24th September Drums/Piano

I managed to get a good hour and a half in on the drum set yesterday. I focused mainly on improvising using paradiddle diddles, mostly in a swing context - 4 bars time, 4 bars solo - experimenting with different phrasing ideas and orchestrations at a variety of tempos.

Today is a day off so I've been out and about this morning enjoying myself. I've just spent about 20 minutes at the keyboard. I ran through G major and D minor scales and G major Arpeggios and then worked the Song of Erin back up to speed. I then quickly revisited the Duncombe Gavot from Monday.

I also ordered Bob Mintzer's "Playing Jazz Piano." I've been curious to take a look at this for a while. Since it is now on Amazon with a 'search inside' option I see enough to tell that it isn't way beyond my capabilities. I'm looking forward to getting stuck into that. The Bob Mintzer connection reminds me that I really want to get back into some composition and arranging ideas - So much to do, so little time!

I'm about to hit the practice pad and then watch some more drum DVDs for a bit of inspiration.