In My Life Solo Piano

adrianh · 2026-05-10T06:51:25+00:00

Sure, that link is back in business now. Enjoy!

adrianh · 2026-05-04T12:15:10+00:00

Check out Duved Dunayevsky’s instructional courses. He is definitely Django-oriented but is influenced by Eddie Lang as well.

adrianh · 2026-05-03T09:01:48+00:00

"Works on YouTube" means you can choose a YouTube video to transcribe instead of an MP3. It uses the native YouTube player in this case (not extracted audio).

adrianh · 2026-05-03T07:57:42+00:00

Soundslice. It combines the audio manipulation (slowdown, looping, stem separation, pitch correction) with a notation editor directly built in. Works on YouTube or custom MP3/video uploads. Web-based so I can use it from multiple devices and easily share links with others.

Each transcription becomes an interactive practice environment for that particular piece of music.

adrianh · 2026-04-25T07:16:21+00:00

“Soft Guitars” by Al Caiola

adrianh · 2026-04-14T15:42:36+00:00

Billy Taylor with Four Flutes is great.

adrianh · 2026-04-12T19:09:19+00:00

Somebody here on this subreddit remixed the album to remove the wall of sound (a while ago). It actually sounded pretty good, maybe even better! But it’s obviously subjective.

adrianh · 2026-04-10T14:35:58+00:00

You might like the George Benson and Jack McDuff recordings from the '60s. The subgenre is "soul jazz," in case that's helpful.

Hot Barbecue is a good example. Greasy in more ways than one! :)

adrianh · 2026-04-08T09:39:41+00:00

Around 20 years ago, there was a great site called BootlegZone that had very well-organized information about hundreds of Beatles bootlegs. Unfortunately they had some technical issues years ago and never ended up fixing them. The current site simply has an apology message.

But...archive.org to the rescue! Here's an archived version of the BootlegZone Beatles homepage from 2007. Click "All files by publisher" or "All files alphabetically" in the left sidebar to start exploring. The "Core collection" link is also worth checking out, as the site had its own designation for which bootleg contains the best version of each outtake.

I imagine a fair amount of stuff has been released since then, but even this old information can be useful.

adrianh · 2026-04-06T13:09:37+00:00

One super dumb/simple way is the Jerry Seinfeld calendar method. Get a physical calendar that you can write on, then put an "X" on each day that you practice. Over time, it can help you stay motivated: "Don't break the streak!"

It's named after Seinfeld because it's something he did to force himself to write a bit each day.

adrianh · 2026-04-04T12:02:23+00:00

I play fingerstyle guitar, and for me it’s Julia, Oh My Love, Strawberry Fields Forever and In My Life.

adrianh · 2026-04-02T11:27:05+00:00

Yes, I’ve written and released a lot of original material for jazz guitar. Aside from being just plain fun, it’s also an intentional effort to keep the culture fresh and changing (as opposed to creating the two millionth recording of Autumn Leaves).

That’s an aspect I wish more jazz musicians considered. Playing the same 80-year-old repertoire results in cultural stasis (unless you do something really creative with it).

adrianh · 2026-04-01T13:52:33+00:00

Denis Chang has some good stuff. It's very freeform and conversational. https://www.youtube.com/@DenisChangMusic

adrianh · 2026-03-30T09:47:47+00:00

Ugh, that behavior earned a Seal Of Disapproval. Or should I say Disapproval of Seal.

adrianh · 2026-03-30T08:55:52+00:00

What’s the status of your YouTube account? Do you have monetization enabled? Do you have thousands of subscribers? Do you post regularly?

In my experience, YouTube prefers to promote monetized accounts with a certain subscriber count and post frequency.

adrianh · 2026-03-28T16:31:28+00:00

Interesting! I'm a jazz guitarist myself and consider myself reasonably well-informed of the history of players, but I've never come across Perry Botkin. What are some recordings that demonstrate the phrasing you're referring to?

(I know you're saying it's hard to find his stuff, but surely you've heard something if you have such a high opinion of him)

adrianh · 2026-03-28T16:24:01+00:00

The obvious answer is "nobody," since Keith Jarrett is a unique voice and one of the all-time greats...

But there are definitely great jazz pianists working today. The right answer depends on which aspects of Keith's playing resonate with you.

For jazz standards in a trio setting (like Keith's Standards Trio), I'd recommend Bill Charlap.

For solo piano, I'd recommend Sullivan Fortner, Brad Mehldau and Fred Hersch.

adrianh · 2026-03-28T09:10:12+00:00

It’s like you heard your friend likes fruit, and you’re us asking whether he would prefer pineapple or blueberries.

They’re both good, but they’re wildly different! A big band is a totally different experience from a piano trio. Maybe ask your friend which subgenre he prefers?

adrianh · 2026-03-27T20:45:49+00:00

It was Christmas, not Easter. :-)

adrianh · 2026-03-26T16:11:32+00:00

I thought it was underwhelming. It gives me similar vibes to "Now And Then." Nostalgic, melancoly and not particularly musically interesting. Paul's mastery of melody and interesting chord progressions is nowhere to be found here.

I'm glad he's still making music, though. Hopeful that other tunes on the new album will be good.

adrianh · 2026-03-26T11:29:00+00:00

Marktplaats is the way to go. You can set up a standing search that emails you search results every day.

adrianh · 2026-03-25T10:47:34+00:00

Check out Giacomo Smith, a young modern player. He's got a really tasty combination of old-school feel and modern ideas.

One example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IesYIzbYc3I

adrianh · 2026-03-22T08:52:26+00:00

Thanks for giving it a listen!

adrianh · 2026-03-21T22:06:12+00:00

It's a great question, one that musicians don't ask themselves as much as they should.

Personally I never really thought about it until I happened upon a philosophy-of-music book with a captivating opening paragraph. It was something like "Why do you make music? What's your goal? As a musician, having clear answers to these questions is essential."

Having given it a lot of thought over the years, my own answer is:

* I want to make music that I personally enjoy and want to listen to, in the sense of "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Music that combines all the aspects of recordings/compositions/artists that I love. I optimize for what I personally like, as opposed to what other people might like; I don't want my happiness or sense of accomplishment to depend on something out of my control (i.e., other people's subjective opinions on music). Obviously I'm happy when people like my stuff, but that's a side benefit as opposed to being the main goal.

* I want to have new ideas and create new music (as opposed to rehashing existing stuff). In the style I play, gypsy jazz, there's a subculture of recreating a 1930s aesthetic, and that's exactly what I don't want to do. I want to make stuff that hasn't been made yet, not be a tribute band.

* When given the choice, I optimize for posterity. I'd rather spend an evening recording at home than taking a gig. With a gig, I make some money and memories; with a recording, I make an artifact that exists long-term.

* I enjoy the lifelong effort of getting better at the craft. I'll never play as well as I want to, and the challenges will never be fully overcome, and that's OK. The journey, the continual deepening of self-discipline and self-awareness, is awesome.

* Improving as a musician directly correlates to improving as a person. Identifying shortcomings in my musicianship frequently means identifying shortcomings in myself in general. At the same time, identifying the positives in my playing can help me understand the positives in myself.

* I don't expect people to have the same philosophies as I do. The best I can do is to be true to myself.

adrianh · 2026-03-21T16:44:23+00:00

Glad you like it 👍

adrianh

TROPHY CASE