What a Wonderful World

It’s been awhile since I posted here. Here’s what I’m up to:

Back to the Sudnow Piano Method, but this time I am really taking my time. I got “Misty” pretty much under my fingers, and I’m working now on voicing and learning one of my favorite songs: “What a Wonderful World” (the Louis Armstrong one). 

I just keep coming back to Sudnow. 

Figured out what’s mostly a guitar chord melody solo arrangement of “What a Wonderful World,” also. Here’s how that recently sounds:

https://app.box.com/s/iw6bt8562m8fqvfxc4vm09kj89p47xn7

I’m still on the Keto diet, though I messed up a couple of days. Continue to lose weight!

Happy Birthday to Me

Turned 56 today....going to celebrate it this weekend.

Pentatonic Thursday

Still on the keto diet and lost about eleven pounds. Hanging in there! 

Bought a cool book about chord melody solo guitar by Martin Taylor. Interesting; from what I gather, he’s taking a different path than just using established chord forms. Intriguing to me because there are soooo many chord forms..... He covers other stuff like playing bass during the solo, 

Worked tonight mostly on “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.” Interesting using some pentatonic stuff. 

Every Night

Practiced some guitar tonight; learning “Meditation” chord melody style for our jazz duet. Still doing some stuff with the Silver book. Took out my acoustic and this happened; made a recording of my version of Paul McCartney’s “Every Night.” Use headphones if possible:

https://app.box.com/s/zpidgoi4cda5l9cahlio9kdsktxrokqd

Keto Diet / Day 3 / May 2, 2018

Keto Diet / Day 1

Musically I want to get back into the Silver book. And of course, there is the piano. Here is a picture taken today. Hopefully in a year my face will be thinner:

Update

Haven’t posted in awhile and here is an update without going g into too many details. Currently:

1) Still in the rock and roll / jazz band playing guitar and doing a little singing

2) Currently in a jazz duet with another guy who is in the band above 

3) The Fewell Book is a focus.

4) Still there, but less of a focus: chord melody on guitar, and the Sudnow Method on piano

Fewell

Decided to just s l o w d o w n and try to learn material in the Fewell book slower. Trying to get it. It or nothing else can be an easy method when it comes to learning how to improvise. I would like to have more than scales as tools.

One of my main issues remains what to do when keys change in songs; like when it goes from one key to another every few bars.

CONGRATULATIONS TO VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY FOR MAKING IT TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME !!!!

I attended there when they won their championship against the Georgetown Hoyas.

Garrison Guitar Sunday

Getting back into Garrison Fewell’s “Jazz Imlrovisation for Guitar: A Melodic Approach.” It’s making sense to me. I played jazz with our bassist yesterday and my solos weren’t satisfactory to me. 

Snow & Music

Snow today !

A kind of surprising day of accomplished music practice. Getting into “Over the Rainbow” Sudnow Method style on the piano. Also went over some popular music method material. Reviewed some soloing guitar stuff as well as working on getting used to notes on the 5th position on the guitar. 

When I just play and not get into self-criticism of my playing, it really is interesting how much I accomplish.

Sunday

Learning those pentatonic boxes all over the guitar neck has been very helpful in my guitar soloing. I know I should probably work on how to read music for the guitar (at this time I can read passably in the first position only - and not counting always reading rhythms correctly there). Reading music can help me play the melody in our jazz songs.

Yes, still struggling somewhat with what to do with Piano. The Sudnow Method offers sounds so beautiful, but my ability to memorize songs is not fantastic. I have a past method that I restarted today that might, if I’m patient enough to work through it, lead to a more rounded ability to play from fakebooks/lead sheets. 

Here are some recordings that we made yesterday. They are me on guitar, an app playing piano and drums, and our bassist. The recordings aren’t great, but the music is cool: 

Satin Doll:

https://app.box.com/s/x8ku2agyewrh5e3mkkvbogndq4pfi5bh

Over the Rainbow:

https://app.box.com/s/sm3pj84tah8hz6tpg0s8kzgk0wwqcspi

Meditation:

https://app.box.com/s/orfjchu8t5gebooa445t5j67md7g50wb

52

Learning the Pentatonic Scale and Blues Scale all over the neck of the guitar. Went to see Billy Joel’s past band The Lords Of 52nd Street and I thought they were awesome. The talent! The songs!

Came home and recorded my version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinso .” Here it is:

https://app.box.com/s/judn7i6ogndghhzv0ez2rgba0v68qt94

Guitar Fingerstyle

Got into some Paul Simon today and tried learning “Mrs. Robinson” with help of YouTube. Also, been listening a little to a band on YouTube that has something of a cool rockabilly feel. Listening to Frank Zappa is cool too. Parts of me really likes to play jazz and acoustic guitar / other parts want to blast electric blues with a Stratocaster / another part wants to play beautiful solo piano....

Soloing

Using a couple  of different materials to help me improvise on guitar.....a very helpful book I used in the past as well as a book of cool riffs....one review of the riff book said that using the riff book with the major scale is a good idea and I’m beginning to see the value of that.