Joe'Samba--fretless guitar solo

ok,I sometimes contribute to a jazz guitar forum and they occasionally
try to post backing tracks for the members to solo over. In a best case
scenario this is a kind of healthy, hands-on problem solving exercise,
unfortunately no one ever seems to have put an art first approach to
the idea of a backing track and so far they've all been pretty, err,
Love Boat! Oh well, usually I'd approach a samba or a bossa nova a
little more interactively, but this sort of canned ,clockwork jazz-in-a-
box track obviates any attempt in that direction, so I just hada little
fun beating up the changes and the time (and the intonation) my way.

http://zebox.com/daniel_anthony_stearns/

joe's Samba
(bottom of page

I have always tried to do accompaniments when improvising partly because of Cardew and the scratch orchestra.
Here everyone would write or plan an accompaniment and then they would all be played together.
Each person threats all the other accompaniments as solos.
While once i did a duet with another a person commented that they liked the others solo better, but i pointed it out that that was because the other was not capable of accompanying at all.

daniel_anthony_stearns wrote:

>ok,I sometimes contribute to a jazz guitar forum and they occasionally >try to post backing tracks for the members to solo over. In a best case >scenario this is a kind of healthy, hands-on problem solving exercise, >unfortunately no one ever seems to have put an art first approach to >the idea of a backing track and so far they've all been pretty, err, >Love Boat! Oh well, usually I'd approach a samba or a bossa nova a >little more interactively, but this sort of canned ,clockwork jazz-in-a-
>box track obviates any attempt in that direction, so I just hada little >fun beating up the changes and the time (and the intonation) my way. >
>http://zebox.com/daniel_anthony_stearns/
>
>joe's Samba >(bottom of page >
>
>
>
>
> >Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
> >
>
>
> >

--
Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island <http://anaphoria.com/>
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU <http://www.kxlu.com/main.html> 88.9 FM Wed 8-9 pm Los Angeles

Hi Kraig,

> While once i did a duet with another a person commented that they liked
> the others solo better, but i pointed it out that that was because the
> other was not capable of accompanying at all.

Yes when you get programs where a soloist plus pianist,
say, are interviewed they nearly always say that they
are equal partners. It seems to be the "thing to say"

But maybe sometimes it is nice if the
accompanist is able to really be an accompanist and
focus on playing in a way that will let the
soloist really be a soloist and not an equal partner
in the sense that both are equally prominent
to the listener and both sound like soloists
taking their turn to play.

Rather that the accompanist isn't noticed
at all except to the extent that he / she
puts the soloist in a better light and
lets the soloist be appreciated properly.
I wonder if they used to think that way in
the past - e.g. maybe before Bach, quite
early on - in Western music. I wonder
how this area is understood in other cultures.

I don't suppose accompaniment in this
sense would be taught so much nowadays
either... Well I suppose in a classical
orchestra, the viola player is nearly
always treated somewhat in this sense - and
as a result seems to be regarded as
a rather second class citizen of the
orchestra!

Robert

I used to play the viola

Robert Walker wrote:

>Hi Kraig,
>
> >
>>While once i did a duet with another a person commented that they liked
>>the others solo better, but i pointed it out that that was because the
>>other was not capable of accompanying at all.
>> >>
>
>Yes when you get programs where a soloist plus pianist,
>say, are interviewed they nearly always say that they
>are equal partners. It seems to be the "thing to say"
>
>But maybe sometimes it is nice if the
>accompanist is able to really be an accompanist and
>focus on playing in a way that will let the
>soloist really be a soloist and not an equal partner
>in the sense that both are equally prominent
>to the listener and both sound like soloists
>taking their turn to play.
>
>Rather that the accompanist isn't noticed
>at all except to the extent that he / she
>puts the soloist in a better light and
>lets the soloist be appreciated properly.
>I wonder if they used to think that way in
>the past - e.g. maybe before Bach, quite
>early on - in Western music. I wonder
>how this area is understood in other cultures.
>
>I don't suppose accompaniment in this
>sense would be taught so much nowadays
>either... Well I suppose in a classical
>orchestra, the viola player is nearly
>always treated somewhat in this sense - and
>as a result seems to be regarded as
>a rather second class citizen of the
>orchestra!
>
>Robert
>
>
>
> >Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
> >
>
>
> >

--
Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island <http://anaphoria.com/>
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU <http://www.kxlu.com/main.html> 88.9 FM Wed 8-9 pm Los Angeles

Hi Kraig,

> I used to play the viola

Oh right! Yes I wonder what the orchestra would
be like without the viola... Not so
kind of dark and soul searching I think
somehow. Yet you hardly notice it is
there in most orchestral writing.
Like a perfect accompanist in fact.

