This solo has all of the things that I like about Rick Margitza. There’s a lot of great melodic inside playing, material built off of upper structure triads, and a strong display of fluency in the altissimo register. I actually learned this solo 6 months ago, maybe longer, but I just got around to writing it down. I spent a LOT of time playing this slowed down to 50% (even down to 25% sometimes!) in Transcribe! It was the only way I could have possibly gotten the 32nd-note double-time stuff down.
A couple of notes for practicing/performance:
The solo goes up to altissimo D (D4). I decided to write this all with ledger lines and not use 8va.
There are a couple of harmonics in the solo. They have a ° sign above them. Finger the bottom note and sound the top note.
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I love reading books about music! It’s so nice to have that access to someone else’s perspective and insights. Here are a couple that really influenced how I think about music and how I work at music.
1. The Talent Code – Author Daniel Coyle has spent most of his career writing about sports. There are, of course, many parallels between practicing sports and practicing music. In the book, Coyle talks about hotbeds of talent in sports, music, and other disciplines. What’s striking is that all of the hotbeds have a large number of things in common – direct, expert coaching, simple, uncluttered environments, and a lot of repetition along with a list of other factors.
The takeaway from this book for me was the importance of slow practice. Parts of the book describe the Meadowmount Music Camp. The teachers encourage slow practice and the saying around there is that if someone walking by can recognize a passage you’re practicing, then you’re playing it too fast. In my own practice, I haven’t taken to quite that extreme, but when I’m working on something new or encounter problems with something I’m comfortable with, I slow it down and attempt to play with as little tension and with the best technique I can. This has been extremely helpful.
2. Effortless Mastery – In this book, pianist Kenny Werner, writes about his life as a musician and issues with negative self-talk that we can all experience from time to time (or all the time!). He goes on to discuss how he was able to let go of this burden and gives advice to musicians who want to follow that same path. It also includes a CD that contains 4 meditations guided by Kenny Werner.
I think that book serves as a reminder of two things. 1. It’s very easy to talk yourself into walking into a musical situation feeling defeated before you play/sing a note. 2. Music is a truly joyful activity that we do with people that we care about and we have the right to feel that joy, to spread that both to our friends on the bandstand, and to the listener(s). We also have the right to revel in the joy of our bandmates.
The beginning of a new year is always a time of reflection and renewal. Many people are making resolutions and striving to create habits or break old ones. Just like everyone else, I’ve been thinking about what I want to accomplish this year and how to go about it. With that in mind, I thought I’d share some of my ideas for new year’s resolutions. You might find something that you hadn’t thought of that resonates with you or you might have a resolution you’d like to add in the comments. I wish you a Happy New Year and hope you make it a great one. Without further ado, here’s the list.
1. Listen to more music.
2. Learn more tunes.
3. Find more playing opportunities (jam sessions, start a new project, etc.).
4. Start taking lessons (for the first time or start up again).
5. Write music.
6. Go out and support live music.
7. Learn a new instrument.
8. Transcribe solos.
9. Listen to new (to you) musical styles.
10. Memorize something new every day.
11. Read a musician’s biography.
12. Develop a practice routine.
13. Improve your technique.
14. Find the equipment that you love and not just what works.
15. Learn music notation software (Finale, Sibelius, etc.)
16. Learn audio software (ProTools, Logic, etc.)
17. Learn music fundamentals on your instrument (scales, chords, patterns, etc.)
18. Create your own patterns
19. Work on music business skills.
20. Work on ear training.
21. Try to connect with a musician you admire (in person or via social media, email, etc.)
22. Practice something is awkward/uncomfortable/difficult every day.
23. Learn some basic instrument repair skills.
24. Insure your instruments.
25. Get in the studio and make a recording.
26. Sell off all the extra gear you’re never going to really need.
27. Don’t take a solo on every tune.
28. Study music theory.
29. Read music-related books.
30. Be creative everyday.
So there it is, a few ideas to start off the year. These are not my personal resolutions. I already do some of these things (my instruments are insured, for example) and strive to do some of the others. Again, if you have any resolution ideas, please leave a comment.
This video is taken from the 2011 Commencement at the Juilliard School in New York. The speaker was composer John Adams. He speaks very eloquently about the role of arts in today’s society as well as the divergent path we choose as artists. His words are uplifting and a reminder of why we do what we do.
I haven’t written a post in a LONG time. I suppose there are a number of reasons for that.
I’ve been practicing a lot. I’m taking lessons and my teacher has been giving me a lot of work that takes a lot of time to get through (at least at first). I’ve had a really great time studying and I’m getting a better idea of where I am and what I have to do to get to where I want to be. Although, it’s frustrating at times, overall it’s a joyful experience and I feel like I’m making progress.
I’ve been in physical therapy. My back is jacked from years of playing with poor posture and also from tweaking my back while moving a king bed up a flight of stairs when I moved into my current place. That’s been going well and I’m learning a lot about the bad postural habits I have while playing, how to be aware of them, and what to do to help correct those habits.
I’ve been thinking a lot about music, but haven’t gotten to the point where I can really clearly articulate those thoughts (although that hasn’t stopped me in the past!). Being a freelance musician puts you in a lot of different playing situations and has the benefit of helping you be more versatile, but it can also obscure your ideas of what you’re trying to achieve as a musician (and human being).
I feel like the blog has been kind of pedantic and when stepping back from it, I feel like I need to do a LOT more work before I can even think of being an authority, expert, master, guru about anything. With that said, I have some exercises I’ve written for students I might share in the future if there’s any interest.
Hopefully, I can get back into the groove of writing more regularly and sharing my musical journey with you.
This is a perfect example of many players using the same piece of vocabulary in a variety of contexts. It’s almost like a study in musical linguistics.
Moksha’s new album, “Here To Go”, will be premiered tomorrow, July 17, on 91.5 fm KUNV on a show called The Lyons Den. The show is on from 7-11 pm PDT and we’ll be in the studio with the host, George Lyons, talking about the album.
I’m really proud of this album. I played baritone saxophone on 4 tracks and was joined by Peter Apfelbaum, Bill Ortiz, and Jeff Cressman in the horn section. Peter wrote the horn parts and they are killing!
You can listen to the premiere on KUNV’s streaming broadcast here.
Here are some links to the band and musicians involved with the album:
In my last post about Seventh String’s free online metronome, I mentioned that they also make the great Transcribe! software. You can use it to open music files and manipulate them in different ways. You can highlight areas, as in the picture above, and loop them, slow them down, speed them up, adjust the pitch, or transpose to a different key altogether.
I use this software as part of my practice everyday and have found it to be a great, easy to use tool. Until now, Transcribe! has been sold for $50, but the price has just been lowered to $39.
