become because it frees of each of the musicians.

It was a great master class and I wish we could have heard Abercrombie and Soskin play with the faculty band or the Murphies.

Last lesson we covered the Dorian mode and I learned how Dorian is the first mode in a group of modes that is based off of the minor scale with the flatted third. Meanwhile, Lydian, Ionion, and Mixolydian are centered more around the major scale (Ionian being the major scale). Playing the modes is fun and is really expanding my note vocabulary as far as knowing what notes can be played.

Jay also showed me how I can keep the same note in the bass of a chord progression while choosing chords based on the modes and how this can be as easy as moving a simple bar chord pattern around.
E.G. playing open E string while doing a major bar chord from the A sting down and moving this pattern on all the notes in the E major scale / whatever mode you are in.
I have a new way of looking at all of my chord shapes and new scales with which to solo over them.

I am continuing my reading exercises that are certainly helping me to learn my neck with speed and accuracy. The breathing exercises help me get centered and focused right before I practice as well.

-Geoff

Jay's Talk at the Toledo Zen Center March 16, 2008

For those who may be interested...

Got a Match? Chick Corea

Easter Pot Luck at Jays

All -

You are invited to a pot luck at my place Easter Sunday (March 23rd this year) at 4pm.


All are welcome, just let me know if you will be coming and if you need our home address.

- Jay

Rest In Peace, Dennis Irwin.

Dennis was an amazing musician, and an amazing person. He passed away yesterday and will be missed...

(The Real) Guitar Dojo!

Everyone did a great job at this workshop, and based on the positive feedback from everyone, I'm sure that we will do this again!

Amazing Resource!

http://urge2burge.wordpress.com/

Lots of great music to check out for free. Thanks for the heads up on this from Gunnar!

free improv

Hey all, well i have spent the last several days doing what jay had talked about during are gathering, recording small clips of free improve and recording myself over it later. I must say doing this exercise has already taught me ALOT about my playing! one of the most surprising things i learned so far was that just simple playing free i started to find myself falling into predictable patterns and sounds, i disliked this and after some thought on the problem i realized that i really wasn't there yet..that is to say although i thought i was playing improvised i was really just rambling on shapes and sound i already knew. The great awaking came when i decided to make these patterns musical, that is to say i stopped just playing and tried to find the most musical, lyrical, speaking way i could and BAM!! i started to hear things in the music that wasn't there before!!
hopefully you all try this exercises out because it truly helped me hear my playing and improv in a new way.
As well id love to hear some others peoples playings.
cheers
noah

Must See!

Lesson - A New Technique

I've been able to manage to practice about 2 hours a day this past week.

The ''note popping'' is a good excercise that I expect to keep in my routine as is reading without looking at the neck. I need a lot of work on the discepline of focusing on the target. I have a tendancy to rush ahead without looking.

The practice of naming note names and scale degrees is a good one for me. It helps me avoid the running of scales/patterns without thinking about anything more than the pattern/scale name and its sound.

This week, Jay raised my awareness of the style of playing I have somewhat developed and how it differs from straight ahead jazz style which I want. Not to say that my learned style is bad, but to recognize its character. I found that it took some effort to eliminate my slip and slide, heavy note bending, ''chicken picken'' sort of style and work on playing more ''straight''. A good practice to help me become more versatile. Trying to fill up the ''bag of tricks''.

I have new voicings and arps to work on this week. Cool stuff.

Thanks Jay,

Bob

Allen Holdsworth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQUntzKpLj4&NR=1

Allen Holdsworth live. Good stuff, apparently he is reemerging with an album due out later this year.

Dojo Child Care Opportunity

The Dojo is looking for someone who is interested in taking on a part time job looking after the kids while the adults practice a few evenings a week. Please email me if you have anyone you know that may be interested in exploring this possibility!

Thanks,

- Jay (jayweik@gmail.com)

New Theory of Learning

"New Theory of Learning""New Theory of Learning"

Very interesting article. Found this via unschooling research for my daughter Isabella...

