| LearnJazzPiano.com archives: The Piano Guild | |
| Scot -- 03/04/2004, 08:47:03 -- #2076 | |
| Ho ho ho! It just gets cooler all the time, eh? Feel free to post public messages in here- only "Vets" have access to this room... I think :) | |
| Scot -- 03/04/2004, 08:47:42 -- #2077 | |
| test | |
| The Ultimate >Jazz Fake Book: extremely useful! | |
| Scot -- 03/04/2004, 08:48:22 -- #2078 | |
| test 2 | |
| Scot -- 03/04/2004, 11:09:11 -- #2089 | |
| List of people in the Vets group | |
| Here's a list of the current Vets group members: sid Barry Ryan dougmck smg Rick Mike 7 Scot Whacky You can nominate people for inclusion to the group here. | |
| Scot -- 03/04/2004, 11:22:54 -- #2091 | |
| I'm putting the bebop bible in here. But I'm making the jpg files into .gif files because they take up half the space. I've put up two parts that have 5-20, and I'll get the rest later. Say what, Rick? :) | |
| Mike -- 03/04/2004, 18:58:11 -- #2108 | |
| never ceases to amaze. | |
| Mike -- 03/04/2004, 19:02:42 -- #2109 | |
| you know I have always played a natural ninth on that chord in Giant Steps and the other day while playing a transcription of Coltanes Solo it occrured to me that maybe a D7 b9 would be more correct there. But being true to my ultimate lazy nature I thought: Why listen to the recording... I'll just put the question to the forum. I still have not listened to it. | |
| Whacky -- 03/04/2004, 21:19:50 -- #2113 | |
| I haven't listened to it lately either, I usually just play whatever I feel like at the moment...but it's interesting to me that the CD I have has three versions of GS. One with Tommy Flanagan, two with Cedar Walton...someday I'll grab a couple of beers and give it a listen, but right now I'll be hitting the rack... | |
| The Ultimate >Jazz Fake Book: extremely useful! | |
| Mike -- 03/05/2004, 16:32:34 -- #2150 | |
| Whacky | |
| Whacky you missed entirely that I jokingly insulted you in the thread about 9ths and 13ths going on in the Juice Bar. I hate to see a good insult go to waste like that. | |
| Whacky -- 03/05/2004, 19:15:44 -- #2155 | |
| actually I saw it...I just couldn't think of a witty comeback:) | |
| Mike -- 03/05/2004, 20:16:10 -- #2157 | |
| lol | |
| sid -- 03/09/2004, 08:18:53 -- #2240 | |
| Oh, THAT sort of Vet! I thought this room was reserved for those who like to sit at the keys after a hard day neutering kittens. But seriously...I'm genuinely honoured to be included with the Black Belts here. I've just updated my CV. sid | |
| smg -- 03/09/2004, 08:32:54 -- #2243 | |
| couple of things | |
| 1.re-recent Giant Steps 9th rel.discussion-Wallace Roney/Gary Thomas play a version of this one one of his Muse recordings with Kenny Kirkland on piano that might be illuminating to hear re-how far away they get from the original harmonically;I think it's called"Intuition" 2. Sid that post over on the "spring" thread cracked me up man... | |
| Rick -- 03/10/2004, 08:04:00 -- #2282 | |
| Has anyone else checked out that flat/natural ninth thing on the origonal Giant Steps recording? Thanks for the reccommendation Gary | |
| Chick Corea: 150 pages of Transcriptions | |
| Scot -- 03/11/2004, 09:29:09 -- #2339 | |
| Hi Barry- you don't have to leave a "vets only" message in this room. This entire room is Vets Only :) Aren't we all nuts? People call me nuts all the time! | |
| Rick -- 03/11/2004, 10:23:42 -- #2350 | |
| lol, "in ALBETANS area you find JAZZ KINDER, in my preffered website of choice 2004, full of file and enjoyment of children of jazz" ooh..im being mean now...sorry im not really | |
| Barry -- 03/11/2004, 11:37:58 -- #2373 | |
| Thanks Scot, I thought that was the case but due to the nature of the post I thought I'd hedge my bets....lol | |
| sid -- 03/14/2004, 15:48:47 -- #2478 | |
| The Guild Room is very quiet, so I thought I'd tiptoe in and leave a message. Anybody here listen to EST? I just took down "Elevation of love", nice simple thing with plenty of room to build a solo on. Anyone else been transcribing anything interesting recently? Another recent development is that our drummer Pete The Beat has relocated to Oregon - haven't you guys got enough drummers without stealing the few we have over here? Anyway, fortunately a new man has recently appeared and we had a rehearsal a couple of nights ago. We really put him through the mincer, starting with Metheney's "Have you heard", and he was excellent. In fact just heard a recording of the session and it's about the best version we've ever done. That's the bulletin from the land of sheep and rain. And so to bed. sid | |
| Rick -- 03/15/2004, 03:40:45 -- #2484 | |
| EST are great, but I wouldnt say it was fair to compare them to Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette (yes, i know here I go with the old Keith Jarrett thing). Ive got their latest album, and I was a little disapointed about the lack of swing, (since the other album I have of theirs, of which i dont know the name, is chockablock full of lovely swinging stuff)- its still a great album though, some great great tunes off there. Is there anywhere where you can get the charts, or will I have to transcribe them? | |
| Scot -- 03/15/2004, 08:54:52 -- #2493 | |
| What's EST? | |
| Chick Corea: 150 pages of Transcriptions | |
| Barry -- 03/15/2004, 09:40:55 -- #2500 | |
| EST is short for the Esbjorn Svensson Trio - a swedish piano trio playing IMHO some of the most interesting stuff around today. I think you would really like them Scot - their stuff fuses a lot of different grooves and flavours together. I saw them at this years' London Jazz Festival and they were fantastic. Rick, I know what you mean about the swing thing but I don't know whether you are right in your comparatives. Now don't get me wrong, I think that Keith Jarrett is one of the greatest jazz players ever to have lived and that trio is just phenomenal but I'm starting to tire a little of the same old standards and arrangements. I know that Jarrett has revolutionised jazz piano and his solo improvised concerts have developed a whole new genre but lately I think his music is a little predictable. In contrast, I find the EST stuff to be original and unpredictable - particularly the way the drums are used. As an improviser Svensson doesn't really come close to Jarrett - in fact you can hear some of lines are direct lifts from Keith, but I do feel that he has something original to say and in these retrospective and musically conservative times I think that anyone doing something original deserves to be taken seriously. Barry | |
| Whacky -- 03/15/2004, 12:42:31 -- #2509 | |
| Hmmm...sounds like you might also be describing the Yellow Jackets...any y'all familiar with them? I became a huge fan after seeing them live - when Marc Russo was in the band...They blew me away....I never miss an opportunity to catch them...They are incredible live... Anyways...I'll look for some EST... | |
| sid -- 03/16/2004, 01:18:48 -- #2525 | |
| Swing | |
| As time goes by I find myself less and less interested in swing, in the Oscar Peterson sense. Swing became a sort of prison for jazz before latin came along. Subsequently World Music's been allowed in and in my opinion jazz is much the better for it from both the performer and the listener's point of view. So it doesn't bother me that EST doesn't swing too much. It was always a criticism levelled at Jelly Roll Morton. Perhaps that's what makes him amongst the most interesting pre-bop jazz musicians. I don't know about Keith Jarrett - I like the country-style stuff such as, well, Country and Innocence and My Song, but standards don't hold my attention too well. sid | |
| Mike -- 03/16/2004, 09:43:47 -- #2534 | |
| I am the opposite. I get so frustrated that there are all these players that in the United States and very specifically where i live playing or trying to play latin music when they never even learned how to swing very well. I never walk into a club anymore and hear a band laying down a great swing grove but time after after time I hear these lame ass imitations of latin grooves. Swing is so wide open and infinite. We have just never taken the time to break it down and give many of the different types of swing names like latin music has. In latin music there are special names like Tango, Bolero, etc. etc... If you know your swing very well, then you know there are very specific very different types of swing as well The genre has just never paused to give them names. But the best groove master swing musicians know them by heart. You will hear them when they stop a band right in the middle of playing and say something like "No thats not the type of swing we want there". And then they will fine tune how everyone is approaching the groove. Swing in the Oscar Pererson sence tends to be just one type of swing. Oscar leaned towards and liked to stay in one particular groove for the most part. This often becomes one of the elements of style for an individual musician contributing to giving them their distinct original sound, this has been the case with Oscar. For him to experiment with other swing feels would have almost been the same as experimenting with trying to sound like someone other than himself. So in that sence maybe he is in a prison. That particular prison I wish I personally am trying to find out how to get sentenced too. (not imprisoned by his original sound but by my own) There is nothing wrong with wanting to branch out into music that is not jazz. There is an infinite amount of great music that is not Jazz. But swing has never imprisoned jazz... what type of swing the Oscar Peterson type... When did the Oscar Peterson type of Swing become "the" type of Swing? I have always loved Oscar but I have never thought of him first when defining swing. | |
| Whacky -- 03/16/2004, 10:33:34 -- #2543 | |
| To me "swing" is the Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman stuff...I think "straight ahead" is probably a more hip style of "swing" and perhaps what's really being discussed here... I never thought of Oscar as a "swing" player - just a great player...He IS Oscar Peterson...(He plays the shit out of some bossas too:) | |
| Mike -- 03/16/2004, 22:13:42 -- #2553 | |
| when you use the words swing, Benny Goodman, and Glen Miller all in the same sentence you are using the word swing like a Musicologist not a musician. Not that these players did not swing but when people talk about swing and them all in the same sentence they are generally refereing to a vague historical period that Musicoligists refer to as the the "Swing Era". If musicians ever got their shit together and got serious about swing they could probally identify unique elements of swing around this time period played by these artists and and give it a name as well. But Jazz Musicians have historically never been patient enough for that we have always been on to the next new thing way before we have been willing to bog down and write down consisely what we have done and give it catchy little names. And It just has not existed nor been studied long enought yet. So our musicologists have not had time to go back and give things like this nice little names like Samba, Tambao, etc... etc... But yes that was another distinctive way of swinging that those bands had as was the Ellington bands way of swinging distinctively different. Coltranes Bands invented whole new ways of swinging. Personally I listen over and over trying to break down that hard NYC swing that Kenny Garrett puts together on a lot of his tunes. Thats my favorite and what I always shot for when I have a rhythm section but can rarely get. | |
