This semester I have been working with my teacher on playing ballads in the solo style and wanted to share a system/ exercise that I've been using to begin developing orchestration ideas when playing the melody. The following exercise is based on a concept I modified from John Mehegan’s “Jazz Improvisation 4: Contemporary Piano Styles” called “Root – Chord Patterns”.

After doing the walk down voicing exercise comparing Green Dolphin Street and Triste, I thought it would be good to do a line study. This Triste etude is in A, a typically under played key in jazz. Most of it is built from only a few motifs. Find them and practice hard :)

Volume Two of the Complete Guide To Improvisation is now available via Amazon, www:edsaindon.com and the Berklee College of Music bookstore.

Chapters: Upper Structure Triads, Four Note Groupings, Motivic Playing, Cyclic Patterns and Major 7th #5 Superimposition. Here's a link that includes the Table of Contents and brief description of each chapter.

https://drive.google.com/a/berklee.edu/file/d/0B0TwrpqjL6dQYnlpcTZyeUQ1…

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Nice mallet lab this morning working with the students on Coltrane's Giant Steps using Four Note Groupings. We played through several pages from Volume 2 of The Complete Guide to Improvisation which is now available via www:edsaindon.com. It will also be available in the Berklee College of Music bookstore and on Amazon within a day or so.

Hi Vibeworkshoppers!
With the amount of info on the site at this point, I thought it might be helpful to do a series of lessons talking and demonstrating the process I take when learning a tune. Starting from the very beginning and focusing on the process. I'm learning Coltrane's Countdown, but the process applies to whatever tune you want to work on.
-Tyler

I did a great gig at PASIC. But besides bragging little bit about it, here's the cool thing.

The audience loved what we did. I think there is a REAL interest in the vibraphone happening. Something that hasn't happened in a long time.

I credit Leigh Stevens for really making a competitive instrument. In my humble opinion it is truly the best.... by far. That has woken up manufacturers and us vibe players have woken up our audiences! (All of us).

We have a big community here at vibesworkshop and we are on a roll!

My Buddy, Paul Sottnik, and I are working on a piano vibes duet project. This video Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers by Steve Kahn was recorded on site at SUNY Fredonia.