- Jay

Miles, Ornette, Cecil. Part 2.

This book is available via the amazon link to the left...

Miles, Ornette, Cecil.

An important book!

Lessons and Practice

The practice times are yielding some good results. Note recognition and it's scale degree are improving as is accuracy.

During our meeting last week, Jay layed out a lesson for playing 7 modes of the major scale to be played on one string at a time. At first hearing the modes played, some of them seemed odd sounding. While Jay played the chord(s) that ''fit'' the mode, I was able to hear how the scales blended.

I was impressed again as I realized the value of the ''one string at a time'' method used for this lesson. It helps to force me to ''break'' away from playing scales using (only) patterns as a guide. I am learning note names and scale degrees easier by playing on one string.

I'm managing about two hours a day and trying to get that increased.

Thanks Jay,

Bob Ferraiuolo

Since my last lesson, I am adding the note A to the notes I have to locate on the guitar. I am also adjusting my picking style so that more motion comes from my elbow rather than any part of my right hand being anchored to the guitar.

Jay gave me reading exercises so that I can locate all the variations of c in each octave on the guitar neck without having to look at my guitar. It also helps me to practice keeping my eyes focused on the chart in front of me rather than looking down to play the note. This is necessary in order not to loose your spot in a chart.

Jay introduced the practice of identifying the scale degrees of the notes within the chords so I can begin working on chord melody. The scales are played on one string with the melody note on top and the harmonization underneath.

We added a couple more notes to the quest as I learn to better identify the notes in all locations on the fretboard. By concentrating on just a few notes, as opposed to an entire piece of music, I believe I am seeing quicker progress as I reach for the goal of getting my reading skills up to a quicker speed.

I am getting a better understanding of the chord inversions by taking time to identify the scale degrees as opposed to just playing them by ear.

Thanks Jay

Bob Ferraiuolo

john jorgeson

Hi all, i wanted to let you know that a great guitarist is playing a free concert this friday night at the coffee shop "ground for thoughts" in Bowling Green, John use to be one of the three players in the super group "the hellcasters" he is also one of the top sessions players in nashville, and now focuses on playing gypse style jazz..anyways if your free its going to be a good show, and i think it start at 8pm..

grounds for thoughts
174 South Main Street
Bowling Green Ohio 43403
Phone: (419) 354-3266

cheers
noah

In my last lesson jay gave me the note A to find and I continued the study of other notes. Jay showed how use penatonic substitutions to add color tones when soling. We also worked on some dexterity exercises.

The penatonic substitutions Jay showed me have been really helpful in changing up the way i use the penatonic scale. Lately I've felt that alot of my penatonic solos sounds too similar, and these substitutions are really nice for adding different sounds to my solos.

I've also been practicing penatonic patterns, and bends.

lesson 3

I have been finding the note C,F and A on the fret board and "poping" C and F.

I have been playing C mi cells all over the neck, and with that i have been jaming on a C min Blues

I also have been practicing shapes with C mi pentatonic scales

my left hand fingers have been piviting wrong so i have been doing some exercises to help with that.

New Drinking Gourd Podast Available: Obstacles to Practice (3 of 3)

Guys -

This is abit of my Zen stuff, if you are interested, check it out...

- Jay


Jay Chikyo Weik offers a presentation entitled "Obstacles to Practice (part 3 of 3)" given at the Toledo Zen Center on December 2, 2007.

"There are four basic ways that a bodhisattva will guide or help or engage sentient beings to the purpose of helping to relieve suffering. The first one is called Giving, the second one is Kind Speech, the third one is Beneficial Action, and the fourth one is called Identity Action."

My First Lesson

Yesterday was Friday the ninth and I had my first guitar lesson with Jay. I will now summarize the lesson: 1. We talked about posture, dexterity, and correct right hand picking.
2. Jay showed me the Hara, or where you should feel every note.
3. We worked on the C on the Axe.
4. We worked on 3 and 4 note improvisation, instead of 5, 6, 7 note improvisation.
5. We discussed putting the site up as a facebook group too.
I do not have a practice log yet.

