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Hi Guy,
Originally Posted by GuyBoden
I'm at 78bpm, 80bpm will be tomorrow. I seems slow, but not bad I think. 80bpm with 3 notes per beat is 240 notes per minute. 120bpm at 2 notes per beat is 240 notes per minute. So maybe not as slow as it seems. However, maybe a bit easier as the chords aren't changing as quickly. But triplets can get my picking and lines tangled up as I'm not as use to them. I'm counting it as a victory.
I'm now splitting my time between playing with my fingers and playing with a pick. And I'm also wanting to play chord tones, just the way I feel/hear things.
Keep on trucking.
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04-21-2023 01:39 PM
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As an exercise, I created repeated triplets for each bar using the first melody note from each bar in the song. I can play this exercise through the whole song at an incredible 90-100bpm, maybe even faster.
It's not improv, but it was a good exercise.
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Here's what I'm using, these "composed" triplets are based on the melody, this is section A.
I can easy play at 100bpm. Try it, it's an easy exercise, that sounds better faster.
(Unfortunately, I've copied and pasted the triplets, so the incidentals are shown repeated in each bar.)
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Week 9
Triplets on All the More Things you Are in Eb.
This week we take the form we have become familiar with and turn it to a new key.
Key areas are
Eb for 5 bars
G for 3 bars
Bb for 5 bars
D for the end of the A section and 4 bars into the bridge
B for the end of the bridge and back to
Eb to wind down through a long turnaround.
Here's a de-cluttered version of the HR changes with slight changes.
You can see the piece is broken down into tonal areas which can give you some guidelines as to where to shift, and more importantly when to pace your lines for ends of ideas.
The tonal areas are broken down into colour areas here.
You can use these as a kind of mental guideline to when to shift your ear from one tonic to another.
Triplets can be a challenge. Try warming up by hearing the changes (tonal areas) but NOT playing them. Move towards hearing off book and create rhythmic patterns and phrases with ONLY rhythm, tapping or vocalizing, so you can hear how the flow of triplets fills a measure.
Once you can hear triplets, pay attention to the rhythmic pulse and let your ear be carried by what you already know. In other words, relax and move to the triplets. Trust your hands and ear to guide you to a melodic direction or idea. Focus on the rhythm, feel the melodic possibilities.
Take it relaxed and let it come.
Have fun!
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I've got a lot going on at the moment. Next time perhaps.
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New and shiny one! Originally Posted by Bob65C
Nice thing about the book, it'll always be there.
Nice thing about the guitar, there are always other things to play, as long as you put your hands on it and it brings you joy.
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With a lot of practice, I've got the triplet rhythmic pulse and can hear the changes internally, but getting the chord tones to fall on the down beats with triplets has been a big challenge. I've been sticking to chord tones on the 1st and 3rd beats only, to make it simpler. It seems to be working and still outlines the harmony. 90bpm yesterday. Originally Posted by Jimmy blue note
I have to be relaxed, due to my intentionally very light picking technique, very low tension string gauge and less than 1.5mm action at the 24th fret. Otherwise, not being relaxed creates too much tension and the strings will buzz with each string pick, a good indicator that I'm not relaxed enough.
Many thanks for your great advice.
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YES! And funny that you mention picking tension. I'm beginning to not hear chord tones but just loosen up and hear the pulse and what melodies are revealed by not pushing for any structure, just letting the lines fall. My hands naturally find the right position and the angle I hold my fingers changes ever so slightly but it's everything. Originally Posted by GuyBoden
I first noticed this when I'm in a situation where I'd be asked to play something when I'm not prepared. It was impossible to find that 'space' that I would find in my living room. It was pondering this that I came to the realization that a lot of mental prep work goes into playing to the best that we can do; it doesn't just come. The slightest release of tension, arm position, sitting balanced, breathing deeply, releasing upper body tension (Jules is always telling me this), hearing the room around me, being aware of the earth rotating (as an attitude)... these all let me at least hope to find the 'space'.
Hear the pulse and the notes will find their place. It's funny but it's what I strive for now.
I'll tell you a little story. A while back Jerry Bergonzi and Mick Goodrick were recording an album together. It would eventually be named Sunscreams. I was in the booth with engineer Jim Anderson and the guys were doing a sound check. We'd had a 3 night run before so the material felt solid and the sound check was amazing. They all felt it.
So we all found chairs in the booth and I think it was Gary the drummer who said "Why doesn't the session ever sound as good as the sound check?" and we all laughed. And I said "Why doesn't the sound check feel as good as my living room?" and we all stopped and looked at one another. That zone in the living room. Right. So we all just relaxed, enjoyed our company, had great banter and they went in to record an amazing record. I'll always remember how right the vibe felt, to this day.
There's a lot more that goes into finding the right way through a bunch of changes. It's finding the pieces that the books DON'T tell you about, the things they DON'T teach you in a class that make the difference when you eventually find all the layers and how they go together. THAT's what you catch when you have a good practice session and it changes you.
