Been working on this tune again over the past couple of weeks,the goal being to improve my playing overall on chords and solo. This was the one I chose after a lot of takes. I think its important to keep going back over tunes and hear if there are improvements Will let you decide.

Hi All-

My motor troubles have had me thinking about that aspect of the instrument; been wondering what it means to YOU.

It's a funny thing; one of the last truly mechanical effects being used in contemporary music; that and the B3 with a Leslie are the only ones I can think of.

This is in my apartment in Columbia, South Carolina. I practice every day looking out onto the beautiful horse shoe, which is the historic part of the USC campus.

Guys, here's a version of Ellington's Take The A Train. A Train is one of those tunes that can sound cheesey if you play too diatonic and "in". The changes are fairly diatonic, so if you just play chord tones and diatonic scales, it will sound pretty in. There are some techniques that we can use to venture out of the tonal area of the changes. Here are some ideas:

Improv techniques to get out of the key:

Leaning on chromatic approach notes to target notes (G# to A on C6)
Leaning on tensions (especially altered tensions on Dom 7 chords)

This is a promo video of the recording of '15', the new album of VinnieVibes, produced by bandleader and composer Vincent Houdijk.
The album will be released this year, the last steps are being made as we speak.

For more info http://www.vinnievibes.com

Enjoy,

Vincent Houdijk

Hey Folks,
Putting together a few lesson on the topic of iv to I cadences in jazz standards. Here's part 1.
-Tyler

I'm burnt out on If I Were a Bell!

Closure is important, So here's a final etude I'll leave you with. I improvised it on the MalletKat. The important thing to know is this. I did this in one take (after I warmed up on the instrument). The point being is that eventually if you work hard enough this can be a fairly easy thing to do. That is throw out voicings and melodies.

Your job is to figure out the chords and play the etude. If you have been practicing the tune, you should know the basic changes.

Below is the PDF of the solo.