Subscribers

The thing about music is it's pretty logical for the most part. Most of the music you're going to play is going to fall in one of a few categories. That's why we have categories of different aspects of music because there's so much music that falls into them.

Take a tune like 'A Train'. That's AABA. Man if i had a nickel for every AABA tune I played, I wouldn't be doing this site, I'd be on some island with tropical girls feeding me grapes!

A lot of you guys are not doing music full time but you really want to get this down. So here are a few tips.

Here's an etude I wrote out for a student a while back. We were exploring Latin Rhythms on the vibes. It's a little tricky.

Here's a VERY difficult etude illustrating many ways to accompany yourself and play. It's the head to Joy Spring and then I take a couple choruses. It's really hard but can be played. I used to have it worked up and dreading having to work it up to record it.... so I'm going to stall doing that!

Free 2 months membership to anyone that videos this for me! :-)

below is a midi, file (with a piano sound. can anyone set the midi file up with a vibe sound?)

also i outputed the midi with a vide sound to an mp3.

all is below

Here's a slightly difficult etude that will really work on your independence. The left and right hand is separate for the whole tune. That is they work totally independently.

Here's my arrangement of Green Dolphin Street. It's an etude that explores three parts of playing the vibes, chordal playing, chordal playing and soloing and also single line soloing.

Just started learning the Friedman Etude No. 1. I need to work on getting more legato (dampen simultaneously with hitting the next note), dynamics and bringing the speed up.

Ahhh, welcome to the first etude of the Friedman book. You're about to embark on a really great journey!

Ways to practice scales.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chinese translation for Chinese students
第一件事，如果你要打8度上行，可以試著打到第九音在下行，這樣聽起來比較悅耳。

再來可以練習小調，Dorian（大調降3,7）, 旋律小音階Melodic minor scale。

等到你熟了一點後，可以打在不同的調上，可以用半音轉調練各種不同調，或是用四度轉調。

Here is a way to practice the blues. Be strict about it... You'll see.

Chinese translation for Chinese students.

藍調音階，需要很重視語法（phrases），也就是怎樣組成個音階才像blues的語彙。

F blues scale: F Ab Bb B C Eb F

練習方法（in F key）：

先打F and C, 製造一個固定低音的聲響(set a pedal)。再開始即興F blues scale。

先記好每個音中間的音程（Intervals），也就是熟記這個音階。

練習方式：

你可以用問與答的方式自己玩即興。

另一個練習方式，每個小節第一拍第一個音敲擊根音。其他二、三、四拍即興。
常見的藍調曲式：四小節F（一級）>兩小節Bb （四級）>兩小節Ｆ（一級）>一小節 C （五級）> 一小節Bb（四級） > 兩小節F（一級）