This past weekend, as part of the MakeMusicNewYork festival, I took part in a interesting “game” entitled Exquisite Corpses. The term refers to a artistic technique invented by the early 20th century surrealists in which players write in turn on…
Blog Archives
The (Musical) Games We Play: (Musical) Exquisite Corpses and Terry Riley’s “In C”
Tagged with: "In C", Exquisite Corpses, Improvisation, La Monte Young, Minimalism, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley
Posted in Classical, Improvisation, Music Appreciation and Analysis
Posted in Classical, Improvisation, Music Appreciation and Analysis
“Beauty Is A Rare Thing. . .”: Ornette Coleman 1930 – 2015
It’s a depressing sign of one’s own mortality when you hear that yet another of your musical heroes has passed. Last week, Ornette Coleman, the alto saxophonist, composer and musical revolutionary passed away at the age of 85. As I…
Tagged with: Grateful Dead, Improvisation, Jazz, Ornette Coleman
Posted in Grateful Dead, Improvisation, Jam Band, Jazz, Music Appreciation and Analysis
Posted in Grateful Dead, Improvisation, Jam Band, Jazz, Music Appreciation and Analysis
A Musical Offering: J.S. Bach’s Crab Cannon
And now for something a little different. . . What we have below is a video that illustrates a cool little musical puzzle from one the greatest musicians ever, J.S. Bach. It’s the first piece from Bach’s “Musical Offering”, a…
Tagged with: Canon, Conterpoint, J.S. Bach
Posted in Classical, Music Appreciation and Analysis, Music Theory
Posted in Classical, Music Appreciation and Analysis, Music Theory
“You Got The Silver. .” : Great Keith Richards Quotes On Music
“I mean, give me a guitar, give me a piano, give me a broom and string, I wouldn’t get bored anywhere.” “I firmly believe if you want to be a guitar player, you better start on acoustic and then graduate…
Tagged with: Blues, Keith Richards, Quotes, Rolling Stones
Posted in Blues, Classic Rock, Music Appreciation and Analysis
Posted in Blues, Classic Rock, Music Appreciation and Analysis
“Let Me Play The Blues For You”: The Guitar Genius Of B.B. King (1925 – 2015)
After dealing with various health issues during the past few years, the legendary B.B. King passed away last night at his home in Las Vegas. He was 89. I was lucky enough to have seen B.B. King live numerous times.…
Tagged with: B.B King, Blues, blues guitar, Improvisation, T-Bone Walker
Posted in Blues, Music Appreciation and Analysis
Posted in Blues, Music Appreciation and Analysis
Happy Mother’s Day: Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried”
Happy Mother’s Day to all. The first thing I remember knowin’ Was a lonesome whistle blownin’ And a young’uns dream of growin’ up to ride On a freight train leavin’ town Not knowin’ where I’m bound And no one could…
Tagged with: Grateful Dead, Mama Tried, Merle Haggard, Mother's Day
Posted in Grateful Dead, Music Appreciation and Analysis
Posted in Grateful Dead, Music Appreciation and Analysis
“Hot Rats” : Frank Zappa’s Early Jazz Rock Masterpiece
Hot Rats by Frank Zappa. I can honestly say that this was one of the records that had a major impact on my life. I think I was around 12 years old when I was first heard it, an advantage…
Tagged with: guitar, Hot Rats, Ian Underwood, Improvisation, Jazz Rock, Mothers Of Invention, Zappa
Posted in Improvisation, Jazz, Music Appreciation and Analysis
Posted in Improvisation, Jazz, Music Appreciation and Analysis
“All You Need Is Cash: . . : The Rutles – Best Beatles Parody Ever
I went to the doctor the other day. I know that this usually means a decent amount of time in the waiting room so I brought something to read, “You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After The Breakup”…
Work Song: The Paul Butterfield Blues Band/Cannonball Adderley Quintet/The Animals
As I continue to practice on my Chapman Stick guitar, I have a list of tunes that I am currently working on and a list of tunes that I plan to work on. One of the songs that just went…
Tagged with: Blues, Canonball Adderley, Elvin Bishop, Eric Burdon, Jazz, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Animals, Work Song
Posted in Blues, Improvisation, Jazz, Music Appreciation and Analysis
Posted in Blues, Improvisation, Jazz, Music Appreciation and Analysis
“Give Me A Ticket For An Aer-O-Plane”: Joe Cocker 1940 – 2014
For those of us who came of age in the late sixties – early seventies and for whom the music of those years made an indelible imprint on our souls, this has been a tough month. In the past several…
Tagged with: Blues, Gospel, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, Mad Dogs & Englishmen, Soul Music, Space Captain, Stax Records, The Letter
Posted in Classic Rock, Music Appreciation and Analysis
Posted in Classic Rock, Music Appreciation and Analysis
ManRoy Music 