Beginner recording MLoosemore February 2013 (2)

[sushidushi]

Thank you. I think I might be beginning to convince myself that I need to get this.

On my phone, I generally have the option to 'share' images with editing software, various 'cloud' applications, email, text message and our wireless printer. I suspect that might work with iReal B.

I really ought to dust off my old Zoom 4-track recorder and see if I can do anything useful with that. A microphone would probably be a good thing to get, too. I suspect it's quite difficult to hear if what one's doing is musical, certainly at first.

 

[Profusia]

Just another thought for getting the chords for iRealB. If you print out the lead sheet on Wikifonia.org (in the right key of course) it usually gives the chord symbols. I guess there's no absolute guarantee that they will both have exactly identical chords but should be pretty close.

I thought I'd have a look at some of the ballads of the month. Got the lead sheet and iRealB backing track for Strangers in the Night and had a go last night. The melody is straight forward enough of course but could I improvise over the backing track? In a word NO. Not surprisingly bluescale didn't fit. Pentatonic didn't seem any better. I'm just not good enough to read the chords on the fly and work out what to play yet, and winging it by ear was just awful. Work in Progress then!

 

[ArtyLady]

Just had a look. There's an option to share a track as an image which you can then email etc., and then presumably print or import into Word or something.

Re improvising over the chords. For my Summertime effort I just sort of played through the head by memory and then improvised staying in A minor (effectively C major). Just found it best to avoid too many Fs in that one as they can clash with some of the chords.

On other tunes I find improvising in the appropriate bluescale very effective. I don't need the chords written down for either of those approaches although of course they are rather simplistic and won't always work.

My plan is to progress to improvising properly over the chords by knowing which are the safe notes/arpeggio notes for the chord but as you say that takes a LOT of practice and learning to do at anywhere near acceptable speed. The journey continues... hopefully one day!

Minor Harmonic scale patterns and enclosures work well too over a minor tune

 

[Profusia]

Minor Harmonic scale patterns and enclosures work well too over a minor tune

Oh dear, now I need to try to find out what an "enclosure" is!

 

[Colin the Bear]

Strangers is not the tune to get clever with. Nothing works. A little variation on the melody and running about in the main key is all I can get to work. The tune is so simple and the meaning is all in the words. So phrasing is all you can do. Play a phrase twice in the space of one. A little cross tempo, putting 6/8 or 12/8 over the basic 4/4 works. Loud and soft. It's a piiiiig! lol

 

[sushidushi]

I have now downloaded iReal B. Whether I'll ever be able to understand the application, let alone what to do with the chord charts, remains to be seen (and heard).

For those of you who know what you're doing, I can see that it could be invaluable.

 

[sushidushi]

lDoes anyone know if it's possible to print the chord sheets from the iReal B Android application? It'd be a lot easier to see than on a 4" phone screen...

In answer to my own question, yes it is possible to print direct from the iReal B application, assuming one has the facilities for wireless printing from the phone.

This is going to keep me out of mischief for a long, long time... 🙂