| Chick Corea: 150 pages of Transcriptions | |
| sid -- 03/17/2004, 02:20:10 -- #2557 | |
| I might swing for this... | |
| I think I was probably not precise enough with my language, but if there's a vocabulary to describe the subtleties of the feel of jazz, I just don't have it. By swing I suppose I mean the 12/8 feel of most conventional bop/post-bop jazz. I appreciate that a straight-ahead groove which is right in the pocket is the beating heart of jazz, and that more people (I guess I'm one of them) pontificate about it than can do it. On the other hand many of us who love the music would like also to bring our own experience and sympathies to the party, and jazz is great because it lets you do that. I defer every time to you guys who are (a) American (b) living and working in American cities (c) tempered by the competitive and aggressive world of jazz survival and (d) steeped in the history and traditions of the craft. But it would be silly for someone like me - European, living 60 miles from the nearest escalator, surrounded by chlorophyll and birdsong, to pretend to be Oscar Peterson (just realised - he's Canadian...). On the other hand, maybe, just maybe, someone coming from my strange environment can speak with a slightly unusual voice which could enrich jazz just a bit. We've seen this happen when South Africa came in from the cold post-apartheid and the distinctive voices of her musicians became assimilated into the jazz mainstream. That's why I respond strongly to EST, and why I find the cooler outer planets of the jazz solar system more to my taste than the heat at the centre. sid | |
| Scot -- 03/22/2004, 09:10:01 -- #2786 | |
| Hi guys- Would you be kind enough to go here: http://www.learnjazzpiano.com/citadel/scotcit.mvc Log in and use the system normally from that point. Some of the optionals won't work (top ten tunes, piano teachers, etc) but the rest of the system should. I need some testing on the compiled system before I put it up. I've been using it here for the past few days without problems, but I'm sure there are some lurking around a corner. | |
| Barry -- 03/23/2004, 07:09:43 -- #2811 | |
| Compiled Site | |
| Scot, I just clicked on your link to the compiled site to test it for you and was surprised to find it was VERY slow. Every page seemed to need to load about 145k of data before it displayed. I only have a dial-up connection so you can imagine how slow it was. Any idea why this is or have I done something wrong? | |
| Scot -- 03/23/2004, 07:58:37 -- #2814 | |
| Interesting, I have no idea why it's slow. I've never heard of a compiled mivascript being slower for anyone. Hmm... | |
| Barry -- 03/23/2004, 08:35:24 -- #2823 | |
| I'll try it again. Would it have anything to do with being logged in simultaneously at this site? or maybe having this site open in another window? ( I mean more than the normal slowdown due to memory availability) | |
| Whacky -- 03/23/2004, 11:20:13 -- #2826 | |
| I had the same experience last night...but I couldn't figure out how to get back to this room to report it...it was much slower... I too had both going at once so I could compare load times... | |
| Chick Corea: 150 pages of Transcriptions | |
| Scot -- 03/23/2004, 12:49:25 -- #2829 | |
| What I think it is, is the extra white space that is showing up. Right click and then view the source, then select all. You'll see how much empty space there is, and most of it has spaces in it! I'm not sure if running it concurently in one window or the other will make a difference. However, I have spent the morning de-spacing the script by controlling when and where output occurs by stricter methods and I think I've got the problem fixed. Really, the compiled version should be much much faster. I'll have another test up tonight. There is some other stuff to deal with first- The next update is like a whole new version. Lots of cool things added, some you'll notice, some you won't. | |
| Scot -- 03/23/2004, 12:51:49 -- #2830 | |
| Regarding the white space- I compared non-compiled source with compiled source and the idea is sound- there are tons more white space characters being spit out of the system. That's been fixed and I'll leave a message here when the next update should be tested. Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. | |
| Scot -- 03/23/2004, 15:00:37 -- #2843 | |
| I forgot to mention- log into the new site http://www.learnjazzpiano.com/citadel/scotcit.mvc and try a download. Downloads have been made more cool! If it's a zip file, it downloads, if it's a pdf or something, it will display. You'll have to use your back button to get back to the site, but there's not a person online who doesn't know how to do that. | |
| Scot -- 03/23/2004, 18:07:52 -- #2855 | |
| New play along software | |
| Ok, I think it would be easy to get a piece of software to look ahead to the next chord, and perhaps even the next several chords to figure out how a bass line should be built. I wouldn't be hard to also make the drums figure out where the fours and eights are, or at least allow the "composer" to set up where drums should lead into and such. I think that instead of playing band in the box files, the software would be able to import them. I'm not sure what the biab guys are thinking, but that software has been out forever and it still sounds square... Hmm... I'd have to learn a new programming language. Possible Java to make it easy to port to Linux and such... it could be done, though, we'd just have to come up with the formulas as far as how its going to build comping patterns, bass lines, drum hits, etc... Maybe I'm blowing smoke, but I think I could pull something off like this, and biab NEEDS some competition :) | |
| Scot -- 03/23/2004, 19:37:11 -- #2856 | |
| new update installed | |
| Hi Guys, Will you check out the compiled version again and let me know how it is for you? I don't even have a modem any more, so I can't test it at archaic speeds :) http://www.learnjazzpiano.com/citadel/scotcit.mvc Thanks! | |
| Scot -- 03/23/2004, 19:40:35 -- #2857 | |
| Oh, I should also say that there may be display problems. In getting rid of the white space, I broke everything today! As far as diplay goes, that is. I've tested everything I can think of display-wise so I think things are OK, but you never know. Well, off to my Tuesday night jam session. That's a lot of fun. Tonight I'm going to pull out Day Dream and do it in a very very simple stride style as a solo piece, bringing the bass/drums in for the last chorus only :) They don't practice anyway, so they deserve it. I'll put some New Orleans feel to it as that seems to give it something cool. I'll record it for you guys one of these days... I need to record all the Monthly tunes and upload them. If I don't even do it, what's that say to the rest of the group? New features, by the way: click on My Settings Whacky- next update will include profile information for accounts. Just can't get it done before I need to leave tonight. | |
| Chick Corea: 150 pages of Transcriptions | |
| Scot -- 03/23/2004, 19:42:33 -- #2858 | |
| One more thing! You'll notice that some of the menu items are missing. That's because I made "auto screen rooms". Basically, I'll have a room called Links and a room called Teachers. When you go to that room, instead of a message, you get the "screen" (I call them screens because they take over the screen) that the room is set for. Kind of slick if you ask me. | |
| Scot -- 03/24/2004, 10:37:04 -- #2885 | |
| Jeez, I can't believe how many messages I left yesterday in here. i need to do a better job figuring out everything I want to say before I say it! | |
| Scot -- 03/24/2004, 10:39:25 -- #2886 | |
| Whacky- there is a "reset new messages" link for a room as well. If you visit the room but want to keep it in the "new" status, you click on it. Then you need to move to a different room or the new message pointer will be reset again. But you can always click on the "reset" link anytime during your session to get new messages/files back. Files and messages will be individual eventually, but for now this is a good fix. | |
| Rick -- 03/24/2004, 11:04:51 -- #2887 | |
| Hey Scot, did you get my PM? I was logged in twice for some reason... | |
| Scot -- 03/24/2004, 11:16:19 -- #2888 | |
| I got it- responded. PM wasn't working correclty in the new system for a few minutes :) Being loggedin twice can happen. It's an easy fix, though, so it shouldn't happen again (after I fix it of course) | |
| Whacky -- 03/24/2004, 13:54:38 -- #2893 | |
| groovy! | |
| Chick Corea: 150 pages of Transcriptions | |
| Rick -- 03/24/2004, 13:57:41 -- #2894 | |
| Yeah, I once ended up PMing myself.....sad eh?? | |
| Whacky -- 03/24/2004, 13:58:34 -- #2895 | |
| It helps to remember the spelling of the room :) I was calling it "Piano Guild" instead of "The Piano Guild" - got it now :) | |
| Whacky -- 03/24/2004, 13:59:28 -- #2896 | |
| At least you didn't get PMS'd - that really sucks! | |
| Barry -- 03/25/2004, 09:06:47 -- #2904 | |
| BIAB Replacement | |
| The other area that would need looking at would be the piano comping. It probably won't affect pianists that much but you'd still want to sell it to sax players etc.! There is little or no voice leading evident in BIAB so we would need to have the surrounding harmony determine the voicing. Also, it would be nice to have voicings appropriate to the style of the song. I.E in a generic 'swing' style, the voicings would contain fewer extensions and more roots, the fifties and sixties styles would introduce more rootles voicings and the more modern styles could intorduce quartal voicings and so on. I have absolutely no programming knowledge whatsoever so my input will be strictly limited to ideas etc.! Barry | |
| Barry -- 03/25/2004, 09:07:55 -- #2905 | |
| btw the compiled site is much faster now! | |
| Scot -- 03/25/2004, 09:51:25 -- #2906 | |
| Is it fast enough for a modem? Faster feeling than the uncompiled site? As for the software- it might be called "Virtual Combo". I'm in the process of learning Java so that the sucker can be completely cross-platform (downloaded and got the Borland Jbuider working). What will happen is that there will be a Virtual Combo engine that you can plug instruments into. Each instrument will have it's own logic and also allow for other developers to create their own instruments. So plug in a bass instrument with Ray Brown instructions, and you have the computer emulating Ray Brown. Same with drums and other instruments. I think the other programs out there were either written by computer programmers who talked to musicians, or musicians who didn't really know how to program. I'm excited. Be on the lookout for a release in 30 or so years :) I expect that I'll have to develop a sub-programming language to describe musical events, but why not? If I can actually get things sort of working, it will be very very cool. | |
