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ANNOUNCEMENT I HAVE BEEN LONGING TO MAKE. -- NOW AN UPDATE

AT LONG LAST I CAN MAKE THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT I HAVE LONGED FOR.

In regards to my cancer situation. I have had the cryotherapy and then had complications. I have had infections and now only have one left to clear up. The additional operation I was expecting to have, has been ruled out because the medication and rest therapy is working and working well.

By February 1st, I plan to begin my regimen of restarting my practice and retraining of my vibraphone skills, hopefully including some vids. In seven months, I hope to have regained most of my abilities in playing the vibes.

Bluesette Lesson Plan and Performance Compilation

(I've added audio and video performances of Bluesette above)

Below is a lesson plan to help you study this tune. Post some recordings here. Remember, recording yourself is a great way to work on perfecting the lessons below. Don't underestimate the power of recording and posting your work here. It's crucial to your success.

Here are some ideas for the tune Bluesette and how to study it.

Beginners:

  • Memorize the melody.
  • Practice root position voicings of the chords. Play them in time.
  • Work up a chord tone solo

Lesson Category

Difficulty

Access

"Hammer" technique on vibes - part 1

Here’s a technique I use called “hammers” – it’s a guitar embellishment technique that works nice on the vibe, giving a sort of note bending effect.

Early Gary Burton records such as “country roads” show him using this “sound”- that’s how I learned of it

It’s one of those “sounds” you use sparingly. The audio here is pretty lo-fi but you’ll get the idea

Part 1 shows the technique
Part 2 shows the technique used over Blackbird, and Bluesette

"Rainbow Jimmies"

Hi all!

John Hollenbeck's newest release "Rainbow Jimmies" The Music of John Hollenbeck is a great CD! I've been listenning to it non-stop these past days!

I thought that it would be a good idea for you to check it out because besides the fact that it is full of great compositions, it features a vibes player: Matt Moran.

Please check it out at: http://cdbaby.com/cd/hollenbeckj