I'll be covering the following topics:
Sound production
Phrasing, with and without dampening
Thoughts on sticking
Practicing concepts
A non-traditional scale approach
Arranging jazz standards for the vibraphone
(I'm glad I'm going! - tm)
So I'm messing around with Woody n You and I'm having trouble getting ideas. This melody is different from many others I play. So I'm trying to think about 4 mallets and what I'd do. Wasn't making much progress.
But my cat is dying, and I've taught her to talk to me. So she started talking to me and I brought her down (basement) (feeling sad) and sat there with her and was petting her and talking to her, and she was replying. Then I gave her my good chair and went and worked on Elio Villafranca's music for a bit, and then I came back to Woody n You and everything was different.
So I just finished the first chorus of Bill Evans's solo on Nardis from his Blue in Green Live album. It took me about 3 hours to get it right. I think that is a pretty long time for one chorus, although the solo is pretty challenging and it goes pretty fast.
The only other solo that I've transcribed is Milt Jackson's solo from Miles Davis's Bags' Groove album. But that solo was 10 choruses long. This Bill Evans solo is only 3 choruses, so maybe I should go ahead and spend the extra hours and just get it done?
In the book 'This is Your Brain on Music', I'm reading about what it means to be an expert. Many scientists use the 10,000 hour theory. That is generally speaking to become an expert at anything you have to spend 10,000 hours working on it. That translates to 3 hours a day for about 10 years.
I thought this was interesting because at least this gives us an idea about practicing in a general sense. He brings up things like Mozart writing a symphony at age eight and argues that you don't have to be an expert to write a symphony.
I spent the night playing through the first chorus of his solo. This is a very serious etude that would challenge most of us on the site, I think!
I spent part of tonight playing Bird's first chorus on the tune Merry Go Round which is a rhythm changes with a Sears and Roebuck Bridge. S and R Bridge is (key of Bb) F-7 Bb7 Eb Eb C7 C7 C-7 F7. That's what Larry Mckenna always calls it and said that was the name. I dig that name.
Every once in a while I blog about what's happening deep inside of the site. I know there are a lot of members out there that are working hard, some don't live near teachers, or other players. I want them to know how much is going on here.
If you go to 'Recent Activity' you'll probably see all the posts and comments. A lot of this stuff is learning, critiquing and studying. We've really made a community of vibe players on the inside that is growing and is helping many players become better vibe players.
Finding time to listen to cds is pretty rough any more. Tonight though I'm trying to get in a couple cuts of some buddies cds. One of which is James Shipps cd.
I think you guys would dig it. I guess it's all or mostly Irish tunes? Jim's a great percussionist and vibe player and his girlfriend, Jo Lawry is a heavy singer.
Just wanted to post a couple sentences about the cd.
When I transcribe Parker I think about Bach. I'm telling you they're the same people.
I'm falling asleep here at the computer, but I wanted to start transcribing his solo off of the tune Merry Go Round. That woke me up for a bit.
I just love lines that move harmony in themselves, and Bird is the master. I'm a real Parker fan. I've been putting on headphones when I go to sleep and listening to him.
I spent the last 2 weeks and will the next 2 weeks, learning a ton of tunes for gigs. But these gigs are big bands or really written out originals.
This has been hard. Reading is not my forte. I can read a lead sheet, but following a big band chart is not something I've done a lot in my life. I think when you play tunes a lot, you just get in this listening vibe and use that side of your brain.
I think I've talked about this before, but I've had to read a ton these days.
What do you guys use as sight reading material? I got plenty of Bach.