Skip to main content

Q&A: Why Should Beginners and Intermediate Musicians Play Scales and Other Technical Exercises? (Good Question)

Because you're not in an environment where you are playing and keeping your hands in shape.

If you can blow over Cherokee at 300 BPM then you probably don't have to play technical exercises if you don't want to. You can just blow over tunes and work out your hands.

But for a lot of players new to the instrument you can't do that, so then it's important to play scales and other technical exercises and to work up speed.

Not much more to say about that. IMHO :)

Prelude Etude (Giovanni Perin)

Here's the new Etude for this month: is based on the harmony of Bach C Prelude.
Make sure the melody flows without interruption between bars: pay attention to the pedal.

If you have any question plese contact me on: giovanniperin87@gmail.com or leave a comment.
I'm also available for private lessons with skype or Facetime.

please check out my new website where you can download for free some mp3s of my music!!!

www.giovanniperin.com

Scale concept and Pivot idea....

Aloha Vibesworkshop,

This is my first attempt for a video lesson, via my GoPro Hero aka the entry level gopro.

I have been coming to the vw since 2007 and remember one of the first lessons that tony put up with the vibes in front of the washer and dryer .. Bravo to tony and everyone who continually makes this site a great place to connect..

For the past couple years I have been blessed to get back my career as a vibist. ( had to give up playing due to health and hand problems ).... its a blessing to be back and playing with no pain.

A Chorus of Whisper Not From The Road

My philosophy is kind of simple. You get better by making things sound good. By playing things well. If you're learning a melody and really trying to play it well, you're getting better. If you're transcribing a solo and making it sound as good as you can, you're getting better. If you're working on a tune and working out a solo, figuring out how to get through the changes, you are getting better.

Tension Resolution Improvisation on Time After Time -V

Tension Resolution (TR) on "Time After Time": One of the improvisational concepts that my students and I were working on this week in my improv classes at Berklee was that of TR. We chose specific tensions for each chord change on the beautiful standard "Time After Time" and improvised based upon the sounding of those tensions along with their resolution to the nearest chord tone. The constant tension and release creates forward motion in the improvised line and can be the basis of rich, melodic phrases.

Connect Chords Using Common tones

Hi guys here's my new lesson that will help you understand better how to connect chords using commen tones: basic knowledge of root position and inversion of chords is required.
I wrote this exercize thinking about Bach corales and his way of expressing the melody through melodies: it is important to pay attention to the movement of each note of the chord, considering the harmony not only horizontally but also vertically, as if each of our mallets were a distinct melody line of a four voice choir or a string quartet.

Chord Tone Soloing on Coltrane's Giant Steps -V

Chord Tone Soloing on Coltrane's Giant Steps: One of the concepts that my students and I were working on in improv class this week was Chord Tone Soloing as applied to various compositions including Giant Steps. Practice techniques and concepts included focusing on motives, soloing with chord tones while limiting the range to an octave and Chord Tone Connection in which we go up and down the entire range of the instrument and connect from chord to chord with stepwise motion.

Pentatonic improv on Green Dolphin Street -V

Here's a clip on improvising with Pentatonic scales for the standard Green Dolphin Street. There is a post on the All Things Improvisation blog that includes this videoclip as well as a page listing the pentatonic scales being applied. Vibist Volker Heuken from Nuremberg, Germany did an excellent job transcribing the solo.

Here's the link to the All Things Improvisation blog: http://allthingsimprovisation.blogspot.com/2015/03/pentatonics-on-on-gr…

Four Note Groupings on Giant Steps (Take Two)

Berklee Improv Class - Applying the improvisational concept of Four Note Groupings over John Coltrane's Giant Steps. In my 39th year of teaching and it's still a pleasure to teach improv to these talented and motivated musicians. I feel fortunate to be able to pass on the information as well as learn and grow along with the students.