Did my body hold up? No, it did not, so I won't do that again. At age 30 maybe I could have managed it, but at age 66 no way. And I'm in shape. But the fatigue made my mind foggy. Today's practice. It was a slow day because my upper back muscles are sore. I spent a few minutes reviewing the 4-mallet minor rootless voicings. Then I practiced some tunes for this summer's upcoming concerts in Muskoka.
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It will be a slow day for practice because this morning I'm playing in the Kerr Street Big Band, then teaching in Mississauga and finally performing tonight with Upper Canada Brass in Markham. Tonight besides my drum kit duties I have one vibraphone solo! However, on the drive I will have the opportunity to listen to music. Count Basie, Live at the Sands Buddy Rich, Big Swing Face Modern Jazz Quartet with Sonny Rollins Gary Burton with Chich Corea, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, and Sonny Rollins. I believe that listening is practicing. So it will be a good day for practice.  I changed it up today by working on ragtime and classical techniques from the books below. Then I went through 12 keys of major rootless voicings to a backing track at a moderate tempo. So far, so good. However, the rootless ii V i progressions are slow to stick in my old head. But, I'm not giving up.  I finished by jamming with Wes Montgomery's version of Summertime. It has some groovy chords.  Today I'm warming up on major, dominant, and phrygian bebop scales. Then I practice the 60 jazz chords with a half step pick up. I will use a metronome to give me real time feedback of my timing precision. But mostly, I must practice drums becuase I have 3 drumming events and 2 rehearshals this weekend. Friday evening: Dress rehearsal with Upper Canada Brass Saturday morning: Kerr Street Big Band rehearshal Saturday evening: Upper Canada Brass concert Sunday morning: Church service with the Metropolitan Silver band Sunday afternoon: doors open concnert with the Metropolitan Silver Band Sunday evening I will go to bed early. 
Holiday weekend and I took 2 days off. The challenge with a malletkat is playing it expressively. (This is note an easy task.) When I listen back to my practice recordings I can hear my expressive flatness, especially when playing unaccompanied. So, this week my quest is to play more expressively. Step 1: I set the minimum volume on the vibes to 6. This gives me more control at the lower dynamic level. Step 2: I spent some time playing the broken 60 jazz chords with a crescendo going up and a diminuendo going down. I did the same with scales. Step 3: I pulled out some easy classical piano pieces and focused on playing them expressively. I become more aware of the feel of the mallets at the softer dynamic. Did I succeed in playing more expressively? Sometimes. Tomorrow I will experiment with different mallets. Step 4: I jammed on Blue Moon
1. All melodic minor scales, 2 octaves 2. All major scales in 3rds, 2 octaves 3. 60, 2nd inversion broken jazz chords 4. Rootless voicings to tunes below. 5. 2 octave arpeggios on C major7, C7, Cm7, Db major 7, Db7. 6. Ear training. I learned Afro Blue from the original recording. Corrected the key and the fake book melody.
1. Major scales in 4ths, 2 octaves 2. 60 jazz chords, close position, blocked 3. 60 jazz chords, open position, blocked 4. Spent some time practicing close position diminished 7th chords. G and C diminished 7ths are awkward in root position with 4 mallets.
I enjoyed listening to these 2 videos on my early morning walk. The conclusion? Learn the mechanics of your instrument and then transcribe like crazy. The second conclusion? You don't need another book, you need to practice more of what you've got.
1. Alternating 3rds scale patterns
2. 60 broken Jazz chords 3. I spent a lot of time on practicing 4 note rootless dominant chords. First, I went around the circle of 5ths, 2nd I played them chromatically. 4. I missed the band practice because my car was in the shop. It wasn't a great day. I was listening to the rehearshal recordings for a second time. I have room for improvement. On the good side my musical instincts are good. On the rough side my phrasing and time needs urgent work. As you know, I teach piano. All day long I implore my students to phrase beautifully and listen carefully to the pulse and their relationship to it. My needs work on this instrument. Here is what I heard listening to Blue Bossa.
Today's technical regime.
Repertoire Desmond is in G minor I celebrated Mother's day with my mother. See you tomorrow.
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