carburetor
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Hello everyone, and welcome to a new Improv of the Month! The moderators made the mistake of letting me host this one. This is a little song I wrote called Uncle Mitchell. There are two fun things about this: this song is a fairly different style than most of the previous IOTMs (as far as I know), and the backing track is played by human people.
This song is very simple! I would encourage beginners or beginning improvisers to take a whack at, as there is very little you have to think about while playing. I am a beginner myself.
Here is a rough recording of me playing the theme and a little improv, just to give you the idea. I apologize for the bad intonation on the theme; I am not very good at playing written parts.
So if you're still with me, I'll present some (hopefully useful) information:
Warning: All of the following is written with only concert pitch in mind. I only think/speak/write in concert pitch. Perhaps someone can come along and translate for tenor/alto transpositions, or I can transpose the score upon request.
The structure is AAB. Each section is 8 bars. Section A is around 120 BPM and Section B is around 80 (it's slower in the recording). Section A has a straight feel and Section B has a swing 16ths feel.
This is entirely in F dorian (which has the same notes as Eb major). The B section is so simple (just two notes on the bass and one on the guitar) that I did not bother writing any chords. The A section also sparse but suggests a few chords which I wrote in the score. You can completely ignore these chords and just play F minor pentatonic over the whole thing (that's what I do haha). If you're fairly inexperienced like me, I would recommend just playing by ear!
The theme is entirely optional; it's just a bit of a warm-up or introduction. Come up with your own if you'd like.
Here is the score: Uncle Mitchell.pdf
The backing track is something I recorded during a rehearsal with two friends (I'm on the drums). There are plenty of mistakes in it, but it's the best I can do for now. I chopped out the best section of it, but as a result there is no count-in, and no ending -- just a fade-out, which I realize is not ideal. I'm including a long version and a short version.
P.S. I'm fully aware of the possibility that no one will be interested in this. Regardless, I look forward to hearing your recordings if you decide to post, and I hope we have some fun!
This song is very simple! I would encourage beginners or beginning improvisers to take a whack at, as there is very little you have to think about while playing. I am a beginner myself.
Here is a rough recording of me playing the theme and a little improv, just to give you the idea. I apologize for the bad intonation on the theme; I am not very good at playing written parts.
So if you're still with me, I'll present some (hopefully useful) information:
Warning: All of the following is written with only concert pitch in mind. I only think/speak/write in concert pitch. Perhaps someone can come along and translate for tenor/alto transpositions, or I can transpose the score upon request.
The structure is AAB. Each section is 8 bars. Section A is around 120 BPM and Section B is around 80 (it's slower in the recording). Section A has a straight feel and Section B has a swing 16ths feel.
This is entirely in F dorian (which has the same notes as Eb major). The B section is so simple (just two notes on the bass and one on the guitar) that I did not bother writing any chords. The A section also sparse but suggests a few chords which I wrote in the score. You can completely ignore these chords and just play F minor pentatonic over the whole thing (that's what I do haha). If you're fairly inexperienced like me, I would recommend just playing by ear!
The theme is entirely optional; it's just a bit of a warm-up or introduction. Come up with your own if you'd like.
Here is the score: Uncle Mitchell.pdf
The backing track is something I recorded during a rehearsal with two friends (I'm on the drums). There are plenty of mistakes in it, but it's the best I can do for now. I chopped out the best section of it, but as a result there is no count-in, and no ending -- just a fade-out, which I realize is not ideal. I'm including a long version and a short version.
P.S. I'm fully aware of the possibility that no one will be interested in this. Regardless, I look forward to hearing your recordings if you decide to post, and I hope we have some fun!