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Learning the Head to Donna Lee in One Week

ba55i5t

ba55i5t

May 24, 2006
676
585
#1
Hi TB,


I've been wanting to learn the head to this piece for a while and I've got approximately a week off to spend on honing it in. I know a week is ambitious, but I'm just aiming to have the head down by that time. NB - I have no previous knowledge of the head other than listening to the tune a bunch.

What I'm looking to do is give daily updates on my progress and solicit any kind of helpful feedback from other members regarding this piece.

There is no 'rush' on my part, just a small challenge to see if I can get it done.

I'll post a bit later after my practice sessions to see how far I've got it.

Note - I am using a 5er, and am probably going to be 'hanging out' in the 9th - 13th fret range based on the note spread.


ba55i5t
 
#2
Jazz guy perspective - I would argue that the point of learning something like to head to Donna Lee isn't so much about the technical challenge of playing a note-y piece, but trying to get a sense of why and how Charlie Parker fit this melody over the "Indiana" changes, and gain aome control over the bebop tonal language for use in ones own improvisation. By all means learn to play it this week, but maybe spend the next week (or month, or year, or....) on studying the harmonic innovations presented in this tune.
 
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#4
Thanks all for your kind words and helpful insights.

Tonight I was able to sight read through the entire piece, figure out the fretboard range I should be in and start to see some patterns. I have the first four bars down at a good pace. I'm aiming to have the first 16 down by end of Tuesday. I'm really looking forward to nailing bar 32.;)

Will report back tomorrow.
 
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#7
Day 2 (so far)

Can play bars 1-8 at a decent pace, am working on bars 9-12.

I'm learning more about my approach to learning (ie. what works for me). I've tried playing along with the recording, playing along with a metronome, and playing by myself. I've noticed that playing by myself works the best (in terms of picking it up the fastest).

I've also noticed a discrepancy between the version I was working on (The Real Book 6th edition bass clef), and what most other people are playing - for reference, it's bar 6 beat 3. The Real Book has B-G-E, where other books/players/versions are excluding the G and playing B-E, going chromatically down to Eb, D.

I'm hoping to get 9-12 down before the evening time, and will report back if it is accomplished.
 
#8
One phrase at the time.

Also start very slowly and work out your fingerings. Then make some changes if needed while increasing the tempo because the first fingerings you came up with will probably not be suitable at at faster tempo. Work on your phrasing also, ties resolving on the downbeats not the upbeats! Tap your foot and metronome on 2&4 when you feel confident with your performance.
 
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#9
End of day 2 report -- got up to bar 12 with some decent pace, though this is inconsistent.

Thank you @Groove Master for the helpful advice. The fingerings seem okay so far. I am so glad I bought a 5er - this would be much more difficult on a 4.
 
#10
ba55i5t said:
Day 2 (so far)

Can play bars 1-8 at a decent pace, am working on bars 9-12.

I'm learning more about my approach to learning (ie. what works for me). I've tried playing along with the recording, playing along with a metronome, and playing by myself. I've noticed that playing by myself works the best (in terms of picking it up the fastest).

I've also noticed a discrepancy between the version I was working on (The Real Book 6th edition bass clef), and what most other people are playing - for reference, it's bar 6 beat 3. The Real Book has B-G-E, where other books/players/versions are excluding the G and playing B-E, going chromatically down to Eb, D.

I'm hoping to get 9-12 down before the evening time, and will report back if it is accomplished.
Click to expand...
Yes there is an xtra note (G) on the 6th edition. You can skip it or rake it if you like the sound of it. It is up to you depending on the tempo and your phrasing...


Also, does your 5 is with a high C or a low B?
 
#12
Groove Master said:
Yes there is an xtra note (G) on the 6th edition. You can skip it or rake it if you like the sound of it. It is up to you depending on the tempo and your phrasing...


Also, does your 5 is with a high C or a low B?
Click to expand...

It is strung BEADG. I am mainly working around the 9th-13th fret region as it covers the entire span of notes in the head (also coincidentally 2 octave range Ab-Ab).
 
#13
Day 3 report - up to bar 24. The last 8 are a bit of a head spin and look complicated fingering wise, but should be within reach by the end of the week.

Side note: It's good to play more during practice over knob fiddling. I'm happy that I'm spending more time on this rather than the usual side track.
 
