曲を知らなすぎるとセッションに行っても、あれも知らないのかこれも知らないのかと困った人認定されてしまう。それが嫌でとにかく一度コールされて知らなかった曲は二度目にはできるようにしようと思って曲を覚えているうちにレパートリーが600曲に到達してしまった。

流石にレパートリーがこれだけあると知らない曲に出くわすことは減ってくるが、世の中には曲がごまんとある。現に600曲達成したその夜にジャムセッションに行ったら早速知らない曲を2曲コールされてしまい、あまりの終わらない旅感に苦笑するしかなかった。

ここ最近は曲を沢山知っている人として認知され出してそれはそれで鼻が高いのだが、そういう承認欲求的な動機付けとは別に、レパートリーを増やしていく過程で良いと思ったことを書きたい。

まず、何といってもソロが良くなった。これは全く想定外の出来事だったのだが、考えてみればソロとは即興でメロディーを作曲することであるから、メロディーのストックが増えれば、どの音を吹くかという決定プロセスも無意識のうちに洗練されてくるという事だろう。

意図的に王道から外れて他人のソロは真似したくないという態度を貫いてきた私にとっては、ジャズらしい演奏になっていくもう一つの方法が単純に大量のメロディーを脳に注入することだったと分かったのは非常に興味深い。文法を解析するよりもビッグデータを与えた方が人工知能が自然言語をマスターするのに近道だった話にも似ている。

もう一つ。自分の記憶力についての理解が深まった気がしている。

時間と共に記憶が曖昧になるのは恐らく生き残りに不要な記憶を消去する必然的な機能で、全てをいつまでも克明に覚えている事は逆に障害をもたらすのだと思う。生き残りに必要か否かは意思によって決まるのではなく、反復の回数と頻度で決まるようだ。

一度に沢山繰り返すよりも、間に睡眠を入れる方が記憶の精度が高くなるらしい。難しい曲を「今日こそは」と何十回繰り返しても、暫く経つとすっかり忘れてしまう。それよりは、その日は完璧に覚えられなくても、この部分は出来た、この部分は難しくてまだ出来ないと認識し、自己採点で60点くらいならまあいいやと続きを次回に持ち越すと、意外と正確に覚えている事に驚くことが多い。

運指の異なる4つの楽器でメロディーを覚えるので、最初はテナーサックスの運指をベースに、バスクラリネット、フルート、ソプラノサックス(同じ音域の場合は省略する)の運指への変換を試みたが、やはり本番では考える時間がないので上手くいかなかった。代わりに、それぞれの運指を独立した別物として捉え、厄介なインターバルがある時は補助的にピアノの鍵盤上での動きも視覚的に入れながら、運指を変換するのではなく、この楽器の時はこの感じなのかということを身体で感じるだけにして、特に意識的に覚えようとしない方が効果があった。

この方法は、外国語を学ぶときに母国語で作文してから翻訳するのではなく、このシチュエーションではこう言うのかとフレーズ全体を覚えるやり方からヒントを得た。

コード進行については、何度繰り返しても間違えたり忘れる部分に最初は気を付けていたが、それよりもちゃんと覚えている部分について、なぜ覚えているのかを考える方が良いことが分かった。曲の流れから言って次はこうだよねーとか、自分の中のストーリーと作曲者の意図が一致している場合はまず間違えない。意図が理解できなくて覚えるのに苦労している部分も、繰り返しているうちに脳が諦めて「この人はこっちに行きたいらしい」と作曲者に合わせられる余裕が出てくる。

そして最後に。楽器の持ち替え時、運指の切り替えが速くなった。

それぞれの楽器で色々なメロディーの運指を知っているので、比較的単純なフレーズの場合にはその場で変換できることが増えてきた。さっき変換はしないと書いたばかりだが、考えずにできてしまうものについては便利だからそのまま使う事にした。

