Long time ago since the last entry.

The glockenspiel is now fully in production and will be our first instrument that can be sold from stock. It turned out a killer instrument, I guess it's the only glock out there to play jazz vibes on ;-)

In the meantime we've also started and are now completing the new entry level vanderPlas Baileo vibe.
This 3 octave vibe uses the glockenspiel frame design and production method which is a very efficient method.

Hey everyone, I know we have a few philly area vibes players and I thought i'd let you know i'll be playing at Chris' Jazz cafe this thursday at 8pm.
the group will be trio...vibes, bass, drums.

should be a fun philly hang, hope to see some of you!

Ok, so download this file below. Burn all the tracks to a CD or put them on your ipod. Then set to shuffle. Listen and play the note back. Use the pause button if you need to. This should be a daily thing for a bout 5 or 10 minutes most days of the week!

This will help you get to know your instrument and work on your ears.

Try it and let me know what you think of it.

Hello fellow vibists,

I hope I posted this in the right section! I am looking for some suggestions of classical pieces for vibes. I play mostly jazz, but while I was in college I played classical marimba, for example Keiko Abe pieces. (Ah, I miss having access to a marimba!) Anyway, I am looking to broaden my vibes repertoire with a variety of modern classical pieces.

I appreciate any suggestions you have, thanks!

-Jenn

I'm sure as everybody knows, I've been working on the Tom Harrell solo I posted here. I was blown away by it's simplicity and beauty. I think everything comes out of simplicity. It is possible to learn this later on as I did and lots of students do!

We're all blown away by Burton playing Chega. And we're blown away by how simple he makes it. That's one type of simplicity. It's complicated but Burton makes it sound simple.

Here's a lesson plan for Invitation.

A great way to study this tune in pieces. Each lesson in the beginning will focus on one part of the tune. Later we put it all together and focus on the tune as a whole and work on improvising on it.

What's great about Invitation to study is the A section is sort of a modal section and the B section are changes. The same changes in lots of other tunes like, Cherokee, Laura, and others that mention in the lessons.

When you practice part 2 of the Invitation lesson, you're also working on:

Invitation, Cherokee, Laura, Speak Low (sort of), Minority.... can you think of any others?

Hey Guys,

It's been a while since I have visited the site and I believe there are so many new members... Man this site is amazing and growing even more and more. (btw Tony congrats and the one year+ anniversary).

See if you can guess the soloist, band, year, tune, etc.

This bootleg recording ended up in my mailbox and knocked me out!

This is a great lick. It really gives some insight about weaving and vocabulary.

Check out the bebop major scale coming down. What a natural evolution for the scale huh? It just smooths out the major scale!

I love how he gets to the 4 chord at the end.

I laugh when I play this lick.

I'm definitely on the side of learning licks to study and show you ways through changes. I'm definitely of the belief that it does NOT make you a cut and paste player unless you already were, and then that's another story.