April 2015 - But Not For Me

**grahambop** · 04-24-2015, 06:47 AM

Originally Posted by pkirk

Not to get Zen or anything, but I think that one aspect of progressing on the guitar is that although it takes forever and is a constant struggle to improve the major things (e.g. chops, or making the changes, or time), as you work on them, other important but perhaps more subtle things just sort of get better "by themselves", e.g. playing melodically as opposed to rather than mechanically.

Whenever I get frustrated with progress, I remind myself that Pat Metheny once described himself as still being a 'student of the guitar'. It's reassuring that even he feels that he's got more to learn.

**jasonc** · 04-24-2015, 09:48 PM

Here's a clip of me reading through this tune. It's a song I've always liked but haven't ever learned so this is as good an excuse as any. I had to read the melody out of the RealBook but the changes in irealbook were different enough that I had to read off of my phone was I was done with the melody. It made it a little awkward but what can you do. Also, when I'm reading I have the bad habit of not leaving much space but I think I do it to kind of keep my place.

**eccegeorge** · 04-25-2015, 05:33 PM

Oh boy, alright. Never uploaded before (never tried to record before) but my guitar teacher assigned me this tune this week, so I figured it was a sign.

So, here we go. Criticism welcome.

**boatheelmusic** · 04-25-2015, 06:01 PM

Very Nice, good tone and note selection.

only comment, applies to me too, is fewer notes.....

Thanks!

**eccegeorge** · 04-25-2015, 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by boatheelmusic

Very Nice, good tone and note selection.

only comment, applies to me too, is fewer notes.....

Thanks!

Awesome, thanks.

**Jehu** · 04-27-2015, 09:27 PM

Good stuff, Jason... to my ears you've got a bit of an Oscar Moore thing going on. That's one of your guitars, I assume? (And amp, perhaps?)

eccegeorge -- Clearly your teacher is doing something right! Did you start with him/her? Sounds like you've been at this a while.

**eblydian** · 04-28-2015, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by pkirk

here's one. I thought I'd do it rubato on the in and out heads and change keys on the blowing chorus.

Great playing Paul. And I love your tone.
What guitar is that? Looks familiar but the name escapes me....

**pkirk** · 04-28-2015, 08:27 AM

Originally Posted by eblydian

Great playing Paul. And I love your tone.
What guitar is that? Looks familiar but the name escapes me....

Thanks, It's a Heritage Johnny Smith. Check out the tone Joe deNisco gets out of his on the other thread.

**jasonc** · 04-28-2015, 09:09 AM

Thanks. Yes, the guitar is one of mine. The amp is my Quilter Micropro set on stun...I mean set on the tweed setting with my phone on channel one playing the irealbook backing track. I have been listening to good bit of Oscar Moore lately but you're probably hearing a few Junior Barnard licks.

**eccegeorge** · 04-28-2015, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by Jehu

eccegeorge -- Clearly your teacher is doing something right! Did you start with him/her? Sounds like you've been at this a while.

Wow, thanks for saying that! I've been working with my teacher for a little over a year. Before that, I tried to go it on my own from books and stuff for a couple of years, but made little progress. My teacher is an old-school guy who is very self taught and doesn't bother too much with technical theory (although, some).

He sort of has his own way of looking at things and simplifying things, and that approach has been exactly what I needed as far as finally getting me playing.

**Pocket Player** · 04-30-2015, 01:01 AM

Wow ! everyone's song's are so awesome . some really great playing ,and everyone's so different . I worked really hard on this song, this month. and never recorded myself. That turned out to be quite the process

as i'm not too tech savvy. I spent all day at my friend's house getting help recording something, so i can post something lol and got a recording yaaaaa

and sorry in advance lol if i stink it up with my attempt at playing jazz. i'm sure a few of you will Cringe. I tell ya ! the pressure was huge after hearing everyone else play. lol and my first jazz standard. Sorry for breaking any jazz rules i'm unaware of. any comments are welcome,Be nice lol

**Vladan** · 04-30-2015, 04:50 AM

Originally Posted by Pocket Player

...