| Chick Corea: 150 pages of Transcriptions | |
| Scot -- 03/25/2004, 09:52:02 -- #2907 | |
| Compiled version ready? | |
| So you guys- should I put the compiled version up for everyone to use now? Have you found any errors or speed problems with the new 'white space' optimization? | |
| Scot -- 03/26/2004, 09:59:03 -- #2952 | |
| I had to put the new compiled system up before I really wanted to- for some reason new accounts were getting messed up/confused! I think everything is ready, though. Perhaps a few of the "screens" aren't ready, but that's not too important. I can catch those errors as they occur. | |
| Barry -- 03/26/2004, 11:25:20 -- #2958 | |
| Everything looks okay so far and it is quicker than the old system although that wasn't really slow. If I come across any gremlins I will let you know..... | |
| Scot -- 03/28/2004, 08:46:40 -- #3000 | |
| Rick, I really enjoy the fact that Darth Vader appears to be your girlfriend! | |
| Rick -- 03/28/2004, 09:12:38 -- #3003 | |
| haha, im just waiting for the bemused responses of the other vets... | |
| Rick -- 03/28/2004, 09:14:16 -- #3004 | |
| and yes....that's me, although its the most homo looking picture of me yet...I think the Darth Vader covers it up nicely though... | |
| Chick Corea: 150 pages of Transcriptions | |
| Rick -- 03/28/2004, 09:18:23 -- #3005 | |
| by the way, John Smiths is a beer :-) | |
| sid -- 04/16/2004, 07:07:46 -- #3549 | |
| Anomalous zone of strong gravity | |
| Here's a useful tip. Don't fall down stairs while carrying your piano. You will certainly try to save your piano, at the expense of bruises and grazes to yourself. Last night's rehearsal went pretty well up til then. sid "ouch" thomas | |
| Whacky -- 04/16/2004, 08:23:43 -- #3550 | |
| man, I hate it when that happens... I've been lugging that crap around for 29 years...I think when my FP8 goes out, I'll retire from "bringing a keyboard" to gigs... I don't like playing on them I don't like lugging them They need amplification (more crap to buy and lug) You need a van. They require set-up and tear-down time on either side of the gig I'm to the point where I'm content to play piano in my room and only take gigs where there is a house piano :) I've actually considered trying to do a classical tour...of course I'd be dressed in jeans and western boots and speak with a southern drawl...might be a good gimmick:) Maybe even miss-pronounce the composers' names...now don't any y'all steal my idea!! | |
| Whacky -- 04/16/2004, 08:25:17 -- #3551 | |
| and I forgot to mention my chronic back pain...I'm so used to it, I forget about it... do I win the "Downer Of LJP" award? | |
| Barry -- 04/16/2004, 09:17:12 -- #3552 | |
| Ouch indeed.... A while ago I was loading the gear to go to a gig and my amp slid out of the back of the bass player's estate car. So what did I do? I put my foot out to try and break it's fall! Not only stupid, but damn painful as well! As the bass player unhelpfully pointed out "amps can be replaced, feet can't". | |
| Scot -- 04/16/2004, 15:54:55 -- #3561 | |
| I know how it feels. I've had more cuts and scrapes than I care to remember from trying to save equipment... These days, unless it's a funky gig, I don't bring my keyboard. I tell people there has to be a piano there. Of course, if they offer enough $$ I'll whore myself out for any gig :) | |
| Chick Corea: 150 pages of Transcriptions | |
| Barry -- 04/17/2004, 03:48:23 -- #3569 | |
| Ahhhh musical prostitution......where would we be without it!? Broke and homeless probably! | |
| Whacky -- 04/17/2004, 22:45:48 -- #3579 | |
| my gig tonight was so bizzare, I just laughed through most of it...talk about hoes? my picture is next to the word "mu-ho" in the dictionary... | |
| sid -- 04/18/2004, 08:12:20 -- #3584 | |
| Let's hear more about this bizarre gig. Here's my recent experience. Last night's performance of the quintet was the first time all of us had ever played together at the same time in the same place, so it was surprising it was pretty successful. The venue is predictable because the audience changes fundamentally between the first set and the second. The early shift comprises the drunks, who are usually obnoxious and difficult. They are then replaced by the late-night stoners, who are mostly sweet and dreamy. It really makes you think whether social attitudes to alcohol and narcotics aren't completely bass-ackwards. It was always said that Bird on heroin was reliable, together and playing at his best, whereas bird on liquor was a self-destructive mess. But I digress...of course there was the usual dipstick who lurched up from the crowd and demanded I play "Let it be". I tried to reason with her - haven't you been listening, we're not that kind of band, we play jazz, Beatles tunes are jazz-proof, we don't play requests, it's a band policy, go home and listen to the CD. So then she asks if she can play my piano. Not a chance, I tell her. Listen, would you let me use your toothbrush? Oh yes, she said and weaved her way into the throng. Last I saw of her she was dancing in the rain on her own in the carpark at 2 am. There's one in every gig. sid | |
| Whacky -- 04/18/2004, 15:51:25 -- #3596 | |
| ha! mine had more to do with the usual private party BS...the gig was from 6-10. The past two years we did the thing, we would enjoy a sit-down dinner with the party as the were doing speaches and such... Apparently the woman who booked us no longer works there so there was some question as to whether we should eat and if so, where? After we found or table and a had a seat, the couple already seated at that table must have taken exception to dining with the lowly musicians:) She began to ask where our assigned seats were...the band leader explained that we were where they told us to be...yada, yada...I just said, "that's okay, I brought a Power Bar" and left the table...we returned after another break and had a nice meal after all Now of course, after they're all liquored up, they began dancing like complete idots...it never ceases to amaze me how people want to treat us like we're scum, then expect us to entertain them later:) I did check out some real estate today...I might give that a serious shot...if I'm going to hoe myself, I might as well make better dough:) | |
| 7 -- 04/18/2004, 17:33:53 -- #3600 | |
| ` Last Thursday night I was packing the gear after the show and I must've I turned my back for a moment or went to the loo. Suddenly over half the gear was GONE! Both basses ($1500), my guitar ($1500), my suitcase full of electronics ($1000) AND MY IRREPLACEABLE SAXOPHONE ($2000). I'm SCREAMING in the bar "WHERE ARE ALL THE GUITARS AND SHIT!?!?" The bartender says she doesn't know, Randa says she doesn't know and the waitress is nowhere to be seen. Five thousand dollars worth of our life's blood GONE! I'm scared shitless and my adrenaline has gone through the roof! Finally this waitress shows up and says that she put it outside in the parking lot. She didn't bother to tell anybody that she was taking out our gear, or say where she was taking it. Or mention that NOBODY was watching it! I run out to the parking lot immediately and it's (LUCKILY) all still sitting there in the parking lot BUT with nobody keeping an eye on it. Thank God that no opportunist had grabbed it and ran. All it would've taken was 2 seconds. Hit and Run. RULE NUMBER ONE on planet Earth since the dawn of life is "Never leave your valuables unattended." If you work somewhere, your co-workers are supposed to watch your back, not set you up for a theft! Believe me I raised holy hell! It takes a lot for me to blow up, but man I went ballistic! I informed the management that I'm not going back there until they fire that skank's ass. | |
| Whacky -- 04/18/2004, 21:23:58 -- #3604 | |
| ha - I left one of those folding keyboard stands in a parking lot after a gig once...I had stood in up against the side of my van while I was loading the big stuff...forgot about it and drove off. The funny thing is I remember the sound of it hitting the pavement as I drove off and I wondered what that sound was... When I got home, 30 minutes later, I realized what I had done...I drove back and much to my amazement the stand was lying peacefully in a parking space:) Then there was the time I left a three tier stand at home...got to the gig and....oops! I had keyboards spread across various tables until my wife, who still speaks to me, brought me the stand...of course that was another 30 minute drive...duuhhhOkay, I'm on a roll...I once was on a gig that was a 5-7 cocktail thing with a four piece band...the guitar player didn't show, so we played without him...the gig was almost over when he did show up....the band leader says, "what happened? where were you" he said, "I thought you said the gig was at 5 to 7" - I kid you not:) That's enough for now...good night (man I'm saving thousands in therapy by just typing away) | |
| Chick Corea: 150 pages of Transcriptions | |
| Scot -- 04/19/2004, 10:28:44 -- #3618 | |
| Yeah, people will walk off with stuff. That's how my piano mic dissapeared a few months ago. Here's a story about someone moving people's stuff. First, I go ballistic if anyone touches my stuff without my permission. It's expensive, it's delicate, and most people don't treat it with the same care I do. So my buddy has a custom bass he had made for him while we were working in Seoul, Korea, back in 1994 I think. Two years ago he was playing a gig at the local university and one of the university students moved his bass (it was in the case, soft case that is!) to another spot closer to the elevator or something. Well, this kid moved the bass and just kind of balanced it against the wall. A moment later there was a heart-sickening crash as the bass toppled over. And of course, it toppled forward. The bridge was smashed in through the face of the bass, both tuning pegs (or whatever those things inside the bass are called) were broken, the neck came off the rest of the body, and from what I understand that guy is lucky to still be breathing. The happy ending is that the univserity gave my buddy the money to fix it and a year and a half later when he finally got it fixed by a craftsman up in vancouver BC, the damn thing sounds better than it did before and unless you are right up close to it, you can't even see the scars. Those string repair guys are pure magic, if you ask me. | |
| Rick -- 04/20/2004, 10:30:48 -- #3651 | |
| Did anyone get to check out the Giant Steps 9ths thing? | |
| 7 -- 04/21/2004, 09:57:32 -- #3697 | |
| Dunno what you're on about | |
| ` | |
| Rick -- 04/22/2004, 10:10:34 -- #3782 | |
| Mike wanted to know what 9ths Flannagen was comping under Coltranes solo | |
| smg -- 04/22/2004, 12:29:58 -- #3792 | |
| you'd be surprised how much these guys(50's bop players)used basic chords,which sounded like they had added tensions because of the context | |
| Rick -- 04/22/2004, 13:20:20 -- #3796 | |
| yeah, most of my answers were natural I think. Where is Mike anyway? not heard from him in a while | |
| Chick Corea: 150 pages of Transcriptions | |
| Mike -- 04/22/2004, 16:38:32 -- #3816 | |
