OVER THE RAINBOW, 2015

• A really good day of piano practice. Went over my three songs in my repertoire. Also began voicing and learning "OVER THE RAINBOW." I learned this tune years ago, but I got a new arrangement that I'm working on.

• Purchased "PROGRESSIVE JAZZ LEAD GUITAR METHOD" by Peter Gelling. It seems interesting. 

• Continue to struggle with atheism.

7:47

• Typing this at 7:47 AM. Gay Marriage is the law of the land. Civil Rights, baby!

• Was awake early this morning, and I completed Danny Boy. Finally. An achievement. Of course it's not performance ready, but hey, it's done. Will continue to work in it, but it's time to move on. I think my next song will be OVER THE RAINBOW. A lot of rainbows were intertwined symbolically with yesterday's Supreme Court ruling.

• To practice with the band today for an upcoming wedding. 

The United States of America

• Wow! What a day for the history books. The Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage is legal in this country. Soo proud today. One HUGE step closer to equal rights for all. THANK YOU, PRESIDENT OBAMA, AND THANK YOU, SUPREME COURT! I have never been so proud of a President who was in power at the same time I was old enough to know who was President. Wow.

• Worked on Danny Boy, and I'm just about done with it. This indeed will be the weekend for me to be finished with this song!

 

DANNY BOY

• Went over my two piano songs, and continue to work on DANNY BOY. Oh Boy, I can't wait until I'm done learning that tune!! Only about five more new chord parts to learn, but of course I'm not an expert on the previous 4,000 chords!!!!!!! :)

Danny Boy

• Just practiced my piano songs, including continued work on DANNY BOY.

DANNY BOY

• Continue and continue to work on Sudnow's arrangement of DANNY BOY. This is a difficult one for me, but I am determined to learn this!

Father's Day, 2012 and 2013

Father's Day, 2012:

Father's Day, 2013:

Looks like my son has an Abbey Road shirt on this year (2015) as well as 2013.

Father's Day, 2015

• Happy Father's Day to me.

• Here's our picture today. I couldn't find a picture on this blog for last year's Father's Day, but if you go to June, 2013, there's a pic for 2012 and 2013.

Happy Birthday to Brian Wilson

Philadelphia

Happy Father’s Day to my dad

Piano

• Ok,so did a little piano stuff today and did a little guitar stuff. I think I'm back to piano.

Flux Capacitor

• In state of change! Going to go back to a book that I had fun with: "CONTEMPORARY GUITAR IMPROVISATION" by Marc Silver.

• Haven't exercised! Not dieting! Will get back to both.

• I'd like to use the Chord Melody book I posted about earlier, but I think I need to learn my chords better? May order a book to help with that. 

Guitar

• Trying to figure out what books from which to learn chord melody and improvisation. 

Walker Evans, Brooklyn Bridge, 1929

Goodbye Piano. Hello Again, Guitar

• Had fun this morning playing jazz stuff with the band.

• Going to go back to guitar. Might use the book: "JAZZ SOLOING STRATEGIES FOR GUITAR" by Chris Buono.

The Best

A Funny Answer to a Test Question

The DANNY BOY weekend

• Still working on DANNY BOY and I have a feeling that it might consume my weekend.

• Band practice tomorrow to go over instrumental jazz standards.

- DANNY BOY BLUES -

• Rode exercise bike for 1/2 hour.

• Making progress with DANNY BOY. Man, I can't wait until this song is over! Still have 10 chords to go.

• Burned 354 calories on exercise bike for 1/2 hour.

PIANO PIANO PIANO

• Rode exercise bike for 1/2 hour.

• Practiced DANNY BOY and feel good about how it's going!

• Got two piano learning books and a guitar learning book in the mail, but I'm into The Sudnow Method. Might dabble in the other couple of books.

• Was reading THE GOD DELUSION by Richard Dawkins. But I got a real eye opener when I read some of the "one star" reviews on Amazon.com. For example one person wrote that it was problematic that Dawkins suggests that the scientific method is the only way of knowing. I agree with that reviewer!

• Rode exercise bike for 1/2 hour. 

Music!

• A good music day. Practiced piano and read a little of a biography I have of Thelonious Monk.

• Made a cool version of me covering the Lennon/McCartney classic: "LADY MADONNA." Here it is:

https://soundcloud.com/guitarjazz/lady-madonna-cover

High School Rock & Roll Dance, 1950

This boy's expression is the definition of Rock & Roll !!

Saturday

• Watched an interesting movie last night with my son: "WORLD'S GREATEST DAD," starring Robin Williams. 

• Ordered a bunch of books utilizing my birthday money. 

• Still working on DANNY BOY on piano; I'm almost 2/3 done.

• Yesterday my 17 year old son took an airplane ride in a two-seater airplane with his 18 year old buddy as the pilot!

Piano

Back at the piano today after a day off. Good work today, takin' it slow.

Thelonious Monk:

• Rode exercise bike for 1/2 hour.

Perseverance

• Rode exercise bike for 1/2 hour. Listening to Bruce Springsteen's "INCIDENT ON 57th STREET" as I type this. I love this tune! I love the "music-box" piano fade !!!!!! Here it is playing now !!!

• Happy 74th birthday to Charlie Watts. Here he is in 1956 with his initials already on the bass drum!

• A good night of careful practice. Worked mostly on Sudnow's "DANNY BOY." Nice and carefully, taking it slow. I like this (doing it carefully) procedure that I've been utilizing. Perseverance! 

• Perseverance! That goes for my diet and exercise stuff too. Yes I may go off track sometimes with it, but like Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky," I KEEP GETTING UP. Despite (what I consider to be minor) setbacks, I am not giving up. I've been at this since January, 2015, and I'm not surrendering now.

Monday

• Burned 363 calories on exercise bike for 1/2 hour. That's 63.5 carbs.

• Not a lot of piano practice today.

• Feeling a little pull towards electric blues guitar.