intermediate

1. See attached file
2. You learn it. Better if you memorize it. Know each chord you are playing. I.E. if in the 3rd bar of the tune you see Eb G Bb and D, that is NOT and Ebmaj7 chord. It's a Cmin9 chord. Get it? Look at the changes if you need to.
3. You play it on the piano, using your left hand to play the bass notes for each chord. If the chords are in an open position and you can't play them with your right hand, then try taking the bottom note up an octave and if that doesn't work, try taking the top note down an octave. 
4. Write in all the chords.

Check out this video. I hope all this makes sense to you guys and that you can start using some of these ideas. Any questions post them here! If a couple people wanted a class on it, I would gladly do it. Let's say minimum 3 people post here that they want a lesson on this and I'll do it. We will set up a zoom time.

Click here for the etude and play along tracks

I made a cool play along and made a sort of etude. It's a chance for you guys to play over 2 simple chords and play some 4 mallet stuff and some lines. I will make a video and talk about the etude very soon. 

But play this, learn this. Play along with me, and then use this stuff on your own. I use neighbor tones, bridges between whole steps. I.E. D Db C. If this was over a Dmin7 the important notes would be D and C and the bridge between them would be Db. Get it????

Can you play this? With a metronome, make it swing and play the rhythyms? Go as slow as you want to!!!! But once you get it down, work on the speed. Also, IMHO, don't use it as a reading exercise. Memorize it. Can you play it in another key? 

I'll give a free lesson to anyone who can play it (memorized) in another key. And you'll have to play it at the lesson as well! :-)

I'm just talking about the tune, I'm getting Sentimental Over You. Talking about how I would practice it and how I would approach it. 

I played two solos with hi hat. One fast and one slow, they will follow with the transcription! Check back! 

Short etude, but should be a little bit of a challenge. 

I love listening to guitar players play solo. I can usually imagine playing like that on the vibes. Their approach really lends itself to the vibraphone. 

Watch and study this video and try playing like this on the vibes. There's a line then a chord. If the line is quarter notes, you can play chords through it, but if you're going to play a busy line then no chord, it's too difficult. Get it??? 

This is a solo vibe piece Tony Miceli commissioned me to write for him. Let me know what you guys think! These are the program notes I wrote for the piece:

This piece was written in April of 2024 upon commission from Tony Miceli, professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While taking private lessons with him, we began experimenting with timbral effects on the vibraphone, and one of my assignments was to write a solo vibraphone piece surrounding this idea. Thus, this piece was born.

Cool lesson. It turns into an etude once you get the chords down. Spend some time on this! 

I made this with a bass and percussion. I think it's 'groovy'. 
 

It's focusing on one chord, and that's C7. Check it out and Try and play it. I have the groove at 2 tempos a slow one and a faster one. 

And then.... a slow one in F in case any of you guys want to try and transpose it. To the first person, who makes a video of them playing it in C and F, I'll give to free lessons. OFF EXPIRES JULY 1 2024