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Moment's Notice (John Coltrane) - Practicing Lines

Got in early today at Berklee and found an open practice room for some shedding before teaching. Decided to work on playing lines over Coltrane's classic "Moment's Notice". In this clip I'm focusing on using the inside two mallets with the open spread fulcrum (Fulcrum Grip). An article on the grip which includes photos can be downloaded from my website.

Sept 24 Blog from Ireland

I'm in Ireland and did two very different gigs. The first one pissed me off for musical reasons.

I think of playing my instrument as partly a job. Meaning I have to be proficient at what I do and competent. I want to be great but first I have to make sure I'm competent and proficient. Can't be great without that part! I get upset when musicians are not competent. It pisses me off. Of course I know there are sometimes when I haven't been competent. So I've been guilty of this in my life.

Practicing: Second Winds and the Graceful Ghost

I've not posted recently, though I have been playing a lot. Summer workshop at UDel was awesome and for the first time, I felt like I at least understood the majority of the information, even if I couldn't play all the exercises. I'm playing for 3 weeks now with a band sponsored by the local Senior Center in Centre County PA. The "Second Winds" plays a lot of 30s and 40s big band and jazz tunes. We're booked in weekly for one rehearsal plus one performance at senior living centers throughout the county, also some outdoor fests, and the annual Bellefonte Jazz fest.