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My usual addition of a pdf chord chart is late as box.net is having issues at the moment. I'll try again later today.
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I haven't said it before, but thank you fep. Chart or no chart, your contributions are essential to this group. Thank you! Originally Posted by fep
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I've had that book since mid 90s. It looks new I haven't damaged it at all. Now my Leavitt book 1 is a different story. Originally Posted by Jimmy blue note
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When I click on the link, it takes me to the chart for lesson 4-A (same as last week), rather than 4-B. Did I miss something? As Jimmy said, I really DO appreciate your offering these "cleaned-up" charts!
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Sorry about that, it's fixed now. Thanks for letting me know. Originally Posted by Topper Roth
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Gracias!
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Week 9 progress.
I'm happy playing triplets over the changes at 80bpm, anything above this and I can't hear the changes fast enough to react. Quite content with this progress.
Big question:
Am I hearing the changes or memorising the changes?
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WEEK 10 Applying the breakthroughs we've made to a simpler form with triplets. Blues for Alice based form in C.
While it seems that these forms are easier to negotiate than the rapidly changing music-scapes of Cherokee and ATTYA, these next two weeks are an excellent opportunity to stretch out and bring a more developed ear into our practice routines. Longer forms are actually more challenging in many ways because they demand that we pay attention to the MOVEMENT of harmony, and take control over just what we are doing.
Project 5 A is a harmonically augmented version over a strong I IV V movement with moving connecting chords employing things like tritone subs, sequences and secondary dominants.
Here's the uncluttered lead sheet with the tonal areas indicated and the areas of harmonic movement annotated for analysis and a guideline as to how to choose your own melodic/harmonic vocabulary.
Take your time with this project and as it becomes comfortably familiar, challenge yourself to create more conscious phrasing. Even though we don't have different note durations at our disposal, try creating phrases using changes in direction, using the note of highest pitch as the peak or defining note and learning to articulate supportive movement to bring those notes to life.
Have fun with this one!
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Another point in time, Lesson 4b
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Well done Frank.
I'm enjoying playing "Blues for Alice", a masterpiece of blues composition by Charlie Parker. The chord progression is truly inspiring.
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Nailed it! I love the flow, the way your lines inform and bring the harmony to life. And the way you keep it fresh. Nice job! Originally Posted by fep
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Thanks David. Originally Posted by Jimmy blue note
Good progress and I have my moments, both the flubs and some good moments too. That tempo was pushing my limit and I wasn't as relaxed, especially my right hand, as I would want. The constant stream of notes is tough for me both physically and more so mentally.
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I'm so glad you posted this! This is a HUGE question and one with an answer with many layers. Originally Posted by GuyBoden
Improvisation in real time is an act of constant balance and it's an evolutionary one. There are so many things that go into the solid and ostensibly effortless spinning of a fully formed solo: Ear, Hands, Fretboard navigation, the partnership of where you are and where the tune is, the command of all your possible options and how you choose (otherwise known as theory), and most importantly your own choice of what you want to convey through your note choice.
Whew! and Sigh. All of these emerge in balanced playing but each of these are learned individually. In a strong and subtle soup. And what's the soup base? Time spent on the instrument.
Mini rant: Most if not all guitar players have the ability to be perfectly balanced and articulate players. With this you can become a great player. The one thing that separates you from a John Scofield or Joe Pass is the time you spend on the guitar. It's simple, people give up for many (good) reasons, like a good job, a good girl, a good partner, a good family---and bad reasons like YouTube videos, bad TV shows that are easier (and more satisfying than practice), bad sound (I don't think I'm ready to put in the time until I've passed the metric of not making mistakes), or bad faith (I'm just not cut out to play jazz...Hey, I'll buy another guitar instead...ha).
But here you are in the soup! YES! and in answer to your question, your time on the instrument is giving your hands a sure feel you need to confidently move in time. That movement is something that emerges in your ear as cool lines. As they become natural, your mind kicks in and says "What if I do THIS instead?" and as you consciously expand what your hands can do, the choice you make, the things you want to do, your ear will delight in not being bored or predictable, it will get better and your choices ever more expansive. Your ear grows by being fed, challenged and delighted. Your hands will find the ways to feed that joy. This goes on until you stop playing, maybe after a long career in music if you want, maybe when you can pick up a guitar anytime and know that there's YOU making something you never imagined.
That's when it's soup. Hard to tell which things in the stock are the strongest at any particular time, but it's cookin' and it's becoming soup as you immerse yourself in the experience. When it's soup...you'll know.
So glad we're putting in the time here. You're an inspiration.
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FWIW, I thought I'd share this with you. I transcribed bits that I liked from my recent lesson 4-B video.
I think as much as anything, my rhythm was a bit better for the parts I liked. And, I can see I play a lot of arpeggios, mix in some scales and bluesy notes. I think All the Things You Are is a good tune to practice arrpeggios.
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