Steve Roehm Vibes
JT Bates Drums
Chris Bates Bass

A moment underneath my deck in Minnesota this past fall.
We're playing a tune of mine called "Cluster Cuss". I'm joined by the
amazing Bates brothers.

Vibes chord progressions, homework fron Tony.

My first attempt at improvising using chord tones. I really had no idea how to comp over this tune.

My first attempt at improvising using chord tones. I really like this tune and I thought I would give it a try.

My first attempt at improvising using chord tones.

My first attempt at posting to VW! I am new to jazz vibes, but I have experience playing jazz drumset and classical percussion.

Hey everyone,

I'm starting a new series on solo vibes arranging, where in the first part, I'll give an arrangement in the form of sheet music, and in the second part, I'll walk through it, note by note, explaining why and how I'm picking voicings, textures, etc. I hope this gives everyone ideas on arranging tunes on their own, as well as giving a tangible arrangement to play on gigs or for practice.

As this is the second part on "Easy to Love," I'll be posting an explanation video.

Hey everyone,

I'm starting a new series on solo vibes arranging, where in the first part, I'll give an arrangement in the form of sheet music, and in the second part, I'll walk through it, note by note, explaining why and how I'm picking voicings, textures, etc. I hope this gives everyone ideas on arranging tunes on their own, as well as giving a tangible arrangement to play on gigs or for practice.

So, in this first part, I'll just be posting the sheet music. The second part will have an explanation attached.

Here's a short clip of me playing the 18th etude from David Friedman's Vibraphone book. Please excuse the unintended cluster at the beginning of the 4 mallet section!

Here's a short video of me talking about a few different basic harmonic minor ideas and tonalities. I talk about the scale, go over the chord definitions and chord scales/voicings, and then spend a little time on a short loop play-along that's attached below!

The play-along is really just a ii-V-i loop in C harmonic minor, there are a few passing chords thrown in.