What would Jethro do?

[makoto]

I am trying to figure out a method for developing ways to make solo mandolin playing interesting, namely chord solos and variations of jazz standards. Right now I am working on "When You Wish Upon a Star". I would like to state the melody, return with a chord solo on the theme, make a variation, and then restate the melody. I am having trouble with the chord melody. Any helpful suggestions?

[QUOTE]
"Science is discipline pursued with a passion; art is passion pursued with discipline"

[makoto]

Oops! I did not mean to post this three times, can you delete the first two? Thanks

[glauber]

I doubt composition can be thought in a few discussion-board posts. The simple (and useless) answer is: use the melody notes and add some other notes to create harmony. Better listen to what other people did and try to create something you like. If you subscribe to Mandolin Magazine, they usually have at least one chord melody example per issue. The Mel Bay Jethro book is another great source of ideas. Ted Esch has an excellent short article on jazz voicings that everyone interested in jazz mandolin should read.

"It's a journey..."

[Moose]

(full!)chord melody on mando! - now THAT ain't easy! - Keep try'n anyhow and good luck. Moose.

[delsbrother]

I'm sorry, but THAT's what Ted's Jazzmando.com tshirts sould look like:

You could put the head of some well-known tune (or "I Got Rhythm", or whatever) on the front, and then in big letters:

WWJD? (What Would Jethro Do?)

Another group I belong to had shirts like this made for (Los Angeles Kings forward and all-around pest/loudmouth/francophobe) Sean Avery. The proceeds from the shirts went to local charities. Some ultraconservative Christians were offended, but mostly everyone understood it to be what it was, a goofy tshirt.

I even think Jesus would approve (of both shirts).

[glauber]

I love it! I want bracelets, chain rings, pick holders, the whole shebang!

[Pete Martin]

The general idea in chord melodies is to take the melody and put it as the top note of the chord.

Let's say the note G is the melody and the chord is EbMaj7. If you fret the 3rd fret of the G string, first fret of D, fifth fret of A and third fret of E, you have an EbMaj7 chord with the G note on top.

This is not the easiest thing to do, but the more tunes you learn and practice, it gets easier.

[jmcgann]

A good rule of thumb, believe it or not, is to leave out the root and fifth, and get the 3rd and 7th of the chord on the bottom two strings. that frees the top two for melody-and you can just use one of those! It is WWJD too. Not to mention jazz arrangers...

Also- you don't have to harmonize every note- you can have some melody notes move against a static background.

I have been working with a student on "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", and we are doing lots of three and four note voicings. We are even getting into the Bill Evans rootless voicings with neat intervals territory- lots of fun!

You will learn tons from this kind of painstaking work.

[Peter Hackman]

I have been working with a student on "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", and we are doing lots of three and four note voicings. We are even getting into the Bill Evans rootless voicings with neat intervals territory- lots of fun!

You will learn tons from this kind of painstaking work.

I'm not that familiar with Evans' work, but,
as a rule, don't jazz
piano players use awfully close voicings for the most part?
Not easy to replicate on the mando.

Well I
look for other things; there are so many notes flying around
in a group as is. Although I do fool around a bit with
static tritones and more mobile things on top of them,
as long as it is improvised.

[makoto]

So far I have had good results with "When You Wish Upon a Star" doing as Pete recomended, namely putting the melody on the top and playing the chord forms under the melody. It sounds pretty good and fits well on the fingerboard, thanks Pete! (I always look forward to your articles on chord melodies in Mandolin Magazine, they are very helpful.) After stating the melody, then playing it through using the chord melody, I am enjoying improvising it by swinging the rhythm, adding passing tones, blue notes, etc. I think it will be fun to listen to by the time it is over.

Jon, your student is working on the next piece I want to play in this form, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". I am not ashamed to say I got the idea to link the two tunes from hearing Jethro play it on his recording "Tea For One", great stuff! I will try to follow your advice about leaving out the root and fifth, thanks. And you are absolutely right, I have learned much so far by doing this, it really has caused me to analyze the music in a way I never had before. If I find myself in the Boston area this year I would like to schedule a private lesson on this subject. Also I enjoyed your article about Andy Statman's solo on "Skippy" in this issue of Mandolin Magazine, very timely.

Thanks for all the replies so far!

[jaydee]

[QUOTE] (Peter Hackman, Nov 24, 2005)
"I'm not that familiar with Evans' work..."
Oh man, run, don't walk, and get ahold of "Portrait in Jazz", or "Sunday at the Village Vanguard" and give 'em a good listen. Evans is absolutely my favorite piano player ever. He had a unique concept of improvisation, harmony, and group performance. If you are a fan of music you need to at least know about this guy (even if you don't fall in love with his music). I can't say enough great stuff about him, don't stop to thank me now, just check this underappreciated giant out.