多分、経験値が上がれば変換速度も上がると思う。現時点ではbe bopの様な複雑なラインはリアルタイム変換は出来ていないが、曲によっては、例えばBillie's Bounceなどはテーマまるごと一個のイメージに抽象化することが出来ていて、それに対応する3つの運指(テナーとソプラノは同じ)も互いに変換せず独立して記憶しているので、丸覚えしている曲がBopでも増えてくると、勝手に変換できちゃうケースも増えると期待している。

最後に

何しろ私の場合には外国語学習のメソッドが役に立っていると言える。特に覚えようとしない戦法は元々あまりにも動詞の活用が多すぎるスペイン語を学ぶときに「文法をマスターしてから話そうとか思ったら一生話せない」と必然性のあるものだけ部分的に覚えるようにしたら上手くいった経験を応用している。

さて。ここから先、どうやってより多くの、そしてより高度な曲を覚えるかが課題となるが、忘れにくい曲についてはメンテナンスの頻度を下げるなど、全てのレパートリーを一定期間内に点検するのではない、課題ごとのチェックリストをつくる必要がありそうだ。

おしまい。

うろ覚え込みの600曲リストはこちら

"26-2"
"317 E 32nd Street"
"500 Miles High"
"52nd Street Theme"
"A Beautiful Friendship"
"A Child Is Born"
"A Felicidade"
"A Foggy Day"
"A Girl From Ipanema"
"A Night In Tunisia "
"Adam's Apple"
"Afro Blue"
"After You’ve Gone"
"Afternoon in Paris"
"Agua De Beber"
"Ain't Misbehavin’"
"Air Conditioning"
"Airegin"
"Alice in Wonderland "
"All Blues"
"All Of Me"
"All Of You"
"All Or Nothing At All"
"All The Things You Are"
"Almost Like Being In Love"
"Alone Together"
"Along Came Betty"
"Amsterdam After Dark"
"Ana Maria"
"Angel Eyes"
"Angola"
"Anthropology"
"April in Paris"
"Armando's Rhumba"
"As Time Goes By"
"Ask Me Now"
"At Last"
"Au Privave "
"Autumn In New York"
"Autumn Leaves"
"Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are"
"Bag’s Groove"
"Barbados"
"Barbara"
"Be Bop"
"Be My Love"
"Beatrice"
"Beautiful Love"
"Bemsha Swing"
"Bernie’s Tune"
"Besame Mucho"
"Bessie’s Blues"
"Better Git It In Your Soul"
"Bewitched"
"Big Nick"
"Billie's Bounce"
"Birdlike"
"Birk’s Works"
"Bittersweet"
"Black Narcissus"
"Black Nile"
"Black Orpheus"
"Blackbird"
"Blue 7"
"Blue Bossa"
"Blue in Green"
"Blue Monk"
"Blue Moon"
"Blue Skies"
"Blues For Alice"
"Blues in the closet"
"Blues on the corner"
"Bluesette"
"Body And Soul"
"Bohemia After Dark"
"Bolivia"
"Boo Boo's Birthday"
"Bouncin' With Bud"
"Breakthrough "
"Bright Size Life"
"Broadway "
"Bud Powell"
"But Beautiful"
"But Not For Me"
"Butch And Butch"
"Butterfly"
"Bye Bye Blackbird"
"Bye-ya"
"C. T. A. "
"Cantaloupe Island"
"Caravan"
"Careful"
"Celia"
"Centerpiece"
"Central Park West"
"Ceora"
"Chameleon"
"Charcoal Blues"
"Cheek to Cheek"
"Cheese Cake"
"Chelsea Bridge"
"Cherokee"
"Cheryl"
"Chi Chi"
"Children of the Night"
"Christmas Time Is Here"
"Circus"
"Cissy Strut"
"Come Rain Or Come Shine"
"Con Alma"
"Conception"
"Confirmation"
"Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)"
"Cottontail"
"Countdown"
"Cousin Mary"
"Crazeology (Little Benny)"
"Criss Cross"
"Cute"
"Cyclic Episode "
"Daahoud"
"Dance Cadaverous "
"Dance of the Infidels"
"Darn That Dream"
"Dat Dere"
"Day By Day"
"Days Of Wine And Roses"
"Dear Old Stockholm"
"Del Sasser"
"Delilah"
"Deluge"
"Desafinado"
"Dewey Square"
"Dig"
"Dindi"
"Do Nothin’ Til You Hear From Me"
"Dolphin Dance"
"Don't Blame Me"
"Don't Get Around Much Anymore "
