I'm a week behind because I was out of town last week and didn't figure it was worthwhile to post a video of me playing on the towel. (see pic attached).

I put together a few different lessons here and then in the end, tried a little "play along" to bring some of the concepts together. It's a work in progress. haha. Meaning, this is all a little rough (understatement?) but that's what practicing is all about, right? :)

The lesson(s): A few of Behn's blues lessons. (Thanks Behn!) 3rds and 7ths, dominant lines, etc...I explain it all in the video.

Sometimes ya gotta just open the book and play whatever tune turns up. So that's what I did. No practicing, just play.
I've always loved this tune as a ballad. I'd never read through it before this (and it sorta sounds like it! haha). I did try to bring in some of what I've been working on recently though...

This is for you, Tony. Thank you for ALL you do for the us here at Vibesworkshop! You're the best...

To get it to this point I practiced longer than I thought I'd have to. I still messed up a little bit, and I'd like to take it twice as fast. Also working on pedaling... At this stage I'm happy if I don't smear the notes or sound staccato, and play with some phrasing. In the video I notice that I'm using my left arm too much.

"God Bless The Child" - one of my favorite ballads composed and sung by the great Billie Holiday. Some exploration with dampening and solo playing techniques that will be covered in the two books (solo vibraphone playing and dampening) that I've been diligently writing. The books will include etudes and exercises well as solos on such standards as Mandel's "Emily" and Gershwin's "Someone to Watch over Me". It's a lot of work but rewarding at the same time. I'll be working well into the Fall since I'll be on a sabbatical from Berklee.

So here are some pics of the blocks I use.

The quick and dirty ones that I keep in my case (and a spare set in the car) are easy to make and cheap. Cut (4) 4" sections of a 2x4, then staple some non-skid pads to the bottom and nail a caster cup to the top. Looks ugly, but works like a charm.

A few days late but I still wanted to get something posted. I've had a lot of back pain recently so I didn't get to practice as much as I usually do. Fortunately, I now have bed risers under my vibes making the instrument taller for me, and it seems to be helping!

I wanted to share some thoughts about my balafon lessons and how they might connect to your primary instrument: vibes, marimba, piano, etc.