The Drinking Gourd Water Keepers Initiative

The Toledo Zen Center and Shobu Aikido of Ohio in partnership with the MultiFaith Council of NW Ohio have begun the work of creating a collection program aimed at reducing the quantity of unused pharmaceuticals entering the environment and reducing the amount of drugs available for diversion, theft, or accidental poisoning.

If you would like to have a look at the conversations and progress that have happened to date or join the email group for this project please go to this Google Groups Page.

It is important that as a community of practice we reach out in meaningful ways to help the world around us, please get involved to whatever degree you can.

- Jay Sensei

Lesson

So far in my lessons with Jay I have been locating the notes C and F on the fret board and committing them to memory while ‘popping’ the note C. This exercise has greatly helped me to get to know the guitar neck and has made me aware of the possible positions that I could use once I know which note I want to play. I practice finding notes and popping them three times a day for about 10-15 minutes each time.

When explaining the concept of popping, Jay told me that I do not want to push my right hand to the next note, but rather feel my hand being pulled to the note by seeing the note in my mind’s eye and then allowing my right hand to be pulled to the next note.

I am also working on improvising with the major scales and soloing on one string at a time. I will break down the way I view what I am playing according to the four ways of knowing, one way at a time. I have been spending more time with letter and number because those are the areas, which I need the most work on. After I jam over a chord progression for a while using each one of the four ways, I try to use all four in soloing to incorporate what I have learned into my playing and to practice knowing what you are playing in all four ways simultaneously.

I also learned that the term ‘perfect pitch’ refers to those people who have the ability to decipher between A 440 and A 441, which is more of a curse than a blessing. This is because having perfect pitch is like looking at an impressionistic painting and only being able to see each individual dot or brush stroke instead of seeing the whole picture. In contrast, relevant pitch is where you can hear a note / chord and think of a note related by hearing it in your head and knowing the relationship.

Congratulations to Jay for being voted best guitar teacher in Toledo by the City Paper.

Geoff

Smoke on Mt. Fuji

3rd Lesson-First Things First

I met with Jay and confessed to my wayward travels during studys. I got off track, went off on my own, and studied from my library a bunch of chord melody, scale application, chord substitution, chord inversions, and chord progressions...............It was so much fun..............but I still can't read worth a darn.
So, Thanks Jay, for putting me back on the track and helping me accomplish my goal - sight reading.
First things first. Back to the reading drills.
Bob Ferraiuolo

Sweep Picking Defined & Demonstrated.

In the clip of Guthrie Govan that padawan Travis shared with us below, he mentions the "sweep picking" moment. Actually, that moment is not really sweep picking, but is two hand tapping. Here is some sweet sweep picking, works just fine with a clean tone as well...

- Jay

Sister Euclid

I am happy to say that one of my favorite bands finally got some material up on you tube! this cats are great players and really nice guys, i use to see them every monday night back in my home town toronto canada, kevin is a amazing guitar player! if you dont recognize him he is the guitarist behind nora jones on her first two albums as well as to many others out there. hope you enjoy!!

Scofield Clip

Hey Guys -

This is a tune I heard for the first time today when John brought it in for the faculty ensemble to play. We will be playing it at the next murphys gig I suppose. Lets not forget that jazz guitar isn't limited to just Swing and Bop. In fact, most of my east coast gigs are either free jazz or groove stuff like this. The last one was acoustic guitar and world percussion free stuff. That being said, you know that Sco can play just fine when Stella gets called...

Note how Sco uses chromaticism to create tension while steve holds down the vamp. See if you can become even more aware of how he floats between tension and release this way.

- Jay

Guthrie Govan

Hey guys, I came across an amazing fusion guitarist by the name of Guthrie Govan. He's from Britain. Check out this video of him. Note the sweep lick at 7:56 :)



Peace,

~Travis Ross

Lesson

Hey guys-

My last lesson with Jay was about sight reading and three note root position in major, minor, diminished, suspended, and augmented on strings 1-3. The sight reading exercises were about finding the note c in all its positions throughout the neck.

