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You like your lydian dominants, don't you? aka D melodic minor.

Now, before I try to digest this, I was playing about and I thought I would use a G# diminished there instead. I like that sound and I'm playing the same chord a couple of times.

You know, it's happening to me more and more I want a teacher at my shoulder. Before I could work everything out but now I get so confused.

Get comfortable with the changes in their simple version. Then add embellishments and substitute. You'll hear the tune better than jumping into complex reharm early on.
It's key to get the sound of these simple modulations.

It's also key that you experiment around it. so ok.. now you're even more confused.

gotta run

Hey 10
Don't worry, no need to stress yet.
Knotty's advice to me was also to explore. At this stage, I'm happy to explore tonality for a tune for 3 weeks before I even expect anything musical to flow out.

Hi Knotty, No worries, clear as mud. I think I'm probably OK with the chords, just trying not to play simple dominants without altering them somehow. I think it's like finding my way in a new place - if I get there, I know how I got there and I can find my way back. If someone else drives me, I will get lost.

Now, back to these lydian dominants. It's not that I don't know what scale you're talking about. I do, I can play a lydian dominant scale. What I'm unclear about is what key I'm in, while I'm doing it.

I like to keep my view of what I'm doing really simple, and use as few words (especially words with lots of syllables) as possible.

So I know some would think over Dm-G7-Cmaj "D dorian, G mixolydian, C ionian" and I just think "C".

And the trouble with the lydian dominant is I don't know how to fit it into my current way of thinking.

So if I go back to Beautiful Love.

First line E-7b5, A7, D-6, D-6, that's D minor.
Second line G-7, C7, Fmaj7, A7, that's F maj going back into D minor.
Third line. Hmm, what's that Bb7 doing there? How does an Ab fit it?
Fourth line, with the G7, again, where have I gone?

Or if it's time to stop thinking, then that's fine, I can do that too!

lesson 2: Is the Db7 in bar 24 the same as the one in bar 6?
I'm asking because in bar 6 its written out as Dflat F B whereas in bar 24 it's Dflat F Cflat.


And speaking of "The Last Time". I this the correct version I'm listening to?
http://soundcloud.com/simou-pw/thelasttime

I can't spot the improvisation, though. Does it come before he starts singing the tune or is it the one right after the trombone at the end?

Hi Simou,

It's the same chord; same voicing, just written differently. Well spotted!

I couldn't access The Last Time from Soundcloud.

For anyone who is braving my ramblings above, scratch out questions about the 3rd line. I'm fine with the Bb7. I take it that's D harm through that line. Just that bit in the 4th line I don't know what's happening.

Sorry 10, this should work now

Hi Simou sounds like Louis from 2.56 onwards. also sounds like the same recording I did.

Hi Simou, This is the section of The Last Time that I used:

The Last Time

I think, maybe, possibly, that this might essentially (qualifying myself at every turn) be up to us as far as determining which section of the Master's solo (or solos as the case may be), is most likely to be the most fruitful, improvisationally speaking, to attempt to sing. Then again, it may be obvious.

Or maybe not.

Anyway, as soon as my Laryngitis clears up, I'l be back in the game.

Thank you 10, and very cool singing Norm! "Gute Besserung" as they say in German.

Ok. I'll force myself for the next half hour to listen to "The Last Time" (sadly not for the last time, because I don't like it much)


Kind of stumbling through my 2nd blues lesson here. I almost didn't make it. I took my chance and simply retried the phrase and it turned out to be not that bad.
http://soundcloud.com/simou-pw/stumbling_blues

Today btw I've finished my 2nd jazz tune. Well, in the sense that I still find enough chords changes very difficult to play in time. Cmin6 -> Ab7 and Cmin6 -> Ebmin7 -> Ab7 -> Dmin7b5 -> Db7 are the tricky ones. That's my first tune with more chord changes in it than bars (that's 35 chord changes in 32 bars). Tomorrow I'll start including the Hanon exercises into my routine as well, which have been totally neglected the last few weeks.