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#14
ba55i5t said:
Day 3 report - up to bar 24. The last 8 are a bit of a head spin and look complicated fingering wise, but should be within reach by the end of the week.

Side note: It's good to play more during practice over knob fiddling. I'm happy that I'm spending more time on this rather than the usual side track.
Click to expand...

Make sure to go back and learn why the notes you're playing work over the chords. Can you play the chords on your bass? Learn that too if not. Also, if you haven't walked over the changes, that's another thing that can be learned. I had to be able to do all of the above, plus improvise a solo for this tune in music school. It makes sense to learn everything you can from it.
 
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#15
Day 4 Report--


I am able to play the whole tune at a decent pace (132) with few errors (see uploaded mp3, dropped a beat on bar 22).

It will most likely take me longer than the rest of this week to learn it up to a "slow" tempo (according to this video 153 bpm).

I think that the fingerings are fine, it's just that I blank out on sections sometimes. There doesn't seem to be one single section that gives me problems, other than bar 28 which I always have to look down for.

Any thoughts on how I can ratchet it up to 153 smoothly, and any bars I should watch out for?

Also - I will be taking time out to walk over, solo over, comp, and do an analysis of the head as I continue w/this thread.

Thanks again for all of your kind words and helpful advice.


ba55i5t
 

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#16
ba55i5t said:
Day 4 Report--


I am able to play the whole tune at a decent pace (132) with few errors (see uploaded mp3, dropped a beat on bar 22).

It will most likely take me longer than the rest of this week to learn it up to a "slow" tempo (according to this video 153 bpm).

I think that the fingerings are fine, it's just that I blank out on sections sometimes. There doesn't seem to be one single section that gives me problems, other than bar 28 which I always have to look down for.

Any thoughts on how I can ratchet it up to 153 smoothly, and any bars I should watch out for?

Also - I will be taking time out to walk over, solo over, comp, and do an analysis of the head as I continue w/this thread.

Thanks again for all of your kind words and helpful advice.


ba55i5t
Click to expand...

A lot of wrong notes. Make sure you play the accidentals properly. They last the whole bar. Also at that speed you should aim at the phrasing. Work on it...
Good work so far. You are progressing well but it's time to fine tune now...
 
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#18
Groove Master said:
A lot of wrong notes. Make sure you play the accidentals properly. They last the whole bar. Also at that speed you should aim at the phrasing. Work on it...
Good work so far. You are progressing well but it's time to fine tune now...
Click to expand...

Thank you for the feedback. Are there any bars in particular that I should focus on for errors with notes?

Rhythmman535 said:
How slowly can you play it?
Click to expand...

Slow. I just gave a couple run throughs at different tempos and I can play cleanly on anything up to 116bpm. I had a couple runs at 132 that were slightly better than the 120 run I posted. I think today I'll try to play along with this video and see how far I can get, ensuring that I have good phrasing and proper notes.

 
#19
ba55i5t said:
Thank you for the feedback. Are there any bars in particular that I should focus on for errors with notes?



Slow. I just gave a couple run throughs at different tempos and I can play cleanly on anything up to 116bpm. I had a couple runs at 132 that were slightly better than the 120 run I posted. I think today I'll try to play along with this video and see how far I can get, ensuring that I have good phrasing and proper notes.

Click to expand...

Check the end of the 1st bar and the downbeat of the 2nd one. It should be Bb and A. Also check the end of the first section with the accidentals on the G string ;-)
 
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#20
ba55i5t said:
Thank you for the feedback. Are there any bars in particular that I should focus on for errors with notes?



Slow. I just gave a couple run throughs at different tempos and I can play cleanly on anything up to 116bpm. I had a couple runs at 132 that were slightly better than the 120 run I posted. I think today I'll try to play along with this video and see how far I can get, ensuring that I have good phrasing and proper notes.

When I say slow I really mean slow. Back in the 90s Bass Player Live was held in NYC. Marcus Miller put on a clinic to an overflowed room and talked about, among other things, his audition with Miles. He said that he went to Miles's apartment for the audition and he asked him to play the blues which he did. Miles stopped him and told him to play it even slower. Marcus said that he learned a very important lesson that day. Everybody can play fast but not everybody can play slow. Could you play Donna Lee at 50 bpm or 30 bpm and still maintain the phrasing and proper notes? If you can do that you will stop having the mental lapse at a faster tempo which will become as unconsciously automatic as chewing gum.
Click to expand...
 

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