Just the melody.

[Mick-7]

Why is it so hard to restrain oneself from playing too much, especially with be-bop?

We're not doing bebop here, I thought about playing Joy Spring but no... swing tunes, maybe the blues, Billy Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, etc.

[pamosmusic]

We're not doing bebop here, I thought about playing Joy Spring but no... swing tunes, maybe the blues, Billy Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, etc.

Don’t think bebop tunes are forbidden, but I’d imagine you’d need a lot more than thirty minutes to get a good take.

Also bebop tunes are the ones I almost never embellish because it’s so hard to get back on the train if you jump off to get fancy.

[mr. beaumont]

Bebop tunes are certainly not forbidden.

[guitarvegas]

Yeah, not to pile on, but just learn the tune first.

Yes, understand. But don't you hear something good happening? I actually hear myself playing jazz now. Not just random notes....the notes are relative to the music. Don't you hear that happening in this video?

[mr. beaumont]

Honestly, I can't tune out the original and focus on you playing over and around it, things are rhythmically clashing all over the place.

[pamosmusic]

Yes, understand. But don't you hear something good happening? I actually hear myself playing jazz now. Not just random notes....the notes are relative to the music. Don't you hear that happening in this video?

Why do you imagine that real jazz is somehow separate from playing the song?

This is something a lot of people go through when they first start out, and it takes years for people to realize that, like Mr. B said, the melody isn't just something to get through.

A story I've told here before is that I was getting a lesson with Brad Shepik once, and I want to be clear here. I had been playing jazz for about ten years. I'd been to music school and had three years of jazz guitar lessons. I was living in New York at the time and gigging a bit. So I was pretty experienced at the time.

I was playing "It Could Happen to You," and I played the melody and then a chorus or so, and Brad stopped me. He said "you know some of your stuff is nice, but what tune are we even playing anymore? You can't play this music if you don't love this music."

So I just want to point out that your expectation that you'll be able to learn, play, and interpret the melody to a tune after one day -- or that you'll be able to say something meaningful and interesting and coherent over a tune without having a firm handle on the melody -- is completely misplaced.

That's okay. Everyone has done that. I have played soooo many gigs where I called a tune and then realized 30 seconds in that it was going to be a high-wire act because I didn't have the melody together. It's a thing. Learn the melodies. If you think you know it, try to think of ways to know it better, or ask someone on this thread, or whatever. But it starts with learning the melody. You won't get any other advice if you don't have the melody together because its the only advice that makes sense.

[guitarvegas]

Why do you imagine that real jazz is somehow separate from playing the song?

This is something a lot of people go through when they first start out, and it takes years for people to realize that, like Mr. B said, the melody isn't just something to get through.

A story I've told here before is that I was getting a lesson with Brad Shepik once, and I want to be clear here. I had been playing jazz for about ten years. I'd been to music school and had three years of jazz guitar lessons. I was living in New York at the time and gigging a bit. So I was pretty experienced at the time.

I was playing "It Could Happen to You," and I played the melody and then a chorus or so, and Brad stopped me. He said "you know some of your stuff is nice, but what tune are we even playing anymore? You can't play this music if you don't love this music."

So I just want to point out that your expectation that you'll be able to learn, play, and interpret the melody to a tune after one day -- or that you'll be able to say something meaningful and interesting and coherent over a tune without having a firm handle on the melody -- is completely misplaced.

That's okay. Everyone has done that. I have played soooo many gigs where I called a tune and then realized 30 seconds in that it was going to be a high-wire act because I didn't have the melody together. It's a thing. Learn the melodies. If you think you know it, try to think of ways to know it better, or ask someone on this thread, or whatever. But it starts with learning the melody. You won't get any other advice if you don't have the melody together because its the only advice that makes sense.

I will keep working on it. It was only one morning of working on it, what can I expect from one morning?

[pamosmusic]

I will keep working on it. It was only one morning of working on it, what can I expect from one morning?

You can expect to be a little bit better than you were the morning before.

Something else to consider is that you can expect more progress faster if you focus on fewer things and work slower.

