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Is there a term for this?


Dave Horne

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B3 players (I started out on B3) and surprisingly enough trombone players (and sax players) will often play a three, four, five, six, etc. note pattern and repeat it over and over again irrespective of the bar line - a floating pattern if you will (and often played very fast irrespective of the tempo).

 

The typical Jimmy Smith\B3 three noter is (ascending) F#, G, C or F#, G, Eb (repeated many times). I've included two others at the following link and was wondering what you guys call this type of ... time killer.

 

You'll need the Scorch plugin from Sibelius to view. (A quick google search will get you there in no time.) repeating pattern

 

So, you guys have a term for this? (Time killer seems unrespectful.) Richard Groove Holmes was a master at this kind of playing and it never fails to put a smile on my face. (These patterns have not been tested for their ability to mash. If you attempt to mash them, proceed with caution. :cool: )

No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message.

 

In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments.

 

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Closest thing I can think of is hemiola effect. Some of the accents hit in a syncopated manner because, say, a riff of three eighth notes is repeated over 4/4, non-triplet feel. That's what I've heard this referred to, but that's not the same thing as "proper" hemiola, is it?

 

As I understand it, hemiola is supposed to properly apply to 3 on 2 ... so this is not an exact definition of what you're talking about.

Original Latin Jazz

CD Baby

 

"I am not certain how original my contribution to music is as I am obviously an amateur." Patti Smith

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I've heard these called "set-ups" when you play a repetitious figure with an odd number of notes until the next chord change. In blues, you play this over the one chord in C until you get to the four chard and then you stab and hold the F note. The riff "sets-up" the stab on the four chord. You also play leslie slow until you hit the F then ramp up to leslie fast.

 

I used to play with an old blues man who had a name for all of his changes and all of his riffs - it was his own language. It took a while to figure out that "trickeration" was a I-IV-V 12-bar blues and "fancyration" was a I-VI-II-V change (and on and on) but it worked for him.

 

best,

JC

Everybody's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer. W. C. Fields
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Originally posted by Blue JC:

... it was his own language. It took a while to figure out that "trickeration" was a I-IV-V 12-bar blues and "fancyration" was a I-VI-II-V change (and on and on) but it worked for him.

:thu: Playing with that guy must've been a hoot.

Original Latin Jazz

CD Baby

 

"I am not certain how original my contribution to music is as I am obviously an amateur." Patti Smith

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It got pretty wild. He'd get all liquored up and turn around on stage and say "this one's a trickeration in E with some stoperations (breaks) after I play the dramaration (long, high, bent guitar note) and we end with a bluesaration" (standard blues walk-up ending).
Everybody's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer. W. C. Fields
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fallback pattern? lol I'm not into settling on particular patterns, appegiations, etc. in my improvisations. It's hard not to sometimes, especially, when you play through jazz or blues standards, because there are stylistic riffs that fit the music better.

 

If I am playing (F#, G, Bflat) as triplets I might repeat the pattern 3-4 times before I start embellishing off this pattern rhythmically and melodically.

 

However, if you're doing this 3-note progression superfast just to impress someone...somewhat annoying. I love Jimmy Smith though.

Play only what you hear within...if you hear nothing, play nothing at all

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Originally posted by Blue JC:

It got pretty wild. He'd get all liquored up and turn around on stage and say "this one's a trickeration in E with some stoperations (breaks) after I play the dramaration (long, high, bent guitar note) and we end with a bluesaration" (standard blues walk-up ending).

Dude, I'm seriously laughing so hard I'm crying right now. Thanks for that. :thu:

 

PS, you're not making any of this up, right? I mean, it's still funny if you are ...

Original Latin Jazz

CD Baby

 

"I am not certain how original my contribution to music is as I am obviously an amateur." Patti Smith

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Originally posted by Blue JC:

It got pretty wild. He'd get all liquored up and turn around on stage and say "this one's a trickeration in E with some stoperations (breaks) after I play the dramaration (long, high, bent guitar note) and we end with a bluesaration" (standard blues walk-up ending).

Wonderful! I used to work with an engineer who was like that. He referred to a glissando as a "Jerry Lee Lewis bringdown." A very creative guy...and Dave, I don't know if this is the answer, but a lot of B3 players do something they call the machine gun effect. Play 16th notes on the root with your thumb and 3rd finger, and alternate that with chords or other notes from the blues scale.
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No - I couldn't make this stuff up.

