Video / Audio

Miles Davis – Summertime Transcription

I don’t have a HUGE amount of time to practice right now but when I do I’m trying to hit things that keep me engaged but I also keep it enjoyable.  Music is still a major refuge for me.  Practice has become the therapist who listens to my cares/concerns and tells me everything is going to be OK.  I usually believe her.

Lately I’ve been using small snippets of time to learn solos on bass.  Mile Davis Summertime solo is hands down one of my all time favorites.  Miles using space over a lush Gil Evans arrangement is absolute heaven.  I spent a few minutes to get one chorus down but will probably make time for more.

Blue Bossa Transcription

Bassist and educator Todd Johnson (my bass teacher) has a great series of videos where he plays through standard tunes. He provides a bass line, solo and even chords to comp. I’ve decided to use this to improve my ear and transcribe lines. The cool thing is it includes a video and written music. I never check the written music until after I finished to compare notes. I also usually only use the audio to figure out what is going on.

Below are my attempts at learning two choruses of his solos on Blue Bossa.

The last video was also my first attempt at using Garageband to record audio and iMovie to handle video. The result is a much better sounding file. I’ll provide recording details later but I may be using this much more in the future.

Darlin, Darlin Baby (O’Jays)

For a few months now I’ve gotten together with a couple of cats to jam. We don’t have any gigs lined up – we’re just trying to improve as musicians and we love music. I have to say I’m liking how things are shaping up even though there is still much work to do. Here is a video of the tune “Darlin, Darlin Baby” by the O’Jays.

Darlin Darlin Baby (O’Jays) from Eric Brewington on Vimeo.

One thing bass guitar has reconnected me with is my love for all types of music. I will admit to being a bit of a jazz snob when I played trumpet exclusively. The bass has kept me in touch with my first love (jazz) while allowing me to further explore Motown, R&B, classic rock and other wonderful genres of music. I believe it is making me a better overall musician. John Coltrane cut his teeth playing in rhythm and blues bands and I’ve read stories of him “honking” while walking on the bar to get the crowd pumped up. I’m not comparing what I do to Coltrane by any stretch but I do see value in playing everything you can.