| im here Rick, ive been posting in the lobby lounge on a regular basis. interesting point smg has on the voicings... I dont know.... I would like to know what voicings he is useing .. I have a hard time transcribing voicing... linear lines in general are no prob but voicings are tough. I use all 6/9 voicing when I play that tune just cause I like the number 69 and cuase I like the tune. But whenever I hear Flanagan I think Ive been comping it all wrong and the tune has nothing to do with 69 at all... oh well. | |
| smg -- 04/23/2004, 07:02:52 -- #3835 | |
| Bud Powell is the "tree" that so many of these cats are branches off of...... | |
| smg -- 04/23/2004, 07:06:56 -- #3836 | |
| what I mean here is that,for us in 2004 that think in terms of post-Herbie voicing concepts,going back and checking out BP and then following the evolution/development of voicings up to when Miles' group started the modal sh-t is probably the easiest way to get a handle on this-I'm about to go back to the old site and check a thread about this,will copy and paste anything relevant in a sec....... | |
| smg -- 04/23/2004, 07:16:36 -- #3837 | |
| just found this from '02 | |
| Well, Bill evans used voicings based largely around 4ths, usually without the root. for example, a Bill Evans voicing for a G7 might be: F B E, giving the 7th, the 3rd, and the 13th of the G7 chord. for C7 the same voicing would be: Bflat E A. these voicings sound great, but without a bass player they become a little bit vague, as the same voicing could imply several different chords, (not always a bad thing.) bud powell on the other hand used simpler left hand voicings, usually playing the root and either a 7th or a 10th. for example, a G7 voicing might be: G F, or G B(octave up.) these voicings contain the root, which anchors the chord more, but they don't have as rich or as complex a sound as the Evan's voicings. there's also a thread over there that links to a transcription and info re-the book of transcriptions on the market(which picking up benefits the site re-$-related tie-in SR has)..what i was looking for was,at one point last year I posted some voicings I had for BP from the M Levine /D Liebman books......might be able to find it later on... | |
| 7 -- 04/23/2004, 12:27:07 -- #3844 | |
| ` Bud Powell was extremely fond of voicing his LH chords as Root - 7th - 9th So much so that these chords are regularly referred to as Powell shells. In many ways this was revolutionary at the time as the Stride guys were so big on those LH walking 10ths. Bud Powell punched his LH chords as a rhythm guitarist would, in direct contrast to the way Tatum and Waller used their left hands. 7 | |
| smg -- 04/23/2004, 13:19:41 -- #3847 | |
| Hey Jeff,what about in his RH when he comped? | |
| The Latin Real Book | |
| Barry -- 04/26/2004, 09:32:52 -- #3890 | |
| re: 7's link in the lobby lounge | |
| I wrote this and was about to post it before I thought better of it - didn't want to upset anyone. Still I wrote the bloody thing and someone's going to have to read it so it may as well be you lot! --------------------------- Well there you go - always suspected I wasn't on the Man Upstairs' good side and now I know why! And here is the crux of my problems with organised religion. According to the information on that link it doesn't say in the holy book that music is prohibited, it says 'idle talk' is. How did we know this means music? Somebody 'INTERPRETED' it. Marvellous. Now the interpretation referred to says that 'idle talk' means singing (but it doesn't say how that conclusion was reached). Therefore, playing instruments is also prohibited. Why? Just because alchohol is prohibited, should it follow that pouring all liquid into your body (like water) is also not allowed? Obviously not. Why? Because of the way it's been 'INTERPRETED'. Hmmmm. Please don't misunderstand me, I don't mean to be disrespectful to anyone who has religious beliefs of any kind. I simply think the continuing interpretation and re-interpretation of holy books causes problems when the interpretations are treated as if they are themselves the exact words from the sacred texts. And that goes for all the major religions I've come across. Peace Barry. | |
| 7 -- 04/26/2004, 10:55:04 -- #3892 | |
| ` I have an interest in the Arabic language (as you know from my profile), and generally an interest in a particular language broadens into an interest into the related culture and social moors of those who speak it. I remembered hearing that music was illegal under the Taliban before the fall of that government. I could never understand why. While searching for piano sites the other day, I stumbled on that page quite by accident. According to this source, Mohammed DID actually say that music was illegal: "From among my followers there will be some people who will consider illegal sexual intercourse, the wearing of silk, the drinking of alcoholic drinks and the use of musical instruments, as lawful." Above Mohammed lists the following crimes: - illegal sexual intercourse - wearing silk - drinking alcohol - the use of musical instruments I've always considered wearing clothes made of silk to be a capital offense. Haven't you? In spite of the fact that it's a bit scary to think that my very lifestyle makes me a criminal under Arabic law (not to mention that muslim hell is lots worse than christian hell - they don't even have toilet paper for heaven's sake!), I posted that in the Lobby Lounge to prove that extremists are good for a laugh every once in a while too. 7 | |
| 7 -- 04/26/2004, 12:53:07 -- #3904 | |
| RE: Bud's RH comping for SMG | |
| smg asked: -- 04/23/2004, 13:19:41 -- #3847 "Hey Jeff, what about in [Bud Powell's] RH when he comped?" Rhythmically the RH and LH are in sync. The RH is punching, stabbing and jabbing along the same way as Bud's left hand does all the time. Many of the hits fall on the 1 beat. Other hits inside the bar include the ever popular syncopated push on the "and of the 2". The only way to hear how to do it is to listen to some of Bud's recordings. It won't take long. It's a very simple comping style. The end result is a clean sparse rhythmic pulse that propels the music forward but never overshadows the soloist. IOW nothing special, but exactly what the music needs (as all good comping should be). The voicings in the RH are the (nowadays) common conventional inversions of the current chord in the correct register for the arrangement (not too high, not too low). * * * * * * * Maybe Mohammed was just talking about making it illegal to play that horrible "harmonic minor" snake charming music. I'm OK with that! LOL 7 | |
| smg -- 04/26/2004, 14:03:48 -- #3908 | |
| common conventional inversions of the current chord=??(not necessary to get into this to the point where we "do a Red Garland"again,but I'd appreciate seeing the old LJP staple of LH 1 7 9 RH (?) | |
| smg -- 04/26/2004, 14:05:33 -- #3910 | |
| BTW Jeff,I have some Middle-eastern scales and a bunch of rhythms I downloaded last year-want the links? | |
| 7 -- 04/26/2004, 15:00:22 -- #3912 | |
| Gary, Having spent a considerable amount of time in Northern Africa and the Middle East (Morocco, Egypt, The Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Pakistan), I got pretty much inundated first-hand with Arabic music. The only kind I really like is from Morocco. RE: RH BP comp voicings I'm talking about palin old 7th and 9th chords, etc. There's nothing per se special about the voicings Bud ueses. There just simply the logical ones from the chart for the situtation. I don't know how I can be any clearer. 7 | |
| The Latin Real Book | |
| smg -- 04/26/2004, 15:30:13 -- #3913 | |
| what do think you he did re-doubling the notes he used in the LH? | |
| 7 -- 04/26/2004, 22:36:36 -- #3917 | |
| ` I am projecting of course, but I don't think he really though about it very much. I feel that he just played the inversions and didn't worry about whether or not there was any doubling going on. I think he was more concerned with making sure that the right hand chords were in the correct region of the keyboard. You will have noticed yourself that certain inversions seem either to high or too low to properly fit into the arrangement. The optimum region for RH comping chords is most often the region defined by middle C on the bottom and the G an octave and a half above middle C. 7 | |
| smg -- 04/27/2004, 06:54:38 -- #3922 | |
| nuff said...thanks for getting into this w/me man | |
| sid -- 06/16/2004, 08:05:05 -- #4953 | |
| Wish me luck | |
| I'm just about to leave for two days in a studio making an album. I'll be playing with some fearsome musicians and have had a few sleepless nights worrying about being able to cut the mustard. This is by a long way the best band I've ever been in, so it should be a formative experience. I just hope I don't sneeze during a particularly good take (I did it once, man was I popular!). Anyway, just wanted to air my apprehensions in The Guild Room before packing my toothbrush and lucky rabbit's foot. sid | |
| 7 -- 06/16/2004, 08:47:45 -- #4954 | |
| You'll be great! Doona worrry bootit. Put the CD up for sale on this site when it's ready. | |
| smg -- 06/16/2004, 11:35:15 -- #4957 | |
| Burn.... | |
| The Latin Real Book | |
| Ryan -- 06/16/2004, 19:21:39 -- #4959 | |
| Looking forward to hearing it! | |
| Barry -- 06/17/2004, 08:13:38 -- #4966 | |
| Good Luck Sid....hope it all goes well. Let us know how you get on. | |
| Rick -- 06/18/2004, 09:57:44 -- #4982 | |
| nice one Sid, hope we can hear it some day! Who's in the band? | |
| sid -- 06/19/2004, 09:45:42 -- #4988 | |
| Many thanks for the supportive words. It was a really intensive time, and the album's far from finished so I expect to have to return in a couple of weeks to add two or three more tracks. The studio was set up so everyone was in a different room, connected only by cans and talkback. The advantage is that there's no spillover between tracks, but there's no eye contact or body language communication either. It was pretty lonely in that piano room at times I can tell you, but I think I've emerged relatively unscathed. All in all I think I prefer to be recorded under ambient conditions with people around, but it's all good experience I suppose. Rick - band includes Lee Goodall, Paula Gardiner and Andy Hay. Pretty much the A-team in this part of the world. When the album's ready, and if it's fit for human consumption, I'll post info about it. Now I'm so exhausted, I'm looking forward to getting back to the day job for a rest. sid | |
| Rick -- 06/19/2004, 16:16:37 -- #4991 | |
| Thats great :-) Where are you planning to post them? I was trying to post some of mine recently but couldnt find a free mp3 hoster that actually worked for me (i think my tracks may have been too long). So im still wanting to share some of my rubbish with you guys! Does anyone have an instant messenger? MSN is a good way to file share... Rick | |
| Rick -- 06/20/2004, 12:25:35 -- #5001 | |
| my website is a rubbishy free one, i dought it would take mp3s...but i will try! thanks | |
| The Latin Real Book | |
| 7 -- 06/20/2004, 15:02:15 -- #5003 | |
| Even the free ones usually let you have 50MB, so there should be room to upload a few MP3s. | |
| Rick -- 06/23/2004, 08:34:58 -- #5058 | |
| Is the hidden room game still going? I got stuck in a loop where the latest question took me back to an old room | |
