I hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend! I'm a day late, but I wanted to post what is my work in progress arrangement (not least in the performance) of this beautiful patriotic song. As a newcomer to this country, it's quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays.

I've been trying to really dive deep into Thelonious Monk recently, but I've found some of his idiosyncrasies are much easier on piano than vibes. I attached an image of his tune "Trinkle-Tinkle." I have the whole thing figured out, except the first two measures at the B section. I want to preferably get to at least 130 BPM on it, but so far I have had no luck. Any thoughts on how to stick this? Alternating vs. doubling vs. paradiddles maybe? A 4-mallet approach?

Also, I hear sax players fake this section a lot, so if faking seems like the only option, how would you fake it?

Someday My Prince Will Come chord study - class assignment from June 2020 Vibesworkshop Boot Camp. I tried to incorporate elements from the Boot Camp lessions: open/closed voicings, "Zero-to-Hero" rootless voicings, dampening techniques, comping concepts.

Accompanying my lessons about solo playing here a version of this standard ballad.

Using "Like someone in love" (Eb) to study solo-vibe playing. Having started with creating a counter line to the melody with the root notes of the accompanying chords we are now starting to incorporate chords. See the previous installments (a path to solo playing 1 and 2) for the lead sheet. More detailed and in-depth study? Contact me for a Skype or Zoom lesson.

The following notes were taken down right after a lesson with Gary during my studies with him at Berklee during the 70s.

Gary Burton Lesson
March 6th, 1975
Vibes Solo – Chega de Saudade (No More Blues)

Remember Dynamics – They make a simple line sound remarkably dramatic. Use more swells and de-swells in your line. When you use swells and dynamics, it gives you more time for space because each line is so important and stands alone.

A Duke Ellington Solo Vibraphone Medley: In A Mellotone, Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, Just Squeeze Me and I Got It Bad.