In the woodshed

Welcome to the 'Woodshed'
Click here to see the real Woodshed

As you may know, the verb 'to woodshed' means to practice. Well, once I had a woodshed (actually brick built) which was fantastic but since downsizing I now make do without. I certainly miss that good old woodshed but still it doesn't stop me practising anyhow.
I shall use this page as a general knocking shop for discussion on anything that occurs to me or seems relevant at the time to do with the practical side of music making in my world and/or trombone banter in general. Reactions always welcome... davidsenior48@gmail.comClick here for:  Near enough for jazz?…  (An article about pitch rectification)    by Dave Senior 2008 unaltered Updated 20 October 2021 New contribution.  2nd July 2020

          Bones Go Changin’       Bio and concept.              Dave Senior

Way back...Almost from the start the sound of two instruments interacting either by arrangement or spontaneously has excited me. Looking back I think I can say when this fascination began with a fair degree of certainty. When I first picked up a trombone I actually only had one goal and that was to play traditional jazz and luckily the opportunities to do this were all around in the early 1960’s. Hence my first working jazz band was the Canalside Jazzband which consisted of like minded individuals striving to emulate our respective idols. Actually the clarinet player was a school pal called Roy Telling and I owe it to him that we ventured off to attend local jazz concerts. Already in our early teens we had seen many of the British bands who were making waves at the time such as Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Ken Colyer, Terry Lightfoot and so on all of whom obviously made a great impression but we were also fortunate to have attended concerts of some great American bands like George Lewis and Kid Ory too.
Now my school pal Roy Telling was already well ahead of me and because of his pianistic skills he was able to write some simple arrangements. Despite my lack of reading skills at that time I do remember being able to ‘spell’ out the notes whilst a good dose of intuition did the rest. In this way we were able to make something of tunes like “Saturday Night Function’, ‘Chimes Blues’ and others. It was around this time that I became aware that there were two schools of approach to tradition jazz, one which favoured a more ‘polished’ way of playing and another which didn’t. The former was often labelled ‘trad’ jazz and regarded as ‘commercial’ while the latter was specifically New Orleans inspired and thus thought to be purist in nature. On reflection, this was arguably a load of nonsense and best ignored but for better or worse I was irresistibly drawn into the ‘purist’ camp and took my chances. It was here in the mid 1960’s that my appreciation of what two trombones could or should sound like was developed albeit at a very grass roots level. The band concerned was a traditional New Orleans style band called the ‘Tulane Brass Band’ based in Birmingham and for me it was a monumental experience. I had listened to records of great bands like the ‘Eureka’ and the ‘Tuxedo Brass Band’ but until now I had never played in this format. If I were to be honest then I would admit that I thought it was all a bit hit and miss and if you could ‘hunt and peck’ you could get away with it. Well, in this Tulane Brass Band band the established trombonist was Stanley Stephens and he already had a pedigree as far as I was concerned. Like my old clarinet pal Roy Telling, Stan was also well grounded in harmony and had a thorough knowledge of the style in hand. It was time to make a recording and Stan suggested that we work out a few ‘riffs’ for some of the standard tunes that were on the playlist. What I distinctly remember is that Stan wrote out some notes on a bit of paper (could have been a beer mat) for us each to play respectively. When I say he wrote out the notes, I mean he indicated the name of the note in the chord to be played with some dashes or stripes to indicate time. That way I understood and within the context it worked. From that moment on through working with Stan I realised that it was important to play constructively and listen to the other man. This way we had a ‘sound’.

Fast forward.