| 7 -- 06/23/2004, 08:57:51 -- #5059 | |
| I got sidetracked by some big projects and haven't had time to keep up with it. Which room did you get to? | |
| smg -- 07/01/2004, 12:32:11 -- #5298 | |
| re-LL thread | |
| Hey,lets' not let this BS steamroll re-those of us involved over here....I'm purposely avoiding reading any of the (now 10) posts until everything "dies down" re-bad vibes created/involved. | |
| Whacky -- 07/02/2004, 10:58:48 -- #5326 | |
| Lessons | |
| Hey fellas, As this real estate fantasy has shifted to a hobby, I'm back to trying to figure out how to make a living teaching. I'm curious, how many of you earn a significant income teaching? I had 56 students during the school year (half hours - the hour ones count as two)I have dropped to about 45 for the summer...not too bad when I factor some of the high dollar private gigs I play... My main question is how others handle their fee schedule. I've always tried to remain flexible regarding cancellations because I sometimes cancel too, but I end up working full-time hours for part-time pay...hmmm...I'm leaning strongly toward a monthly, no questions asked fee...if you have to miss...too bad...I know other teachers do ithis way, I'm just curious if anyone here does this and how well it works out... It seems to me the people that would have a problem with it would quit, and I don't really think that would be a bad thing :) If you're serious about learning, you're going to show up for lessons, and have enough respect for your teacher to make sure he or she is adequately compensated. If I put this policy into effect, I theoretically could lose 20 students and still be making as much, if not more money as I am right now... Any thoughts from the vets? pitfalls? like how do you handle holidays? since some months would have 5 lessons, it seems it would all work out... | |
| smg -- 07/02/2004, 11:35:59 -- #5329 | |
| hey man welcome back,good to see you around these parts again.......as far as myself,it's like this-they pay me each time they come;if they're supposed to come and don't,unless it's for the usual legitimete reason,there's no cancellation fee policy in place: with me it's no more lessons instead. So along these lines,you set up this monthly policy which suits your own schedule/priorities and having the bread up front will allow you to be pro-active re-advertisment $ vs. loss of students;you could be flexible too if some of the people who'd been w/you for a while couldn't make the monthly thing........ | |
| The Latin Real Book | |
| 7 -- 07/02/2004, 13:43:24 -- #5333 | |
| Whacky, I factor in a 20% cancellation rate. At my current prices ($17.50 for a 1/2 hour lesson - $30 for full hour), that works out to approximately $10 profit per student per week (after paying studio rental - I teach out of a music store). So at 50 students a week I would average $500 a week over the course of the year. Come September though I'm going to my the rates to $20 for a half hour and $35 for a full hour. Here's my policy sheet, maybe this will be of some use to you: * * * * * * * Jeff Brent Professional Musician and Teacher Phone: (909) 533-0680 Piano - Guitars - Bass Saxes - Flute - Clarinet Harmonica - Mandolin – Fiddle Theory – Composition – Ear TrainingTo All Students and Parents of Students: I have been teaching for many years and it is a great joy to witness my students progress towards mastery of their chosen instrument. Not every professional musician is capable of teaching. It requires the ability to take complex subjects and break them down into bite size pieces. Coupled with my love of teaching is the realization that it is my calling. It is a great honor to share my musical knowledge and professional experience with students. Please read the following concerning my policies. Thank you. Payment I accept either cash or check. You may pay for as many lessons in advance as you like, or you may pay time by time. Whatever suits you best. Please pay before the lesson begins. Termination of Lessons My current schedule is always posted outside my studio. As you can easily see, I have a great number of students. So many, in fact, that there is waiting list for those wanting to take lessons with me. If you intend to discontinue taking lessons, I’d appreciate it if you would be so kind as to have the courtesy to let me know that you will not be continuing your lessons with me so that I will be able to immediately schedule another student into the vacant time slot. Cancellations and Absences Please ONLY call me or leave messages on my cell phone (909) 533-0680. (Messages left with the music store often do not reach me.) I may also be reached by email: 7@JeffreeBrent.com If you notify me at any time before the lesson is scheduled to begin, that qualifies as an “Excused Absence”. You will not be charged for an Excused Absence, and if you have a credit – your credit will be bumped forward to the next week. If you do not inform me of an absence or inform me of an absence after the lesson was scheduled to begin, that qualifies as a “No-Show”. You will be obliged to pay me for the No-Show at the beginning of your next scheduled lesson. If you have credit, the missed lesson will be deducted from your existing credit. Unless I have agreed to a previous arrangement, you will lose your time slot if any of the following occur: - 2 consecutive No-Shows- 1 unpaid absence followed by a No-Show - 3 consecutive unpaid absences - 4 unpaid absences over a two-month period - 5 unpaid absences over a three-month period - Bounced check - Non-payment Make-Up Lessons Due to my extremely crowded schedule, I am unable to offer make-up lessons. Refunds I do not give refunds. * * * * * * * | |
| Whacky -- 07/02/2004, 14:26:08 -- #5336 | |
| Thanks guys...I've kind of been doing things the way you do, with the execption of actually booting someone for too many absences...the problem is when, say 5 or 6 students have a legitimate excused absence on a given day...at $20 a lesson, that's a $100 slap in my face...I've always figured that's the nature of the beast and I'll make it up on a gig... but....what if I could have it both ways? that is, the lesson money and the gig money...I hate to sound greedy, but to be paid for the actual hours I'm grounded doesn't sound unreasonable...I think charging them for it places the choice in their own lap as to whether or not they should continue lessons and I get paid regardless As my wife wants a new minivan, giving myself a raise is starting to sound pretty good:) I think I'm going to try this...I'll let you know how it goes (I may have to do real esate:) As always, I really appreciate you guys. Thanks | |
| 7 -- 07/02/2004, 14:52:23 -- #5339 | |
| Many of the other teachers that work in the adjacent studios disagree with my policies regarding absences. They insist on getting their $70 on the first lesson of each month and if the student misses - tough luck. They put it on the level of a course at a university or night school: You pay your money up front at those types of courses and there's no refund if you can't show. My problem with that approach is two-fold: 1. I only want to charge for services rendered. As the teaching business is largely based on young people, it's a simple fact that kids get sick from time to time, and all kinds of other unexpected events happen. Why should the parents be penalized for this? 2. If I get a flat tire on the freeway and I call my music teacher on the cell phone five minutes before the lesson and say I can't make it and the teacher says "Too bad, you owe me anyway", that'll be the last lesson I'll ever take with him/her. I'm wilting in 104 degree heat with cars whizzing by at 90 miles an hour waiting for a tow truck that should've been here 20 minutes ago, looking at $75 for the tow another $75 for the new tire and my entire day completely ruined and some greedy ass is going to tell me that I have to pay for services that I will never recieve? Not likely. There are plenty of music teachers out there and it doesn't pay in the *long run* to piss people off. Keep 'em happy and they'll keep coming. Flexibility is extrememly important in social relations. Nobody HAS to take music lessons, and nobody HAS to take those lessons from ME. That's where I'm at. But I still have more students than those other teachers and by having lots of students is how I manage to absorb the losses. Maybe the reason I have so many students is because I treat people like humans. 7 | |
| Whacky -- 07/02/2004, 15:51:55 -- #5343 | |
| I used to feel exactly as you do. But after having 56 students and only being paid as if I have 30, I'm changing my way of thinking. As you know, I've considered quitting teaching, and that's kinda sad. It takes way too much of my time not to be paid, so I'm opting to shift the responsibility to the student...if I'm worth it, I'll stay in business, if I'm not, I'll change carreers... Now from a student's perspective, I for one would gladly insist that my teacher be paid, even if I had a flat tire...after all, it's not his fault ...and sometimes "shit happens"... I'm also on the faculty of a local University who pays me by semester, regarless of the students' truancy...thankfully they handle all the administrative stuff and I can just shift the blame to them:) I had one student who is a surgeon and had to schedule surgeries on his lesson day. he couldn't make a lesson at any of the other times I could, so I got paid for an entire semester having only given one lesson...I really felt bad about it, but it was just one of those things...and most importantly, it wasn't my fault... thanks for the banter...definitely food for thought... | |
| Mike -- 07/02/2004, 17:44:29 -- #5344 | |
| heya Whacky. I just enforce a 24 hour cancelation policy. I have a policy hand out when people start that says they will have to pay if they give me less than 24 hours notice. Most people just pay me without question when they have cancelled without proper notice, but when they do not I just remind them. Yet I have the flexability to not remind them if I think they are thinking they had a good exuse and it will be an issue. If thats the case, I let it slide for that one time. I have often thought of making the switch to a semester system like you are thinking of. Typically where I live I lose students in the summer making summer teaching a marginal enterprise. So I considered offering a discounted Summer Semester Option. The key being option. That might be something you consider at first.... Not requiring that everyone do the Semester thing but offer it as payment option. A long time ago when I was not enforcing a cancellation policy I forget the percentage exactly but I did stop once and figure out that I had either a 15 or 25 percent cancellation rate. If you figure in numbers like that or anywhere close you can afford to offer a significant discount for a Semester rate. | |
| Whacky -- 07/03/2004, 07:52:48 -- #5354 | |
