Here's a simple solo I did for a student.

All the things you are. 

He's doing the following: 

1. Learn the solo (don't write it down)
2. play it along with the recording every day
3. play each chord and then play the part of the solo that goes with it. This will help him associate the chords with the solo.
4. Play the solo on the piano as best he can, in time out of time, whatever. Left hand plays {Pinky:root, middleFinger:3rd, thumb:7th }

Don't write it down until you can play it. 

Can you play it in another key? 

I tried to make the easy one easy. The other has two choruses, one easier than the other. 

I also tried to focus on some things like a scale or a target note. 

Allstar cats here! 

There are some things to talk about here. First My mallets which are hard(er) mallets sound great here. It cuts through and you here the articulation. I'm not saying buy my mallets, but I am saying by mallets like mine. We should all have a set of mallets that cut through and stand out. 

Notice I'm playing accoustically. No microphones up close on the vibes. The band is playing to my volume. That's the way it should be in my world. You play so all can be heard. 

What else to say, this is amazing! 

Performance video of Friedman Etude 7, played using Stevens' grip. Introductory practice to muting.

Hello all,

Here's another lesson on dampening, and specifically how it can be used to achieve a certain stride-like feel on vibes. I use this technique when playing solo and with a trio and love its possibilities for different articulations and textures. Watch my lessons on staccato and partial dampening first if you haven't already seen them.

A crazy mental exercise in improvisation! This will help your dampening skills as well as your ears and your overall understanding of the instrument.

Hello all,

Just a quick lesson on ending ballads (or any tune, really). I demonstrate a few different options for the final chords on a ballad so you don't always have to end on 1 or the b2. Let me know if there are any questions!

Me playing the 4th etude under tempo