Video Blog - Block-Chord solo on "Devil and the Deep Blue..."

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New technology is pretty cool. My new Yeti microphone along with Garageband is making recording decent quality audio unbelievably easy. I can record backing tracks (some of which I've posted, and many more to come), and then record myself practicing over them to evaluate my playing. It wasn't until I listened back to a block-chord solo transcription I'm working on that I realized that I was cheating the timing. 

A couple years ago, I recorded a couple videos of me playing. It was stupidly hard. I recorded a couple takes on a mini-DVD camcorder, had to finalize the disc, import the video into my computer (then using windows XP), and translate the video file through a couple different formats, before finally uploading it to youtube. Ugh. I'm cringing just remebering how obnoxious it was. 

Now, I just used the webcam on my laptop, along with the improved audio form the Yeti, recorded directly into iMovie, edited the beginning and ending, added a caption, faded the video in and out, and exported a file format that was easily uploaded to youtube. Soooo much easier. The video quality isn't great by comparision, since even my phone now shoots HD video. I'm guessing that basic HD webcam is in my future.

So here's what I did with....

I've been really working on Allan Reuss/George Van Eps/Carl Kress/Dick McDonough-style block-chord soloing. I was kickstarted by the awesome playing of my new Japanese friends, Yuji Kamihigashi and Takashi Nakayama (from the Sweet Hollywaiians) whose videos I wrote about preivously. I started working on "Test Pilot" by George M. Smith, and then I found a transcription of Allan Reuss's solo on Benny Goodman's 1935 "If I Could be With You...." Then I played a gig subbing the Careless Lovers (our buddies from Seattle). Since the band has no piano or second guitar, it helps to play block-chord solos to fill out the sound. I spent about two weeks woodshedding their tunes and especially one block-chord solos on those tunes.

The video is the fruit of that labor. I'm was doing a dry run on making a video blog, so I wasn't going for perfect. I only tooks 2 passes, and this was the better take. The tune is "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea." I recorded the playalong track when I was working on the tune for the Careless Lovers gig. (It wasn't until after I'd recorded the track that I discovered the last 4 bars of the bridge weren't quite right, but I didn't bother to record another track).

One last thing to mention: I've radically rethought my view on picks, at least for block-chord solos. I recorded this using a "medium" pick. Yeah, a standard Fender medium celluloid pick. After over 10 years of using supersized picks, it's a trip to be using something so thin, and something so readily available. I'm still digging a thicker pick for normal rhythm and single-note work, but when it comes to block-chord soloing, I think you really need a thinner pick. 

Strings and a Last Minute Cyber-Monday String Deal

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Along with my recent set up, I've been experimenting with strings and picks. Given that my assumptions about my set up were no longer holding up, I've been applying that same reasoning to other areas of my tone and technique. The experiments are still on-going, so I'm not ready to report my findings just yet. 
As far as vendors for strings and picks, I highly recommend both www.bigcitystrings.com and www.juststrings.com - however, during the course of the experiements, I came across a new vendor for strings and picks that I've been really happy with, www.stringsandbeyond.com. Each store carries something that the others don't, and each has better and worse prices on various items. It really comes down to selecting the store the has the right match of selection and price.
That said, www.stringsandbeyond.com has an edge on shipping because they offer free shipping for orders over $35, where as the other charge a flat rate per order. Stringsandbeyond.com also has great prices on my current string favorites (see below), and to top it off, they are offering a cyber monday deal (for at least the next couple hours) of a flat 15% off with the offer code "save15."

Picks

I had been using Wegen picks for most of the last 10 years, but I've been using smaller and smaller picks over the course of the last year, and might stop using them all together. However, nothing beats them for acoustic volume and fullness. Plus, I think they round out the sometimes thin sound of a Selmer-style guitar
Wegen Picks
http://search.stringsandbeyond.com/strings/wegen-picks
I've started to lean toward using the JP Fast Turtle, faux-shell guitar picks. I keep both a 2.5mm and 1.2mm on my keychain at the moment, albeit ones with a significant bevel and point-ier profile that I added using nail files. I'd love to re-try the Red Bear New Tortis picks again, but they are significantly more expensive, and www.stringsandbeyond.com has these for cheaper than most places.
John Pearse Picks
http://search.stringsandbeyond.com/strings/john-pearse-picks

