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I think you have to be very good. Christian always sais the book is very hard and it requires hundreds of hours to complete. But I started old and I work so I have not hundreds of hours for practice. The guys there are pros and they are nice and answer questions. But there were no beginners talking on the server. It is hard to stay motivated alone. There was no fun. For me I like Robin Nolan club because I video talk to other guys and have fun.
This is all the endorsement that I need to look further into CVH's teachings. Our friend Christophe here plays with (in my opinion) one of the greatest living gypsy jazz guitarists--Paul Mehling. Whatever Christophe did to get to that stage in the game, sign me up!
You definitely don't have to be very good to start. But I get what you are saying...you want to have fun and have some social interaction with music.
That's absolutely valid (obviously). I get that the CVH thing is probably not for those people.
There's another subset of people who want to be really good (in their heads the sky is the limit) and want to work their asses off and find the work itself interesting and fun and or worthwhile. For me CVH is definitely a superior experience for them.
I don't think one is more valuable than the other. For me I find the first option frustrating because I'm not particularly accepting of myself playing at a low level. I want to see consistent progress and I have artistic goals of my own that depend on me being able to perform better than I can now. I also think the process of getting better is intrinsically interesting as a window into my own brain.
The thing with other, more social things, for me, is that I can put in shitloads of time and not improve because the method isn't solid. If I'm going to sacrifice a big part of my life to play music, I want to be able to PLAY. And I'm not young either. So something that's very specific, sharp like a dagger and gets directly at my weaknesses is helpful to me.
I still don't consider myself a good player but I am getting better. If I just did what CVH would suggest and nothing else I would make faster progress but I get distracted with other side interests.
My thoughts regarding CVH (I don't own any of his books) is that his phrases I hear on his videos - they don't sound musical or inspiring, they sound like arpeggios or exercises. I'd like to hear some phrases from the books . . .
Can't account for taste but I think he's pretty damn musical.
Here he's playing over a killer hard tune and it sounds pretty good to me. Most of his videos he's practicing stuff that he's just learning, not a ton of polished performances. Anyway, I think he shreds pretty hard but he also has a very good shred to ability to teach ratio, a rare thing.
That's pretty funny given that a lot of stuff that CVH plays is lifted from the likes of Stochelo and Django.
You can hear the entire Book 2 on the JustADudePracticing channel: https://youtube.com/@justadudepracticing?si=fvpmfMde_YlLmewK
I am a complete noob, and I do recommend the CVH system too. It provides a VERY focused way of practicing, and you get a lot out of it if you stick with it. Your timing will improve. You'll be forced to learn how to transpose licks up and down the fretboard. You will learn phrases. You'll learn a good method for learning phrases. But yeah, it does take a lot of time and effort, and months of practicing every day for hours, so not doable for most people. But the little that I do manage to complete is useful and always feels like a big victory. Check out JustADudePracticing's vlogs about his struggles through CVH book 2: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaiY30bNkQFDmzaC5M6dQ5IcKx4BAT4lF&si=fAYvjzSmEG_wUySx
We did try to have some weekly video calls on the CVH Discord, but it never worked out. Not enough people I guess. Maybe we'll try again when the server grows bigger. We had better luck with streaming and some people like @paulmcevoy75 used to do it regularly.
I’d advise any newcomer to CVH to start with Book 2 for a solid foundation in jazz and gypsy jazz improvising. Just follow the instructions on how to use it. Do the exercises, check out the Discord, especially the section dedicated to the book you’re working on, for tips and ideas. This will get you into the habit of practicing.
Start working slowly with backing tracks and you will find you can plug in ideas where you never thought possible.
Re: community, check out the Discord and ask a question. You will get lots of replies. There is an open Zoom channel there as well where you can meet up with anyone on the site. I’ve done this several times.
I think CVH will still book a private online lesson with you, if he still has time. He’ll ask you to send in a sample video to get an idea of where you are, and then, in the lesson, he’ll give you very specific areas to work on, depending on what you want to do. He’ll evaluate your status and tell you exactly what you need to do depending on your goal. He’ll point you in the right direction and the rest is up to you.
It’s work and it’s hard, but your progress will be steady and you will notice it.
I agree...but I also think you need the arpeggios and lick exercises (however cliche they might be) to really start excelling in this style; to that end, even tho I don't use the CVH method, I've absolutely utilized his breakdowns of cliche licks/arps many times over and they're huge "connectors" between my own licks and the ones I've picked up from other players too.
I mean, maybe it's better just to say that muscle memory is prerequisite to the genre and imo, you need to be able to play all those foundational arps/licks on demand without thinking about them, "pure improv" be damned (at least in the formative years).
Re @lorenzop comment, that could be. I like CVH as a player but even if those individual phrases came from the masters, their original solo as a whole also has mastery in voice leading. If you pluck stuff that you like and plug them in and make a pastiche out of those, you might lose that flow.
I mean, the guy pretty much only plays licks that he's transcribed from great players and advocates playing zero scales/arpeggios/exercises so....