Fewell's Melodic Approach - Ch. 4 (Dominants & Blues)

[MarkRhodes]

Nicely done, gents!

Just a comment regarding not knowing what to play: Don't forget that all of the lines and materials from the previous chapters are fair game for trying out/adapting. Some might work and some might not, but that's part of the fun.

Great point. Agree completely. Problem: unless I'm practicing the material, it doesn't 'come to mind' when I'm playing. I believe it will eventually.

It's funny: when I play an exercise through "Cycle 5" (as Garrison calls it), I can do that, but when I'm playing a tune or a blues, it isn't so immediately obvious to me where to play. (I have a familiar way of 'knowing the fretboard' and this way---which I realize is good and solid and will benefit me eventually---just isn't habitual yet. In other words, I can PLAY these lines but I can't THINK these lines yet. Or so it seems to me. That will come with practice, which is what we're doing, so I'm staying on board and looking forward to the material in the next chapter (-minor lines over dominant chords). Not that I'm through with this one! I want to play this solo again in a week and see if I have a better handle on it.

[rlrhett]

Here is my take on his solo. Still not hearing when I try, but I'll keep working at it. We have three more weeks.

[losaltosjoe]

Here is my take on Exercise 4.2: Blues For Charlie. The solo is short so I included 2 versions. The first one is at 95 bpm and the second one is at 120 bpm (Fewell's tempo).

For me, the first step was to get this solo under my fingers, playing it as written. Step 2 will be to analyze and understand how Fewell constructed the solo using arpeggios and extensions. Part 3 (which could take a while) is to experiment and develop my own solo ideas.

I found it very difficult to play the eighth-note triplets and rest strokes cleanly and clearly. Subsequently, I spent a great deal of time working on my technique. Playing this solo at speed (120 bpm) is still very much hit or miss.

I plan on spending the rest of April reviewing the material in chapters 1-4 before moving on to Chapter 5 in May.

Happy Easter!
Joe

[Jehu]

Here's a crack at Blues For Charlie, before the month runs out!

- The first chorus is the head
- The second chorus is the line from Ex. 4.1
- The third is a mix of Figs. 4.5 and 4.6
- The fourth and fifth are an attempt at improv using the material we've learned so far

Anybody still with me?

[Bahnzo]

Not only still with you, but I've cracked Part II/Ch5 a bit. It seems it's mostly examples of famous players and how they utilize this method? As in he's now going to introduce us to how to incorporate his teachings into "real life" situations.

Also: any interest in picking up the pace a bit? A month per chapter seems a little bit long. Or not? Just want to keep interest up and not sure where people are.

[TOMMO]

Well done, Jay. I've been trying all month to get out of my "blues" blues playing to sound a bit jazzier. I think it's time to do a clip.

[digger]

Great work from Jay, Joe, and RLRhett there. That's a nice sounding solo and a lot more bluesy than I imagined it would be from the preceding chapters.

Must admit I haven't picked up the book in an age. Still trying to build some basic foundations at the moment. I was running too soon with this book.

Derek

[Jehu]

Thanks, gents. Tommo -- looking forward to the clip!

Also: any interest in picking up the pace a bit? A month per chapter seems a little bit long. Or not? Just want to keep interest up and not sure where people are.

Hey, I'm open to whatever people want to do. A chapter a month was the popular choice when I started the group, and it seemed better to spend more time on each concept than to leave people behind. But I don't even know if the people who voted for that pace are still with us, so I'm totally open to a recalibration.

How do people feel about two chapters a month?

[TOMMO]

How do people feel about two chapters a month?

My experience: I impatiently hurried through the book first time around and it didn't do me any good because I didn't really internalize the material at hand which resulted in problems while working on later chapters. Chapter 4 is not overly comprehensive so a month is probably a lot of time for it but on the other hand it gives everybody extra time to revisit and review former chapters. Later chapters may even require more than a month to really dig into the material.
If anybody wants to go ahead - just do it - there's no restriction to not do so....

[TOMMO]

OK - here we go - warts and all:

[losaltosjoe]

Here's a crack at Blues For Charlie, before the month runs out!

- The first chorus is the head
- The second chorus is the line from Ex. 4.1
- The third is a mix of Figs. 4.5 and 4.6
- The fourth and fifth are an attempt at improv using the material we've learned so far

Anybody still with me?

Well done Jay! And thanks for annotating what you played for each chorus. I am definitely still with you and am happy with the current pace at 1 chapter per month. I will go along with what ever the group decides. Cheers, Joe

[losaltosjoe]

OK - here we go - warts and all:

Very nice Tommo! Bluesy and Jazzy. Seeing all of the posts here is very inspiring and motivates me to keep at it. Thanks.

[digger]

Nicely done Tommo! You're definitely getting the good stuff from the book!

[TOMMO]

Thanks guys. Digger: my improvisation is more informed by over fourty years of blues playing than what I picked up from the book. Still working on getting more of a jazz blues feel.

[Jehu]

The people have spoken... we'll err on the side of too much time over not enough.

Great playing, Tommo! I think once we get to adding things like approach notes and enclosures, you won't have much of an issue getting more jazz into your blues.

[rlrhett]

Well, here we are at the end of the month. I still don't feel like I'm hearing it, but I have to admit it sounded much better than I thought on the recording. Maybe there is something to all of this. ;-)

Here is my take on improvising using the licks and triads of Chapter 4.

[Bahnzo]

Nice playing Tommo!

[TOMMO]

Thanks Jay and Bahnzo!

Nice one rlrhett!

[losaltosjoe]

Well, here we are at the end of the month. I still don't feel like I'm hearing it, but I have to admit it sounded much better than I thought on the recording. Maybe there is something to all of this. ;-)

Here is my take on improvising using the licks and triads of Chapter 4.

Very nice indeed!

[Jehu]

Good stuff, rlrhett! What are those pickups you have on that guitar?

[rlrhett]

Good stuff, rlrhett! What are those pickups you have on that guitar?

Low Boy Alumitones

https://lacemusic.com/products/alumi...5e1bb048&_ss=r

[fep]

Ok, here's my first take of Blues For Charlie. GF's chorus (for the most part) and then a couple more afterwards. I tried to use GF's triad ideas, but also kinda just fell back a bit on my own blues stuff.

Oh...and I discovered afterwards that I maybe should've tuned my guitar. Heh, it wasn't bad, but it was a little ripe.

Okay, you made my lick diary

[Bahnzo]

Okay, you made my lick diary

That seems ominous.

I don't read very well, is that something I played?

[fep]

That seems ominous.

I don't read very well, is that something I played?

It's the last notes you played on the soundcloud you posted. I was going to go back and listen for some more good lines but the sound at that point stopped working on my computer for soundcloud... now that seems ominous. There is some glitch when I open Musescore, the sound for youtube and soundcloud stops working until I restart my computer. Definately makes it harder to transcribe.

[Bahnzo]

Ahh yeah, that's just a Herb Ellis lick I stole, which he probably stole from Charlie Christian. Works great to start a 12 bar blues as well. I think I used a variation of it earlier to start my solo.

Does your Musescore use ASIO for it's sound? I know ASIO drivers will grab your sound device and cause all sorts of issues. I've wrestled with it for years.