Take The A Train.

[TheDude]

Hey, In the video its me playing Take The A Train, I'm the guitarist.
I'd like to have some tips and correction about my solo, thank you

YouTube Video

[lkmuller]

Well, one thing I could suggest is for you to listen to Sonny Rollins. Listen to him play anything. You'll hear how he embellishes melody and makes it feel like.....jazz. Then take that feel and apply it to your solos. If Sonny Rollins isn't to your particular taste, find some ohter jazz player and listen to how he or she plays. Feel what the good guys are feeling. That should make an immediate difference in what you're doing.

[bobby d]

Not bad.. work on more whole tone riffs for the second chord, work on arpeggios, phrasing etc. You're relying on a few rock riffs and using vibrato which IMO don't fit with the song.

Best thing to do is spend a couple of hours just improvising over the changes. It takes time to get the feel of this stuff. Repeat daily till you're sick of it!

[TheDude]

You'll hear how he embellishes melody and makes it feel like.....jazz

hmm I guess you are right. also a guitar teacher told me that I should play in a more "swingish" kind of way... he meant the rhythm of my playing
so I guess what you said also connected to what he said?

work on more whole tone riffs for the second chord, work on arpeggios, phrasing etc.

Actually I only had one riff that I memorized.. (in the B part). so I guess I should have more of these.

umm and what is IMO,
and how do I work on arpeggios?
or phrasing? (I never understood completely what is phrasing.)

thanks.

[lkmuller]

IMO = "In my opinion"

Listen to some recordings of this tune by some other guitar players. Find one that you like and transcribe the solo. In other words, learn the solo as he/she plays it. You'll start to get the feel of what he's doing. And try to figure out where his notes are coming from, i.e., what scales or modes. If you're unsure of what modes are, check'em out online and learn them. Same with arpeggios. If you're unsure of what they are or how to use them, check out some online lessons that will show you. There are many that are free.

That should be plenty to chomp on or a while. Hell, I'm STILL chomping.

[bobby d]

IMO = in my opinion

You did very well for not knowing more about arpeggios and phrasing. Here's a C maj7 arpeggio (broken chord) practice up and down. Use parts of it mixed with the C Major scale to create riffs for the first chord.



----------------------------------7-----10------
------------------------------8---------------
--------------------------9-------------------
----------------9----10-------------------------
-------7---10-----------------------------------
-7--8-----------------------------------------

[bobby d]

This is one version of the whole tone scale in D7b5, the 2nd chord in the progression. Practice up and down, and sequence.



---------------------------------------------
----------------------------------5---7---9-----
-------------------------5----7----------------
----------------6----8-------------------------
--5----7----9-----------------------------------
---------------------------------------------



Sequencing example - play 1st four notes starting on D, go to E and play the next four notes, and repeat the pattern throughout the scale. Next, try it from the top going down. Of course, this isn't a riff, but something to work with to create something more musical.

With a song like "A Train" you pretty much have to change to different scales with each chord. But C Major and C Lydian will cover the A part if you think about it.

[TheDude]

And try to figure out where his notes are coming from, i.e., what scales or modes

Oh I know the modes, In the video I mostly played C Ionian, and G Mixolydian, and on the second chord I played the whole tone scale.

I will try to learn more about arpeggios. thank you, I guess eventually the chomping never stops...

You did very well for not knowing more about arpeggios and phrasing.

Thank you man, and I will do the exercise you gave me!

however can you please explain to me what exactly is phrasing?

thanks.

[brwnhornet59]

Swing by emphasizing beats 2 and 4. This would make an immediate impact on what you are doing.

Also outline with chord tones as well as using arps. You would be surprised how this forces you to get away from playing scales and starts to open you up to the phrasing you want to imply.

Lastly, listen to as many players as you can. Your ears are the most powerful tools you possess. Keep working at it. You will get there if you have the desire. Perhaps a good private teacher would be able to guide you in a more productive way? Having someone in the room next to you that knows what is going on is very inspirational.

Good luck!

[jayx123]

Not bad, work on your swing, If you play by key center then try to add chromatic notes to connect the key center diatonic notes it will give you a jazzy sound.

[bobby d]

I've never defined phrasing before but...

Mainly it's about putting spaces in between the notes to create syncopation (rhythm), and accenting in different places.

The sentence above has words with one, two three or four syllables. Commas, and periods indicate a rest. Phrases are like the way people talk. We don't talk in straight 8th or 16th notes. So think of accents, spaces, triplets, dotted notes etc. Phrasing is about feeling the rhythm and speaking with your instrument.

[TheDude]

Swing by emphasizing beats 2 and 4. This would make an immediate impact on what you are doing.

Ye it does make an impact, its great.
and btw I do have a teacher, i'm getting better in time with him
thx

Not bad, work on your swing, If you play by key center then try to add chromatic notes to connect the key center diatonic notes it will give you a jazzy sound.

Will do! and thanks that sounds pretty good when I do chromatic notes as connectors. thanks

The sentence above has words with one, two three or four syllables. Commas, and periods indicate a rest. Phrases are like the way people talk. We don't talk in straight 8th or 16th notes. So think of accents, spaces, triplets, dotted notes etc. Phrasing is about feeling the rhythm and speaking with your instrument.

Now I get it, seriously, people tried to explain this to me in complicated ways, but this is quite simple...okay thanks


I think I learned something here, thank you everybody

[Hatim]

First of all, very brave putting yourself on the net.
What I hear is a bit of predictable phrasing. You start your line on the 1 of the first bar and end your line on the other half of the 2 of the 3rd bar. After you have played the first 4 bars on your solo the rest of your solo is already predictable, whatever notes, arpeggio's or lines you will be playing.
How about playing a line in the first bar, pause and continue in the third bar, or play over the 4th bar into the first. It's called phrasing.
Good luck.

[TheDude]

First of all, very brave putting yourself on the net.
What I hear is a bit of predictable phrasing.

you say i'm brave in a good or bad way? My father made a video anyway so I thought, heck, I could only learn from putting this on the internet.

and yea, people have said that to me, I will try to be better at that. thank you

[mr. beaumont]

I say brave in a good way. A lot of people ask for help, but they're reluctant to show where they're really at. By putting yourself out there like this, you'll get focused comments that you can really take to heart and work on.

I really don't have anything to add to what's been said--you've recieved great advice...just let me pile on with the "listening" part...I firmly beleive you can't play jazz until it is the music that plays in your head 24 hours a day.

[TheDude]

Thank you man !

well, you know, I'll try my best on the part of the listening, cause rock and progressive rock music will always be my favorite

I'm also a big fan of Gypsy Jazz music!

thanks

[yelserpdog]

Bravo my friend for putting this up. Well done. I echo Mr Beaumont's message.