"Donna Lee"
"Doxy"
"Dream A Little Dream Of Me"
"Dream Dancing"
"Dreamsville"
"Driftin'"
"E. S. P. (ESP)"
"East of the Sun"
"Easy Living"
"Easy Street"
"El Gaucho"
"Embraceable You"
"Emily"
"Epistrophy"
"Equinox"
"Eronel "
"Eternal Triangle"
"Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye"
"Everything Happens To Me"
"Everything I Have Is Yours"
"Evidence"
"Fall"
"Falling Grace"
"Fantasy in D - Ugetsu"
"Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum"
"Feel Like Makin' Love"
"Festive Minor"
"Fire Waltz"
"Firm Roots"
"Five Spot After Dark"
"Flintstones"
"Fly Me To The Moon"
"Footprints"
"For All We Know"
"For Heaven’s Sake"
"Four"
"Four Brothers"
"Four In One"
"Four On Six"
"Freddie Freeloader"
"Freedom Jazz Dance"
"Freight Trane"
"Friday the 13th"
"Fried Bananas"
"From this moment on"
"Full House"
"Fungii Mama"
"Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You"
"Gentle Rain"
"Georgia On My Mind"
"Get Happy"
"Giant Steps"
"God Bless The Child"
"Gone with the Wind"
"Good Bait"
"Goodbye Porkpie Hat"
"Got A Match?"
"Green Chimneys"
"Groovin’ High"
"Hackensack"
"Half Nelson"
"Have You Met Miss Jones"
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"
"Here's That Rainy Day"
"Hey It’s Me You’re Talking To"
"High Fly"
"Hindsight"
"Honeysuckle Rose"
"Hot House"
"How About You"
"How Deep Is The Ocean"
"How High The Moon"
"How Insensitive"
"How My Heart Sings"
"Humpty Dumpty"
"I Can’t Get Started"
"I Can't Give You Anything But Love"
"I Can’t Help It"
"I Could Write A Book"
"I didn’t know what time it was"
"I Fall In Love Too Easily"
"I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)"
"I Hear A Rhapsody "
"I Love You"
"I Mean You"
"I Remember You"
"I Should Care"
"I Thought About You"
"I Want To Talk About You"
"I Won't Dance"
"I'll be Seeing You"
"I'll Close My Eyes"
"I'll Remember April"
"I'm beginning to see the light"
"I'm Getting Sentimental Over You"
"I'm Glad There Is You"
"I'm Not So Sure"
"I’m Old Fashioned "
"I've Got Rhythm"
"I've Got You Under My Skin"
"I’ve never been in love before "
"If I Should Lose You"
"If I Were A Bell"
"If You Could See Me Now"
"Impressions"
"In A Mellow Tone"
"In A Sentimental Mood"
"In The Mood"
"In Walked Bud"
"In Your Own Sweet Way"
"Indian Summer"
"Indiana "
"Infant Eyes"
"Inner Urge"
"Invitation"
"Is That So"
"Isfahan"
"Isn’t She Lovely "
"Isotope "
"It Could Happen To You"
"It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing"
"It had to be you"
"It Might As Well Be Spring "
"It’s All Right With Me"
"It’s only a paper moon"
"It’s You Or No One"
"Jeannine"
"Jingle Bell Rock"
"Jingle Bells"
"Jinrikisha"
"Jitterbug Waltz"
"Jody Grind"
"Jordu"
"Joshua"
"Joy Spring"
"Juicy Lucy"
"Juju"
"Just Friends"
"Just In Time"
"Just One Of Those Things"
