Bilbo

I love live music and never go because I can't afford the cost of travelling/tickets etc. I last saw a 'big' band in about 2004 (Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Hammersmith Odeon (or the 'Mothercare Appollo' or whatever it is called this week). I love recorded music and can't find a single recording I would want to buy in any high street shop. The industry has made its product(s) inaccessible to me other than via the internet. Can't see how that is good business.... Fortuantely, the net allows the little guy to get out there. I had an email from Miguel Zenon the other day, not a circular, one to me. Have spoke to Eric Revis, Ben Wolfe and a raft of other players on-line without the intervention of a corporate giant. I say f*** 'em. Let them rot in their boardrooms and leave the real deal to them that cares.

Of course there has always been an element of that but what the corporate world does is take something that it finds and packages/sells it for profit. No harm in that. It then seeks to maximise its return by manipulating the product for the best possible financial return. FOr instance, in the late 60s/70s, a lot of bands were taken on by record companies. In the 80s, howver, these compnaies realised that the only people in the band that really mattered in the marketing sense were the singet and the songwriters so we had more and more bands like Go West or The Eurhythmics which were essentially two people and a backing band of session guys. in the 90s an onwards, the songwriter is no longer part of the act and the only thing you need is the voice and the face; everything else is off the peg. Its great for business/profit but not so great for Art as we have lost the creativity of courageous record companies, adventurous managers and agents, risk taking bands etc (how many great bands would never see the light of day now?). I grew up when bands like Iron Maiden etc did 40 date UK tours in small 3/4k seater venues. Now these top acts do 3 dates in massive stadium type venues because the overheards are less and the profits greater (some folk now do their first ever gig in s stadium, FFS!!). Great business but the product is poorer. To use a food metaphor, its not about integrity but about whether you prefer you music from Tesco/Sainsburys or from a local organic farmer. The big players have the flash and the sparkle but the taste of 'real' produce is always that much better. Or Carslberg lager vs a small independent brewery... MFI or bespoke. Do get what we want or take what we are given? Most get what they are given and are grateful. Go figure.

I am not sure how to articulate this but, when reading 16th notes, I find that thinking about the bar as two bars of 8th notes helps. For me, doing this means stuff that is hard to read becomes much easier. It kind of means that the learning you have done to allow you to cope with 8th notes is transferrable almost instantly. Does that make sense?

Keep practising. It will come. What you are describing is something everyone goes through in the early days, Some get over it quickly, others take longer but all it requires is practice. No quick routes, only increased familiarity.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejaQ-YA4tz0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejaQ-YA4tz0[/url]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faK8TxS-D1w"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faK8TxS-D1w[/url]

There is a difference between composing and arranging. If composer comes in with fully written charts with all the parts written out, you are playing his song. If someone brings in a sketch of a composed song and then everyone else chips in their own parts, you would expect a token royalty (main composer gets 40%, everyone else 5%). If it is brought in as a set of chords and the singer adds a melody, the bass player a middle eight and the drummer an istrumental break then it is more likely to be a band song with 4 even shares. But its all open to negotiation and legal challenge. Best sort it out before you write Bohemian Rhapsody: The Return. In jazz, it used to be very common for agents or bandleaders to get a share of the royalties of songs they had no part whatsoever in writing. Its a difficult area and fraught with pitfalls.

Just keep at it. You will gradually tune in better as you do it more. Can't hear the music in work. What is it?

I have only ever played one (A Stanley Clarke, IIRC) and was decidedly unimpressed. In fact, I have only ever really heard one player using an Alembic where I thought 'Wow' and that was Jimmy Johnson. Every other Alembic I have ever heard didn't strike me as anything special. I think they are overrated. But I can't hear the difference between a Fender Jazz and a Precision.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB6cY6--iuk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EB6cY6--iuk[/url] Mornington Lockett playing My One and Only Love on a P Mauriat Soprano Saxophone. Absolutely beautiful.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jLGa4X5H2c"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jLGa4X5H2c[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQgUPxgqnfA&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQgUPxgqnfA&feature=related[/url]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8q8kB87APc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8q8kB87APc[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-rzL48_Y5Y&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-rzL48_Y5Y&feature=related[/url]

