u/TromboneAl

I'm sure many of you know this ...

When I learned block chords, I was told that if the melody note is in the chord, you play the notes of the chord. If not, you play the diminished chord that includes that note.

But I recently learned that it will always be the same diminished chord. For example, for a C6, it will always be the F dim chord. I also find it easier to think "Am7" instead of "C6" for the chord tones. So, playing a scale you'll just be playing Am7, Fdim, Am7, Fdim, etc.

For me, that reduces the amount of thinking I need to do when playing block or drop 2 chords. At least until the muscle memory kicks.

My elevation works great one day and totally fails the next, even if I don't restart the watch or do anything.

Any fix for this?

I often play a walking bass line in my left hand with chords/melody/solo in the right. I know how to construct good bass lines. However, when playing something difficult, or if I'm really into my soloing, my bass line often reverts to a boring outlining of triads.

I'm working on fixing this by memorizing some better bass lines so that my left hand will revert to those when it's on it's own.

Anyone else deal with this?

I'm sure this trick isn't a revelation, but it helps me, so I thought I'd share it ...

TLDR: By recording at a slow tempo and then playing it back at a higher speed, I get encouragement by hearing how I'll sound as I improve.

For example, I recently started working on bebop soloing with enclosures, etc. At first, I would record myself at 100 BPM. But bebop doesn't sound that good at that tempo. So, I'd play back my recording at 150 BPM, and that sounds good. It's quite motivating to see how I'll sound once I get better. Also, it's proof that the new technique is worth learning.

Each day I record at a slightly higher tempo.

A warning: I find that I never sound quite as good as the sped up version of my playing, and I think that's because good articulation and swing are harder to achieve at higher tempos.

I'm using the McGill Big Three to fix lower back pain. That is, side planks, bird dogs, and curl ups. There's no mention of front/back planks. Are those less important for core strength and back pain prevention?

I'll often think my playing sounds great one day, only to be really disappointed with how it sounds another day. It even happens listening a recording of my playing, so it's only my perception of the quality.

Do you experience that?

I'm working on it, but I seem incapable of keeping a steady tempo while playing (I always speed up). I'm considering the embarrassing remedy of having a metronome at the piano during a gig (silent--flashes the beat).

Has anyone tried this (at a gig)?