"Just Squeeze Me"
"Killer Joe"
"L-O-V-E (love)"
"La Fiesta"
"La Vie en Rose"
"Lady Bird"
"Laura"
"Lazy Bird"
"Left Alone"
"Lester Leaps In"
"Let's Call This"
"Let’s Cool One"
"Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)"
"Like Someone In Love"
"Like Sonny"
"Limbo"
"Limbo (2)"
"Limehouse Blues"
"Line For Lyons"
"Litha "
"Little B's Poem"
"Little Sunflower"
"Little Willie Leaps"
"Loose Walk"
"Lotus Blossom"
"Love For Sale"
"Love Me or Leave Me"
"Lover"
"Lover Man"
"Lover, Come Back To Me"
"Lucky Southern"
"Lullaby Of A Birdland"
"Lullaby of the Leaves"
"Lush Life"
"Mac The Knife"
"Mahjong"
"Maiden Voyage"
"Making Whoopee"
"Manteca"
"Marmaduke"
"Martha's Prize"
"Mean to me"
"Meditation"
"Mercy Mercy Mercy"
"Mexican Hip Dance"
"Miles"
"Milestones"
"Minority"
"Misterioso"
"Misty"
"Miyako"
"Moanin’"
"Moment's Notice"
"Monk's Dream"
"Monk's Mood"
"Mood Indigo"
"Moon River"
"Moonglow"
"Moonlight In Vermont"
"Moonlight Serenade"
"Moose The Mooche"
"Move"
"Mr. Day"
"Mr. PC"
"My Bebop Tune"
"My Cherie Amour"
"My Favorite Things"
"My Foolish Heart"
"My Funny Valentine"
"My Ideal"
"My Little Suede Shoes"
"My One And Only Love"
"My Romance"
"My Shining Hour"
"Naima"
"Nardis "
"Nature Boy"
"Nearness of You"
"Nefertiti"
"Never Will I Marry"
"New York State Of Mind"
"Nica’s Dream"
"Nice 'n' Easy"
"Night And Day"
"Night Dreamer"
"No More Blues (Chega de saudade)"
"Nobody else but me"
"Nostalgia"
"Nostalgia in Times Square"
"Nothing Like You"
"Nothing Personal"
"Now’s The Time"
"Oblivion"
"Off Minor"
"Old Devil Moon"
"Old Folks"
"Oleo"
"On A Clear Day"
"On A Misty Night"
"On A Slow Boat To China"
"On Green Dolphin Street"
"On the Sunny Side of the Street"
"On The Trail"
"Once I Loved"
"One By One"
"One Finger Snap"
"One For Daddy-O"
"One Note Samba"
"Orange Colored Sky"
"Ornithology"
"Our Delight"
"Our Love Is Here To Stay"
"Out of Nowhere"
"Over The Rainbow"
"Overjoyed"
"Ow!"
"Pannonica"
"Parisian Thoroughfare"
"Paul's Pal"
"Peace"
"Pennie's From Heaven"
"Pensativa"
"Pent Up House"
"Perdido"
"Petite Fleur"
"Pfrancing"
"Pink Panther"
"Pinocchio"
"Polkadots and Moonbeams "
"Poor Butterfly"
"Prelude To A Kiss"
"Prince Albert"
"Punjab"
"Pure Imagination"
"Question And Answer"
"Quicksilver"
"Quizas Quizas Quizas "
"Raincheck"
"Recordame"
"Red Clay"
"Reflections"
"Reincarnation Of A Lovebird"
"Relaxin’ at Camarillo"
"Remember"
"Rhythm-A-Ning"
"Rio"
"Road Song"
"Robbin's Nest"
"Round Midnight"
"Route 66"
"Ruby, My Dear"
"S' Wonderful"
"Sail Away"
"Salt Peanuts"
"Samba de Orfeu"
"Sandu"
"Satellite"
"Satin Doll"
"Saucer Eyes"
"Scrapple From The Apple "
"Second Balcony Jump"
"Secret Love"
"Segment"
"September In The Rain"
"Serene"
"Serenity"
"Seven Steps To Heaven"
"Shade of jade"
"Shiny Stockings"
"Short Story"
"Si Tu Vois Ma Mère"
"Sidewinder"
