Mike Stern - Blues in F

M-ster · #1 01-17-2011, 05:07 PM

This one's for dyross, who requested it in the "What Should Be the Lick" transcription thread. Another Mike Stern study, this time a blues in F.

Here's the video:

YouTube Video

And here's the transcription:
Transcription (PDF)

It's a fairly straight ahead blues in F, and I put the same changes in every chorus, although the bassist may go to a C pedal on a turnaround or two, and Mike occasionally may imply some different harmony (like in bar 30, where he appears to be thinking Bbm7 - Eb7, following the Bb7 in bar 29).

The rehearsal letters mark the start of each 12-bar blues chorus. Possible points of interest:

1) In chorus B, he introduces a 2-note minor 6th motif in bars 14 - 16, and then he walks it down in minor 3rds in 17-18. If you look at this lick, it's a walk through a double-diminshed scale in minor 6ths. Interesting and kind of "out" sounding. (File that away for future use.) Mike moves it up a half-step for the F7 in bar 19 and up a half-step again over the D7 in bar 20.

Note that, theoretically, this is not the double diminished that you'd choose for D7, but by now, he has the sequence going, and it's moving up a half step on each repetition, so, we deal widdit! Stern obviously knows right where he is, based on the recovery at the end of bar 21 leading right to the C7 change in bar 22.

2) Pet riff - compare the line in bars 32 - 34 with bars 57 - 60. That's about 3 bars of identical riffage, ain't it?

3) I like the 4ths thing, moving down in whole steps in bars 51 - 52 that comes out into outlines of Db to Gb7 over the Bb7 chord in 53. Cool sounding line that finds its way back "inside" through bars 55 - 57.

4) Letter F, bars 61 - 65. A sequence up in half steps. It resolves when it hits the Bb7 in bar 65, but Stern starts the next sequence anyway (like he's moving to B), taking it a little bit out again. Struck me as tongue-in-cheek.

5) I like the turnaround into letter G. After playing the kind of common Stern stuff in bar 70, he does a tri-tone based sequence (i.e. F# E, down a tri-tone, down another tri-tone, and down another) in bar 71 and then 4 fat A-flats in bar 72. "It's da blues, dude!"

6) Cool alternating F to B triad (speaking of tri-tones) line at letter G, bars 73 - 75. It's echoed in bar 78 by an Eb to A move.

7) Apologies for bars 82 - 90. That's as close to the notes as I could get. Midway through bar 88, it sounds like he's accelerating to 16th notes, rather than 8th note triplets. He does end slightly before 1 of bar 90, but I couldn't make the math quite work out. I think he's just pursuing a diminished-based riff through here (and sequencing it up in half steps), but, well ... I'm open to hearing your interpretation!

The second improv', at the end of this video, is transcribed in the "What Should Be the Lick" thread:
http://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/impro...ould-lick.html

Enjoy!

dyross · #2 01-18-2011, 12:56 PM

This is awesome - thanks for the work, M-ster! I'm curious about something:

This may be a silly question ("It was just obvious to me, dyross!") but what tipped you off as to it being a blues? To me, the phrasing is pretty advanced and not typical of a 12-bar form (lines connect the 4-bar phrases, span multiple choruses etc.) and I didn't realize what it was until you posted on that other thread. Are you just listening to the bass line and realizing that?

M-ster · #3 01-18-2011, 08:59 PM

Um, I didn't consciously think about it, it just registered when they started playing. But, I just listened again to see what clues I might provide you.

I think as soon as the bass walks I - IV - I (i.e., the first 3 bars), you're starting to go, "Oh, a blues?" Then in bar 5 he returns to the IV chord. "Yep, blues." And both bass and guitar kind of make the first turnaround very obvious. "Yep, 12-bar blues."

Something like that. And, yes, I suppose the bass told me first.

fep · #4 01-19-2011, 06:37 PM

Thanks M,

Great transcription and analysis. You put a lot of work into this, I'm going to spend some time studying it.

Dyross,

I can't believe you asked M to do this. That's a lot of work. If you had to pay someone to do this... 4 hours at at least $50 an hour. It's one thing if someone volunteers it. But to ask someone to do it for you, that's presumptious and taking advantage.

Dude, do your own transcriptions, that's one of the best learning tools that one can develop. And post some on the site for us to learn from. Be a giver, not a taker.

dyross · #5 01-19-2011, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fep

Dyross,

I can't believe you asked M to do this. That's a lot of work. If you had to pay someone to do this... 4 hours at at least $50 an hour. It's one thing if someone volunteers it. But to ask someone to do it for you, that's presumptious and taking advantage.

Perhaps I don't need to get so defensive, but I didn't ask him to do it. Here's what I said (as a joke):

"M-ster, it seems you were lazy and picked the shorter video"

I had found a different video that has this solo and then the one he had already transcribed. I actually wanted to talk about this F-blues (as I have mentioned, I had trouble identifying the form as such) and M-ster thought it was interesting and decided to transcribe it himself.

Quote:

Dude, do your own transcriptions, that's one of the best learning tools that one can develop. And post some on the site for us to learn from. Be a giver, not a taker.

Agreed, 100%. That's why I'm working on "Four on Six" in my spare time. It's my first serious transcription, and my first try at Sibelius, so it's taking a long time (just started the 3rd chorus). I am definitely planning on posting it to the forum when I am done. I thank M-ster for getting me interested in doing transcriptions.

fep · #6 01-19-2011, 06:59 PM

Sorry my bad, somehow I didn't catch the joke and interpreted that as a request.

Doing transcriptions myself... it is hard, at least for me. After about 16 measures I have to take a break because my brain gets fried. So, to me this is a huge thing that M did.

Good for you to be transcribing. There are so many details to be gained from getting that inside the music... Things like phrasing when you're trying to figure the rhythms, like 'wow, he's really swinging and way on top of the beat' etc. I'm not sure which is harder, getting the rhythms right or the chords right.

dyross · #7 01-19-2011, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fep

Sorry my bad, somehow I didn't catch the joke and interpreted that as a request.

Doing transcriptions myself... it is hard, at least for me. After about 16 measures I have to take a break because my brain gets fried. So, to me this is a huge thing that M did.

No worries - I certainly had a slight notion that he would turn around and do the transcription since he seems to love this stuff, and the solo was very related to the one he already did.

And I agree, M-ster is a beast.

Quote:

Good for you to be transcribing. There are so many details to be gained from getting that inside the music... Things like phrasing when you're trying to figure the rhythms, like 'wow, he's really swinging and way on top of the beat' etc. I'm not sure which is harder, getting the rhythms right or the chords right.

I'm enjoying it so far. Lucky that I picked a tune that I knew the changes for already...

M-ster · #8 01-19-2011, 08:48 PM

Oh, I missed some posts, sorry ... !

fep, I appreciate your sentiments defending me, but I wasn't put out by dyross' request/joke. If I didn't have the time or inclination, I would have begged off.

As it happens, I was intrigued by Oberg's improv on Billie's Bounce, and I relocated a George Benson version of the same track that I thought I'd transcribe. Then dyross pointed to Stern's improv - a third blues in F - and I thought it would make a good study to look at 3 guitarists' approach to the same form/changes.

I have yet to transcribe Benson's take, but it's on my list.