Chick Corea - Got A Match

[therealting]

After seeing me play at an open jam night, a keyboard approached me to do some fusion trio work, which I said I was definitely interested in doing... I haven't played much fusion out, but I don't have any problem with tunes like "Spectrum" or "Red Baron", and after a little work I can handle basic time signature changes ("Proto Cosmos" etc), so I think it would be a good learning and growth opportunity.

Went over to his house, listened to some of his tunes. They're good tunes, I like them. We chat a bit, jam briefly, try some of his tunes out, I say let's go for it. He gives me a couple of his tunes to learn and the names of a couple other songs to listen to and learn for a rehearsal.

One of them is Chick Corea's "Got A Match".

Is it just me, or is this tune waaaaaaaay hard? I can just about make it through the changes at this point, but the head is too quick... I have it up to about 2/3 speed now and I'm not sure how much closer I can get to full tempo.

So please tell me I wasn't being a wuss by telling him I might have to 'shed this one for a few months! Any tips on tackling this piece appreciated too.

[narud]

the key with this tune for me was just finding fingerings i was comfortable with. the first half is pretty easy but the rest of it took a while to find a position i was truly comfortable with. i eventually came up with something where i could play it at any tempo but its different for everyone. ive seen patitucci,jimmy earl, and mike pope all play this tune and all of them played it differently.

[Aaron J]

I played this tune not too long ago on my friend's college senior recital. I agree with narud...get a fingering that you are comfortable with first and foremost. Then it is just a matter of shedding with a metronome. Find the tempo where you start breaking down, and back it up a little bit. Play it until you don't have to worry about it, and then push the metronome forward a click. I bet you could have it in a time much shorter than a coupld of months. Oh yeah, and for the love of god...stay loose and use a lighter touch for the head. Good Luck