Sheryl Bailey's Essentials: Bebop Etudes

**MarkRhodes** · 11-14-2015, 03:30 PM

Originally Posted by srlank

I got this course, even though I already have way too much going on already....(jazz workshop and associated gigs in the community, plus a workshop on TF.). It was extremely affordable, and it looked great.

I've just been through a bit of it, and there is some great, usable information. She even addresses utilizing the diminished chords/ drop voicings, which seem in line with some of the Barry Harris threads on this forum, and demonstrates them over Body and Soul. I also have the course on Bebop (forget what it's called, but it's not the Licks course), and that also has a lot of useful ideas.

I think that is "Bebop Dojo".

Sheryl makes me feel like I'm coming full circle: back in 1999 (!) I read a short "Guitar Player" article about her and it mentioned her unusual pick grip. I hadn't heard her play and there was no picture of the grip, but based on what I read, I started experimenting. It didn't go so well, but that was the starting point of my experimenting with picking, which lead to the long-running Benson picking thread here, some Jc Stylles tutorials, and two intensive years of doing every wrong thing possible until there was nothing left but what worked for me and, finally, I found it. Now that that's done, it's time to move along; meanwhile, Sheryl has become an accomplished teacher and I'm in a position to absorb (-well, not "absorb" so much as DO) what she teaches. Yay!

**David B** · 11-14-2015, 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by Patriots2006

Is there anyway to purchase this without being forced into joining the student program or am I just having a senior moment.

The 'add to cart' buttons are purple and to the right of the screen: https://truefire.com/essentials-guit...op-etudes/c947

**Patriots2006** · 11-14-2015, 04:18 PM

When I click on payment method it comes to a screen forcing me to join and accept a 30 day free trial which I do not want to do. I just want to pay for the cd and download without having to remember to cancel the free trial in 30 days.

**geoffsct** · 11-15-2015, 12:17 PM

If you call or email them at Truefire they're very responsive. I had a different problem with the site but it was my misunderstanding that they cleared up. You can buy this stuff without joining anything. I must say the Truefire app they have you download is VERY convenient for downloading courses and storing them where you want (in my case a usb stick).

**docbop** · 11-15-2015, 08:22 PM

Originally Posted by Patriots2006

Is there anyway to purchase this without being forced into joining the student program or am I just having a senior moment.

You can just buy the download or CD package without joining anything. Guitar Center sells a lot of the Truefire CD's so they will eventually get it too.

**docbop** · 11-15-2015, 08:33 PM

Originally Posted by MarkRhodes

I think that is "Bebop Dojo".

Sheryl makes me feel like I'm coming full circle: back in 1999 (!) I read a short "Guitar Player" article about her and it mentioned her unusual pick grip. I hadn't heard her play and there was no picture of the grip, but based on what I read, I started experimenting. It didn't go so well, but that was the starting point of my experimenting with picking, which lead to the long-running Benson picking thread here, some Jc Stylles tutorials, and two intensive years of doing every wrong thing possible until there was nothing left but what worked for me and, finally, I found it. Now that that's done, it's time to move along; meanwhile, Sheryl has become an accomplished teacher and I'm in a position to absorb (-well, not "absorb" so much as DO) what she teaches. Yay!

Via and old video of Sheryl's she talks a little about her picking and from that I discovered there are two approaches people call Benson picking, one from wrist and other from the elbow. Sheryl use the elbow approach and said it took her awhile to get used to it.

**srlank** · 11-15-2015, 10:35 PM

If anyone has done some intense work on picking with Sheryl, I'd be interested in hearing about it.

**MarkRhodes** · 11-15-2015, 11:04 PM

Originally Posted by srlank

If anyone has done some intense work on picking with Sheryl, I'd be interested in hearing about it.

Same here! I'm happy doing what I'm doing now, but her way of picking intrigues me---when she's playing, you can't even see the pick at all.

**Patriots2006** · 11-18-2015, 10:00 PM

Started working on this course tonight. Man the first inversion drop two voicing on the Ebm7 chord Sheryl shows is awkward. She can really stretch those fingers. This is going to be a slow process but in the end I think it will be well worth it. The TrueFire app is definitely worth downloading. Puts everything in one place and you can work offline.

**voxss** · 11-18-2015, 10:34 PM

i think after working through the 100 odd Band in a box solos im ready for it....my reading is up to scratch..Bloody exciting stuff...

**edh** · 11-18-2015, 11:55 PM

Help!, I payed for this using paypal. But I can't see where I can download the etudes lesson.

