Shout Part 3: More Setting Up The Hits

If you read through the exercise in my last post on setting up hits, you may have noticed a reference to another exercise that dealt with this issue in greater depth.  So today I wanted to post that exercise, and here it is!

Papa Jo #9

And here is the recording used in the exercise:

I am hoping that eventually I will be able to get all these exercises published in my book "Melodic Syncopation".  In the meantime, I hope these exercises help you as much as they have helped me!  

Shout Part 2: Setting Up the Hits

As promised in my last post on playing shout sections, here is one of the exercises from my forthcoming book "Melodic Syncopation" that has helped me develop my ability to set up hits.  Try this out for yourself and let me know what you think!







Papa Jo #7

Here is a great recording of Basie playing "Splanky" for reference (shout section starts around 3:00):

I will try to get some video of me playing the exercise sometime in the near future.  

Endings

The two most important parts of a song

The two parts of a song that are going to have the biggest impression on an audience are the beginning and the ending of a song.  In today's post we are going to talk about four general strategies for playing great endings. 

1.  Listen

Everything you do, including playing a great ending, is predicated on your ability to listen.  If you are listening intently you can have the confidence to know when to be flexible, and when to be assertive.  The following clip of me playing a great Bobby Muncy original is an example of how listening can make an ending flexible:

Did you hear how the note the band held at the end started to rise and crescendo?  That wasn't planned, it just happened because everyone was listening to each other.