Throughout the years I have heard many great trombone players playing live. Many have left a deep impression and in my later years I have tried to learn from them too. Perhaps the most influential I ever heard live was Kai Winding with Frank Rosolino as well as Kai with Curtis Fuller. Of course, this was reminiscent of the famous J. J. Johnson & Kai Winding sessions from the 50’s and 60’s and it encouraged me to research more. The seed was sewn and very gradually I began to grow more towards this genre. The sound of two trombones is where I wanted to be and I nurtured the dream until it slowly developed into reality. Having played in many big bands over the years it dawned on me that the trombones are largely ignored as far as getting any share of the solos is concerned. As long as you can read your parts you are deemed to be doing your job. I also came to the conclusion that being buried in a typical trombone section in the average big band is pretty boring. Meanwhile, the only redeeming factors might be the quality of the repertoire and the camaraderie which may just yield some sense of satisfaction. Otherwise, as I just said, your reward is simply to have the knowledge that you are contributing something to the whole, even if there’s no glory in it and for many that is indeed enough.
Here and there I began to pick up some ideas for repertoire. However, the kind of programme that I had in mind was simply not readily available so I began to transcribe some of my favourite recordings. I also tried my hand at writing arrangements of my own as well as adapting some other material which was written for example for four or five trombones. The result is that I now have an eclectic repertoire consisting of about 40 pieces ranging from early swing favourites to post bop standards mostly adapted and stylized in the tradition that was established by J. J. Johnson & Kai Winding in the 1950’s whilst the format is pretty much the same, consisting of arranged passages adorned with plenty of solo work from the trombones and the rhythm section. A typical set list might include such titles as “It’s Alright With Me”, “Give Me the Simple Life” or “Zing Went the Strings of My Heart” which are originally show tunes that got adopted by the jazz fraternity as well as hard bop classics like “Milestones”, “Israel”, Miles’s “Four” or Monk’s “Blue Monk”. Then there’s some tempo rhythm pieces like Kai Winding’s “Don’t Argue”, Hefti’s “Countdown” or “Four” from Miles - and finally to add spice to the mix no set would be complete without some super ballads like “Georgia”, Hefti’s “Li’l Darlin’”, the essential J.J.J. composition “Lament” or a medium tempo “Laura”.
Importantly the ongoing repertoire has been compiled in order to showcase two trombones accompanied by rhythm section hence the importance of selecting material which is both compatible to the instrumentation as well as jazzy, swinging and entertaining. I think that we have met these criteria… the show is on the road (soon)!Dave Senior on YOU TUBE  (click "follow in new window" or copy and paste link)

STOP PRESS
Unfortunately due to illness my colleague Paul in the duet has been forced to stop playing altogether. Doctors orders I'm afraid and this means that the project has suffered a severe blow especially as we had so much fun developing the repertoire making everything work as it did.
Meanwhile of course I still have all the music (charts and so on) as well as the experience that has been built up over several years but any replacement poses a challenge. There are some instrumentalists (I mean other than trombonists) that could easily do the job so to speak. However the very nature of the project requires that it must be a trombonist... which for a variety of reasons is not so easy. 
So, if by chance you are interested in 'Bones Go Changin' then contact me davidsenior48@gmail.com 

Talking Multiphonics:  https://youtu.be/CuSmq_4_INI
I Found My Trill:       https://youtu.be/D8TLulCjWlg                            

Thoughts about Transcriptions of solos in jazz music.