Robert

Rbt,

{you wrote...}
>Yes I wonder what the orchestra would be like without the viola...

In a chamber way, one can get an idea by listening to the original score to "West Side Story", which Leonard Bernstein composed for no violas, thereby leading to certain Broadway regulations regarding a minimum number of players in each theatre. The legend is that the 4 violists were paid to not play, though I've never taken the time to check the veracity of the story...

Sorry, OT, just been slow around here lately.

Cheers,
Jon (who liked Dan's attempt as an accompanist...)

lenny missed the opportunity to have them play in a quartet in the lobby, either at intermission or at the end in the lobby. better yet scatter them through the neighborhood before in the alleys, to 'prime" the approaching audience.

Jon Szanto wrote:

>Rbt,
>
>{you wrote...}
> >
>>Yes I wonder what the orchestra would be like without the viola...
>> >>
>
>In a chamber way, one can get an idea by listening to the original score to >"West Side Story", which Leonard Bernstein composed for no violas, thereby >leading to certain Broadway regulations regarding a minimum number of >players in each theatre. The legend is that the 4 violists were paid to not >play, though I've never taken the time to check the veracity of the story...
>
>Sorry, OT, just been slow around here lately.
>
>Cheers,
>Jon (who liked Dan's attempt as an accompanist...) >
>
>
>
> >Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
> >
>
>
> >

--
Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island <http://anaphoria.com/>
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU <http://www.kxlu.com/main.html> 88.9 FM Wed 8-9 pm Los Angeles

I've heard this before.

And yet, I believe the viola is often a richer,
more expressive voice than the violin; rather as
I prefer hearing a good contralto to a good
soprano. I enjoy the richer tones possible on
the deeper instrument.

When writing for a small ensemble, I always
try to make sure the viola and cello parts are
at least as much fun to play as the violin.

Regards,
Yahya

-----Original Message-----
From: "Robert Walker"

Hi Kraig,

> While once i did a duet with another a person commented that they liked
> the others solo better, but i pointed it out that that was because the
> other was not capable of accompanying at all.

Yes when you get programs where a soloist plus pianist,
say, are interviewed they nearly always say that they
are equal partners. It seems to be the "thing to say"

But maybe sometimes it is nice if the
accompanist is able to really be an accompanist and
focus on playing in a way that will let the
soloist really be a soloist and not an equal partner
in the sense that both are equally prominent
to the listener and both sound like soloists
taking their turn to play.

Rather that the accompanist isn't noticed
at all except to the extent that he / she
puts the soloist in a better light and
lets the soloist be appreciated properly.
I wonder if they used to think that way in
the past - e.g. maybe before Bach, quite
early on - in Western music. I wonder
how this area is understood in other cultures.

I don't suppose accompaniment in this
sense would be taught so much nowadays
either... Well I suppose in a classical
orchestra, the viola player is nearly
always treated somewhat in this sense - and
as a result seems to be regarded as
a rather second class citizen of the
orchestra!

Robert

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--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Yahya Abdal-Aziz" <yahya@m...>
wrote:
>
> I've heard this before.
>
> And yet, I believe the viola is often a richer,
> more expressive voice than the violin; rather as
> I prefer hearing a good contralto to a good
> soprano. I enjoy the richer tones possible on
> the deeper instrument.

I am inclined to mention the New Violin Octet
(http://www.newviolinfamily.org/), eight instruments which were built
with the intention of projecting the acoustic resonances of the violin
to instruments with other ranges. I have seen and heard the alto
violin (viola range) and tenor violin (octave below violin), and was
impressed with the tone of the alto more than the tenor.

...now what they need to do next is try applying the warm tone of the
cello to higher instruments!

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Walker"
<robertwalker@n...> wrote:
> either... Well I suppose in a classical
> orchestra, the viola player is nearly
> always treated somewhat in this sense - and
> as a result seems to be regarded as
> a rather second class citizen of the
> orchestra!

I'm a violist. I've heard my share of viola jokes. I will say this,
though to prospective violists: While the viola is viewed as an
"easier than violin" instrument in Western classical music, do not
expect to slack off! Composers such as Copland, Bach, Telemann, etc.
wrote some wicked viola parts.

For Western classical with the viola as the lead instrument, start
with William Primrose and Lionel Tertris. Those are our equivalents
of Perlman/Menuhin/Casals/etc.

I'm content with my supporting role in Western classical, because I
also study Persian music and go to free improv jams. Our Persian
teacher has his own orchestra too, but maintains in his teaching a
balance between through-arranged music study and study/practice of the
Radif (the Persian equivalent of jazz standards, Hindustani raga, etc.).