It was great to see Mike Pinto and Vibraman record Bluesette and post it. We have 3 versions of the tune now. That's pretty cool and gives us something to study, compare and grow from.

That kind of stuff is why I made the site, the chance to work stuff out, see what others are up to is really exciting and humbling for me. I also think it benefits the instrument in a BIG way.

Some more talk about practicing 4 mallets. I like concepts better than exercises. If you can understand the problem and come up with a concept to deal with it, then you can come up with exercises and ways to solve the problem.

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.

(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

ok i tried today to make a version of bluesette on solo vibes...at the end it has not so much to do with the original tune...but anyway here it is

tarik

Here I talk about playing a ballad and one way to keep the momentum going.

Posted here also is also a lead sheet. I arranged the first A section. I'd love to see someone do the rest.

I have a pdf, a .mus file and an xml file that should work for programs other than Finale.

part 2

blackbird and bluesette

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

A tritone splits the octave in half. A very common sound are major triads between the tritone split. In other words, F maj and then B maj. This lesson talks about that relationship.