Se

Hey Norm
Hope your laryngitis is getting better. It was cool to hear again your Louis singing from last October. How is your Prez singing coming along ?
You are so right about choosing the section(s) of the master solo to internalize. Especially when I got up to Wes Montgomery, some of his lines were so long, it was like "Which 2 lines will I choose to work on ?"

Hey Simou
Good swing feel for your 2nd blues tune and the 1st line was perfect. How did you go with singing the 2nd and 3rd lines of the blues tune ?
Keep on working with hitting the chords in time with the met, and don't be discouraged. I remember when I started improvising, I was grateful to Knotty for pointing out that my LH chords were not in sync with the met. As Knots pointed out, playing the Hanons slowly in time with the met will help.

Re the Louis singing, what is it about "The Last Time" which annoys you e.g. is it the dated sounding rhythm section ?
I recommend singing 10 minutes a day rather than 30 minutes all at once.
As you seem to be good at the blues, you can do "I've Got the right to sing the blues", and then come back to "The Last Time" at a later stage.

Funny you should mention that, custard. I have just been wondering which section of Wes I should do!

Hope you feel better soon, Norm, and back to full voice.

Simou, you have a good legato. The hanon's will help a lot with finger discipline. Probably worth working some more on the blues tune before moving on. Thanks for posting!

Apples,

yeah I kind of unexpectedly lost my orientation after the first phrase.

I'm too much focused on learning the tunes right now. Its like for every hour that I spend practising on the piano I spend only 5 minutes with singing. So yes, I do a little bit of singing but I should probably go for much more (but I do sing along the tune in my head or hum along while I play). I think I try to follow the two week time frame for each lesson too hard. And, to be honest, also to impress my teacher, since its very rewarding to demonstrate another person what you've learned since last week. It keeps me motivated. But leaves little room for other things. That and also revisiting the "older" tunes keeps me busy. I need to change that. Thanks for your advice.

I don't know. What's so annoying about The Last Time? I think the overall tempo is bugging me. You know, like if you speed up an old vinyl recording? Playing it just a tad too fast. It simply doesn't sound right. But hey there yet many more to come, so never mind.

10, yep I better stay at lesson #2 for another week I think. I can play the blues now, but definitely the jazz tune needs more time. Thanks!

---------------------------------
I was going to ask you some questions about the chord voicings and some theory behind the blues tune, but its getting late now and I already wrote more than I intended to. So next time. Have a nice day/night everyone and happy swinging!
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Hey Simou
That's great that you're singing the JOI tunes.

If you have an hour to practise each day, this is how I personally would spend it.

10 min Master solo
10 min Hanon
10 min Chord voicings
10 min JOI blues tune
15 min JOI jazz tune
5 min exploration

For the master solos, I usually learn them at 25% speed. If there are phrases in 16th notes, I slow it down to 15%.

For exploration, I mean just that. For example, I've noticed you're experimenting nicely with embellishments/ inner lines. So if you find a long space in the JOI jazz tune, you can play around with melodies to fill in the space.

In terms of enjoying the JOI course, I've personally found that the less I rush, the more I enjoy it. It's fine to spend 3 weeks per lesson. I think Norm has the discipline to mark out his bars/ phrases to enable him to learn a lesson in 4 weeks, that's great too.

tschüß

Hey guys,

2 pics I posted in the other thread from this week. There were a few more but noone there to take pics unfortunately.

Jazz Tavern called Takoma Station:


And an embassy gig on a brand new Boston piano. (hammers untouched)

nice shoes.

looking really good:)

Hey, knots, you've been busy! I note the change in dress code. You wouldn't want to get that wrong, would you?

I'm glad you all like my shoes so much. They are often a topic of elevator conversation. They are nice shoes indeed so thanks for the sharp eye. And I didn't realize Keith wore similar ones, but I'll take Cus' word for it.

Dave and others:
Some names of good blues to listen to?