Just the melody.

[GuyBoden]

Cherokee (Extremely, extremely slow.)

Live at Trefor Owen's Jazz Guitar Club (Last week)

Amateur Guy (Red guitar) with the very, very talented Andy Hulme.

[Ukena]

Here's Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square:

[John A.]

A little Joy Spring (in the face of horror winter ...)

[mr. beaumont]

Nice one John!

Well, i stand to become a bit more active in this thread, our team went down tonight 36-31, eliminating us from our brief playoff run. My son played the game of his life, 13 points and 5 blocks, but we just ran out of gas in the end. Bummed for him, but my guitar time just increased manyfold.

[John A.]

Nice one John!

Well, i stand to become a bit more active in this thread, our team went down tonight 36-31, eliminating us from our brief playoff run. My son played the game of his life, 13 points and 5 blocks, but we just ran out of gas in the end. Bummed for him, but my guitar time just increased manyfold.

Thanks Jeff. This is one of those heads that I've struggled to really nail. This thread gave me an incentive. Gonna try to do the same with a couple of other finger twisters. Sorry to hear about the agony of defeat, but onward and upward (to more guitar playing)!

[pamosmusic]

not my finest but ok

[ragman1]

Hope I'm not intruding on Jeff's and panasonic's tune. I haven't done Star Eyes before so I thought I'd try it. To be honest, I don't find the head too difficult, it's the solo stuff that's supposed to come after it that would probably be a bit of a test.

[Mick-7]

not my finest but ok

Liked your bass line, the playing on one string technique seems to be cramping your style. I realize you're doing it intentionally but still....

A little Joy Spring (in the face of horror winter ...)

One of the most difficult bop tunes if you try to copy Clifford Brown's phrasing, with the trills and all (which you did). Your timing was a bit rushed at times, but it's a difficult tune, so perhaps it's hard for you to relax while playing it. If you want a real challenge, try to play the entire head in one position.

[John A.]

Liked your bass line, the playing on one string technique seems to be cramping your style. I realize you're doing it intentionally but still....



One of the most difficult bop tunes if you try to copy Clifford Brown's phrasing, with the trills and all (which you did). Your timing was a bit rushed at times, but it's a difficult tune, so perhaps it's hard for you to relax while playing it. If you want a real challenge, try to play the entire head in one position.

How about you demonstrate that?

[Mick-7]

How about you demonstrate that?

You mean playing it all in one position? I could tab out an example of it.

[pamosmusic]

Liked your bass line, the playing on one string technique seems to be cramping your style. I realize you're doing it intentionally but still....

You’re implying that I had style to cramp in the first place.

But for real I liken this to the way runners will train with a twenty pound weight in their backpack.

”You’d go a lot faster without the weight.”

Well — yes.

[pamosmusic]

You mean playing it all in one position? I could tab out an example of it.

Well yeah, so could anyone else, dig?

John’s post had something of a [raises one eyebrow] quality to it.

For what it’s worth, I’m a one position dude and have done lots of bop heads in a few positions. Not Joy Spring though. Don’t actually recall ever having really learned that one.

[Mick-7]

You mean playing it all in one position? I could tab out an example of it.

Well yeah, so could anyone else, dig?

I could of course play what I've tabbed.

You’re implying that I had style to cramp in the first place.

But for real I liken this to the way runners will train with a twenty pound weight in their backpack.

”You’d go a lot faster without the weight.”

Well — yes.

I guess I'm just wondering what the end goal of the one or two string exercise is... to be able to phrase lines just as you'd like despite that impediment?

[pamosmusic]

I could of course play what I've tabbed.

Well that’s good news.

I guess I'm just wondering what the end goal of the one or two string exercise is... to be able to phrase lines just as you'd like despite that impediment?

So actually a better analogy than the runner is this soccer coach I had in high school. He never had drills or things for practice; we played the whole time. But at the beginning of practice the whole field would be divided up into 15x15 ft squares and we’d play one on one keep away. He’d walk around and maybe give little bits of advice but that was it.

It was just a thing we did and played, but I learned how to screen someone away from the ball with my body because it was the only way to keep someone from robbing you in a field that small.

Then the field would get a little bigger and it was 2 on 2, so we had to move a ton and make short passes on top of the other stuff. And the field would get a bit bigger until we were doing full field scrimmage at the end.

Anyway — the limitations are super useful when they’re designed to force you to develop certain skills.

Single strings … technique: lots of horizontal shifting, unusual finger combinations, unusual slurring patterns, lends itself to flexibility with chords if you’re playing without a piano … musical: different articulations, different timbres, you learn how the tune is actually built because there’s no muscle memory when you rotate through keys, etc.

So I don’t really think any amount is too much. But I also play the heads in position. Here’s the A section of Meditation. A little wonky because I just started it yesterday. Also you might hear my 5-yo “taking quiet time” in the background.

[John A.]

You mean playing it all in one position? I could tab out an example of it.

No, I mean making a video of yourself demonstrating.

[John A.]

To the whole question of single position vs shifting ... When I learn a tune I do experiment with where to play it and in what octave(s) to play it, and then settle on what works best for me in terms of my comfort on the instrument, being able to execute it at tempo, work in articulations and ornaments, etc. Odds are, if I've posted a video of myself here/youtube, I've already gone through process. No doubt, I don't arrive at ideal solutions much of the time. Oh well.

[Mick-7]

To the whole question of single position vs shifting ... When I learn a tune I do experiment with where to play it and in what octave(s) to play it, and then settle on what works best for me in terms of my comfort on the instrument, being able to execute it at tempo, work in articulations and ornaments, etc. Odds are, if I've posted a video of myself here/youtube, I've already gone through process. No doubt, I don't arrive at ideal solutions much of the time. Oh well.

Well, I did say it would be a challenge, but may not be (probably isn't) the optimal way to play it, "If you want a real challenge, try to play the entire head (of Joy Spring) in one position."

I'll give it a go, it's been quite a while since I've played it. I think Clifford played it at a fairly quick tempo?

[lawson-stone]

I am currently working on "My Secret Love" which is a tune I've always wanted to learn but never actually gotten around to. So for this thread that's the one I'm currently fiddling with. I hope to post early next week.

[John A.]

I am currently working on "My Secret Love" which is a tune I've always wanted to learn but never actually gotten around to. So for this thread that's the one I'm currently fiddling with. I hope to post early next week.

That’s a nice tune. I do a ballad-tempo chord melody of it, and also like to do it a little up tempo as a band tune.

[lawson-stone]

That’s a nice tune. I do a ballad-tempo chord melody of it, and also like to do it a little up tempo as a band tune.

It also looks like it could be a very easy tune to work on improvisation. The changes are pretty basic. The Aebersold backing track, btw, is really tricky and I might not be able to use it. Has an introductory rhythmic figure that is a bit above my pay grade!

[mr. beaumont]

I've found my next one

[John A.]

I hear a portion of a rhapsody ...

[Mick-7]

I've found my next one

From Pat's first album:

[mr. beaumont]

I'm actually learning it from Pat's version, very easy to hear.

[lawson-stone]

I hear a portion of a rhapsody ...

I almost reported this post... for sounding way too good and making me feel bad about my playing.

Seriously, I love your whole approach to improvisation and soloing. I always enjoy your clips and learn something from each one.