Any help would be appreciated.

edh

**Patriots2006** · 11-19-2015, 07:51 AM

I had trouble with it at first but it is much easier than I made it out to be. Did you download the Truefire app? If you do, everything is right there when you open it. You can also go to the storage management under options and download it to the hard drive. Then you can work off line by simply opening up the app. Make sure you temporarily disable your virus program to download the app. I checked this out with tech support. All is good.

**MarkRhodes** · 11-19-2015, 11:24 AM

Originally Posted by Patriots2006

I had trouble with it at first but it is much easier than I made it out to be. Did you download the Truefire app? If you do, everything is right there when you open it. You can also go to the storage management under options and download it to the hard drive. Then you can work off line by simply opening up the app. Make sure you temporarily disable your virus program to download the app. I checked this out with tech support. All is good.

The Truefire app is a great thing. All your courses are 'right there.' You open the app and pick the course you wish to work from. Easy peasy.

**MarkRhodes** · 11-22-2015, 11:55 AM

My main study now is David Baker's "How to Play Bebop." Lot of great stuff there and it will keep me busy for awhile.

But I want to work with Sheryl's material too: for one thing, her teaching is centered on the guitar; for another, rather than trying to cover it all, she focuses on "getting you in the game," giving you a solid foundation geared toward performing with other bebop players. Last night I looked at parts of her "Bebop Dojo" (which I picked up at TrueFire's recent 'back to school" sale but haven't worked with yet. Much of that teaching is in the context of "Autumn Leaves." (The changes and playing over them; not the head.) So this is going to be daily practice material for awhile.

Once I feel good about this, I'll learn some of her "Essential Etudes".

**NSJ** · 11-22-2015, 12:12 PM

Originally Posted by MarkRhodes

My main study now is David Baker's "How to Play Bebop." Lot of great stuff there and it will keep me busy for awhile.

But I want to work with Sheryl's material too: for one thing, her teaching is centered on the guitar; for another, rather than trying to cover it all, she focuses on "getting you in the game," giving you a solid foundation geared toward performing with other bebop players. Last night I looked at parts of her "Bebop Dojo" (which I picked up at TrueFire's recent 'back to school" sale but haven't worked with yet. Much of that teaching is in the context of "Autumn Leaves." (The changes and playing over them; not the head.) So this is going to be daily practice material for awhile.

Once I feel good about this, I'll learn some of her "Essential Etudes".

Her fundamental analysis about the doninant 7th bebop scale plus 3 chord tone arpeggios is a method that works over streams of 8th notes but does not work (she admits this ) while using triplets.

In a fundamental sense, Bebop is all about the 8th notes.

But if you can't incorporate triplets, quarters, and 8ths, the music will suffer.

Thankfully there is more than one way to play this music

**MarkRhodes** · 11-22-2015, 02:45 PM

Originally Posted by NSJ

Her fundamental analysis about the dominant 7th bebop scale plus 3 chord tone arpeggios is a method that works over streams of 8th notes but does not work (she admits this ) while using triplets.

In a fundamental sense, Bebop is all about the 8th notes.

But if you can't incorporate triplets, quarters, and 8ths, the music will suffer.

Thankfully there is more than one way to play this music

I agree there is more than one way. But Baker's way is solid---a few generations of players have cut their teeth on it. And his "method" is based on analyzing what Bird, Clifford Brown, John Coltrane, and Sonny Rollins et al actually played.

As for Sheryl, I don't know enough of her teaching to say now, but clearly she CAN play and she is a popular teacher, so I'm inclined to think her students benefit and encourage others to "take" from her. I'm not sure about the triplets things---she uses them in her own playing and lots of licks in her "50 Essential Bebop Licks" have triplets in them. Maybe you meant the bebop SCALE is about eighth notes (because it is an 8-note scale).

**docbop** · 11-22-2015, 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by NSJ

Her fundamental analysis about the doninant 7th bebop scale plus 3 chord tone arpeggios is a method that works over streams of 8th notes but does not work (she admits this ) while using triplets.

In a fundamental sense, Bebop is all about the 8th notes.

But if you can't incorporate triplets, quarters, and 8ths, the music will suffer.

Thankfully there is more than one way to play this music

It's teaching material so in real world you are going to add rhythmic interest to lines. In the woodshed everyone spends hours doing one thing that might only be a second or so of you real world playing.

**gggomez** · 01-28-2016, 08:01 AM

What do you guys think of this course now?

**rkwestcoast** · 01-28-2016, 04:06 PM

Excellent - the solos are great - they don't sound like mechanical lines worked out for the sake of it & her explanations of what she is playing are very accessible & two the point - highly recommended............