Carol Kaye: "Nobody back in the '50s played note-scales."

[MarkRhodes]

I don't doubt for a second she wrote that. But she is one person I think is... well let's say I'm skeptical about the claims she makes.

Fair enough, though she was the original publisher of "Joe Pass Guitar Style," "Joe Pass Guitar Solos," "Joe Pass Chord Solos" and "Joe Pass Guitar Chords, Book 1", all in the early '70s. (Most of these books are still in print, through either Mel Bay or Alfred Publishing.) She also published the "Duets" book / CD of Joe Pass with Herb Ellis. (I think she's the only person still selling that gem.)

If she has knowingly made false claims about her accomplishments, I think that is wrong, that she should stop doing it, and set the record straight. I don't condone that, period. I hope you apply the same standard to claims made *against* her that you apply to claims made *by* her. (One of the devils of music history is that players are often asked about things that happened decades ago and it's hard to sort out accurate and inaccurate memories.)

[srlank]

For myself, I'm starting to learn to just appreciate folks for their music and end it at that. I'm having a little trouble focusing today, so I've been hanging out on this forum and then following up with some research on the topic. After reading a lot of smack on the internet, I ran across the recording with Carol, Vic Wooten and Steve Bailey. To me, her playing was so melodic and funky at the same. I really liked the feel of the music.

As far as expecting folks to act or be a certain way...well that would be an expectation on my part. And I've been told that expectations are resentments waiting to happen. Apologies in advance for the cliche.

[MarkRhodes]

Actually, I hadn't heard that 'expectations are resentments waiting to happen,' so I'm glad you said it!

I love Carol's playing. It still amazes me that she started doing session work as a guitarist and took up the bass one day because the scheduled bassist didn't show. She dug the instrument and the rest, as they say, is history.

[srlank]

And this thread is right on the mark for me, because I have been trying to put in a lot of practice on arpeggios with chromatics and also targeting the 9ths. I find that it takes a lot of very slow practice, and can become quite tough/tedious. It's nice to be able to hear professional examples of this sort of work.

[MarkRhodes]

I find several of her exercises useful. (She doesn't regard them---the one's I've seen, at least---as "hers" but rather, what the people she played jazz guitar with in the '50s were doing.) It certainly gets you out of 'box-y' playing, some of the exercises fly around the neck pretty good, but when you get the hang of them, they're a lot easier than you might think they would be!

[srlank]

Are the exercises off of her website or out of a specific book?

[MarkRhodes]

I have one of her books. Actually, 'booklet' is a better word as it reduced-sized mss pages stapled together. The exercises are written by hand. Comes with a CD, where she plays the exercises and talks about them, though you can tell it's totally old-school: one track may have her playing six examples and talking for five minutes! I think you can hear excerpts of a few exercises at her website. (If you'd like to know more about this, PM me and I'll answer anything you ask.)

[srlank]

Thx! I'll check the website, and let you know if I have questions on it. This type of stuff is so difficult going at first, but I think it pays well in benefits!