donna lee

i recently had learned the chords to this with a charlie parker cd and the chart. i did it just for fun, and a friend i play with knows it on guitar. its become my new project ,im hooked and want to try and learn the melody. i need serious help because i read music so slow that i just should say i dont. i remember hearing about this book and cd that had the tune in it. is there tab? where can i get it? has any one tried that tune ?

its a serious challenge, i dont think ill be able to play it at speed for quite some time.
most importantly does the jam cd have a slow version?

[Pete Martin]

I play this tune a lot and it is a challenge. #My suggestion is get used to reading standard music notation, as you won't often find jazz tunes in mandolin tab. #

I find that in order to play the tune comfortably, I shift to second position for the triplet in measure 22, shift back to first position in measure 24, shift to second position again on the E note at the beginning of measure 26 and back to first position on the D note in measure 28.

Hope this helps. #Stay after this one, it is very fun to play. #I usually play it around 240 beats per minute, not the screaming pace some boppers do. #A friend likes to play this tune slower as a bossa, fun as well.

[Spruce]

"its a serious challenge"

Uh-huh.... #

"I shift to second position for the triplet in measure 22"

That's about the point that I went back to "Wheel Hoss"...

"I usually play it around 240 beats per minute"

If you can find it, check out the Jaco Pastorious solo version of "Donna Lee" on his first solo record...
It's a real jaw dropper, although since it's played on electric bass it would probably sound like a bowl of mush on the Amazing Slow-Downer...

[jmcgann]

If you get a digital slow downer (and why not, they are cheap, at least the software for computer), you can bring Bird down to Suzuki tempo and play along...what a great tune, and why not try to get it by ear? It'll take 10 times longer than by tab, but you will learn a lot more that way, trust me on this, I guarantee!

Bruce- actually the slowdowner lets you slow it down AT THE ORIGINAL PITCH so unlike an LP at 16 rpm, it is right where it is played- but wait- you can change the pitch up an octave and make Jaco sound like he is playing Stanley Clarke's piccolo bass! #

I used it for a project where the singer was doing everything in different keys- the pitch control lets you play along with the original recording in any key- how cool is that!?!?!

well thanks everyone...
i think im just going to use the fake book (like it said to me when i first looked at the tune)
tab helps, i cant read it note for note it makes me crazy, but its a great reference.
i have heard that jaco version. its very cool.
thanks for the notes on position. that will come useful!
its a project....
but i am a bit compulsive, wich helps.

[EricEJazz]

Hi,
My book Charlie Parker Transcriptions for Mandolin includes Donna Lee in Tab and notation. The included CD has Donna Lee at a medium tempo (on mandolin and saxophone). Check it out at www.funkyfolkmusic.com
Hope it helps.

Sincerely,
Eric Elias

alright!
so i got the charlie parker book and cd from eric. i dont know why i didnt get it earlier. its an oddity in the world of mandolin song books, its got hot jazz tunes in it!
its great, it is alot more than i expected. its really a good learning tool. i fully reccomend it.
i have the head to donna lee down, devoured it in the first two days of owning the book. i cant play it up to speed but i can play it a bit faster than the cd. still not up to par enough to bust it out at rehearsal haha
i did change some of the fingering though, to get the right feel for me. but not to much very little deviation from whats in the book.
im really looking forward using the book and cd to improve my chord subbing as well.

i also got chris thille's dvd this week.... look out im gonna need a refret in two weeks...
or a few cortizone shots

[domradave]

An easy way to learn "Donna Lee" is to first learn the tune it is based on, "Back Home in Indiana". Bird took the chords from that song and created a new melody. When improvising quote from both tunes!

[EricEJazz]

Glad that the book worked for you. Its a great tune and David's advice for learning "Indiana" is good too.

--Eric E.

thanks for that tip dave.
i find that soloing on this tune works best for me out of the second position Ab scale, or should i say starting on the 2 closed position? i dont know the terminology im trying to express here...
i gotta say that since ive been working on this tune in particular its really pushed my playing. this tune is like a mandolin workout. not for the faint of pinkyfinger player. i got the tune up to parkers speed, it takes a few minutes to warm up to that speed but i gotta say chris thille's pick speed exercise works really really well. and the triplets, its not the same as blowin a horn:p

nice work erik.

[EricEJazz]

Thanks. Putting this book together was a great workout for me as well. By the way, where can I find Chris Thille's picking speed exercises?

--Eric E

chris thille's picking exercise is on his dvd... all that stuff is picking exercise.... harhar

[EricEJazz]

Thanks, I'll have to check out his DVD.

--Eric