DjangoBooks.com

How much do you practice? 2020 in review (and now also 2021 in review).

1234579

Comments

  • Yup. Actually, before I jumped into the Djangoverse, pedal and lap steel sounds were crawling up my ear. I would fake that stuff on electric and was doing stuff like that in a GJ context up until my accident. I have a pretty good idea who the cats are in that world.

    The guy I'm taking lessons with, Mike Neer, has Sol's Rickenbacher lap steel. I've known about Mike for awhile, as he's played with guys I gig with and put out a few records with Monk, Ellington, and some other pretty wild tunes for lap.

    I'm using C6 tuning right now and will probably stick with that for awhile or some variation of that. Basically, I want to be able to continue my studies of the Barry Harris stuff and looks like it will be on keyboards and steel guitar for the next year or so.

  • edited January 2022 Posts: 50

    there is some pretty hot music out there predating Django, very interesting!

    My Lapsteel Collection is asleep at the moment but i remember reading inspiring posts by Mike Neer on the Steel Guitar Forum, listening to his videos a lot, my best regards to him! Like on this forum it is so inspiring to have players share their quest with enthusiasm even if that quest is frustrating at times! Time to play now...

  • geese_comgeese_com Madison, WINew 503
    edited January 2022 Posts: 459

    The band I am in, Christo's Novelty Combo, is a combination of Hot Hawaiian Music and Gypsy Jazz. Feel free to check it out if you are interested. It is fun mixing those two styles together.

    https://www.facebook.com/ChristosNovelty

    Jim KaznoskyBillDaCostaWilliamsrudolfochristbillyshakesWillieBuco
  • Posts: 50

    @geese_com haha what fun to listen to, great Band!

    I'm just listening to "Döppleganger" (Doppelgänger???), love it! I'll keep on listening...

    geese_com
  • Cool. Sorry to subvert the thread. Will drop in from time to time.

    geese_comBuco
  • Lango-DjangoLango-Django Niagara-On-The-Lake, ONModerator
    Posts: 1,854

    I'm using C6 tuning right now and will probably stick with that for awhile or some variation of that.

    Jim, I am glad to hear this.

    I can't speak for Buco but I'd be willing to bet he'd welcome your lap steel contribution to "J'Attendrai", which is conveniently in the key of C.

    And don't worry, his standards are so low that he even allows banjo players! 😜

    Will

    WillieJim KaznoskyBuco
    Paul Cezanne: "I could paint for a thousand years without stopping and I would still feel as though I knew nothing."

    Edgar Degas: "Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things.... To draw, you must close your eyes and sing."

    Georges Braque: "In art there is only one thing that counts: the bit that can’t be explained."
  • Posts: 4,730

    Not a bad way to biggie up myself.

    Catching up on the forum. After having been through a bout of probably most intense period of pain in my life. Pinched nerve in the neck. Which happened before, once in '18 and once in '19. Those weren't fun to say the least. This one completely crippled me. Even bringing screen up to my face was a source of intense pain. Luckily I'm on the effective meds now, they're making me feel kinda groovy actually (but not narcos, my doc didn't wanna go that route) and will start playing tonight again.

    When it comes to practice, all I want to do is continue what I've been doing and more of it. My mantra as of lately is simple, fix was doesn't work. So many times people ask me how do I get better. After I listened to them botch the head they tried playing in the jam. Should be obvious, go home and take that melody and work it out phrase by phrase or even note by note. That's my answer to them. And so on. Listen to your playing. Fix what doesn't work. That's about it, in my view. One thing at a time. And spend a lot of time on that thing. Until it's solid. Micro focus, that's what I like lately. Maximum amount of time on a minimum amount of material. That's from Kenny Werner, not me although I've been following that mantra myself.

    Either way, I feel like I'm in a good place because I really enjoy to practice nowadays. Sure I get pissed off at times about this and that but pretty quickly turn around and put it behind me.

    Good luck to everyone, here's hoping I see in person as many as possible in the near future.

    .

    WillieLango-DjangoMichaelHorowitznomadgtrBillDaCostaWilliamsgeese_combillyshakesJim KaznoskyBones
    Every note wants to go somewhere-Kurt Rosenwinkel
  • NylonDaveNylonDave Glasgow✭✭✭ Perez Valbuena Flamenca 1991
    edited January 2022 Posts: 462
  • Lango-DjangoLango-Django Niagara-On-The-Lake, ONModerator
    edited January 2022 Posts: 1,854

    Sorry to hear that, get better soon, buddy.

    Hope you can play that guitar soon… have you been to a chiropractor?

    That works best for me.


    Will

    Buco
    Paul Cezanne: "I could paint for a thousand years without stopping and I would still feel as though I knew nothing."

    Edgar Degas: "Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things.... To draw, you must close your eyes and sing."

    Georges Braque: "In art there is only one thing that counts: the bit that can’t be explained."
  • ChristopheCaringtonChristopheCarington San Francisco, CA USANew Dupont MD50, Stringphonic Favino, Altamira Chorus
    Posts: 186

    I don't feel like I am really improving and sometimes ask myself why I even spend all the time practicing at all.


    Absolutely been there. I didn't practice guitar for almost 6 months, I only played it to relieve stress. I did a bunch of practicing over the summer and started playing out which helped, but honestly the biggest jump I saw in my skill was finding the right teacher - and I mean a teacher not an online repository of knowledge such as the DC Music School, Yaakov Hoter classes or Christian Van Hemert youtube videos.

    It really sounds like you need 1:1 direction from someone very talented, who will hold you to practices and improvements week to week. There's some teachers like that online like Filippo Dall'Asta, or if you can get time with Robin Nolan. It's like going to the gym for months on your own, vs. having a coach with you when you go. It's much more expensive, but worth it if you can afford it.

    The other thing I'd recommend is recording yourself a lot, and listen back. I can look at your most recent YT video posted here vs. that Barault video you did a few years back and can clearly hear the improvement. Maybe a bit of video reflection can help show you have actually improved, though you may be in a plateau at the moment.

    Either way, best of luck man!

    billyshakesrudolfochristgeese_comBillDaCostaWilliamsJim KaznoskyKlausUS
Sign In or Register to comment.
Home  |  Forum  |  Blog  |  Contact  |  206-528-9873
The Premier Gypsy Jazz Marketplace
DjangoBooks.com
USD CAD GBP EUR AUD
USD CAD GBP EUR AUD
Banner Adverts
Sell Your Guitar
© 2024 DjangoBooks.com, all rights reserved worldwide.
Software: Kryptronic eCommerce, Copyright 1999-2024 Kryptronic, Inc. Exec Time: 0.015957 Seconds Memory Usage: 1.008797 Megabytes
Kryptronic