May 25th- June 8th

I havnt blogged over the last 2weeks but I have practiced. I practiced 4-5times I cant remember which. When I practiced during these times it was around 25mins. I started off always by practicing my chromatic scales for 10mins. These went pretty well but started off a little rough but by the end I was almost 100% fluent with them. These scales also helped me with my scale study's because they helped me broaden my note range and fluency.They especially helped me read my flat notes as that is a weakness I have. I chose and practiced the E Minor concert scale. I practiced this for around 8mins each time. At first I was o.k. at this scale but by the end I mastered majority of this scale. This scale also helped me increase my accidental, note fluency and my lower register as that is one of my major weaknesses. I then practiced my scale study from the red book for the remaining time. This study did not really teach me new notes and was relatively easy for me but it really helped me with my ties and my rythms. This scale really helped me with my overall playing ability. That was what I practiced for the last 2 weeks.

May 24

Today I practiced for 25mins. I started off with the chromatic scales # 3 and #4 because I have not practiced them in a while. They went pretty well and I should become familiar with them again after a couple more practices. I practiced this for 5mins. I then practiced the Bb minor scale. This went o.k. but I need to keep practicing even though I am very familiar with these flats because they are played in a bit a different sequence which was a little challenging for me. I then practiced my ISP songs for 15mins. They went o.k but I need to keep practicing them to become 100% fluent with them. This should happen after 3 or 4 more practiced by myself and 5 more practices with my quartet.

Cannonball Adderly

I have chosen Cannonball Adderly, a famous jazz alto saxophonist. Adderly has past away and was 46 years old living from 1928-1975. He started playing since he was a child as his family was into music and later attended The University of Tallahasse and studied music there. He then became a high school music teacher in Florida. He later moved to New York and thats when his career began, and it was by chance. He brought his sax to a cafe because he was afraid that it would get stolen and then they asked him to play and he became an instant star. He was noticed by Miles Davis and he joined his sextet. He was then signed by Savoy Jazz and started recording and playing with the group, and made some classics like "Know What I Mean" and "Kind of Blue". After that he made his own jazz group called the Cannonball Adderly Quintet, featuring his brother on Cornet. This band was way more successful and was enjoyed more by the public for it's crossover into pop music. Adderly's music then started to influence the electris-jazz scene and he then began doubling on the soprano sax in shows. Later that year his quintet was stared in the psychological thriller "Play Misty for Me" with Clint Eastwood and he also became an actor in the show "Kung Fu". After he stopped making music many songs and music types were influended and even named after his band or songs. Adderly, a few years later died form a stroke and was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame. The song I chose was The Jive Samba. In this song I like the jazz solo licks that he preforms. In this song he plays notes from all the register but I really like the mellow, dark tone from his lower register and I also like his energetic, brilliant upper register. I like his technique, how he improvs and just go's with the flow in all of his solo's, and how in his music he includes all aspects of jazz,
(mellow, energetic, bluesy etc.) I especially love his trill near the end of his preformance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHFn0vHF6-c

May 7th

I practiced for 30mins today. I played the Db concert scale for 10mins today. This scale went well, but for the first couple minutes I need to go over the fingerings to become familiar with them again. I playedthis scale 85% fluent because I have not practiced it in a while. I need to keep working on the Scale Study though so I can master, but I have it 80% fluent right now. I then practiced Study no.9 in the red book. This went well as we have recently played it in class. It is fairly easy for me but I am slowing it down in the sections that change notes quickly. With a few more practices it should perfect for me. I then played Chillers and Thrillers for 10mins. This went well, but I still need 4 or 5 more practices to master the entire thing. I especially practiced section 143 in "Escape from the City". This went ok but I need to keep practicing it to master it.

April 26th

I practiced for 20mins today. I started off by practicing the Db Concert scale again.This time the scale went better. The scale is 90% fluent for me and the flats are coming along very well. With another practice, I should master these notes. I then practiced the Study No.5 from the red book again. This study went way better than last time I played 90% of this study without mistakes. With another couple practiced this scale should be 100%, and then I will move to help increase my rythm patters.I then practiced chromtic scales no.2 & 3, for 5 mins as I have not played these scales in a while. They went well, but I need to constantly play them to keep my note fluency up. I practiced Pirates for 5 mins and still focused on bars 96-108, and the notes are almost all fluent for me, and once they are I will start to increase the tempo as I am going very slow right now.

April 23rd

I practiced for 25mins today. I chose a new study today, the Db concert scale. I chose this scale because I have trouble reading flats because I am frequently only play sharps. This scale went well for me becasue the falts are relatively easy and not that hard to hit. I am 70% fluent with this scale.With a few 3 or 4 more practices these notes should become 100% for me. I also started a new study from the red book today, study No.5. This was a semi-challenging study to start off to play because I have not heard it before and I am not very good at playing eigth notes after dotted quarters. With 4 more practices I should be able to master this because the study is very repetitive. This will help improve my rythm patterns. I the practiced pirates a bit for fun since we have finished all of our band music. I especially practiced bars 96-108 as those are the hardest bars for alto's in the piece.

April 21st

I practiced for 30mins today. I started off by playing C Concert scale for 5mins. This scale is almost 100% for me, and with one more week of practice I should have mastered it. These sharps are all very familiar for me but playing them all together, at a fast tempo can be very hard so I am really working on the scale in thirds and picking up the tempo every time I play it. The scale went well. I then played study no.4 again like last week. I still have not mastered this sutdy, but I think with 1 or 2 more practices it should be GOLDEN for me. I practiced this for 15mins. This study is challenging for me because it uses a lot of rythm patterns I am not used to , but if I keep playing this study they will become second nature for me. This study is going preety good for me. I then played Rumble on the High Plains for 10mins. I quickly ran through the important parts in the piece as I have not played it in a while. I especially practiced bars 51 to 62 to make sure I can still play all the right notes. I then practiced bars 175 to 194, and this went well. I played these sections because they are the hardest in the piece and if we play it in kiwanis. I need to be 150% fluent with them.