Welcome to my blog, here's some Freddie!

Welcome to my new blog. I have considered starting one for quite some time and I am finally getting around to it.

I have decided to make this a fairly technical blog focusing on jazz improvisation and jazz piano in particular. I may also sojourn into classical piano, piano technique, and other things as the mood strikes me. I hope to post approximately once per week.

I'm not really sure who is going to read this blog. Maybe nobody. If anyone does read it, I'm sure it will be 99% jazz musicians. But it doesn't matter to me, I just thought this would be a good place to brain-dump what I am shedding and thinking about musically, and if anyone has any comments I'd love to hear them.

With that said, I'm going to start out with a transcription and some random thoughts about it.

I have listened to certain solos so many times that I think I would remember them note-for-note if I didn't hear them again for 50 years. Freddie's solo on "Hub-Tones" is one of those solos. Freddie has recorded dozens of timeless solos. His time, phrasing, and tone are impeccable, and I never get tired of listening to him. 

Some random thoughts on transcribing:

-It is one of the best ways to develop your ear.

-If you struggle with transposition, try taking a solo through all 12 keys. It may be excruciatingly slow at first, but it gets much easier.

-Try to extract as much information from the solo as you can and consciously apply your new ideas when you are practicing.

-Try to get all of the nuances of the solo when you play it -- dynamics, articulation, phrasing, etc. Don't just focus on the notes. 

Here is a link to the recording of "Hub-Tones" on YouTube:

And here is my transcription in JPEG format (the solo starts at 0:42 of the recording):

Some things I have gleaned from this solo:

1. Phrasing on the off-beat (mm. 5-8, 29, 38, 41-42, 49-52)

2. References to the main theme (mm. 25-28)

3. Using the major 7th on dominant chords. In a blues, the I and IV chords are usually dominant, but Freddie frequently plays a major 7th. (mm. 13, 61, 66-67, 109)

4. Use of the Mixolydian bebop scale (i.e. Mixolydian scale with natural 7 added) (mm. 12, 15, 33-34, 63)

5. The sustained high note from mm. 82-86 is the climax of the solo, and it kicks ass.

Those are just some random observations. There's much more to check out in this solo but those are some things that jump out at me when I listen to it.