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Hi Everyone,

Can't say I've written a blog before but there's a first time for everything. I was discussing this with John Piper and he thought it would be a great discussion for the community.

This site is obviously a great resource for all of us; looking to become better musicians, enthusiasts, vibraphonists, whatever...and there has been a TON of valuable material posted. I myself check the vibes workshop about 5 times per day to see what is new and what I can add to my practice routine.

I have been working on Tony's Vince Guaraldi etude and was reminded that Christmas Time is (almost) Here (http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Brown-Christmas-Vince-Guaraldi/dp/B000ICL…) and and would need a couple months to prepare some tunes.

Joe's Performance and lesson on 'She's Always a Woman to Me'.

I believe there is a very interesting fundamental difference between improvising "lines" and improvising "melodies". What do you think? Is there a discussion here?

Here's a simple and fun challenge. For many, it will be very humbling. When we improvise, we're actually transcribing what we imagine in our head and playing it on our instrument. It's spontaneous composition. That's the goal (agreed?). So, this little beginning exercise is to just take very simple melodies and play them without "working them out" but just playing them as if we were singing them on the instrument. Attached is a list of a few tunes that are very popular children's melodies. There's a list that are diatonic and a small list of songs that use simple chromatic notes too.

Check out the audio clip I have attached this article. I think sometimes students don't get it, that is how to really study something. How a little snip it can be so valuable. I spend 2.5 hours on this snippet tonight. First I love it! It's from Brad Meldau playing Anthropology. The whole solo is from another planet.

Thanks so much to Barryk. He posted this Band In A Box file for my tune, titled and dedicated to Vince Guaraldi.

Check it out!

Attached are the complete drawings to accompany the video on MBraces also available at www.VibesWorkshop.com

If you have a drill press and a few hand tools, this attachment has all the information you need to build your own MBraces (most new manufacturers already have this type of bracing on their instruments - though not this quality).

NOTE: The vender information listed here is also excellent information to have on hand if you own a "Piper Vibe".