Really liked "The Oldies" approach, being from similar band camp.
Over time you'll inevitably and even involuntary come closer to standard jazz sound (as I think I did), but I think the point is not to loose this feeling when you did it fresh.

**boatheelmusic** · 04-30-2015, 07:17 AM

Good work -

Did you intend to rely so much on a rock/blues pentatonic scale approach?

You may wish to extend your lines using the whole major scale, and maybe even some chromatic notes.

IMO, will help in your development as a jazz player.....

Thanks!

**Pocket Player** · 04-30-2015, 10:26 AM

Id say there a good mixture of both. But to be honest,im not to conscious of it,When its happening .i'm just playing

my fingers just sort of go . and my ear leads the rest of the way. if i were to play it again,it would sound completely different. Its was quite the challenge later ,when my friend asked me what lick i played, here and there, i had no clue. had to literally figure it out. On a side note ! i dont find i use much chromatic's when playing something so melodic.Don't know why,just happens that way.Should i be looking to be more chromatic? on a song like this. Thanks guys for the nice words. and taking it easy on me.

**eccegeorge** · 05-01-2015, 02:08 AM

Originally Posted by Pocket Player

Wow ! everyone's song's are so awesome . some really great playing ,and everyone's so different . I worked really hard on this song, this month. and never recorded myself. That turned out to be quite the process

as i'm not too tech savvy. I spent all day at my friend's house getting help recording something, so i can post something lol and got a recording yaaaaa

and sorry in advance lol if i stink it up with my attempt at playing jazz. i'm sure a few of you will Cringe. I tell ya ! the pressure was huge after hearing everyone else play. lol and my first jazz standard. Sorry for breaking any jazz rules i'm unaware of. any comments are welcome,Be nice lol

Man, your friend must know what he is doing, because the recording turned out great.

I really like the feel that you have. I also definitely hear a pretty heavy blues/pentatonic approach, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of good stuff in there. I think it is probably less the notes you are playing and more the WAY you are playing them (especially the bending) that makes it sound a little more familiar to the bluesy side than jazzy side. But, again, there is nothing wrong with that. Good work.

The lick from 1:44 to 1:52 is fantastic.

As far as the chromatics go that ya'll are talking about: the great thing about having a good ear/feel for really melodic bluesy stuff is that it provides contrast. Personally, I love it when a player (aka Jimmy Bruno) does some really complex linear chromatic stuff an then just NAILS you with a very simple melodic/bluesy thing. I think the contrast between the two is where you can really add dynamics to a solo.

**eccegeorge** · 05-01-2015, 02:21 AM

Originally Posted by pkirk

here's one. I thought I'd do it rubato on the in and out heads and change keys on the blowing chorus.

I'll do a "real" take if anyone shows up to rehearsal tomorrow morning...

This is just fantastic. I especially love the interval stuff around 2:55. If you don't mind me asking: (1) are those all thirds, or are you mixing the intervals up? (2) are you thinking about a particular scale/arpeggio there?

**pkirk** · 05-01-2015, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by eccegeorge

This is just fantastic. I especially love the interval stuff around 2:55. If you don't mind me asking: (1) are those all thirds, or are you mixing the intervals up? (2) are you thinking about a particular scale/arpeggio there?

thanks. Those are 6ths (so yes, inverted 3rds). Every now and then I tell myself I'll do a bunch of practice in double stops, as they interpolate between single note and chords, and so they are good
for comping and soloing. Unfortunately, like triad pairs, and symmetric scales and everything else I practice, only a few things sink deeply enough to be remembered after I stop practicing it. This is just a major scale "harmonized" in sixths. As to what I was thinking, it was probably "do something in the II of EbMaj, but don't run the scale"

**grahambop** · 05-02-2015, 12:14 PM

OK better late than never. Just got an iPad so I've been on a learning curve trying to record with it. This was done in Garageband using the Jazz Session Band app for the backing track (the style is 'afro-jazz').

Guitar was plugged in via a Line6 sonic port and I used the Pod app with Blackface amp and 1x12 cab, for those that like to know these sort of things!