The important thing is that I'm working on sight reading, which is probably my biggest challenge right now. But Im also improving my major scale and jazz chord knowledge.

I've been practicing sight reading all the c notes for about a half hour each day, and also maj, min, dim, aug and sus4 triads for about a half hour. So I put in a total of about 1 hour a day, with the exception of Saturday and Sunday.

Peace,
~Travis Ross

Lesson One

In my first lesson I was on the prowl to find the pitch of C. The thing that changed my way of thinking and i got alot out of was how Jay expplaned how guitar players think in shapes and not in notes. I have been practicing 2 to 3 hours every day mostly scales.

2nd Lesson

After reviewing my goals - which are improved reading skills, accurancy, a set list of chord melody tunes from which to study and an understanding of devices and their use, we got right to the reading and accuracy drills.

I have NEVER thought of being at this level of concentration when approaching a note on the guitar as Jay helped me achieve - and that was done in one session with him. Since practicing using his tips, my accuracy has definately gone up.

This week, I have been locating all the C notes on the guitar and also quickly ''popping'' from one C note to the next C note everywhere they can be found on the neck. At first thought, I wondered how significant it would be to find all the C notes I was sure I knew were there.

Jay asked me to concentrate on the note I was approaching with greater focus, taking as long as I needed. It seemed extremely basic and well......it was. Thanks for taking me back there Jay. What a differance. I can hit those notes almost every time now. Prior to this, I had been ''rushing in'' to the next note - which was not helping my lack of accuracy issue.

Since I had never tried to go from C to C as a drill before meeting Jay, I tested this method of concentration on difficult passages I've been playing and having difficulty with for a long time. I CLEANED UP THE SLOPPINESS! That was a good test because I tried before, through repitition to clean the passages up, but I was just practicing the same ol' sloppiness. I used to think the problem was that my fretting hand could not move fast enough to hit the notes. Not so.

I am practicing aprox 3 hours each day. I work on chord melody, playing the notes I'm reading without looking at the fretboard, concentration for accuracy and speed, and the use of chord substitions and scale application.

Per Jays suggestion, I'm keeping a journal and dividing my practice time into thirds - 1)Reviews, 2)New Material, and 3)Whatevers.

Bob Ferraiuolo

Lesson

In my last lesson with jay we continued to work on the penatonic scale and using it as chords over major and minor vamps. We also went over the note C and Jay gave me some sight reading exercises with just the note C.

This lesson showed me that I don't practice enough in all 12 keys. There are afew keys that I have a lot better than others and I need work on them all.

I've been practicing the exercices on the note C for about a half hour every day. I've also been practicing then penatonic scale and using it as chords in all keys going through the cycle of fourths.

lessons

1. My last lesson with Jay we played a bunch of tunes to prepare for an upcoming audition i have as well as reviewing a whole bunch of arp's and scales.

2. I would have to say that what i learned from the last lesson was that i need to work on intros to chord melodies and be more aware of how to start and end tunes to make them more unified.

3. I practice all the time, and I'm jumping around between many things, but mainly working on finding new sounds.

thanks for all your help jay!

noah

First Lesson

Hello,

My first lesson experience was a good one. Jay was polite and tuned in quickly to my needs. While I have many areas of study I would like to address, Jay assessed a few of my practices and started me on a much needed lesson to help me sight read - a major priority.

I expect an exceptional experience working with Jay as the first lesson indicates that he will be able to give good direction specific to the individual.

Now, back to finding all those C notes - I'm headed into my 8th hour of studys this weekend.

Thanks Jay!

John Abercrombie - Getting Out of the Position Box!

My 'family lineage' in Jazz is Jim Hall and Mick Goodrick. John here explains a core conception that accounts for a large way I see the guitar when Improvising. A project 'A+" to the first one to transcribe this...

