I’m happy to announce that the new CD “Broken Waltz” is finished! In an effort to make the music affordable for anyone and everyone, I’m offering both the CD and all the sheet music for a modest donation of ANY amount – 1$ to 100$. This includes both 10 mp3s (flac or mp3) and the corresponding 10 Concert pitch lead sheets (in PDF format).
~Donate with the link below and I’ll send you the recording and sheet music ASAP! ~Thanks for your support!
The recording includes 10 original songs of mine, many with a folk like quality, reflecting my early musical influences growing up listening to my parents music; Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, James Taylor, Phil Ochs, Simon and Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Woody Guthrie and the like. I’m very happy with how the project turned out.
Produced by David J. Carpenter and Matt Otto
Engineered and Recorded by David J. Carpenter
Mixed by Matt Otto and David J. Carpenter
Mastered by Rob Beaton
Cover art by Jamie Rosenn
Kenny Brooks transcribed my solo on “What Democracy” from this album:
This lesson covers a great melody from one of the Bach Cello suites which has been extended slightly to cover the whole major scale.
The sequence outlines the main seven chords found in the major scale (in the key of C: Fmaj, B-7b5, E-7, A-7, D-7, G7, Cmaj); the root motion moves in diatonic fourths. I’ve found this exercise to be very melodic and yet strangely challenging to memorise and play technically.
To expand on this meldoy, try playing the material in smaller phrases, perhaps just outlining one or two of the chords. Also, changing the rhythm in a variety of ways should help the material become a more creative part of your vocabulary.
I thought it might be nice to work with a variation on Lesson 1 (Spread Triads) – In this exercise we play spread major triads a tri-tone apart, a sound which will work nicely over a dominant 7th chord with with a b9 and a #11 (or as a substitution).
This is one simple way to begin hearing larger intervals and shapes while still maintaining melodic and harmonic integrity. I like to work on the material slowly with a metronome while trying to sing and memorize each interval right from the start. This helps to internalise the new material quickly and exercise your analytical mind. By singing melody slowly over a drone in a key that fits the range of your voice the larger intervals will become easier to hear and to incorporate into your improvisation.
There is a PDF and video of me playing the lesson below. The melody is played through the 12 keys starting on Concert C7.
I’m happy to announce that the new CD “Broken Waltz” is finished! In an effort to make the music affordable for anyone and everyone, I’m offering both the CD and all the sheet music for a modest donation of ANY amount – 1$ to 100$. This includes both 10 mp3s (flac or mp3) and the corresponding 10 Concert pitch lead sheets (in PDF format).
