Howard Roberts Super Chops: study group for a tune based practice routine

[mauriciopcsouza]

Completing the first part of this method, here are the final reviews.

[mauriciopcsouza]

Continuing, now lesson 4-A. Very tricky, did my best! Slow progress, but increasing scale shapes skills.

[D'Aquisto Fan]

For the last few days I've been adopting the Super Chops program on songs of my own choosing. Admittedly, I'm being a bit less strict about steady 8th notes or 8th note triplets to give me an opportunity to come up with lines and rhythmic ideas. But the foundation of what I'm doing is the Super Chops program. Feels good. Like getting back in the gym!

[mauriciopcsouza]

One more lesson. Feels more secure and choosing a little more the notes, but with some rhythm issues.

[mauriciopcsouza]

One more lesson. Developing the connection between the scales, but with some challenge in connecting the melodies naturally. This time I tried the scale approach on a song outside the book and with more freedom of lines. The result positively surprised me. What is interesting in this method is the approach on tonalities rather than using one scale per chord.

[Socraticaster]

Hi all:

I'm starting a new SuperChops session in a little over a week (July 5th), and I thought I'd check in here to see if anyone is interested in giving it another go. Check out the link: Howard Roberts SuperChops - Summer 2021 Group

[mauriciopcsouza]

Another lesson, and straigt ahead. Much more fluence on conecting scales, also more timing accurace.

[pan60]

could i possabley get some input on the repeats?

[Jimmy blue note]

could i possabley get some input on the repeats?

Repeats within the forms? People who have gone through the course several times? Loops?

[pan60]

trying to understand the the repeat symbles i did some reading as i am new to reading sheet music and trying to learn i am missing something on the coda at bar 12 the repeat at the end of bar 16 as well as the dc al coda and the dc repeat
whats i am seeing doesnt seem to follow what i been studying
just more than a bit confused?
i could listen to it but i am really try to learn this?
if someone felt like going over it i would maybe get the light on as to repeats?

[pan60]

P.s. i barowed the drawing from destinytot

[Mick Wright]

Hi Pan60


To help with the repeats, DC al coda, etc.

There is a lot of information encoded in this complicated and detailed chart: once explained, the conventions, borrowed from classical music score-writing, gradually become familiar.

If we number the bars from bar 1 to bar 40, the 'geography' of the part is as follows:

– First play bars 1 -16
– Then play bars 1-12 plus 17-36
– Then play 1-12 again, plus 37-40

– Then repeat this whole sequence again.

To explain this in more detail, the number 1 in a circle with a long line bracket tells us that bars 13-16 are the ‘first time bar’. The repeat sign at the end of bar 16 tells us to go back to the very first bar ( sometimes called ‘the top’).

Bars 17 and 18 have the ‘second time bar‘ indication above it, (the number 2 in a circle with a short line after it) which implies that this section continues until the end of bar 36.

‘D.C. al coda’ means ‘da capo al coda’, which tells us to play again from the top (bar one) then move from the coda sign at the end of bar 12 to ‘the coda’ bars 37-40. At the end of bar 40, the indication ‘DC repeat’ then tells us to do this entire process again.

This chord sequence is based upon the standard ‘Cherokee’, although the full-sounding five and six-note chord voicings wouldn’t be ideal for the high tempos associated with this tune. We are doing two full sequences – two choruses – of the song. The sections of the song are indicated by the letters A and B in boxes, and a chorus of this standard ‘Cherokee’ would therefore be AABA form, with the last four bars of the A section harmonically different each time.

Could anyone else check my explanation, please?


All the best and good luck with these great chord voicings!
Mick W

[pan60]

first thank you so ery much!

the number 1 in a circle with a long line bracket tells us that bars 13-16 are the ‘first time bar’.

okay i was looking at it all wrong i was thing that bars 13-16 were to be repeated but i see the 2 under it and was not making sence of it. it did not relize it was going all the way back and even if i had i would have still been confused.

The repeat sign at the end of bar 16 tells us to go back to the very first bar ( sometimes called ‘the top’).

so is that differant from a typcle section repeat? i was seeing it as jst going back to repeat 13 through 16

‘D.C. al coda’ means ‘da capo al coda’, which tells us to play again from the top (bar one) then move from the coda sign at the end of bar 12 to ‘the coda’ bars 37-40. At the end of bar 40, the indication ‘DC repeat’ then tells us to do this entire process again.

okay i was looking for the words to coda thinking that would tell me to go there but if i am undertsand the coda symbal at the end of bar 12 is telling me to go to 37 through 40 repeat it all over and done?

i thinking i have it for the moment i am for sure betting i will have to ask more ignorant question on the forum and think you once more!
i will make adjustments on my notes.

i have been many years a guitar player spending far to much time listning rewinding listning and fishing and as i age i have decided i will do what ever i can to learn to read.
i wont to have a better understanding of the why and i want to read.

[Mick-7]

Believe Mr. Wright got it right. Certainly could have been notated better!

You may find this helpful....

Sheet Music Repeat Signs Tutorial:

[Mick Wright]

... so is that different from a typical section repeat?
... the coda symbol at the end of bar 12 is telling me to go to 37 through 40 repeat it all over and done?

Hi pan60.

+1 for Mick-7’s recommendation of Anne Plummer’s videos – they’re very clear and detailed – there's an important Dal Segno (or DS, 'from the sign') explanation at 5'30" that you need to know about for playing and writing your own jazz lead sheets, (writing as you learn to read is helpful, just like learning any language).

Please don’t worry about asking questions here. The only ignorant questions are the ones that we didn’t ask but, later on, wish that we had.

You asked "Is that different from a typical section repeat?"

It's slightly different – if it was only 13-16 we'd have pairs of repeat signs at the start and end of those bars. First / second / third / nth time repeat indications allow us more leeway, for what we repeat and what then varies - in this chart the first twenty bars show us two A sections, but the final bars vary.


And, "…the coda symbol at the end of bar 12 is telling me to go to 37 through 40 repeat it all over and done?”

Yes - we ‘connect’ the two coda symbols to create the sequence. ‘Repeat it all over again’ is the final instruction 'DC repeat' at the end of bar 40.

All the best
Mick W

[Mick-7]

Don't know why the publisher of a guitar manual would expect readers to be able to follow such complicated music notation. What's even more odd is that he does not explain it in his sight reading manual! Makes no sense.