 A spontaneous 'woodsheddy' type opinion 25 Aug 2022

When it comes down to a discussion of what exactly a transcription is (in this context) the answer is simple. It is a statement in musical notation terms of what someone played at a given moment. In this respect it is snapshot and is likely to be unique because a jazz artist by definition will produce a different result each time (because he’s improvising!). So what use does a transcription have?
The main purpose has to be that it gives the transcriber an intimate insight into what a particular instrumentalist played at that given moment. As such a transcription can then be studied for the various qualities that the musician brought to the piece. Principally the main component will be the plotting of the actual notes played together with the timing of those notes expressed as far as possible in notation on music score. This ‘sketch’ can then be enhanced with dynamic markings which will attempt to bring a semblance of the feeling that was present in the performance both melodically and harmonically.
There have been lots of transcriptions around of all kinds for the last two or three generations. One only needs to take Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong or Lester Young as classic examples and luckily these days thanks to the technical aids that are available we now see a multitude of transcribed works by a myriad of artists.
All well and good… however, it is very important to realise the practical value of these works and maintain a perspective. Firstly, for any musician who has a passion for a certain performer a solo transcription is an invaluable exercise and resource in order to discover the inner workings of that particular performance. By plotting the notes and translating them into playing terms the intricacies and nuances of style will become clearer and technical challenges will become more approachable. By way of a personal note I am till trying to figure out what Kid Ory played on some of his recordings whilst I have been able to write down lots of more ‘modern’ licks from later trombonists. Meanwhile, some of Ory’s stuff (e.g. on the Hot Five version of Muskrat Ramble) still keeps me guessing! I also remember once having a go at some Trummy Young licks but I was largely defeated. So, it still begs the question as to why these transcriptions exist at all and the answer is that it forces you to examine what was actually going on within the musical and creative baggage of your subject.
Here’s the crunch…
A transcription should be initially for the benefit of the transcriber. It is a study tool utilising some of the elements described above. Meanwhile of course in many cases theses endeavours can benefit others with similar aspirations... this can only be a good thing. For this reason many of the transcription collections which have been around for a long time certainly deserve a place in jazz studies.
Now the flip side of all of this... Since the advent of jazz ‘education’ and the diversity and availability of material on YouTube we are inundated with transcriptions of just about anything one could care to mention. Again, all well and good but…
We must not forget that the purpose of a transcription for the initiated is a tool for appreciation and inside study of style and interpretation. As such it is not really intended to be a vehicle for a musician to perform ‘as is’. Nevertheless it can always be a useful vehicle for a musician who has ‘paid his dues’ by listening to and intimately studying the transcribed artist in question. Then, on the assumption that he were a creative jazz musician himself, he would most likely find his own way further or beyond the transcription, so to speak.
In short, whilst playing transcriptions can be a demonstration of great reading skills it can never be a substitute for personal creativity which is the trademark of a real jazz musician. Note the word ‘real’ here. Everyone knows the so called ‘real’ books and stock ‘fake’ books but so many fail to realize that these works, as valuable as they are, are simply statements of musical notation and are not intended as pieces to be played ‘as is’. But people do! Finally though, this process may indeed put a musician onto the path of finding “his own inner voice” (something J J Johnson said) and if it does then transcriptions will certainly have served their purpose. End of rant....   My next article will be on painting by numbers. 

Here reproduced verbatim is something I wrote around 15 years ago about my passion for vintage horns at the time.

