Charlie Parker Themes - Stay in one position or move?

[csoul]

i'd be learning multiple positions, develop solid LH and RH technique

[CC323]

I'm just starting to get serious on the Omnibook stuff myself. Previously, I would just take a few licks here and there. I tried to work through a whole tune (Anthropology), but I got frustrated after about two or three days of spending a few hours on just that. i wasn't sure there is any point in going through the trouble to learn a whole solo up to speed, much less memorize. How do you guys approach this sort of task? Do you build up slowly, graudally increasing the tempo, and just keep working for say an hour a day or something until you get it? Or just take it piece by piece. There's just so DAMNED much to practice and work on. I need some idea if this is worthwhile or not.

Old post, but I hope my insights are helpful. I like to take all the rhythms out of a phrase and practice in straight 8ths, and I might make a phrase as small as 1-2 measures to 3-4 lines. The real book version of donna lee is good exercise for developing technique, as it's fairly simple rhythmically. There are also rests every 2-4 measures or so, so the phrases are basically broken down for you.

I'd practice something in straight 8ths, then practice it visualizing the rhythms as dotted 8th-6th, and then the opposite of that. Then, I'd do it in triplets starting on the first note. Once that's solid, you can play the first note as a quarter note, and then start with triplets. Then the first 2 notes as quarters, followed by all triplets. If you can do the triplet thing at ~70% of the tempo you want to play the actually melody, you're good.

That may seem unuseful at first, but it's really efficient at breaking down weaknesses and obstacles in the right hand.

Also, most parker stuff can be played in a 6 fret position. Chromatic lines may require a brief shift of position up or down, and in some case (the head to donna lee), 4 notes per string tends to work better for some phrases. I was surprised to see the comment on Ornithology though; It fits surprisingly well in 12th position IMO, and in 6th, using an extended index, it also works quite well.

Also Franco, saw your post on Moose the Mooche, and I definitely think alternate picking will work if you practice it as described above. Also, check out Jack Grassel's picking technique some time. The circular method of alternate picking is really great (IMHO). Cross-string picking/string skipping is way easier that way. It's basically the only picking style that I've found which can be really dynamically varied, and have speeds that are nearly equal for linear and angular playing (scales vs. arpeggios, etc.).

I hope that helps.

[guitaroscar]

I'm just starting to get serious on the Omnibook stuff myself. Previously, I would just take a few licks here and there. I tried to work through a whole tune (Anthropology), but I got frustrated after about two or three days of spending a few hours on just that. i wasn't sure there is any point in going through the trouble to learn a whole solo up to speed, much less memorize. How do you guys approach this sort of task? Do you build up slowly, graudally increasing the tempo, and just keep working for say an hour a day or something until you get it? Or just take it piece by piece. There's just so DAMNED much to practice and work on. I need some idea if this is worthwhile or not.

Most horn players can't play Bird up to speed, and the sax is a faster instrument than guitar.

Personally I take it lick by lick; I join this lick to that lick (or part of a lick) until I get a phrase, then a sentence etc.
It is also best, essential really, to work with the recording simultainiously.

I went to a workshop by the great Bassist John Clayton and he advocates burning the omnibook, realbook, whatever.

What's written in the Omnibook doesn't sound much like Charlie Parker unless it's played by someone who knows how to interpret Charlie Parker; and the only way to do this is through the recordings.

As a teacher, I have found that most students try to take on too much; Bill Evans said that it is better to work 24 hours on 1 song than an hour each on 24 songs.
I agree.

Try writing down everything you practise and culling whatever you can;
You may find if you are working on a blues say in Bb, that you don't need to practise Bb scale types that week. Or, on the other hand, you may need to practise more of that key!

Above all, Learn songs.

I spent the first several years of my life - right up to the point where I had a professional technique - working on my chops, and neglected the fact that it is the guy who knows the songs that usually gets the gig.

Cheers
Harry

[fep]

I like to have a good 'view' of the underlying harmony of Parker's phrase. So I move the phrase so it sits on top of the chord I'm thinking of. So when I play Parker, or anything for that matter I end up moving around the neck.

You can visualize just about any chord/arp from any position so I suppose you could accomplish this objective without moving around.

[GodinFan]

It's worth keeping the working range of the alto sax in mind. The lowest Db on a standard guitar tuning, up two and a half octaves to Ab (1st string, 16th fret.)

Many people play Parker's solos down an octave on the guitar, which generally works, since he rarely goes below an F concert. Given that, you could play everything between 1st and 5th frets.

[franco6719]

"Personally I take it lick by lick; I join this lick to that lick (or part of a lick) until I get a phrase, then a sentence etc.
It is also best, essential really, to work with the recording simultainiously."

I don't do anything until I've listened to the recording so many times to the point that I can easily call it back up in my head in its entirety. After that, i think it can be useful to have the transcriptions. Other than that, it can be useful for reading exercises, but I don't think it anything will be absorbed in terms of learning. Of course, it is always best to transcribe yourself as much as possible. The latter can be extremely time-consuming though, at least for whole solos.

[franco6719]

I'm working on The Cooker by George Benson now, but I have sliced up my index finger in several places trying to keep up with this sliding line in 4ths that he does. Yes, crazy!