| Hey 7, I understand and respect your noble approach to this. I have done it that way for years. But if you have 50 students at your current rate of $17.50 per hour you should theoretically be earning $875 per week. But you say you're averaging $500 per week that's $26000 a year. Now if you charged each student $70 per month (17.50 * 4) that comes to $42,000 a year, and they still get a "free" lesson once in a while....you may want to factor in a couple vacations and knock it down to $40,000...still a hell of a lot better than $26000...You could switch to that plan without raising your price and still be way better off... My problem is, last year I raised my price for all new students to $20.00 per half hour, but I let my current students remain at $15.00...I'm now leaning toward just raising the price for the $15 people and seeing what happens...or mabe just switch to the monthly thing and not adtually raise em...hmmmm | |
| The Latin Real Book | |
| Whacky -- 07/03/2004, 08:07:27 -- #5355 | |
| and be sure to treat yourself like a human being...where I live, people live in $300,000 - $1,000,000+ homes driving very expensive cars, their kids are enrolled in piano lessons, drum lessons, guitar lessons, all sports, dance classes, voice lessons, etc...all at the same time...some of them have beautiful Yamaha and Steinway grand pianos and I'm teaching on a Kimball spinet my mom gave me... I'm guessing that surgeon I mentioned was probably making $10,000-$15,000 a boob job, so I'm sure he didn't mind forfeiting $500 worth of piano lessons...:) | |
| Mike -- 07/03/2004, 09:25:17 -- #5357 | |
| Im not sure if this is relevant or not: "If a pretty woman is like a melody, a great ass is a symphony." Rodney Dangerfield | |
| Whacky -- 07/03/2004, 10:55:05 -- #5359 | |
| not relevant, but certainly titillating, or perhaps assillating...I'm a sucker for a great pooper | |
| Mike -- 07/03/2004, 19:59:17 -- #5368 | |
| lol, great story. | |
| Whacky -- 07/03/2004, 23:50:24 -- #5369 | |
| ya know, I would glady teach for free, I just need to be paid for my time. Otherwise, I'd have to get a full time job, which wouldn't leave me much time to teach:) and I aint kissin anbody's feet, unless it's a very pretty girl, with very pretty toes:) | |
| Mike -- 07/04/2004, 05:35:31 -- #5373 | |
| maybe just massage the feet. | |
| The Latin Real Book | |
| Scot -- 07/09/2004, 14:58:14 -- #5524 | |
| Looking for some tunes | |
| Hi guys, I have a solo gig tomorrow and there were a ton of requested tunes... I had most of them, but some of hte more "important" ones I don't have! Anyone have copies of: I will Always Love You Somewhere Out THere My Heart Will Go On You Were Always On My Mind Endless Love If you have 'em scanned or something, I'd be in your debt if you'd upload them to this room. I know it's not legally sound, but I'm in a bind and tend to bend the rules in these situations :) | |
| Whacky -- 07/09/2004, 22:59:31 -- #5532 | |
| My Heart | |
| here's a short lead sheet I did for my students...unfortunately I didn't include the intro from the movie...my keyboards are in the van and it would take me way too long to enter stuff without one... I know all the other tunes too, but I don't have them written anywhere...good luck! | |
| Scot -- 07/11/2004, 11:46:52 -- #5591 | |
| I played the gig, the bride never even showed up, so I just played whatever I wanted :) The quickest $125 I've ever made. My Heart is actually a nice tune. I might look into it a bit further. The "I Will Always Love You" tune has not redeeming (sp) qualities what so ever, though, in fact, I might go so far as to say it's crap. No wonder it made the top 40 for so long :) | |
| Barry -- 07/11/2004, 14:53:34 -- #5605 | |
| I don't know about that, the Whitney Houston version is appalling but when Dolly sings it, she does give it a certain pathos..... Surprisingly talented lady, if you can get past the chest.... | |
| Scot -- 07/11/2004, 21:59:02 -- #5620 | |
| Who would want to get past the chest? Who? I just stop right there and bask in the eighth wonders of the world :) | |
| Rick -- 07/16/2004, 12:27:52 -- #5812 | |
| Ouch | |
| Just got back off holiday, and on the last night of a fantastic week fell down an 8ft drop and really buggered up my right wrist, looks like ill have to drop these weeks gigs, even though i despirately need the money. Has this ever happened to you guys? Nightmare situation... | |
| The Latin Real Book | |
| 7 -- 07/16/2004, 13:14:50 -- #5814 | |
| I've broken my RH pinky twice, and had to gig with it that way for weeks afterwards on both occasions. The first time was in a fist fight, I guess you could say that I won - but at what a cost! The second time was moving gear after a gig. The heavy bass amp shifted and caught my finger on the way down. That one cracked my nail in two longwise. Talk about pain! I learned a whole new way of playing that used only the first four fingers. After a week of playing that way the last time I broke my pinky, I began fantasizing that I would have to play that way for the rest of my life - and consequently would become famous as the "Django of Jazz Piano: The Four-Fingered Wonder". Unfortunately, I never became famous. But fortunately my pinky healed. In any case, "The Show Must Go On". If you are irreplaceable, then you HAVE to do the jobs. Otherwise you'll have to hire out for a sub. I've been thinking about starting a thread about the strength and stamina requirements needed to be a professional musician. Maybe this is a good place to do that. Most newbs and wannabes never consider the issues of: Not enough money to hire roadies - so you have to hump all the gear yourself You have to be (or pretend to be) in a good mood night after night after night - no matter how bad your hangover is or how obnoxious the drunks and management are Whether or not you're sick you HAVE to play - cancelling a gig at short notice will guarantee that you never get that gig again These strength and stamina issues might be peripheral to the actual making of music, but sickly little hypochondriacs don't last long in this business. Bottom line, Rick, as a professional you have to do everything in your power to make those gigs. And if you can't, you'd better make sure that you have a note from your doctor forbidding you to play as there can be legal issues involved if you have signed a contract. | |
| Scot -- 07/16/2004, 15:28:00 -- #5817 | |
| I missed two nights after a major ski accident in Aspen... after two nights, I crawled out of the ICU, got a taxi, and eventually made it to the Ritz where I HAD to play for Christmas eve. The accident was on the 22nd of december, 1996. It's the only time I've ever missed a gig. Talk about playing in pain. Three cracked ribs on each side (bottom ones), cartilige buggered, my right hamstring was hamburger where it connects to the glut, my right glut was hamburger too, my tailbone was cracked, I was pissing blood, and my sacrum iliac (the giant ligaments that hold your legs onto your body) were torn... well, those ligaments don't actually tear- the bone they were connected to (pelvis, hips, whatever) actually pulled away... I was on crutches for nearly three months, lost most of my ski season, and hadn't experienced pain like that since my back surgery, and the back surgery pain was gone after a few weeks. But the good thing about it is that since I couldn't ski, I spent six hours a day practicing solo piano while popping narcotics for the pain :) If it wasn't for that accident, I wouldn't be any good at all at solo piano, and I wouldn't have added hundreds of pop tunes to my songlist. The other good thing about it was that I got really nice air on the cliff jump I took. I skied down a ridge line until it turned into a point, and I jumped right off the point, had at least 35 feet of vertical, and pulled off a really nice back scratcher. I landed in a sit-down landing on my right side to eat some of the speed because I didn't want to hit the trees just below my landing. That was the mistake- flag stones in the rocky mountains drop all winter long, unlike the cascade mountians which just don't change throughout the winter (plus we have REAL snow here in the cascades and the rocky mountains have this cold white fluffy stuff that never even covers the rocks). | |
| Whacky -- 07/16/2004, 23:33:09 -- #5822 | |
| I remember practicing when I was a kid with both hands completely bandaged, including a broken 4th finger...my mother screamed when she saw me practicing, but I assured her I was all right :) I missed three gigs in the 30 years I've been doing this...one I had severe pneumonia and literally could not get out of bed. another I had vomiting and the runs so bad I couldn't last 10 minutes with out hitting the john and the last one, I had heart attack symptoms so the doc sent me to ER. I asked him if I could go after the gig He asked if it was worth risking a life threatening heart attack for one stupid gig...hmmm....he really touched a nerve (it turned out to be stress overload...I quit everything for a week and slept...life went on and it was good) is it really worth it to abuse ourselves? does the show really have to go on? Once, a drummer, the leader on the gig, didn't show....I was furious!...until I went to his house and discovered him dead...talk about feeling like a dope... blah blah blah :) | |
| Whacky -- 07/16/2004, 23:38:21 -- #5823 | |
| lesson fees | |
| Okay, for those who may be interested, I think I have finalized my new piano lesson pay deal...her goes I worked it out so each student gets 46 lessons each year. At $20 a lesson that comes to $920 a year...if I divide that by 12, that comes to roughly $77 per month...period...If I carry 50 students I'll make 46k...If I drop to 35 students, I'll still make the same money I'm making now I'm giving out the new policy on Monday. It will go into effect on Sept. 1. I'll let you know if I'm still in business:) | |
| Rick -- 07/17/2004, 07:59:29 -- #5828 | |
| Well thats definate then, im doing the gigs. The hand isnt too bad, i can play but i think we'll have to leave all the burners for a while (fine by me, I prefer slower tunes!) Thanks for the replies! | |
| Rick -- 07/17/2004, 07:59:43 -- #5829 | |
| good luck with the new policy whacky! | |
| The Latin Real Book | |
| sid -- 07/18/2004, 13:30:33 -- #5851 | |
| Ouch | |
| Sounds painful, Rick. I once did a gig one-handed after surgery on the left hand. Not sure I could have done anything if it had been my right, though... A kind of related problem comes from playing other people's pianos, particularly the acoustic kind found at venues. I used to pick up horrible infections around my cuticles, sometimes bad enough to stop me playing for a few days (it's as disgusting as it sounds). Now I carry around a pack of industrial-strength antiseptic wipes and I clean every key before I play a note. Or I stick to my own keyboard. Anyone else experience something like this, or am I some kind of bacterium-magnet? sid | |
| Whacky -- 07/18/2004, 16:05:44 -- #5853 | |
| I've not gotten cuticle infections, but I've gotten a nasty-ass flu from students banging on my piano...aside from feeling bad enough to ask my wife to shoot me (fortunately we don't have guns) that'll cost me a week's pay...I wipe em down wih clorox bleach pads or sometimes spray with Lysol if someone is sniffling or coughing... I just read recently that there are more germs on and ATM keypad than the nastiest gas station restroom...same with pay telephones...yuck... | |
| Whacky -- 07/18/2004, 16:11:13 -- #5854 | |
