Call Me (Blondie) & Runnaway Del Shannon :(

[Kevmo]

I thought I could play....I cant upcoming audition has Blondie (Call Me) and Del Shannon Runaway. Solo keybd parts are kicking my ass. tried/failed for 2 hrs last nite. Tried several transposed as well as orig key.

Help!

[Sven Golly]

Slow it down, practice practice practice.... break it up into sections if need be. No need to transpose.

 

Sounds like a change in practice habits might be helpful. What tools are you using? Or are you just playing along with the tune?

 

[Dr88s]

I've played Runaway without much difficulty and I certainly don't have advanced chops. What do you need? Transcription? Tips on getting the sound?

[Kevmo]

I cant get my fingers to play the keys fast enuf.

[Synthoid]

I came across a YouTube vid awhile back of someone playing the Runaway solo on a synth. Might have been an Alesis Ion if I recall correctly... anyway, it was a close-up of the fingering, so should be rather easy to follow.

[Dr88s]

I came across a YouTube vid awhile back of someone playing the Runaway solo on a synth. Might have been an Alesis Ion if I recall correctly... anyway, it was a close-up of the fingering, so should be rather easy to follow.

 

YouTube has become my closest piano mentor.

I don't know whether I should rejoice or curse it.

 

 

[richforman]

Good idea there, in the youtube era, solos have been much easier to learn how to play! Did you guys know that Paul Schaeffer, rather than the regular keyboard player in the band, plays the familiar keyboard solo in Scandal's 80's hit Goodbye to You, and it is sort of an homage to the even more familiar one from Runaway, very similar.

[AnotherScott]

Hard to know what to suggest without knowing what's giving you trouble. But both of those solos have trills you could simplify to something closer to single notes if need be. You also may be able to cheat a little by using your other hand at key places.

 

Transposition rarely makes a lead line easier to play. Odds are it was originally basically improvised in the original key, so that's the key where the notes are most likely to basically fall under your fingers. Sometimes it may be equally easy to do it in another key, but I think rarely easier.

 

If your board can be switched between monophonic and polyphonic mode, try playing with that. Depending on what's going wrong for you, you may find it easier to play what you need in one of those modes or the other... each can sometimes do a better job at concealing the sins.

 

Other than that, I'd say the most common solution for a part that is turning out harder to play than you expected is that you need to pay more attention to the fingering.

 

Also, though, are these folks sticklers for accuracy? This isn't Mozart. Maybe you pick a few key lines out of the original solo and work your own variation around them. That might be the better way to go regardless, because it's better to be "good" than to be "right." You'll never get the gig screwing up the correct line, you might get it doing a nice job with your own take on it.

[Synthoid]

I'd say the most common solution for a part that is turning out harder to play than you expected is that you need to pay more attention to the fingering.

 

This.

[Synthoid]

Here's a rather wobbly closeup of the fingering for "Call Me."

 

[video:youtube]

[Sven Golly]

I'd say the most common solution for a part that is turning out harder to play than you expected is that you need to pay more attention to the fingering.

 

This.

 

Indeed.

[Kevmo]

I think I missed one obvious hindrance for me was I was being too lazy to get out my VR09 and did all my attempts on my CDP100 weighted keys which I haven't played in months. VR09 has a really light/fast keybed and I'l try on that one tonite.

Thanks for all the great help so far

[Sven Golly]

Here's a rather wobbly closeup of the fingering for "Call Me."

 

Ummmmm....

[Synthoid]

Here's a rather wobbly closeup of the fingering for "Call Me."

 

Ummmmm....

 

OK, I wasn't paying attention when I typed that.

 

Keyboard is probably on a wobbly X-stand.

[Sven Golly]

Here's a rather wobbly closeup of the fingering for "Call Me."

 

Ummmmm....

 

OK, I wasn't paying attention when I typed that.

 

Keyboard is probably on a wobbly X-stand.

 

LOL... well, that's true as well, but my point was more towards it not being very well played (and very poor fingering choices)... hence the

[Synthoid]

LOL... well, that's true as well, but my point was more towards it not being very well played (and very poor fingering choices)... hence the

 

No problem, Sven. I was sitting in an Internet cafe when I quickly posted that video... wasn't listening or watching very closely to the playing.

[Sven Golly]

LOL... well, that's true as well, but my point was more towards it not being very well played (and very poor fingering choices)... hence the

 

No problem, Sven. I was sitting in an Internet cafe when I quickly posted that video... wasn't listening or watching very closely to the playing.

 

Whew... you had me wondering if you'd had a stroke or something!

 

Yeah, these two aren't examples of the most difficult things to play... if slowed down, and some thought is applied, it should be fairly straightforward for a moderately capable player to get'em under their fingers.

 

Repetition is the key, though.

 

And in a pinch, don't be afraid to use two hands.

