It's been a while...
Yea well no big deal.
Been practicing the interval study but the fives have been throwing me every time. Need to slow down and find the most comfortable fingerings again.
The study is much more fun with the drum loops on Garageband. But I did however have to use the metronome set to 70 bpm for the subdivisions of 4. It still takes about 30 minutes to go through all 12 keys and all intervals and I like that it has become so efficient. After the interval study I have been following up with root third fifth octave arpeggios in all 12 keys with the drum machine or metronome. It kind of offers a full circle sort of study. Any trouble spots within either method get more attention AFTER I complete each cycle. I.E. if I am struggling with Db major 3rds or Db major 6ths, I wait until I am done with all the intervals in 12 keys before I go back and run through the trouble spots. Same process applies to the arpeggio study. That way I can focus on completion of the study and afterward focus solely on trouble spots. It seems to be working as there are fewer problem areas now than before.
I would like to point out that even though I have become quite comfortable playing the intervals and can hit them in time while subdividing the beat, they are not yet coming out in my all to infrequent solos. I think this is because I have spent so much more time, especially in the beginning of my bass study (now in its 15th year) playing nothing but scales. Time to let them go and focus on apreggios and intervals.
Tuesday May 16
Met with Mike Henry, singer/songwriter/guitar player. He is a great person and a big talent. I dug his songs and look forward to forming a band with him and the right drummer.
Thursday May 11
Agave practice, still no band name and no demo. Sigh...
This time though, we had Andrew Ferren on sax, and what a great player he has become! He hit it out of the park. Solo's were sick, he either knew or learned the tunes quickly, has really interesting, cool sounding effects and a great attitude. I hope we can keep him.
Wednesday May 3 to Monday May 8
NOLA JAZZFEST
What a time. Music, heat, food, friends, more music. So much to do and so little time. When I go to NOLA I feel like a Muslim in Mecca or a Jew in Jerusalem. All are there to participate and show their love of music, asking for little in return, other than that the bands DELIVER. And do they ever. I think the fest brings out the best in the artists musically, as they feel there are fewer limitations and constraints on what they do and when. For example guest appearances abound, more so than any regular weekend of music or festival that I have attended. A musical orgy if you will. Upon returning -- with a hangover -- besides having a bit of a headache I feel inspired. Little else other than the HSMF does this to me or, more accurately, I do this to myself by letting it happen. Just like everything else in life I control how I feel and no one else. By putting myself in a place where people come to hear great funky music all day and night is like nothing else, I feel I can connect with more people in that my vast knowledge of music history, theory, and its interconnectivity is far more well received than on normal days.