| Lesson fees again | |
| Are y'all gtting sick of me bringing this up? I'm a wreck...I'm handing out the new policy starting tomorrow! I couldn't sleep last night. I kept coming up with "what if" flaws in my monthly tuition plan...so...I'm now saying. "pay by the month, at the beginning of the month...if you miss I'll try to get you a make-up that week, but if we cannot find one, I will not be able to credit you for the missed lesson... I can't believe it's come to this...but after 50+ students and a waiting lisl of others, I can no longer afford to be flexible...they're really paying for the time slot more so than the lessons... I just got back from Walmart...I almost picked up a job app...we'll see... | |
| Scot -- 07/18/2004, 17:14:45 -- #5855 | |
| Hey, if you have a waiting list of students, make your own rules (as you have). The ones that can't handle it will drop out, but the ones that can will buckle down and make it happen, you know? I don't teach very much so I have a totally different schedule- $60 for two hours once every two weeks. In your case, it's almost like school. So maybe have them fill out an application, have them pay tuition, give them a schedule (computerized to make it official looking) in email and snail mail, grade them, make it as official as any other school. Keep records of each student in your computer, print out lesson plans, progress reports, home work, etc... I knew a teacher that did that and it worked out. When you make things official, have contracts, and that sort of thing, people tend to be a lot more serious about it. Looks like that's the direction you are going, too. Keep us informed of how it's going! | |
| 7 -- 07/18/2004, 17:52:59 -- #5857 | |
| Unless you're a "name" teacher, your fees get set by what the market prices are in your part of the world. In Pasadena everybody charges $25 the half hour, but the overall rent is higher there too. There's an old ex-university professor down the street from where I teach who's been charging $15 for the 1/2hr since the dawn of time. Will I compete with him on price? NO, but I WILL compete with him on value for service rendered. When beginners' parents are price shopping they want to hear reasons why they should go with you rather than Joe Cheapo down the road. IOW, they need to be sold on YOU. I try to lock them into a time slot on the very first contact. There's often not a second chance. And they won't ask you up front for that info either so you need to remember to include a quick rundown of your credentials within the first 30 seconds of the initial contact. Figure out what makes YOU special. Better than all the rest. The RIGHT CHOICE for the student. Then you gets your dough. No sweat. | |
| 7 -- 07/18/2004, 17:55:58 -- #5858 | |
| My Sax teacher (Matt Zebley - Berklee graduate, grammy award winner and member of the Brian Setzer Orchestra) charges $20 the 1/2 hr. | |
| The Latin Real Book | |
| Mike -- 07/18/2004, 19:01:46 -- #5860 | |
| I feel for you Whacky. I have been going thru the same thing every time I change my policies for years after starting out where I live teaching for a music store that eventually went out of business. But it has been a very gradual process of changing my policy to a "no I do not go to your house anymore policy" and getting my rates up from a measly $12/ half hour to $15 half hour rate as well as payment policies like you are doing. My experience is no matter what you do some people are going to be dissapointed. That is the nature of the beast. You can only hope long term things will be better. I have noticed lately my fault with my teaching business has not been with payment policieds and rates so much as marketing. I always relied on word of mouth for new students and turnaround and that served me well for years. But that does not mean that it always will. Make sure that waiting list you have is strong and there will be little need to worry about these policy changes. Oops I'm outa time. Anyways good luck. | |
| Whacky -- 07/18/2004, 21:58:36 -- #5864 | |
| Thanks guys...I guess my main problem is that these people become like family members and I feel like a jerk...but, it's the ones that constantly cancel that bug me....maybe this will weed them out...there are a few folks that I'll let stay on the old pay as you go plan... well it's 11:57 pm here, 3 minutes from my self-imposed deadline...I can't thank you guys enough for your wisdom and support...barring another sleepless night, I think it's finished:) | |
| sid -- 07/30/2004, 07:19:58 -- #6150 | |
| Where do drummers go in the summertime? | |
| There's a nice gig next to the sea in a week's time? Do you think I can find a drummer??? What's with these guys? As one of them said when he first accepted then called to pull out - all the drummer jokes you heard are true. Anyway, I'll have to do the show with sequenced drum tracks, which means working round the clock for the next few days. Drag. On the positive side, just heard the rough mixes of a few of the tracks from the album I menioned in a previous post. To my amazement, I sound like a legitimate musician at times. So morale is high for now. OK, signing off and heading for the drum machine. sid | |
| sid -- 08/02/2004, 01:12:51 -- #6170 | |
| I take it all back | |
| ...a drummer has appeared at a late hour, saving me from days of toil at the sequencer. I was so happy when he called that I threatened to kiss him on all four cheeks. I hereby withdraw any negative opinions concerning drummers that I expressed in the previous post. sid | |
| Whacky -- 08/14/2004, 21:26:22 -- #6506 | |
| Lesson policy update | |
| For those of you who might be interested, I passed out letters regarding my lesson policy changes the 3rd week of July. The new policy goes into effect Sep 1. So far 6 people have quit. These were people who needed to shit or get off the pot. Since they got off the pot, I filled their spots with new folks who will undoubtedly be more serious, since they have to pay whether they come or not. What's even more fabulous is that some folks have already started my new policies even though they don't go into effect until Sep! Now let's see what happens as Sep rolls around the corner...hmmm...more then:) | |
| Mike -- 08/15/2004, 05:57:40 -- #6513 | |
| Check out Kenny Werners policies: $75 for a half hour phone call. $150 for an hour phone call. plus phone charges where applicable. http://www.kennywerner.com/ | |
| The Latin Real Book | |
| Whacky -- 08/15/2004, 09:12:01 -- #6515 | |
| ...why didn't I think of that? :) | |
| sid -- 08/16/2004, 02:28:31 -- #6535 | |
| Ow...I feel good...[add James Brown-style brass riff here...] | |
| Well, I'm just resurfacing after a gig-mungous weekend, including two performances at the Brecon Jazz Festival. Kind of scary being a (minor, footnote-type) part of an event that featured Monty Alexander, Kenny Barron, Randy Weston, Nikki Iles and Jonathan Gee, not one of whom I was able to get to hear because of combat duty. As for my modest contribution, the band played to the biggest audiences I've ever experienced, thanks to the charisma of our singer and the reputation of some of the legitimate musicians in the lineup (people even being turned away at the door, amazing - usually at my gigs the doormen are outside, throwing people in). I had some morale-boosting comments afterwards about my playing and also about a couple of my original songs that the singer premiered. So today I feel good, and I thought you might forgive me for sharing this feel-good feeling with my brothers at the LJP Guild. sid | |
| Mike -- 08/16/2004, 05:41:37 -- #6537 | |
| feeling good is a good thing... congradulations | |
| 7 -- 08/16/2004, 09:45:30 -- #6543 | |
| kudos | |
| Whacky -- 08/16/2004, 20:28:17 -- #6548 | |
| that's the way it's supposed to be! Ya gotta believe you deserve it! | |
| Rick -- 08/17/2004, 04:25:37 -- #6553 | |
| Nice one sid, I was planning to go and catch all that but was working at a summer school...damn them. | |
| Chick Corea: Keyboard Workshop and Electric Workshop Video (very inspiring!!) | |
| Whacky -- 08/17/2004, 10:04:09 -- #6568 | |
| Food for thought | |
| Okay, I've always been fascinated by talented drywallers...how can they take a crappy looking hole in the wall and make it look new again? Well I learned how to do it a few years ago and to date had only done minor repairs. (like holes created by frustrated male offspring) Two days ago my wife decided to pay one of your sons (17 year old) to paint our living room/dining room combo. There was some loose paint on the ceiling so he started scraping. Soon he discovered what was peeling was some tape from the previous owner's amateur repair job... The only way out was to rip it all out and start over, and it was about 8 feet long That's where I come in. I was thrilled because I'm teaching 50 students a week and now I have crap all over my house and have to devote any spare moments I might have to drywall repair. To top it all off, I too am an amateur. What's the point of this ranting essay? I just finished the job, (tow days later) and I thank God I don't do drywall for a living. Anytime I think I have it bad trying to make a living teaching and playing, I'll have this memory on which to reflect. Learning to do drywall requires a bit of a learning curve to start, but after that, it's just damn hard and messy work. I'll have to practice, practice, practice to get my chops piano back. I have another keyboard player freind who used to be the highest paid plumber you can be. He made huge dough. But now, he just plays keyboards in a group and is content to play the same gigs over and oever again and always with a smile on his face. I asked him,"Mark you are the happiest musician I know, how do you keep up your great attitude?" He said, "I've stood waist high in other people's shit, you can't hurt me Daddy" I guess I'll take my meager income and be glad:) | |
| Whacky -- 08/17/2004, 10:05:56 -- #6569 | |
| should've proo fread...sorry | |
| 7 -- 08/18/2004, 09:50:23 -- #6579 | |
| Jazz+ | |
| I would like to nominate Jazz+ for induction into the Piano Guild. He seems to be a very knowledgeable pianist with a sincere desire to help out. Any naysayers? | |
| Whacky -- 08/18/2004, 11:00:28 -- #6580 | |
| not without going through the rigorous "hell week" the rest of had to go through...my butt still hurts from the spanking machine. | |
| sid -- 08/19/2004, 01:15:47 -- #6586 | |
| Jazz+ | |
| agreed - sid | |
| Scot -- 08/22/2004, 15:00:34 -- #6644 | |
| I also agree- Jazz+ has really been posting some good information, advice, and ideas. I'll send him a note about his new "access" level. | |
| Chick Corea: Keyboard Workshop and Electric Workshop Video (very inspiring!!) | |
| Barry -- 08/23/2004, 17:18:42 -- #6667 | |
| Any of you been here? | |