[Jazzmammal]

Kevmo, it sounds like you may be a little weak in the technical side of fingering runs, trills and such. Those lines are actually pretty simple but of course that's easy for me to say, I got my first paid gig in the 60's because I could play the intro to Light My Fire and that little solo in Runaway.

 

My advice is no different than any piano teachers would be. Find those tunes on YT or whatever source and transcribe the solos and by transcribe I mean writing it out on mansucript paper then play it slooowwly (tempo de learno) paying attention to the fingering. Don't try to to it at tempo if you keep messing it up. That's called practicing mistakes and just wastes time and frustrates you. If you don't have the finger chops for those trills then leave them out at first. Again no point in frustrating yourself, keep working on that though but don't worry about playing those trills on a gig until you're comfortable with them.

 

Coincidentally I just did Call Me on a gig this last Saturday. The bandleader has a full 6 page big band chart for that tune with the solo completely written out. Unfortunatly I don't have a copy of it so I could post it for you. That solo is much trickier than Runaway not just the timing and length of it but because there's a 2/4 bar near the end of the solo that's thrown in there. Make sure the band is going to play that before you spend time including it. Lots of times when an original tune has a few bars like that the band will just ignore them because they don't have time to rehearse that to get it tight so they will just keep the thing going in 4/4. But, if they are going to include that 2/4 bar then you have to as well.

 

If you need the chords do a Google search Call Me chords. Works great.

 

Bob

[Threadslayer]

As others have said, those parts aren't all that difficult. I think the OP has psyched himself out making it harder than it needs to be. My advice - especially for Runaway - is to play it tongue in cheek. It's basically a silly little line. I always played it with a smirk on my face and it came out great.

[Kevmo]

Wow Spot on. Im a hack converted bassist Zero reading /theory and lots of transposing so Transcription is NG for me. Video seem helpful so far.

[Jazzmammal]

So you don't read music at all? You can do it strictly by ear and then follow the advice to practice the lines slowly and learn the fingering. If you have some recording software like the freebie Audacity you can put the wav file in there and then slow down the solo sections. That will definitely help with your ears hearing what's happening.

 

Bob

[EscapeRocks]

What key are you doing Runaway in?

 

If I have time this evening I'll shoot a quick video of the riff for you. Regular speed and slow down mode.

 

Once you see it and get a feel for it, I promise the light bulb will go off and you'll say "cool that wasn't that hard"

[Brettymike]

Here's a rather wobbly closeup of the fingering for "Call Me."

 

[video:youtube]

 

Synthoid , you'll get there , - like Sven said , take it slow and make sure your fingering is right.

I have looked around on YT at Blondies Call Me live , and found nothing but poor limp biscuit keyboard solo's or pre-recordings.

I'm staggered.

 

Brett

[Daniel Heslop]

Even if you don't read music you could write them out using letters.

 

If you want timing indicated you can run a line with 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +

Place the letters over the appropriate count.

This will help if it is a memory thing.

 

Then go slow a phrase at a time and figure out your fingering.

Really important is to be sure you use the same fingering every time you play it.

Otherwise it is a different solo every time for your fingers.

 

I don't remember the call me solo and I can't listen to it right now but the runaway solo as others said is sort of a silly solo. I don't know how precise your band plays things but you may be able to take liberties and just play something similar with the same cheesy sound. I remember playing this song and I never really learned it note for note, I just did some chromatic-ish runs and little glisses and such.

[Synthoid]

LOL... well, that's true as well, but my point was more towards it not being very well played (and very poor fingering choices)... hence the

 

No problem, Sven. I was sitting in an Internet cafe when I quickly posted that video... wasn't listening or watching very closely to the playing.

 

Whew... you had me wondering if you'd had a stroke or something!

 

Thanks for the laughs today, Sven. I'm definitely enjoying this thread.

 

[B3bluesman59]

"Runaway" was a hit for Del Shannon in 1961....just wondering what keyboard was used on that session?????

[Synthoid]

Synthoid , you'll get there , - like Sven said , take it slow and make sure your fingering is right.

 

It wasn't me that started this thread. I'm not trying to learn either solo, although now my interest has been piqued.

[Synthoid]

"Runaway" was a hit for Del Shannon in 1961....just wondering what keyboard was used on that session?????

 

This:

 

 

http://www.delshannon.com/images/musitroncomplete.jpg

 

 

http://www.delshannon.com/maxmusitron.htm

[area51recording]

"Runaway" was done on one of the clavioline (sic) things yes?

[J. Dan]

I had 2 problems when I first learned Runaway:

 

1) I had played Goodbye To You in my previous band so many times that I couldn't get it out of my head and it kept tripping me up.

2) After I DID learn it, I showed up to the first gig and found out that the band played it a 1/2 step lower, so then after that, I had to transpose 1/2 step down on the fly. There were a few mistakes.

 

But now it's no problem.