Strings

Martin SP's have been my goto acoustic string for several years now, and 80/20's specifically. I learned from Whit Smith about avoiding Phosophor Bronze strings which, to my ears, have an artificial brightness that seems shrill. It shouldn't be a surprise that Phosophor Bronze are a more recent development, and that 80/20 are closer in composition to what strings would have been used "back in the day." I picked up a couple sets of the new coated Lifespan strings, and I haven't decided if they last longer enough to offset the higher cost. However, it's worth noting that www.stringsandbeyond.com has the best price on them that I've found.
Martin SP 80/20
http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/mamsstpe80br2.html
Martin SP Lifespan 80/20
http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/maspli80coac.html
Argentines are the gold stardard for gyspy jazz strings, and for good reason. They aren't perfect, and sometimes they can have quality problems, but nothing else really sounds like an argentine string. 
Savarez Argentines
http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/saargyjaacgu.html
For electric strings, it can be difficult finding strings gauged for jazz playing without using flatwound strings. I can confirm that roundwound strings were used on electric guitars until the 1950's when flatwounds were introduced. (see below) I've been using D'Addario's for a long time, generally with the standard nickel alloy, but I recently have been experiementing with a their pure nickel string, which would be more like strings used "back in the day." I've gone back and forth with them yet, but many of the makes of "vintage" pure nickel strings don't offer a 13 guage set, so D'Addario is one of your only options. 
D'Addario EJ22
http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/dejelgustjam.html
D'Addario EPN22
http://www.stringsandbeyond.com/dpunirowoelg.html

 

On Flatwounds

I recently spoke with legendary studio guitarist "Telecaster" Bob Bain. Beside being a one of the most recorded guitarists in history, one of Bob's first job was playing guitar in Freddie Slack's band in the early 40's. He was friends with many important swing guitars, including Allan Reuss and Les Paul. We only spoke for a couple minutes on the phone, but he invited me to drop by his house to chat some more soon. 

Anyway, he confirmed that early electric guitar players used roundwound nickel strings, and that flatwounds did not come on the scene until the 1950's. He alluded to the role of one George Barnes in popularizing them - Bob called him"this guitar player from Chicago, George Barnes." I think he was surprised to hear that I knew exactly who George Barnes was. 

Here's an article all about Bob from Vintage Guitar Magazine: http://www.vintageguitar.com/2810/bob-bain/

New - Play-a-long Tracks

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While playing with other people is by far the best possible way to practice and improve, it can be hard to do all of your practice in public or at least with other people listening. Play-a-long tracks, whether in the Music-Minus-One or Jamey Abersold variety, are limited in their effectiveness because there is no give-and-take. Still, they can be helpful when woodshedding a new tune or trying to get your head around some changes.

But, the biggest problem with the current commercially available options, Abersold, etc. is the rhythm section playing. There is nothing even remotely resembling a pre-bebop swing rhythm section anywhere. Personally, I find it very difficult to achieve the sounds I'm going for in when playing along with a band that is rhythmically and harmonically incompatible.  

Eventually, I think I will probably record and release a proper album of play-a-long tracks with the Campus Five's rhythm section, but for now, how about some guitar-only rhythm tracks to practice with?

I've used the tracks at nuagesdeswing.free.fr for years, but I find the "Le Pompe" feel they have makes me play much more Django-y, and while I do enjoying playing that way, I have a hard time expressing more "american" ideas when playing over such a backing. 

A word of advice on using play-a-long tracks, i find it helpful to play the melody of the song before diving into soloing over the changes. Often times the melody helps make sense of any interesting changes, and can lend insight to possible melodies and voice-leading, rather than mechanically running through the changes. I've provided three choruses on each track so you'll have space to play the melody before having two whole choruses to develop ideas over. 

Here are four tunes: All of Me, Limehouse Blues, Rosetta, and Tea for Two:

All of me - playalong by campusfive

Limehouse Blues - playalong by campusfive

  Rosetta - playalong by campusfive

Tea for Two - playalong by campusfive

And just for the heck of it, here are a couple takes of me playing over the tracks. FYI, all of these were recorded with my new Blue Yeti microphone - I specifically got it to facilitate recording stuff for the blog, examples, lessons, etc. The guitar is my Eastman AR805 with Martin SP 80/20 strings and a 2.5mm Wegen Pick. 

