[Dixielandjazz] Re: Improvise redux; playing melodies

[Dan Augustine]

>Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2003 14:26:30 -0500
>Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Improvise redux
>From: Charlie Hooks <charliehooks at earthlink.net>
>on 6/25/03 10:45 PM, Dan Augustine at ds.augustine at mail.utexas.edu wrote:
>I'm starting to think that i ought to just play along with
>the main melody of every song i can play on my CD-player (almost said
>turntable, irreparably dating myself), just for practice in playing
>    melodies.
>   A good enough idea, but why do you need to hear somebody else playing the tune along with you?  Don't you know the tune?  Can you sing it or at least hum it out loud?  Sure, just practice playing the melody until you can do that with no trouble.  Then you can start fooling around with the melody if you hear a line in your head that you think would sound nice.  
><snip>
>good luck,
>Charlie
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Charlie and others--
    Hmm, interesting point and question about knowing the melody.
    In my 50 years of playing tuba, i bet i have less than 30 total hours playing melodies that are written out on a page, and less than 5 hours playing melodies not written out (mostly that i'm playing along with, or trying to imitate after having heard them).  No way to know if those figures are in any way accurate, of course.
    But the point is, tuba players play what's written, on 1 and 3, and harmony parts of the root and fifth.  In general, we aren't trained to play without music, play any extended melodies, or play the 3rd, 7th, or other non-triadic parts of the chord.  And, i don't know melodies as well as i know harmonies. I can play a bass part in any key to lots of songs i've never seen the music for, but i couldn't begin to even sing the melody most times.  Even if i could, i wouldn't know what valve-combinations to push to play it on tuba.
    This ain't to say we can't do it, just to say that we have very little experience even trying to do it.  Sure, as Robert A. Heinlein pointed out, you can train a snake to tap dance, once you get the shoes on him.
   
    Dan
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** Dan Augustine - ds.augustine at mail.utexas.edu             **
** Office of Admissions, University of Texas; Austin, Texas **
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