What are you working on this week?

Mark Wein

Grand Poobah
Staff member
I'm getting ready for juries in December. I'm essentially doing the first three semesters' worth of juries in one sitting since I don't want to be doing this for six years and I know much of the stuff already. Just having to prepare the 16 songs (they will probably ask me to play one or two off the list but I need to know all of them) and putting together the Joe Pass transcription are the most time consuming. I have about a month but there is Thanksgiving break, finals and a week completely full of performances that I have between now and then so I'm trying to be ready early.

1:33 to about 2:30:





1st Semester Jury


Scales and chords:

· Major
· Major and Minor Pentatonic
· Blues
· Chromatic Scales.
· Natural, Harmonic, Melodic minor (including Jazz Melodic minor)
· Whole Tone scales.
· Dorian & Mixolydian Modes of Major.
· Major, Minor Triads. Major, Dominant and Minor Seventh chords.
· All scales learned to date in 3rds and 4ths.
· Diatonic triads from scales

Transcription – Have You Met Miss Jones? by Joe Pass

Songs:

1st Semester

Now’s the Time
Doxy
Autumn Leaves
So What/Impressions
Take the “A” Train
Mack the Knife


2nd Semester

I Got Rhythm
Beautiful Love
All Of Me
Summertime
My Funny Valentine

1st Semester

Blue Bossa
There Will Never Be Another You
All Blues
Tenor Madness
Satin Doll
Misty
 
Mostly working on tunes.

I will slip away though and work on interconnecting arps via ii-V-I's and vi-ii-V-I's. Also digging into the Atkins right hand thumb independence. And finally, 3 note chords in 1st inversion.
 
Songwriting.

I have my lyrics for the 'song of the month' about 75% finished and the whole song written and arranged musically in my little brain. Well - mostly arranged. Now I need to get the chords figured out, learned how to write a drum loop that does not suck, then try to figure out a cheap way to deaden the room I have for recording so I don't get as much slapback when using a mic.

Then I have to figure out how to play what is in my head. That will take some work. Nothing complex - but my brain is generally a step beyond my fingers abilities.
 
Songwriting.

I have my lyrics for the 'song of the month' about 75% finished and the whole song written and arranged musically in my little brain. Well - mostly arranged. Now I need to get the chords figured out, learned how to write a drum loop that does not suck, then try to figure out a cheap way to deaden the room I have for recording so I don't get as much slapback when using a mic.

Then I have to figure out how to play what is in my head. That will take some work. Nothing complex - but my brain is generally a step beyond my fingers abilities.

Song lyrics is another thing I need to concentrate on. Always feel that what I write sounds cheesy and stupid. Getting better though by listening to some of the great songwriters that I am playing tunes for in my solo/duet situations.
 
Well, this morning I installed a door know/lock in a closet door. Then hooked up my trailer to the van and took some junk to the dump. Probably should have tried to sell on CL was nicer than some of the crap I've seen on there. Currently I'm watching the Big Lebowski and putting tools and shit away and cleaning up the saw dust thrown everywhere by my jig. I'm at the pedderass part.
 
I'm pretty much focused on the end of school. Doing three juries in one is quite a bit of extra music to learn.


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I am just trying to learn a few songs,mainly the chords and changes.
I am also working on getting $ for a beater guitar.
 
Cleaning out closets and donating the items to charities and taking old financial records to be shredded. Feels so good.
 
the song we wrote last night has a hammer on to open riff. A string, 3rd to 7th fret. its quite a reach for me. I wasn't able to get it at first by the end of the night I could do it but I need to really practice it before our next show on 12/17.

made me think of this:

John-Petrucci.jpg
 
sleepwell, what's the scale length on your guitar?
Do you play\practice 3-notes-per-string scale positions?
I find a 3rd to 7th fret stretch within reach (I wouldn't say "easy") on my 24.75 inch SG, but I guess it would be hard to keep that stretch for a while.
 
25.5

its not that its impossible its just that its taking a little practice to get show ready.
 
I'm working on a lesson Mark posted on fb a while ago. Ernesto Homeyer- One string picking riffs. Good exercise. Know your scales vertically as well as horizontally.

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My friend does an annual Christmas album with originals put together by our friend group. Since my only playing opportunity is in an acoustic setting, I use the Christmas album to dip into other areas of interest, so this year I'm trying a P-Funk style number, a sample-based tune, and a three-part harmony thing.
 
Resurrecting this thread...

I spent the week working through a book of blues licks (Richard Daniels' 50 Blues Moves), not due to any particular interest but more because it's relatively simple and I need to get in playing shape for Heelstock later this month...plus I just needed to proved to myself that I could finish something (I've been stuck in a pretty deep rut for a long time)...

I set myself the goal to be able to play all the way through it by this morning, which I did...

Next, I'm going to work through Dave Rubin's Power Trio Blues book, which combines lead and rhythm playing in a 12 bar format...again, not for any particular interest but just to keep building strength and chops before I head to the barn...I really want to enjoy the jam this time (since I won't be going in the middle of a heartbroken post-traumatic depression this time)...I'm not really concentrating on learning songs, I've actually been pretty impressed by how many I actually know and my ability to pick up on ones I don't...
 
This was the weekend for DAGDAD tuning. I wrote one song using that tune on Friday. Went into the studio and recorded it Saturday while Carol was there working on her art pieces. I was waiting for her to finish and just started playing around with the tuning and ended up writing a second song. It is funny; I played guitar for 50 years but only got into open tunings in the past couple of years.
 
Trip out.

As far as guitar goes, I have to have these six tunes ready for my recital:

Little Sunflower
Joy Spring
Billies Bounce
The Days of Wine and Roses
I'll Remember April
My Funny Valentine

For my Jury I need to have these put together:

Inner Urge
Yes or No
Nica's Dream
chord melody on "All the Things You Are".

I also have two charts for my combo concert in two weeks, too.
 
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