I am literally out of my mind with joy right now over the way this stuff is developing. I don’t think you’re going to see me for a while!
Thanks for the kind words and for putting up with the rough edges. If I didn’t record these things, I wouldn’t be able to develop them to the degree that I do. I highly recommend doing that. I also tend to get obsessive about it, so maybe don’t do that.
Ragtime music has influenced American music to such a deep degree, but unfortunately it has the reputation of being the music of moldy figs, which is a real shame. I know Scott Joplin was very particular about the way his music should be played. But many of the musicians I admire most like Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, just to name a few, have this music deeply embedded in their core.
Stefan, I am very aware of the BH diminished 6th. I studied that for a while years ago through the Roni Ben-Hur book. I also have several good friends who were BH regulars for many years, attending all his classes and singing in his choir.
Tim, yes the bass notes add a lot to the syncopation, so by playing it over and over again, and listening in my head, I am constantly finding new strategies to incorporate it. Technically, it’s a challenge to come up with solutions, which is a very good thing. You can never give up looking for new ways to solve a problem. I feel like Leo Kottke greatly influenced my picking, not that I learned his music, but the way he grooves definitely made me dig deeper.
Bart and Dave, very well said. I have always been one to go back to the source. Early Rock and Roll was the first music I ever loved, and truthfully, going back another 40-50 years you can hear the genesis of it, which is even more sophisticated than what came after. I could never eradicate that from myself, not that I want to, and I still am drawn to music that has that raw quality. Some of the best Rock and Roll I’ve ever heard is Thelonious Monk trio recordings with Art Blakey or Max Roach, say like on Bye-Ya from the Prestige sessions.
