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Hey Scott, thanks for the detailed comments!

If there's anything about how I play I try not to emphasize notes by accident. I'm really conscious about chord tones but sometimes I will intentionally reharm (hit an extension) for tension and hopefully resolve it to the right chord tones. But I didn't even do that much of that here though I remember doing it later in the recording. If you could point out what you mean though, I'll see if we're talking about the same thing. I have a teacher who'll hammer me on wrong notes so believe me I'm conscious of it.

Here's something for you guys to chew up for me...

http://www.box.net/shared/82pters3oa18yh939l9c

These are some cuts with my trio that we're trying to decide on for our demo. We're thinking maybe five tracks. Which one's do you guys like?

Cubop, make sure to watch the DVD or might misinterpret what's being said in the book. The technique is based on finger motion rather than arm. But at the "high velocity" that the exercises are based on, the force is really coming from the hand muscles to twitch that fast. So if overdone, I found that you start to rely on the arm tendons.

I don't think the technique discussed in the book is an end-all. But it's good for the arsenal/toolbox. Something to make what I call a "pearly sound".

Some great stylings there Scott! You guys are going to sound great.

Some tunes are similar so I guess you don't want to duplicate. Footprints and Green Dolphin have the same starting progression. And Softly vs. Bemsha is the same feel so one of each. So you'll have 6 left and I'd rather not bias you because I know all the tunes except for the 1st one so I will gravitate to what I know.

Jazzwee, at the risk of making no sense, here's an attempt at clarifying what I mean. I transcribed your first 5 bars of improv on Solar. Then I re-wrote those bars a couple of times with some alternatives that I think would've worked better.

http://www.box.net/shared/1ne6pcyzrhgs8am6bl0s

Instead of landing on Eb on beat one of Gm7 I chose two different ways to resolve on D there which is a stronger way of suggesting G minor since it's a chord tone, but then you can go off on the extensions and in sounds more stable.

Then instead of landing on B natural on the first beat of the C7 I chose Bb, which meant I had to change the last note in the Gm7 measure. In my first option I went with G, which is definitely stable because it's part of both a Gm and C7. In the second option I went with B natural, which is of course unstable for both chords, but it's safe to do that on a weak beat like the "and" of four. Whereas your choice of B natural on beat 1 of the C7 measure is strange because your ear wants to hear C7 there because it's the down beat of the new harmony.

Also in the C7 measure I changed your F on the "and" of 1 to an F#. When paired with the A that follows it, it sets up for a strong resolution to the G on beat 4, which then I followed with an E to more strongly suggest C7 as well as create a stronger movement to the D and finally C in the Fmaj.

Thanks for listening Jazzwee, good points about the styles and similarities of the tunes. I'm thinking I like Softly As In a Morning Sunrise over Bemsha Swing. And being that Stella, Bye Bye Blackbird, and Minority are all swing, I'm leaning towards Bye Bye Blackbird and/or Minority.

I liked several, but what annoyed me was that I found it hard to hear the piano! It sounds like the mike was close to the drummer. If you want to do a demo I think you need to re-think and re-do with the piano more in focus.

Jazzwee, thanks for feedback on my Chaloff post. I have been studying Russian school technique for more than 6 months with good results, but all good additions to the toolbox are appreciated. I tried the fast repetition thing with a somewhat modified technique, and the result was amazing. Faster, more control, better sound than what I did before. And with no strain on finger and hand. If the rest of the method is that good, I have something to look forward to.

Scott, I haven't read it completely but just note that I'm not playing Cm7 on the 1st chord. I'm play C maj/min. So I am playing a B natural. That's also the chord I'm playing on the LH.

that's dedication right there Scott!

Somewhat of a rule of thumb for me is :
1. Where does the line start?
2. where does it end?
3. does it have a nice rest?


Generally speaking, and obviously everything is possible
1. off beat
2. strong beat.
3. A measure or more.

That said, I believe in very long lines. 8 measures or so, and playing over the bar line. But that's not contradictory to the 3 rules above.

So I like how you "fixed" the line. I'd actually land the line on beat 1 of the Fmaj instead of 1&. That would give a clean ending followed by a nice rest.

you mean you play a C-6?
Scott's talking about the C7 in the major 2-5

Scott,
I agree with Chris on the volume of the piano.
Anyway you can record this on an acoustic? Would sound better for a demo.
Or plug your keyboard in the mixer directly and mix afterwards. It's a pretty cheap option. Maybe you can borrow a zoom 4 some somebody? That thing is killer for demos. With 4 mics, you can get something really decent very cheap.

Knotty - No, I'm not playing C-6. I'm actually playing Cmaj/min. B natural is in the melody. I'm talking about the 1st chord.

EDIT -- oh you mean the wrong note? I haven't looked/listened yet but I just want to be clear on what chord I'm playing on the 1st chord (may not have anything to do with anything...).

That note you're referring to near the beginning is an actual slip...I don't count that since it wasn't intentional.

>> Cmaj/min.
I'm not familiar with this.
I know the other way around
Cmin/Maj7 which is equivalent to Cm6 and would be
C Eb G A or C Eb G B

Thanks everyone for your input about the mix on the demo cuts. I agree that it's not sounding too good. I'm really only marginally concerned about that, but I guess it would be a good idea to talk with the others in the trio and see if we can try to get some better equipment from somewhere.

Jazzwee, the Cm7 or C-Maj7 in the first bar doesn't affect anything I was suggesting. In that case, you can play lines suggesting both harmonies anyway. And with regards to the unintentional slip, I think my point is that you want to try to avoid those things by really studying how you put together lines, instead of trying to always create them on the spot. Doing things like writing out lines over changes to practice, or transcribing others, leads to clearer thinking and control and prevents those kinds of slip ups.

LOL. Yeah the other way around. I was looking for C-(triangle)7.

Anyway, to me Cm6 is not the same as Cmin/maj7.

Cm6 is tonicized -- sure. But the Min/Maj has a specific augmented triad that has a unique sound. Now Cm6, I'm sure can be subbed here but since the melody calls specifically for min/maj, that's what I use.

I hear you. I'm from a different school though. I never work out lines in advance and I know you do because I can tell from your playing that everything is thought out.

Instead I try to have my ear react to the moment. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. The slip here though is just technical and not related to the ear. I wasn't going to bother re-recording it since I thought it was clearly unintended (especially on a downbeat).

I believe I mentioned this earlier. The approach that I've been using lately is to listen to the prior line and then do some sort of call and response to it and recall part of the motif.

Surprisingly, I did it a lot on Solar though I wasn't consciously planning it. So perhaps the practice is working.

I think it is a good idea to sit down and work out melodic concepts in advance on every tune. But that's a lot of work. I've done it on some like Stella (maybe that's why it comes easier on that tune).

In the meantime, I feel like my immediate problem areas are more rhythmically related. To me, it exposes my amatuerish sound more than the notes.

I really am so gratified that you spent so much time analyzing what I played. I saw some other wrong notes in there that sounded like a rhythmic displacement (unintentional) -- like I was behind the bar line. I'm going to look at it some more. THANK YOU SCOTT!

BTW - I'm envious of how quickly you guys can transcribe and notate. That would have taken me a LONG time.

I've come to prefer - and use - a Cm6/9 in the LH, but play the maj7 in the RH.

Allow me to mention a new piece of software, developed here in Sweden called Score Cleaner, it's intention is to be THE transcribing tool. For now it's midi in only, but I've been told that in the spring an audio in version will be available. That's right, play a piano through the mike and get it transcribed.
http://www.doremir.com/