Here's a simple and fun challenge. For many, it will be very humbling. When we improvise, we're actually transcribing what we imagine in our head and playing it on our instrument. It's spontaneous composition. That's the goal (agreed?). So, this little beginning exercise is to just take very simple melodies and play them without "working them out" but just playing them as if we were singing them on the instrument. Attached is a list of a few tunes that are very popular children's melodies. There's a list that are diatonic and a small list of songs that use simple chromatic notes too.

After listening to John's ear exercices, I'm just curious about one thing: so far I thought that all Anglo-saxon people were always naming the notes with letters, and that only a few European countries like France were using the D'Arezzo system.

It seems that I was wrong. I had more had looks on scores with chords mentioned with letters, but it's the very first time I hear an English speaking person name notes :o)

So, are you all naming the notes with the D'Arezzo system, and just using the letters for chords naming? Or do you use both systems?

yo,

you have more privileges than any other subscriber. but you're a lot of fun to have on the site. if you want to meet live again, let me know. you should come in one day for a lesson. all that's on me.

you can upload video right to the video module and same with audio.

AFTER YOU POST SOMETHING you should see outline. for all your tech stuff, put it in the tech book. you'll have to scroll WAY DOWN THIS pulldown menu as you'll see.

What a great day. I picked up Joe Locke early today we had lunch and talked about stuff then picked up Patricia Franceschy and turned on the cams.

Joe is a wealth of information and a very courageous vibe player. Ask to him play and he'll just start. He has a very modern approach to harmony which was really exciting for me to hear.

He talks humbly about his 4 mallet playing but wait until you see some of these vids. His 4 mallet solo playing is spectacular.

He's had a GREAT career and has so much to offer.

Check out the audio clip I have attached this article. I think sometimes students don't get it, that is how to really study something. How a little snip it can be so valuable. I spend 2.5 hours on this snippet tonight. First I love it! It's from Brad Meldau playing Anthropology. The whole solo is from another planet.

Thanks so much to Barryk. He posted this Band In A Box file for my tune, titled and dedicated to Vince Guaraldi.

Check it out!

Thank you Tony for putting this up.

Thank you J M Piper for your reading patterns. (I'm still on board!)

And thanks to everyone else who has contributed.

This is a great site, from which I've already learned a lot.

kb

I always have this thing. When I see vibe players play something that I think is really great, I want to try it myself. Some of the pieces up here that I've played were inspired that way. I don't do this as a competitive thing. At least not totally, mostly I do it to learn, to compare. What did I do and what did they do. What can I learn from them and do better. I guess that's how you study right? Your teacher plays something and you try to do your version and sound as good if not better.

So I'm hanging online with Patty via google talk and we were talking about Mike Pinto, so i figured I'd post the vid here. I think he sounds great, and his approach is a little different. He uses those Milt mallets but holds 3 I think most of the time. [I think.] He'll probably see this and maybe he can comment on it. Just goes to show you when it comes to grips. I like his lines so who cares about the rest.