I discovered this several weeks ago and was reluctant to post this because it is so foreign to what we tend to talk about here. But I watched it again today and it's just too good to dismiss. Now I don't and never have played or studied marimba, so this might be the usual fare for marimba players but I've never heard anyone work these techniques into a vibes improvisation.

I found this over at https://www.deaganresource.com/

Here is the video I made for today's coffeehouse.
(not sure why the video distorts)
It's an edited, video version of this lesson: https://www.vibesworkshop.com/audio-player/lbglw-2-part-1-little-bit-go…

With a few less glitches and a 10 piece band backing behind it, an audience that was late-night drunk, and sympathetic to depression-era blues,,,,it could work.

2'nd of my private 'Corona-Works' is a Vibraphone-Solo Arrangement of 'Somewhere over the Rainbow'.

New clip recorded today with the iPhone and new mic (Shure MV88 stereo condenser mic). Reading through some songs and revisited this one that I use to play quite along time ago. The mic comes with a neat audio and video app and records with a wide stereo image and nice clarity.

This is kind of a jank video-- low energy today. But still highlights some important notions: We forget about our bodies while playing. Another place to diagnose and theorize and stuff is back where our hands, arms, and even the total torso are acting.

Then I poorly demonstrate the virtues of preshifting as a muscle encoder. But it DOES embed the subsequent notes into the act of striking and rebounding itself. It forces mental leading and appropriate concentration.

Clip of "Autumn Leaves" exclusively improvising with Four Note Groupings recorded for my Berklee improv classes this summer. The concept is in Volume Two of The Complete Guide To Improvisation. I uploaded the lead sheet listing the 4NGs that I am using in the clip as well as excerpts about the concept from volume two of the guide. The book excerpts include a page about the concept, what 4NGs are available according to chord types and the table of contents of the concept. It's a concept that I love to play and work on for myself and with students.

Quick overview of the discrete skills needed to play efficient strokes and shift. Each skill can be meditated on repeatedly for many hours and spiraled into your sessions at every stage of your career. I still pick up on new sensations throughout the arm and torso that I didn't recognize before.

During the Part of the Corona-Crisis, where almost everything seemed to stand still, i decided to work on Solo-Arrangements of 2 Jazz-Standards for Vibraphone. The first one is 'It could happen to you' as a medium Swing Piece and the second is 'Somewhere over the Rainbow', which i'll upoad soon after this. It was a great challenge to find 'Solo-Arranging' Ideas, especially when it comes to developing a reliable left hand, while the right hand or both hands go out for ideas or even just the melody.