All of me - playalong with lead by campusfive

Limehouse Blues - playalong with lead by campusfive

Rosetta - playalong and lead by campusfive

String Theory - Installing Strings the Right Way

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After my recent experience with getting my guitar set up properly, I noticed the strings were installed a bit differently than I've been doing for years. I also noticed that once I changed the strings myself, the tuning stability really suffered. I'd been using the method that I learned that I recalled learning out of Dan Erlewine's Book, "The Guitar Player Repair Guide, 2nd Edition (1990)."

Well, I'm guessing I read it wrong, or perhaps 17 years additional experience added some nuances to the process. The "Guitar Player Repair Guide, 3rd Edition (2007)" has been available and comes with a DVD. 

I found this video excerpt on youtube, and I believe it's a snippet from the DVD, and it covers string installation on acoustic guitars. The first couple minutes are spent on the bridge end of a flattop, which is fascinating, but not particularly relevant to archtop players. Skip ahead to 2:56, where he tackles the headstock end of things. 

Dave at Westwood Music used a locking tie for all the strings, even the low E, but otherwise it's the same method. I had basically been using the method in the video, but not adding any slack, so there was far too little string to wrap around the post. As I recall, the 2nd Edition cautions against wrapping too much string around the post, and I just took that too far. 

It's gonna take me a couple string changes to figure out the perfect amount of slack for perfect amount of wraps around the post. Once I restrung with this in mind, the tuning stability improved, and will likely improve more as perfect my technique. 

George Barnes - I Can't Believe that You're in Love with Me

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George Barnes was a badass. There's no two ways about it.

George Barnes was probably the first two record an electric (spanish, non-hawaian) guitar solo in March 1938 with Big Bill Broonzy. He's one side of the session, "It's a Low Down Dirty Shame". It's amazing to hear how fully formed his playing and tone is. 

George wasn't just a hot soloist, he was also a bandleader - and one with a healthy dose of wackiness in his soul. His Octet sessions, pictured below, had a cartoon-like, almost Raymond Scott, compositional vibe. 

For those Octet sessions, here's a great track of "I Can't Believe that You're in Love with Me."

TK's Monthly Motivation Inspires

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I was browsing around the internet this morning, and dropped by T.K. Smith's Website. For those unaware, T.K. Smith one of the Western/Jazz guitar players anywhere. He's somebody who's references go from Charlie Christian, George Barnes and Barney Kessel to guys like Jimmy Bryant, Roy Lanham, and Junior Bernard. His blog is a fantastic reference point for all things in the vintage guitar world. 

One of his regular features is the "Monthly Motivation" where he post a clip or video that is just awesome. Specifically I happened upon this post, about a medley from live radio broadcast featuring Barnel Kessel, Irving Ashby, Arv Garrison and Les Paul. Well that was a jumping off point, as I started listening to a whole stack of favorite electric guitarists, going from George Barnes, early Les Paul, and Mary Osbourne, finishing off with Charlie Christian. 

(Funny thing is that I spent the whole morning before this working on some acoustic chord-melody playing, specifically George M. Smith's "Test Pilot" from the "Masters of the Plectrum Guitar" book, because I was so inspired by my new friends Yuji Kamihigashi and Takashi Nakayama - who I just posted about - and their video of the tune. )

Anyway, I quickly recorded some basic chunky, 4 beat rhythm tracks to play over, and then plugged my Franken-ES 150 into my 1936 EH-150, which I never get to play live, because it's so small and fragile. 

So the first track is take on rhythm changes, "Moppin' and Boppin'" which is a Fats Waller tune the Campus five regularly plays. It's a rhythm change in F, although the bridge goes (D7 ---- Gm --- G7 --- Db7 / C7). Since I rarely get to play more than a chorus since we're a swing dance band, so I tried to approach each chorus like I was starting from scratch. 

"Moppin' and Boppin'"

  Moppin' and Boppin' - guitar jam by campusfive Rose Room - guitar jam by campusfive

Next up, the old chestnut, "Rose Room." Similarly 

"Rose Room"

Rose Room - guitar jam by campusfive