- Jay

Jay at Murphys with UT Jazz, Oct 2007. Angel Eyes.

Just a snippet...

Jay's Bio

ay Chikyo Weik is a certified Yondan (4th degree blackbelt) in the lineage passed down from Ueshiba Morihei, the founder, to Yamaguchi Seigo sensei, and through myself, William Gleason. He is an exceptional student and teacher and I have complete confidence in his ability to pass down legitimate aikido as it was passed down to me."
-William Gleason Sensei, 6th Dan, Author of "The Spiritual Foundations of Aikido"

Born in Toledo, Jay Chikyo Weik Sensei began his study of both the musical and martial arts in 1977. He graduated from St. Francis High School in 1987, and then moved to Boston to study guitar at Berklee College of Music and there came to the practice of Aikido with William Gleason Sensei at Shobu Aikido of Boston. After graduating from Berklee in 1990, he went on to earn a Masters Degree in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory in 1992, and lived as a professional Jazz musician and educator while he continued his Aikido training. Sensei has taught music at several New England area colleges, as well as having a full private guitar lesson practice. He is a published author with Mel Bay Books , recording artist and composer featured on “One Way Ticket” on the Dharma Communications label, and has concertized with Jazz legend Gary Peacock . He continues in his musical evolution today with the practice of the Japanese Zen Flute, the Shakuhachi under the guidance of Michael Chikuzen Gould Sensei .

After many years of diligent practice, Jay Sensei was teaching beginners Aikido classes at the main Shobu dojo and had started Boston area Aikido clubs at the Gillette, John Hancock, and Thompson and Thompson companies. It was during this time that he clarified his intention to one day open a dojo of his own, and was deeply influenced by Saotome Sensei and Ikeda Sensei of the Aikido Schools of Ueshiba organization, to which all Shobu Aikido dojo belong.

In 1988 Sensei began the study of Zen with Daido Roshi , at Zen Mountain Monastery and became a formal Zen student in 1995. In 1998 he received the Dharma name Chikyo, which translates as “Wisdom Mirror” and today continues his ongoing study with Myotai Sensei , founder of the Hermitage Heart Sangha .

Sensei met his wife Karen at the Boston dojo in 1992. In 1996 the two were married, and in 2000 they welcomed their daughter Isabella to life. In 2001 Sensei received his third degree black belt, and the three moved back to his hometown of Toledo to found Shobu Aikido of Ohio, the Toledo Zen Center and to share his new daughters life with his family. Sensei’s parents Otto and Dee Weik are life long Toledo area residents and the founders of Carpets by Otto and sister his Kelly has her own business as well, Art by Kelly .

Sensei has been active in the MultiFaith Council of Northwest Ohio . In 2004 Jay Sensei and his teacher Bill Gleason Sensei together founded the Shobu Okugyo Center which provides intensive Aikido retreats, bringing people from around the country to Toledo for in depth study of Aikido principle.

Since the dojo's beginning in 2001, it has grown incredibly and has become a vibrant community of practice, and in 2005 Jay Sensei received a promotion to the rank of Yondan (4th degree black belt). In 2007 he began teaching Jazz Guitar at the University of Toledo Music department, and has become a regular fixture down at Murphys Place playing with the UT Jazz faculty ensemble. Jay Sensei is one of the very few full time Aikido instructors in the country, and he devotes his full efforts to his family, his practice, and the constant evolution and growth of his students.

Jay Sensei has an extensive youtube channel, with clips of his Aikido, Music, and Zen teaching. He maintains blogs for Shobu Aikido of Ohio, the Toledo Zen Center, his guitar students, and was featured as the cover story of the October 24th edition of the Toledo City Paper.


In 2007, Jay was acknowledged as "Shuso" or head disciple of Myotai Sensei. This traditional rite of passage indicates a transition in Chikyos on going development in Zen training.

Jay was voted "Toledo's Best Music Teacher" by the Toledo City Paper.