"Simone"
"Sir Duke"
"Sister Sadie"
"Skippy"
"Skylark"
"Smile"
"Smoke Gets In Your Eyes"
"Snakes"
"Só Danço Samba"
"So Nice (Summer Samba)"
"So What"
"Social Call"
"Softly, as in Morning Sunrise"
"Solar"
"Someday My Prince Will Come"
"Someone To Watch Over Me"
"Sometime Ago"
"Song For My Father"
"Sonnymoon For Two"
"Sophisticated Lady"
"Soul Eyes"
"Spain"
"Speak Low"
"Speak No Evil"
"Split Kick"
"St. Thomas"
"Stablemates"
"Star Dust"
"Star Eyes"
"Stars Fell On Alabama"
"Steeplechase "
"Stella By Starlight "
"Stolen Moments"
"Stompin’ At The Savoy"
"Straight No Chaser"
"Straight Street"
"Strasbourg Saint Denis"
"Strollin’"
"Subconscious Lee"
"Sugar"
"Summertime "
"Sweet And Lovely"
"Sweet Georgia Brown"
"Sweet Lorraine"
"Sweet Pumpkin"
"Swingin' At The Haven"
"Tadd’s Delight"
"Take Five"
"Take the A Train"
"Take The Coltrane"
"Tangerine"
"Tea For Two"
"Tell Me A Bedtime Story"
"Tenderly"
"Tenor Madness"
"Tequila"
"That Old Feeling"
"That’s All"
"The Best Thing For You Is Me"
"The Blessing"
"The Boy Next Door"
"The Chicken"
"The Christmas Song"
"The Kicker"
"The Lady Is A Tramp"
"The Man I Love"
"The More I See You"
"The Night Has A Thousand Eyes"
"The Preacher"
"The Shadow Of Your Smile"
"The Song Is You"
"The Way You Look Tonight"
"Theme For Ernie"
"Theme From New York New York"
"There is No Greater Love"
"There Will Never Be Another You"
"These Foolish Things"
"They Can't Take That Away From Me"
"Things Ain't What They Used To Be"
"Think of One"
"This I Dig Of You"
"This is for Albert"
"Thou Swell"
"Three Little Words"
"Three Views Of A Secret"
"Time After Time"
"Time Remembered"
"Tin Tin Deo"
"Tom Thumb"
"Tones For Joan's Bones"
"Too Marvelous For Words"
"Too Young To Go Steady"
"Tour De Force"
"Toy Tune"
"Tricotism"
"Triste"
"Tune Up"
"Turnaround "
"Ugly Beauty"
"Unforgettable"
"Unit Seven"
"United"
"Up Jumped Spring"
"Upper Manhattan Medical Group"
"Valse Hot"
"Very Early"
"Voyage"
"Wail"
"Walkin'"
"Waltz For Debby"
"Waltz New"
"Warm Valley"
"Watch What Happens"
"Wave"
"We See"
"Wee"
"Well You Needn’t (Miles version)"
"Well You Needn’t (Monk version)"
"West Coast Blues"
"What a wonderful world "
"What Is This Thing Called Love"
"What’s New"
"When Lights Are Low (Miles Version)"
"When Lights Are Low (original)"
"When Sunny Gets Blue"
"When the saints go marching in"
"When will the blues leave"
"Whisper Not"
"Wild Flower"
"Willow Weep For Me"
"Windows"
"Witch Hunt"
"Witchcraft"
"Without A Song"
"Woody‘N You"
"Work"
"Work Song"
"Yardbird Suite"
"Yes Or No"
"Yesterday"
"Yesterdays"
"You And The Night And The Music"
"You Don't Know What Love Is"
"You Go To My Head"
"You Must Believe In Spring"
"You Stepped Out of a Dream"
"You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To"
"You’re My Everything"
"You've Changed"