[lawson-stone]

Hi Lawson, I have been to East Africa, but the reason for the Kalimba, Sansula and the Ocarina on the shelf is that I am a film composer, so I have lots of instruments that I use for various purposes and colors.

In the next video I will be sure to put my accordion and mouth harp in the background to fuel further speculation!

When I saw the gourd (?) I actually not of music but of my favorite drink from the time I lived in Kenya, which was aged in a gourd that had been burned out and filled with milk.

[guitarvegas]

You can expect to be a little bit better than you were the morning before.

Something else to consider is that you can expect more progress faster if you focus on fewer things and work slower.

Okay thanks.
Anybody else prefer practicing/playing in the mornings?

[AllanAllen]

Something happened at 40 where I just lost all my morning person energy. I'm comatose until 9am lately.

[lawson-stone]

Something happened at 40 where I just lost all my morning person energy. I'm comatose until 9am lately.

I just turned 70 on Friday. You ain't seen nothin' yet...

[AllanAllen]

I just turned 70 on Friday. You ain't seen nothin' yet...

You don't look 70, good job. LOL

[kris]

Okay thanks.
Anybody else prefer practicing/playing in the mornings?

I usually exercise in the morning - that's when my brain works best.
There are also days when I exercise very early in the morning before breakfast.

[lawson-stone]

You don't look 70, good job. LOL

Many thanks, sir! I have tried to stay healthy and happy, and I suppose I'm reaping some of the benefits now.

[lawson-stone]

I usually exercise in the morning - that's when my brain works best.
There are also days when I exercise very early in the morning before breakfast.

I exercise in the morning precisely because my brain is NOT working well. If I actually think clearly about it, I'd stay in bed!

[pamosmusic]

Okay thanks.
Anybody else prefer practicing/playing in the mornings?

I usually do business kind of work in the morning. Some small amount of practicing in the early afternoon. Then I teach until pretty late and do a lot of my big practice late in the evening/ early morning.

[mr. beaumont]

Unfortunately my morning inspiration coincides with some of my busiest times of day...Great for my job, not so much for my guitar playing.

[Mick-7]

o.k., here I am messing around with phrasing, can't imagine why anyone other than me would want to listen to it but I said I'd share it so...

Looking for Misty - Box.com

[Mick-7]

I just turned 70 on Friday. You ain't seen nothin' yet...

Happy Birthday!

Keep pickin' and grinnin' and you should have many more - you must do both though: pickin' and grinnin'.

When I saw the gourd (?) I actually not of music but of my favorite drink from the time I lived in Kenya, which was aged in a gourd that had been burned out and filled with milk.

So we're talking a yogurt-like drink? I always suspected you were off your gourd, Lawson, now we know why.

[AllanAllen]

o.k., here I am messing around with phrasing, can't imagine why anyone other than me would want to listen to it but I said I'd share it so...

Looking for Misty - Box.com

It sounds like you’re noodling the melody. Teething the reigns waiting for your solo.

Space is good.

[Mick-7]

It sounds like you’re noodling the melody. Teething the reigns waiting for your solo. Space is good.

Well, I was practicing phrasing, not playing does not help with that.

What's more, this is wall to wall chords:

[Mick-7]

Hello. I spent the morning listening to Louis Armstrong’s recording and Grant Green’s recording of “Go Down Moses”. I spent the requested thirty minutes breaking the melody down by ear. I used my acoustic archtop for the recording. This is the result.

Nice but you're in the wrong thread, go to the main forum page, turn right at Chord-Melody.

The idea is very simple, just play the melody to a tune. Single notes only.

[supersoul]

Well, I was practicing phrasing, not playing does not help with that.

What's more, this is wall to wall chords:

If you ignore his left hand chords and just listen to his right hand melody, he's playing it in octaves, and it's really pretty how he rhythmically offsets the two notes of the octave. It's also cool how he'll sometimes prolongs a note by playing those offset octaves along with the pulse. It totally sounds magical.

[pamosmusic]

Nice but you're in the wrong thread, go to the main forum page, turn right at Chord-Melody.

Put another way, he’s on the right thread and we’d love to help him get rid of those pesky extra notes