Or these... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4_wXPZ1Bnk&ob=av2e"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4_wXPZ1Bnk&ob=av2e[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyDRXbP1MaY&ob=av2e"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyDRXbP1MaY&ob=av2e[/url]

A favourite pop song? I would really struggle to get it down to one. Some I am fond of (but would neve claim them as the greatest etc....) [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY4-_VdmjdI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY4-_VdmjdI[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pALWIj9ketA&ob=av2e"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pALWIj9ketA&ob=av2e[/url]

If that is the perfect pop song, pop should really eat itself. Does nothing for me, I am afraid (and I am not just being anti-pop).

Lessons are great but you can gain a lot of learning 'on the job', as it were, and sitting in for a couple of tunes (you can usually call them if you are the 'new' guy) can really give you a buzz.

We use a Cajon as the core percussion instrument in Braziliance but it is supplemented by congas etc. The cajon is the main instrument for some pretty intense flamenco stuff and noone has ever really transferred that intensity to a Rock setting so now is your chance!! There are also beatboxers, an under explored options for bands. We have all seen the amazing youtube clips of solo beatboxers but why couldn't a properly amplified beatboxer not be part of the core rhythm section of a band? Frame drummers are another option (look up Trilok Gurtu). And, of course, there is the drum machine route.

I have been to loads of these over the years and noone is as bad as some of the people I have heard. I am talking 'can barely get a note out of a trumpet','can't play im time with other people', 'can't count 4 to a bar', lousy intonation' kind of bad. If you are intimidated, it is best to go along without your gear and watch. Then you can judge whether you are up for it. A lot of jam sessions are as much a 'have a go' opportunity and, to be blunt, very few hard core pros go so you have no worries about being humiliated. For me, rule number one if you are running a jazz jam is to be approachable and non-judgemental. Anyone who looks down on a person because they are a poor musician is a bit of a dick. I knwo guys who can't play anote but they run businesses, are solicitors, doctors etc. You can gain a lot form a person other than reflected muso glory.

Great stuff. Its amazing how these kids can still play with their hoodies whilst texting with their left hands. Monster Actually there is some pertty intense reading on track 3 as well as track 8. Some nice arrangements, as well. Stock or written by the band/leader?

Excellent!!! All we need is my GK MB112S and SWR Baby Blue 2x10 cab (nicked in Bristol in about 1992) and we will all be happy!!

Get this: when I type, I use four fingers on my left hand and two fingers and the thumb on me right hand. And who said bass playing skills weren't transferable?

The book I recommended is a very good source for the answers to tnit's question but, in a nutshell, for me, the answer is 'all of the above'. If Iam playing a tune I know well, it is more likely that I will relax and play more 'intuitively' because I know the changes well. If, however, I am playing something new that I haven't seen before, I am more likely to be in a 'conscious theory' mode. Often, if I am playing a tune I kind of know, I will play half of it in relaxed mode and half (the middle 8 of Have You Met Miss Jones?) using consciously applied theory. Strangely, I often use theory more consciously when I am playing walking lines. But there are examples where I am playing along with a sax plyer who keeps playing a little riff and I can consciously process the m,elody and harmonise it, creating a nice little improvised effect, a 'yeah' moment . Often, it is a case of 'hearing' what someone else is doing harmonically so you can react to it. I guess it is like understanding the written word. We don't process all of the grammar, we just know what it means but, if we are trying to hear or say something important or complicated, we are more likely to pause and consider our next sentence. The book I recommended is massive and incredibly detailed; not a light read at all but at £11 Kindle price, it is enormously good value..

Just wanted to draw people's atention to a really great book on the process of playing jazz. This is not a 'theory' book in the normal sense as it contains no scales, chords or anything of that type. It is about the things that need to be dealt with if you are to play Jazz. The book is called ' Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation (Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology' by Paul F Berliner and is available on Kindle for just over £11. There are no dots in it so it should transfer to Kindle ok. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thinking-Jazz-Improvisation-Ethnomusicology-ebook/dp/B004M8S3XW/ref=sr_1_15?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1332945587&sr=1-15