Audio Performance

This Friday Feb 28 I have my students coming over and we are going to stream solo performances on Facebook. About 7pm East Coast U.S. Time. Probably go to vibesworkshop.com Facebook group.

I asked my students to record a mini concert of what they were going to play. I think it makes a good warm up for the concert.

Here's mine.

My first post. Going through some old tapes I found a recording (1991) of my duo Mallet Unit. Roland Stolk wrote the piece and plays the vibes. I play the marimba on this tune Foreign Breakfast. Hope you like it.

Fast tempos are hard, slow tempos are hard. I think tempos are hard period.

I spend so much time playing and recording and checking the feel and the tempo. Sometimes it's 3 hours later and I'm on the same tune looking for a take that I think is acceptable. Where the time seems to be ok.

I love playing by myself and trying to make a piece of music. Check out Peter Bernstein's solo guitar album. Well and check out my solo vibes album. Both are on Itunes. I think for some musicians it's really something to work towards; playing alone and playing well. And playing time.

Recently I had the opportunity to learn to use Logic Pro X. If you are like me and haven't dived deep into the world of music software programs and MIDI, it's definitely a lot to learn, but could be worth it! One of the aspects that made this program most useful for me as I began was the ability to import an mp3 track and change the bpm to match the project tempo, meaning I could import a song to learn, slow it down to play along, then speed it up little by little without losing the quality.

Thanks again to Jimmy Johns for sending it.

So it's pretty funny to me. I was messing around with this Cannonball Adderley tune, "Things Are Getting Better". I was recording it to listen back and check my stuff out. I got done and thought, 'that wasn't so bad, I should post it'. I listened back a little bit later and forgot my dryer was on. I'm so used to it, I don't think about it.

I practice in my basement, which is also my studio for making audio and video for Vibesworkshop. It's great. Not a big deal, but I wish the washer and dryer was somewhere else!

Ed has embraced the Malletech Love Vibe and done some great things on it. I think he understands the instrument more than anyone. I think it was sort of develop with him in mind by Leigh Stevens.

Check him out. Since Ed is not a straight ahead jazz vibes player he has a lot more time to write and work on getting different sounds on the instrument. It seems to me if you're a jazz vibe player you're working on tunes, learning music, remember tunes and thinking about new techniques is not at the top of your list.

It's interesting going on Youtube and listening to vibe players around the world.

I'll hear a player that is the top player in this country or that country.

For me though sometimes those players don't shine. I like the guys who know the language and can quote. So after listening to a bunch of players from different parts of the world this came on. Dave Pike is a great player in my book. He really has a vocabulary and history of the music.

I have a version of this piece and love it.

Great to hear MJQ playing it. I didn't know they played it!

I always was a fan of Teddy Charles. You guys know him? Check him out!