I love vintage Conns… Now, my first ever trombone was a Conn with the tuning in the slide. It was silver and played nicely. That’s as much as I remember about it. However, the slide was in poor condition and did not help with my progress, I thought. Then, just like in the romantic tales about jazzmen picking up (or getting rid off) their horns in pawn shops, I actually got hold of second hand a B& H student horn that I had to pay off in instalments over several weeks while it remained hanging in the shop window. Yes, it really was a pawn shop! Well, I eventually and literally got it in my hands (it had no case; I didn’t consider that) and thereafter humped it around to my various musical activities for a couple of years in a polythene bag. There’s no accounting for enthusiasm! Later, I sold the Conn to a musician who wanted it as a wall-hanger… forgive me, for I knew not what I had done.
Needless to say I did learn some sense and when finances permitted I bought a new Besson 10 10. I probably did this because I got a good trade on the pawnbroker’s Boosey. Then, one fine day in the late 70’s I became the proud owner of a brand new Bach LT16M supplied by Giardinelli (it cost me $477) which has been my regular horn ever since.
Getting to the point, my interest in Conn has never waned. Although the Bach LT16M is a superb piece I have longed to get my hands on a vintage Conn again. Meanwhile, during the last couple of years I have had a few through my hands and hung on to one or two of the better ones. I’ll describe what I think about them and all that trombone talk in general. Firstly, because we trombonists are passionate about what we do and the instruments we use, we do tend to go to great lengths when discussing and attempting to stick labels and definitions on what is after all often an elusive concept. I mean, how do you describe the sonic qualities of a horn? Given that the ‘hardware’ can be fairly precisely defined and compared, it seems to me that describing the tonal characteristics is so subjective that words alone are inadequate. The fact is that any almost any serviceable horn in the hands of a master will probably sound right and defy any blindfold test… I would bet on that!When ‘testing’ any horn the variables are so diverse that it is almost impossible to establish concrete definitions or measurable standards. The mouthpiece used can make a tremendous difference, what kind of music or ‘sounds’ are being produced must come into the equation. The acoustics, the temperature and humidity of the playing environment, as well as the mood and temperament of the player are all significantly contributing factors in this unique moment. In this respect, only the other day I picked up an old beat up 1954 Conn Director (7” bell) with a dodgy slide and a length full of dents… believe me, it ‘sizzled’, it was ‘tight’, ‘light’ and ‘compact’. The high notes just ‘fell out’ and the pedals were ‘rich and open’. It could ‘whisper’ and you could make it ‘’shout’. Meanwhile, there were no ‘flat spots’ or ‘dodgy partials’, at least as far as I could tell. In short, I couldn’t believe it. A great horn indeed. So, why bother to have a Bach LT16M at all, I thought? Well, I’m not sure anymore… that’s the bottom line.
Just sidetracking, any horn I’ve ever had always has a spot (specific note or notes) where it rings like an old tin can. On my Bach this happens on E flat low, high or what you will. This particular note produces ugly lingering overtones even present when the following note(s) have been articulated. Once you are aware, it’s frustrating too. None of the variables like mouthpiece or acoustics etc change this situation. It’s intrinsic to this particular horn. In fact the only way to dampen it as far as I can tell, is to touch the bell with a finger of your slide hand when you can clearly feel the intrusive vibrations. Meanwhile, I just accept it and pretend it isn’t happening. One becomes immune, as it were. As far as I can tell, this phenomenon seems to prevail on almost all trombones and occurs on different notes variously from horn to horn. Well, I’ll tell you… on the beat up old Director I was just describing above, it’s on all B flats and on my 24H it’s any D flat up and down the horn. On another bone I sold recently it was the G (again, anywhere on the horn). If anyone can offer any comments about this, it would be appreciated.However, all is not lost. My 44H Connqueror Vocabell (1932 silver plated) is the very big exception to all of this. Not only does this instrument seem to be ‘true’ through the all the partials in all positions, it has none of those ugly spots discussed above. You can ‘lean’ on it as hard as you like and it stays as straight as a die. As they say, it doesn’t let you down (as long as you’re up to it!). In short, it is extremely consistent in everything that you ask of it. Let’s do away with hearsay and quote some facts to help dispel some ‘prejudices’. The 44H (1932) weighs 1390gr. Remember that by design this horn has no counterweight (though the braces are solid and ought to function as a balancing factor but don’t). Meanwhile, the 24H (1935) is 1400gr (counterweight included). Now, compare this with the Bach LT16M (a modern lightweight horn by design), which is 1160gr (without a counterweight which if supplied as standard would otherwise put another 200gr on the total). So… what is heavy? What is light? You tell me
As far as the physical effort requirement is concerned, the balance of the whole horn when in playing posture is what counts. In this respect, I must admit the 24H Ballroom model with its set back bell is a dream. You really notice the difference the way this instrument ‘settles’ horizontally when in shoulder position whilst the 44H does seem very front heavy in comparison. Odd, if you consider that the 24H is actually a tad heavier! Finally, there is the outer slide section to be considered which may just marginally affect the ‘feel’ as far as weight is concerned. There is absolutely no doubt that the Bach slide is absolutely fantastic. Mine has many miles on the clock (if it was a car it would be a million) and is still as good as new; the outer section weighs in at 200gr. Meanwhile, here are the outer slide section weights of some vintage Conns; (1924 2H 250gr) (1954 4H 240gr) (1935 24H 260gr) (1932 44H 280gr). The fact is that these small differences can hardly be felt on a slide operating in perfect condition when played horizontally. In my opinion the 44H gets it’s ‘heavy’ reputation for the somewhat clumsy feel it has when hoisted to horizontal playing position together with the somewhat uncomfortable (at first) feel of the thumb to brace supporting position. The prejudgement starts here. What a pity they didn’t succeed in achieving the same superb ‘balance’ as the 24H. The result is that it does seem to be a bit of an effort to get started until you get used to it. Meanwhile, I believe this does put the horn at a disadvantage to the uninitiated. With hindsight a 24H fitted with a rimless ‘Vocabell’ might have been the ultimate horn…
Be sure, if you invest yourself in the horn it will pay you handsome dividends. It is a fantastic piece of trombone engineering and makes one wonder why the concept was ever dropped. A musical colleague once told me that it was the best horn he had ever had. Gradually, I’m getting convinced. The Bach might have to go!

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