| I'm in a bit of a pickle at the moment as I'm in the unenviable position of wanting to fire a really good friend from my trio. The problem is that I have improved dramatically since I started the group and, unfortunately, he hasn't. In the last year or so, I've been working really hard and taken my playing to the next level. I know this may sound conceited, and I don't mean it to come across that way, it's just that I know where I think the group should be musically and it's a shame that our bass player has some fundamental problems that I can't see him getting over. The one thing you want from a bass player is a real solid sense of time. Unfortunately, his time is not the greatest and despite that fact that he writes great tunes and has really good ideas for arrangements, you just can't get away with sloppy timing. I have mentioned it to him in the past and he is aware of the issue but I'm not sure he's prepared to put in the work to fix it. This is such a horrible position to be in. How do you tell one of your best friends that you are firing him because he's not good enough for you anymore? Any of you guys been here, and if so, how did you handle it? Any advice is welcome. I confided in one of my other friends and he compared it to trying to dump a pregnant girlfriend! At the moment, that would seem to be an easier proposition! Why does all this stuff always get in the way of the music? *sigh* Thanks for listening to my little whinge guys! Barry | |
| Scot -- 08/23/2004, 18:51:47 -- #6668 | |
| I pretty much am doing this right now with my bass player. It's working out well. What I'm doing is just gradually hiring other guys more for gigs that I get. I'm in the same boat as you in my playing and my bass player is cool enough to know that I want to play with guys who are going to push me, and not the other way around. | |
| Whacky -- 08/23/2004, 20:23:38 -- #6670 | |
| I went through a similar thing when it came to doing my own CD. Out of all the friends and good musicians I've played with over the years I had to pick three guys to play with me...oy! Not only that, but I had to choose a studio! The studio I was recording in when I was approached to do the CD is NOT where I chose to do my CD... I had never had to deal with anything like that before, and frankly that is why I had avoided putting my own thing together for years. But once I "stepped up to the plate" and did what I had to do, I found out who my real friends were. Everyone, with the exception of that studio owner, was very supportive. (that studio guy had rubbed me the wrong way in the past anyway - good riddance) Bottom line, I'm glad I did what I had to do...If this guy is truly a friend and a dedicated musician, he should understand... life sometimes sucks when you're the big cheese:) good luck and let us know how it turns out... | |
| Rick -- 08/25/2004, 14:54:52 -- #6713 | |
| Im in the same situation with the drummer in my trio. I think he's an amazing guy, but im looking for a more free (musically!) drummer...Its a toughy, good luck Barry! | |
| Barry -- 08/25/2004, 17:07:46 -- #6716 | |
| Thanks for your support guys. I wish that I could take Scot's approach and just hire other people for gigs but I want my trio to be different from all the scratch bands that I play in and it consists of totally original material. The bass player has written half of the material and, like I said before, he writes great tunes and has great ideas - I just wish his playing was where up to the rest of his abilities. The upshot is that there is no way around it. The only way I can make a change is to tell him, face to face, that despite all his enthusiasm and ideas, I don't want to play with him anymore because he's not good enough. I am not looking forward to it, and I'm not that sure that I can do it. I'm not looking for answers from you guys - it's just nice to be able to talk about it to people who know what you mean and yet don't know the individuals involved. Thanks again for all your support. Barry | |
| Scot -- 08/25/2004, 20:07:14 -- #6720 | |
| If you can't hire other guys, then go out and have a beer with him and find out where he's going musically. Where does he want to be? Does he spend enough time working on it? Then tell him where you're going with music, where you want to be, what you're working on. Differences in what you both want out of music will rise, and you can then use these differences to explain why you need to go in another direction and play with people who are going to push your own playing. One day I told someone, right before I fired him, that >I< wanted to be the weak link in the band, so from that point forward I only hired guys who were a lot better than me. I was paying them money, so they wouldn't complain much, and I always got a lot better after those gigs. | |
| Chick Corea: Keyboard Workshop and Electric Workshop Video (very inspiring!!) | |
| 7 -- 08/25/2004, 23:33:13 -- #6724 | |
| Barry, If your current bass player is hetero, tell him that you're homosexual and that you have always loved him and want to move in with him TONIGHT. You can be sure that you'll never see him again! LOL | |
| Mike -- 08/26/2004, 04:38:34 -- #6727 | |
| Another option is to commit to making your bass player a better player. The best bandleaders I have worked with rehearse their bands just like I practice when I am practicing solo piano. Anotherwords if my left hand is weak I isolate that part when I practice and work on it. If i want more lush chords I isolate that and work on Voicings. If I feel the groove isnt happening that is what I concentrate over all else. So in an ensemble if the bass is weak you isolate it in every rehearsal you loop parts of the song where the bass is particularly weak until it gets strong just like you would if you were practicing left hand on solo piano. If the bass player complains you explain you would do the same with the horn section if you wanted lusher chord voicings. Or the same with the drums if the grove was just not quite right. But do it in every rehearsal. In this way you will be teaching the bass player but also motivating because the bass player will want to get free of the embarrasment of being singled out in rehearsal. By this method there is a chance you will not have to change bass players. I have witnessed this method take place first hand and the player that it was used on has improved so much that he went on to leave that band to join a famous international Jazz act, which to protect names I am not going to name. | |
| sid -- 08/26/2004, 08:47:58 -- #6732 | |
| Barry's bassist | |
| Barry, I feel for you. Becoming sensitised to the weaknesses in a long-established band member is like becoming aware of your own tongue - things you used to do without thinking become impossible. I speak from experience! One problem that may not be realised by people from big urban centres is that in many towns there simply may not be enough musicians around for competition between them to have the effect of raising standards. This is particularly true of bass players. As someone said once - if you own a bass, you can make a living; if you can PLAY the bass, you can make a fortune. As you can tell, I don't have any helpful advice for how you go about jilting a musician friend, just sympathy. If you manage to do it without broken glass and slammed doors, tell us how - it's something everyone probably needs to know. sid | |
| Whacky -- 08/26/2004, 09:13:55 -- #6733 | |
| Boy this is tough one since he is an intregal part of the composing and arranging aspects of the group. Combined with the fact the he is a dear friend may be reason enough to keep him and try to work together on what you both feel are weaknesses in the group (maybe he has a bone to pick with you too :) I have a drummer friend who hated the wedding type gigs we were playing so he would smoke a lot of shit. When he did, his time and all sense of musicanship would fly right out the window. I would just bite my lip. One day he said to me, "Whacky (not my real name:)I really hate it when you have conversations with (the girl singer/band leader) during tunes." (I couldn't help it if she wanted to chat) So here was my opportunity...I said, "I'll make a deal with you, I'll stop talking to her during tunes if you stop smoking pot on the breaks." It all worked out for the better. Some of what the singer/leader was talking to me about was what the hell was wrong with the drummer - ha! So we solved a few problems by just talking. Not sure if that applies for your situation, but as mentioned in other posts, perhaps a heart to heart would help... good luck, and please keep us posted | |
| Whacky -- 09/03/2004, 08:51:36 -- #6897 | |
| lesson policy update | |
| I hope y'all aren't sick of hearing about this. I think this is the kind of information and experiences we should be sharing in this neck of the forum... Anyway, my new policy began Wednesday. For the most part it has been fantastic. There have been 3 or 4 people who are hving difficulty grasping the new concept, but polite reminders by telephone seem to work. One lady owed me $120 for August, plus another $200 for September. She had been a little difficult in the past so I was ready for the ole "I forgot my checkbook" routine...But to my surprize she played it differently. She paid me the $120 for August instead of the $320 that would bring her up to date. Now if she had called and explained that she wold have trouble coming up with it, we could have worked something out. I gave them more than 6 weeks notice that things would be changing. Instead she told me she thought the $120 was for September (she is apparently illiterate). When I reminded her she had been paying at the end of the month and I'm working toward getting everyone to pay at the beginning, she said, "Yeah, I liked paying at the end f the month" duhhhh... But on the good side, I had a little girl not show up, with no notice or even a follow up apology. I have her money so I'm compensated. I saw her last night and asked her where she was Tuesday...she said "Oh, we went out to eat. We were sitting there eating and my mom went, oh my God what time is it? Did we miss piano?) nuff said...I still have to collect on a couple and half of my students (Mon & Tues) haven't started September yet...so...more later in the long runit's all good.... I have a nice pile of checks to deposit today:) | |
| Barry -- 09/03/2004, 09:03:07 -- #6898 | |
| That's good news Rick - glad that it's working out for you. I think it's always a good idea to make pupils realise that they are paying for your time and not the lesson. Sounds like you've made a pretty smooth transition - good on you for having the guts to make the change when you weren't sure that it would work... | |
| Chick Corea: Keyboard Workshop and Electric Workshop Video (very inspiring!!) | |
| Whacky -- 09/03/2004, 22:20:52 -- #6913 | |
| Thanks Barry, I really appreciate your support. It wasn't so much that I had guts, (I laid awake many a night working up the courage) it's that I felt truly backed against a wall...it was time to shit or get off the pot:) | |
| Barry -- 09/04/2004, 01:30:04 -- #6915 | |
| 'Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose' - Me and Bobby McGee! I hope this gives you some much-needed security. I hate it when talented musicians end up doing day jobs they hate just to make ends meet. It's nice to know there are people out there who are making it work in their own little ways. | |
| Ryan -- 09/04/2004, 06:07:33 -- #6920 | |
| Hey Rick, My family runs a music school (laapa.com courtesy of my webdesign limited but "gets the job done" webauthoring), and one of the things we've impleme | |