hi, no snow. Stinky winter.
Blues 46 used some low RH notes and wide intervals that made it nice without chords. Also, just to do something different:) Like one bird singing instead of a flock is interesting sometimes. I haven't hear Brad Meldau do something like this, usually he has lots of parts going..send me a link if you have Brad doing this kind of thing..

Keep swingin amiga

DF

haha Dave, I like your analogy of the lone bird a lot !
I love the low notes and wide intervals of your Lesson 46 blues tune, to me it's like a sax singing.

I've just tried to look for the Mehldau vid, I think he was doing a longish intro for his trio. I will post if I can find it again.

You need some ozzie ugg boots.

Cheers
cus

custard - Glad you're making progress. These tunes are all challenges.

knotty - You go have a great time!

Today I recorded lesson 29:

http://www.box.com/s/6lyyyyoivr4nvax2kk1v


It seems all this singing is doing wonderful things to my vocal range. It seems I can hit a Bb an octave and a bit below middle C. It's enough to put hairs on my chest!

Hey 10
It seems like you've posted another link.

thanks custard, just trying to do too much last night.

Well, I just flew in from last month and boy are my fingers tired. Lesson 5 was somewhat strangely and sweetly challenging for me. I kept listening to Turrentine's tune for inspiration. Meanwhile, reading and listening to your postings past and present provides invaluable guidance and guideposts along the way. So here's my take playing and singing scat on Sugar Blues. I used the "Live Performance" button when I recorded this, so the vocal sounds somewhat... cavernous.

Sugar Blues

Hi Norm, that's nice playing. You're channelling Ella's spirit! It's all in there, just waiting to come out.

Hey Norm
How fun was that ! I especially liked your embellished, improvised singing.
Nice swing feel throughout.

Wow 10, Lesson 29 was difficult to sing especially the blues with the enormous drop. You handled these tunes great.
You're probably loving the challenge of Lesson 30 where the jazz tune has 9th leaps.

Thanks for your kind comments. Here's two takes of Sweet and Low, with only slightly embellished singing. I'm trying to keep this under control.

Sweet and Low

Your efforts, progress, comments and discussion are awe inspiring. In short, I like it all.

Lesson 29 sounds great. Doesn't it feel great to play a tuned piano
Don't sweat the range,

Norman,
Sounds good.
Triplets should be played evenly.

++

Great job on this one! Onto the next!!

Thanks for the tip, Knotty. I keeping tripping over triplets and wind up turning "The Tennessee Waltz" into the "The New York Review."

I haven't even got to the the "Slice of Pizza" yet.

Now, on to All Blue Less of Me.

>>I haven't even got to the the "Slice of Pizza" yet.
don't worry about that.
Dave can correct me but I think this section of the program is mostly to get your ear accustomed to jazz lines, and your LH used to the chords. The singing is probably the most important part of the joi lines

Cool. That will do. So I'll just keep singing and swinging with the solos.

Skid-Dat, De-Dat

In the meantime, I'm spending more time keeping the the old songs fresh in my mind, fresh in the repertoire. And since I'm a 53 year old beginner who doesn't exactly read music, I'm following the aural tradition and relying on my memory.

So upon reaching Lesson 29, or 52, do you have 58 or 104 blues and jazz lines fully in your hands, your head, and your heart? Do they slip, falter, or fall? Do you forget? Or is memory for this truly infinite?

I'm praying that brilliance isn't a prerequisite for this endeavor.

Really interested to see how others answer.

The solos I have sung to I remember. If I'm in a cafe and one comes on, I can hum along, and I know the second before where the solo will go, though I couldn't do it without the prompt of the music. I don't necessarily remember the name of the tune. The joi jazz and blues lines I've done I can also hum along to some, but I couldn't play them all.

Nice recording, Norm! You have quite a voice.

Norm,

I still know the Lester Young solos I used to sing when I was 8 years old. Basie all the way!!
And I can't tell you how many of Ella's solos I know from that age, too.

it sticks

Brilliance isn't, but reading music at a basic level is..you don't to have to use memory all the time, basic reading skills are eay to develop, Knotty can tell you how to do it:)

DF

Thanks 10, Knotty, and Dave

So I've learned that the ears and voice have an infinite capacity, but the eyes and hands may need at least 10 minutes a day of Four Star Sight Reading exercises.

Still, it's comforting to know that Jazz can turn my Teflon brain to Velcro.

sounds like a plan pops

Hey Norm
I thought your singing was cool on Skid da de Dat and especially Lesson 5 Sweet and Low, the reverb settings for Sweet and Low actually made it seem like you were singing the blues from Mars hehe.
You are so into Louis that you will never forget him.

I put in extra effort into Bird and Clifford Brown so I will never forget them.

If you like, you can go onto Lester. I remember 10's singing with the masters was ahead of her JOI tunes at one stage.

But you will also be great at I've Gotta Right to Sing the Blues.

Did you hear Knotty's Circles from his sight reading exercies ? I thought it was great.

Welll... if you really want to know....

help!!!

lesson 30, try this at home. Well, I tried. Before I even get to the 9ths, my question is, in bar 11 (and all bars with that rhythm) do the quavers on beat 2 swing or not? Having listened hard and carefully, I think they do. But, the same rhythm in the hanon doesn't swing. Sounds straight to me, but it's a bit hard to tell with only two bars at a time. Any help appreciated.

Also, bar 13 chord. Is that really a Dbdim7 with a major 7th?

Hi 10
Yes I believe the quavers are normal jazz ones, that is, they do swing.
And yes, there is a type of diminished chord with the maj 7. So in this case, the stacked minor sound wasn't there for your ears.

OK, thanks on both counts.

Thanks for the good word, cus, I'm starting to get the hang of this. And the reverb settings seem all the more fitting since, according to John Gray, All Men Are From Mars.


Ditto, and that serves as more inspiration for this pursuit. Plus, I did hear that people in their 50's and 60's can still learn to sight read. Further evidence of plasticity: When you change your behavior, you change your brain.

Speaking of which:

A neuroscientist debunks the myth of musical instinct

Interesting article. Explains why I was never hooked on video games - I can't do them!

What is interesting is that the sweet spot of difficulty is around motivation - not ability. Which sort of reinforces my own observation that it's all about sticking at it - if you stick at it, you will get better. Materials therefore need to be designed to make you stick at it - this is more important than the educational value of the content. The content could be quite different, perhaps not as good, but if you stick at it, you will get better.

Hey, off topic musings! Should do more practice...

Talent is sure helpful but seems to be over-rated nowadays with technological aids such as slow-downing software.

Hi Dave and Knotty
I'm on track for learning Beautiful Love within my one month target. I am going on a short holiday tomorrow to an island which is the last stop before Antartica.
Today I stopped playing the head with LH syncopation which sometimes mucked up my rhythm.

Hi 10 and Norm
Keep up your great work. Hope you're having fun.