duccichucka said:

I never thought about the trumpet's chromatic capabilities as being less suited

than a sax-o-ma-phone's. Nice insight. And that may be why Dolphy's sound can

be grating?....a trumpet's inherent tonal qualities don't make chromaticisms "sound"

good?

The saxophone (especially the alto) has a softer sound than the trumpet, so the "chromatic" or "out" sounds will blend in with the rest in a more natural manner. The trumpet has a very bright sound with a huge attack. Often it just ends up sounding like bebop played wrong if you play too fast and stray out of the regular scales. The transition between notes on a saxophone is smoother, so the strange intervals do not irk the listener as much (granted, it still does that for many).

When Miles went electric (or "atonal") he started to play fewer notes, because that just fit the overall music better. It's usually the keyboards or the guitars that are playing at breakneck speed. Miles himself was using his wah wah and echo effects to make his own parts fit what the rest of band were playing. Stuff like that is usually regarded as "experimentation", but many musicians that work with dissonance actually use effects for blending purposes.

novabrkr said:

duccichucka said:

I never thought about the trumpet's chromatic capabilities as being less suited

than a sax-o-ma-phone's. Nice insight. And that may be why Dolphy's sound can

be grating?....a trumpet's inherent tonal qualities don't make chromaticisms "sound"

good?

The saxophone (especially the alto) has a softer sound than the trumpet, so the "chromatic" or "out" sounds will blend in with the rest in a more natural manner. The trumpet has a very bright sound with a huge attack. Often it just ends up sounding like bebop played wrong if you play too fast and stray out of the regular scales. The transition between notes on a saxophone is smoother, so the strange intervals do not irk the listener as much (granted, it still does that for many).

When Miles went electric (or "atonal") he started to play fewer notes, because that just fit the overall music better. It's usually the keyboards or the guitars that are playing at breakneck speed. Miles himself was using his wah wah and echo effects to make his own parts fit what the rest of band were playing. Stuff like that is usually regarded as "experimentation", but many musicians that work with dissonance actually use effects for blending purposes.

on a slightly different note, I remember hearing how when he was playing a lot with guitar players, that he began to lose his breath because he was trying to play long lines like a guitar player can.

It's funny, because guitar players are taught to "take breaths" when they play for phrasing purposes

NDRU said:

[...]

It's funny, because guitar players are taught to "take breaths" when they play for phrasing purposes

I've actually never heard of this. Or at least I don't remember hearing of such a thing. I think it's a great piece of advice.

novabrkr said:

NDRU said:

[...]

It's funny, because guitar players are taught to "take breaths" when they play for phrasing purposes

I've actually never heard of this. Or at least I don't remember hearing of such a thing. I think it's a great piece of advice.

well...probably not many guitar players actually learn this lesson!

But the good ones know to take cues from horn players and singers.

NDRU said:

novabrkr said:

I've actually never heard of this. Or at least I don't remember hearing of such a thing. I think it's a great piece of advice.

well...probably not many guitar players actually learn this lesson!

But the good ones know to take cues from horn players and singers.

So, whats the reasoning behind this lesson? What does it add to the playing?

And I agree, its an interesting trivia.

Harlepolis said:

NDRU said:

well...probably not many guitar players actually learn this lesson!

But the good ones know to take cues from horn players and singers.

So, whats the reasoning behind this lesson? What does it add to the playing?

And I agree, its an interesting trivia.

The lesson as I see it is this.

As an analogy, imagine having a conversation with someone that talks a mile a minute and never shuts up.

There are some guitarists that think their NPS (notes per second) count is what makes them great.

Personally, i'd rather hear someone that can find that one right note and make it work over a few bars.

Music for adventurous listeners


tA

Tribal Records

[Edited 7/9/12 20:23pm]

Well said

theAudience said:

Harlepolis said:

So, whats the reasoning behind this lesson? What does it add to the playing?

And I agree, its an interesting trivia.

The lesson as I see it is this.

As an analogy, imagine having a conversation with someone that talks a mile a minute and never shuts up.

There are some guitarists that think their NPS (notes per second) count is what makes them great.

Personally, i'd rather hear someone that can find that one right note and make it work over a few bars.

Yes, I think that's a good way to see it.

I also feel like we've evolved to be accustomed to melodic lines that breathe because the human voice is maybe the oldest instrument. So there's something more human and appealing about a guitar solo that breathes every few bars.