Etudes

Get to work! 

I am making some Tik Tok MalletKat videos for Alternate mode. (The Malletkat is the pro model of electronic keyboard percussion). So I decided to play some tunes and then I thought I'll notate them as an etude for all of you. 

Can you play it? I left out the pedal markings? Why? Because they are a pain to notate partly. And partly because you can listen to the pedaling of the track and study that and then at the pedaling yourself. I think it's really important to not have it all handed to you. That's too easy. 

I love the tune Recado Bossa Nova. My fav part is the Eb to A. What a cool sound. 

I wrote a very detailed (for me) etude with sticking. So you can really see how I think of things. I try to take a very minimalist approach to the vibes (most of the time). 

Notice how the harmony works and there is not a lot of chords. I think this works as a solo piece which means you don't need a lot of notes and chords for a solo piece. 

Here's an etude on the tune I Could Write A Book. Chord melody and solo. 

I wrote in the chords for the first time through the tune. You write the rest in and look at the alterations of the chords! 

Check out the audio to see what it's supposed to sound like. I'd love to see you post your version!

The vibe sample is from the company Orange Tree. And if you know who Ed Smith is, it's his vibes and mallets. Sound great! 

Here's another one of my etudes. A great tune 'The Touch Of Your Lips'.

It's the head and then one chorus of some four mallet stuff. 

Your Job is to put the changes in, study the music and write in all the alterations. I.E. if it's Bb7 look at the music. Am I playing a b9 well know it's Bb7b9

You should be able to play it by yourself and make it swing.

Can you play this and make it sound good? 

Here is a ii V I exercise that goes through all of the keys. It starts with ii = Cm9, V = F7, I = BbMaj9. Then, the next cycle takes the I to minor: Bbm9, Eb7, Abmaj9, etc.

Attached are an MP3 generated by MuseScore 4, and corresponding PDF.

I probably picked up the melody somewhere but don't know the original source. If you recognize it, please let me know.

I am able to play it on piano, and am working on the vibes now. I'll post that when I get it.

BTW, what's the difference between an Etude and Exercise?

Enjoy,

Barry

I talk about There Will Never Be Another You and include an 'Epic Etude'. 5 Choruses of chord study with some easy soloing. 

Blue Bossa Tony Transcription: https://youtu.be/p5X--sj07NQ

Donna Lee First 16 bars: https://youtu.be/XwVTTUB4VTY

Blue Bossa 2 chorus solo: https://youtu.be/yPZaXUpdK10

Friedman Etude #9: https://youtu.be/XNTOiMpdEBI

Friedman Etude # 6: https://youtu.be/YttaWr_I6iY

Donna Lee - First 4 bars memorized in F & Ab: https://youtu.be/VRhheJYW15Y

Blue Bossa head in E- and C-: https://youtu.be/Zpnk1Rol4BY

I slowed down a bit at two tricky sections but I really liked my dynamics on this take. Enjoy!