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Tom.Coppin

Guitar Solo Transcription: Gone With the Wind by Wes Montgomery

Categories Guitar Music Practice

This latest transcription is a solo I have always loved.  Wes Montgomery’s feel on every 8th note line is effortless, and the tempo suits him so well. He has access to so many subdivisions that groove on a medium swing like this: 8th notes, triplets, double-time. For those who are interested-my particular recording of the head and first chorus of this has some makeshift drums-played on my trousers-supposed to emulate the brushes on a snare drum. I included the head as well as the first chorus of solo in this transcription because I think it’s worth noting how much embellishment … Read more

Colin Oxley’s Solo in "I Should Care"

Categories Guitar

Here’s a great solo on a classic standard, often played as a ballad but here as a medium swing. This is the first chorus of Colin’s solo taken from a video of a gig in London from 2010, and what struck me about this chorus is the simplicity of its phrasing. The 32 bars of transcription discussed here exemplifies a well-balanced first chorus of improvising in the jazz/bebop style. Oxley repeats simple melodic and rhythmic motifs over different chords, for example, the triplet idea juxtaposed by an eighth note (from the end of bar 6 to bar 8) moving down … Read more

Jaco Pastorius’ solo on Bright Size Life by Pat Metheny

Categories Guitar

Here are some of my thoughts on what has to be one of the greatest jazz bass solos ever recorded, fretless or otherwise.  Jaco Pastorius played his legendary fretless bass on Pat Metheny’s debut album: Bright Size Life, and this solo is from the title track.  I chose this solo for its lyrical phrasing, the unmistakeable fretless articulation that became a big part of Jaco’s personal sound, not to mention the sound which many contemporary fretless bass players aim for.  In the words of modern fretless player Matt Bissonette, when he was discussing all fretless bassists: “…we’re all chasing Jaco’s … Read more