Chapin ~ Saturday Combo

Mr. Chapin’s Saturday Afternoon Combo ~ 2-4 pm

Current Assignments for Concerts:

Below are some steps to follow each day on each of our 3 tunes. Work on the tune that’s hardest for your first.

Listening:

  • Listen to the head (melody) and one solo for each of our tunes to get ideas.
Soloing Practice
  • Listen to the tune while you watch the music and follow the chords
  • Review the improv notes for each chord
    • For the blues tunes, we discussed using the 1st 4 notes, the blues scale, or “playing the changes”
    • For our other tune: root, 2nd, 3rd and 5th
  • Practice improvising with a backing track

Road Map

Previous Assignments for Week 4:

Listening:

  • Listen to the head (melody) and a solo for each of our tunes to get ideas for how to play the head and for how to solo
Soloing Practice
  • Blues Walk
    • Review the 1st 4 notes
    • Try improvising over Blues Walk using the backing track
  • Bourbon St. Parade 
    • Review the Root, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th for each chord
    • Try improvising over the tune using a backing track
  • So Danco Samba
    • Review the Root, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th for each chord
    • Try improvising over the tune using a backing track

Previous Assignments for Week 3:

Listening:

  • Listen to the head (melody) each of the tunes we are playing while watching your music
    • Be able to sing the melody
    • “Sing & Fing” (finger the notes without playing?)
    • Play along with the music for Blues Walk, Watermelon Man, and So Danco Samba
  • Listen to the soloing on Blues Walk. Try to learn a phrase to use in your own soloing
Soloing Practice
  • Blues Walk
    • Review the 1st 4 notes
    • Try improvising over Blues Walk using the backing track
  • Bourbon St. Parade
    • Review the Root, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th for each chord
    • Try improvising over Bourbon St. Parade using the backing track

Previous Assignments for Week 2:

  • Listen to Blues Walk and Watermelon Man multiple times (see listening links below)
    • Be able to sing the melody
  • Review the 1st 4 notes for the Blues Walk
  • Practice playing the melody of Blues Walk over the backing track (see backing tracks below)
  • Practice improvising over Blues Walk using the backing track
  • Extra Challenge: Using the backing track for Blues Walk, play the root for each chord on beat 1