**Pocket Player** · 05-02-2015, 02:02 PM

Again Thanks ! everyone for the comments and likes

Ya my friend Really made it possible for me to make that recording, i'm so thankfull !! Cory you the man ! I'm just a bedroom player ! i don't play in a band, or go out to jam's I just love playing my guitar... and been lucky enough to have a great teacher. Jamming with my teacher(friend) once a week ! and my loop pedal. is all the outside jamming i do in my life. And all really, I will allow myself to do at the moment... lol

i'm soooo addicted to playing and practicing my guitar.....Is already a second job i dont get payed for ! As i spend hours.... everyday !!! playing and practicing and reading about guitar lol... I'm a full time LIVING landscape artist.... and the only $$$$ i make is from ART and fly-fishing lol sooooo I need to Paint 5 to 8 hours a day ! to live...... And Must keep that my primary focus... ... Sun up, to sundown i'm on a river flyrod in 1 hand, Brush in the other...then Paint and play guitar, With every other waking moment. Now When ! i'm in the studio on days off the water,I'm listening to all the great music ! You all have introduced me too,In the last few month. It's Really a hand picked set-list you've provided me...lol and it's all the best example's of the best of the best... a True treat.

p.s eccegeorge , The day i recorded the track. i told my buddy hit rec, the best of what i got, is going to come from the first take. Because ! at my level if i start thinking to much about what im doing. i feel like my playing suffers.I really just like to close my eyes and let it fly. This is probably a symptom of my nature as a painter,Having to paint on the spot, from life. and being a really by the seat of your pants technique and attack ! on a canvas. As i Guitar player... Learning to Solo... was probably the hardest thing !!! i really ever learned to do in my life. I saw so many of my friends Grasp and do, what seem to allude me for many years.... Now i've surpassed all of them !!! but the one's that became professionals. All my friend's that play in Bar bands. Can play a million tunes and licks. But if we Vamp on a !,4,5, or a AM7 chord. there lost !!!!!

Funny you picked that LICK out ! its the one spot my friend(teacher) stopped me, and made me change it. lol

when i was doing that pivot between the notes on the chords. i had been pivoting to a Maj tonality , he stopped me and we changed the lick to reflect the change to the minor chord. and had quite a debate on right and wrong note's lol. And made that change. He was right !!!! But I still think my original idea was as tasty !! One Big problem i'm struggling with at the moment. IS i still hear the avoid note in a scale as a good note. lol lol if that makes sense. eg. A Natural min the f is one of my fav notes !!! i love it ... and don't hang on it.... and no i'm not resolving on it.. But i lean on it hard some times. and my teacher always points it out... mmmmm maybe i'm hearing a Phrygian sound with that note.....

sorry just a thought .

P.s.s i'm never going to hear the end of it...You singling that lick out ! with my buddy(teacher) professional rec engineer, and session player.Truly awesome player. I'm just lucky enough to be a fly on the wall in his world.... and to have him as my teacher.... for the last 10 years. Feel truly Blessed.

p.s.s.s Im sad to say, i played that whole guitar solo !!!

with out once Thinking of the chords!! of the song. or trying to purposely outline the chords.

Just thinking F maj. only that one lick. and i believe the last G7 i tried to be deliberate and say Dom chord. but other then that. all by ear , and out of my ass. But that's why i'm Here !!! To learn to do that. With the time it took me to learn, and play the song. i really didn't have the time to get into it deeper . and try to nail a few changes,Before the end of the month came,and really wanted to try to post something.last month i couldn't even play the tune . Thanks again guys ! I really like hanging, and learning from you all ! and this community.

**eccegeorge** · 05-03-2015, 12:56 AM

Originally Posted by pkirk

thanks. Those are 6ths (so yes, inverted 3rds). Every now and then I tell myself I'll do a bunch of practice in double stops, as they interpolate between single note and chords, and so they are good
for comping and soloing. Unfortunately, like triad pairs, and symmetric scales and everything else I practice, only a few things sink deeply enough to be remembered after I stop practicing it. This is just a major scale "harmonized" in sixths. As to what I was thinking, it was probably "do something in the II of EbMaj, but don't run the scale"

That's really awesome, thanks. I'm going to have to spend some time with that sixths idea.