Bebop heads: Donna Lee

[mr. beaumont]

Gotta play a C7#9!

[pamosmusic]

Gotta play a C7#9!

This is non-negotiable

[AllanAllen]

I noticed MM filled the space with some melody.

MM hates space.

[mr. beaumont]

I worked ahead a bit, because I'm going to need some time to pull this together...

Some necessary pinky in here, imho.

[Bobby Timmons]

MM hates space.

Lol!

[lawson-stone]

So who is MM?

[mr. beaumont]

Mancuso.

I don't think he hates space. He's just a minimalist when it comes to using it

[bluenote61]

Heres this:

Dropbox - Guide Tone Lines (same note) - Score.pdf - Simplify your life

Thanks for working out and sharing!

[lawson-stone]

So here's my think-through of the last section of the tune. I find the last section much easier than the earlier lines.

[lawson-stone]

Kinda sorta got it up to 190 bpm, which is a happy start to the week.

[Old Nick]

That's awesome . I'm nowhere near your level. That chord in the gap..what if you hit it twice?

[lawson-stone]

That's awesome . I'm nowhere near your level. That chord in the gap..what if you hit it twice?

Well you have two measures of rest there, so you could do it twice, or play something else. Most agree it needs to be a C7altered chord of some sort. Or you can play nothing.

I'm finding my best progress comes on Monday's when I have gone one, sometimes two days without playing the tune. Seems like my mind resets to the best pace I reached the week before.

[GuyBoden]

Good progress, 190bpm is nearly 200bpm, wow.

I'm at 130-40bpm.

Does anyone know what bars we are learning this week?

[lawson-stone]

Good progress, 190bpm is nearly 200bpm, wow.

I'm at 130-40bpm.

Does anyone know what bars we are learning this week?

I think it might be 20-24 or 25-28. The tune gets way easier in the last few lines.

[lawson-stone]

Finally made it to 200 bpm! I hit it yesterday but couldn't play it reliably. Today without any warm up or build up, I just fired up the gear and rolled "tape" and got several takes at 200. I put 2 on here, but they're really similar so only listen to both if you want.
For the curious, I'm using an Epiphone Zephyr Regent Re-Issue (ES165 clone) that has a Seymour Duncan PhatCat pickup. That's a P90 in a humbucker form factor. The amp is a Princeton Reverb Re-issue with a 12" speaker, but the recording is direct using a Bugera PS1 Power Soak. If you're wondering about using something like this on your tube amp, I can say I really like it once I figured out how it actually works. Does a great job capturing the tube amp's tone without breaking the windows out of the building.

[alpop]

I decided to try playing this in some other keys, starting with C. This was fairly easy because I had room to move up my fingerings from Ab.

This is a sloppy 190, but I'm not giving up on this tempo barrier that I seem to have.

Next I will try F which I imagine will be more difficult.

[alpop]

Finally made it to 200 bpm! I hit it yesterday but couldn't play it reliably. Today without any warm up or build up, I just fired up the gear and rolled "tape" and got several takes at 200. I put 2 on here, but they're really similar so only listen to both if you want.
For the curious, I'm using an Epiphone Zephyr Regent Re-Issue (ES165 clone) that has a Seymour Duncan PhatCat pickup. That's a P90 in a humbucker form factor. The amp is a Princeton Reverb Re-issue with a 12" speaker, but the recording is direct using a Bugera PS1 Power Soak. If you're wondering about using something like this on your tube amp, I can say I really like it once I figured out how it actually works. Does a great job capturing the tube amp's tone without breaking the windows out of the building.

Great job! Soon you will at legit bop tempos.

[lawson-stone]

Great job! Soon you will at legit bop tempos.

It kind of reminds me of hiking in the high mountains of Colorado. You see a summit ahead and think you're at the top, then as you move onto it, you realize it's a "false summit" and only a step up towards the real summit.

[alpop]

It kind of reminds me of hiking in the high mountains of Colorado. You see a summit ahead and think you're at the top, then as you move onto it, you realize it's a "false summit" and only a step up towards the real summit.

Yeah, but the hike is worth it all on it's own.

[lawson-stone]

Yeah, but the hike is worth it all on it's own.

Absolutely! Done it many times and it never gets old! You don't even have to summit to have a mountaintop experience!

[olejason]

So today nursed it up to 185 and have started working with the whole tune. Used the Bugera PS1 to link the Princeton Reverb to the recording box so as not to upset office neighbors!
Also: I have an almost irresistible urge to play something in the middle of those two rest measures, even if just as a joke. Anyone else feel this?

That sounds great and that's around the tempo I really like to hear the tune, especially when guitar is taking the head. Most people I play with fill the space with something but I think leaving the space can add a lot of tension that is sometimes missing from bop lines. I prefer to leave it empty.

[supersoul]

but I think leaving the space can add a lot of tension that is sometimes missing from bop lines. I prefer to leave it empty.

I like it empty too. It’s like a pregnant pause before that excellent ascending chromatic phrase.

[lawson-stone]

I like it empty too. It’s like a pregnant pause before that excellent ascending chromatic phrase.

And it's a stark contrast to the very busy 22 measures preceding.

[lawson-stone]

Did this thread die? Suddenly it seems like the lights went off.

[pamosmusic]

Yeah I have some catching up to do!