 

I still remember the look of panic on the faces of people who sat in or subbed for the night. He would turnaround, say this stuff to them, turn back around and just start playing. You just had to jump in and hang on.

 

You know, a lot of the older guys wouldn't say anything at all. They would just start playing and you had to find the key and figure out the changes on the fly. You could really be left in the dust if you didn't stay sharp and have your ears on.

 

JC

Everybody's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer. W. C. Fields
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Originally posted by geekgurl:

Closest thing I can think of is hemiola effect. Some of the accents hit in a syncopated manner because, say, a riff of three eighth notes is repeated over 4/4, non-triplet feel. That's what I've heard this referred to, but that's not the same thing as "proper" hemiola, is it?

 

As I understand it, hemiola is supposed to properly apply to 3 on 2 ... so this is not an exact definition of what you're talking about.

Interesting...I'd have responded exactly the same as you, Michelle...except I'd have said it was a hemiola. I'd never heard that it needed to be applied to 3 on 2 to be a proper hemiola...

 

dB

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Originally posted by Jeff Klopmeyer:

I may be wrong, but I always thought the definition of a hemiola was that it DID have to be 3 over 2.

You're probably right - I always thought it was that particular note pattern (key of C would be F#, G, C), not a rhythmic thing....but then again, I don't remember where I learned that... ;)

 

dB

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

Professional Affiliations: Royer LabsMusic Player Network

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I'm with Jeff, db, and others on this one. I've also always considered hemiola to be 3:2 and my old copy of the Harvard Dictionary (is Willi Apel still around?) confirms.

 

On the other hand, Herr Apel defined "ostinato" as "a clearly defined phrase that is repeated persistently, usually in immediate succession, throughout a composition or a section." As wjwilcox and Richard suggested above, does this maybe get closer to what Dave has in mind?

 

Larry.

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My bass player likes to play drums, and he and I like to sit around and Jam like that just the two of us. We came up with a cool little rythmic turn around of sorts and decided it needed a name so we could throw it in anytime. We named it "Fred" so now when we're jamming one of us will yell "FRED!" and we'll play that figure. Confuses the hell out of people.

 

Later I figured out that it was nearly identical to the Steely Dan rythm they play in caves of altimira after 'you and me we understood'

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Dave,

 

The hemiola trick isn't limited to jazz and classical; Check out the guitar solo in Freebird (or any other Skynyrd song, for that matter) for about 15 back-to-back examples of what you described. It's great because it takes zero concentration once you're started, and it's one of the best ways to build up tension in your solo.

 

Drew

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face"

-Mike Tyson

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Originally posted by loxley11:

Dave,

 

The hemiola trick isn't limited to jazz and classical; Check out the guitar solo in Freebird (or any other Skynyrd song, for that matter) for about 15 back-to-back examples of what you described. It's great because it takes zero concentration once you're started, and it's one of the best ways to build up tension in your solo.

 

Drew

Yeah, this is what I understand Dave is asking. I think all these things we're talking about are some kind of riff; so that's not specific enough. And I always thought ostinato had a grounding component to the music, and perhaps a key foundational part to the music -- so that wouldn't be the same as something that is used to build tension by going against the foundation. Hence, hemiola. It's a rhythmic device, not note-specific per se.

 

After I typed my first response I went and checked MY Harvard Music dictionary, and it does say in so many words it's a 3:2 device.

 

Maybe we can institute a more generic term that applies to a hemiola effect not in 3:2. Fred's taken; how about "Ethel" or "Lucy"? :D

Original Latin Jazz

CD Baby

 

"I am not certain how original my contribution to music is as I am obviously an amateur." Patti Smith

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Originally posted by Tom Fiala:

+1 for "ostinato".

 

If you've got a herniola, you better get that fixed surgically!! :)

Yea, but you have to eat a lot of prunes for ostinato.

No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message.

 

In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments.

 

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Oh come on Dave, it's not "time killer". Listen to Oscar Peterson play a blues and you'll here it all over, to build tension as loxley11 said.

 

I'd call it a lick. I mean you're gonna ask the blues guitarist at the next jam ripping these out "hey man, what's that hemiolic ostinato you're playing there?". Yeh right.

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Originally posted by Dave Bryce:

Originally posted by Jeff Klopmeyer:

I may be wrong, but I always thought the definition of a hemiola was that it DID have to be 3 over 2.

You're probably right - I always thought it was that particular note pattern (key of C would be F#, G, C), not a rhythmic thing....but then again, I don't remember where I learned that... ;)

 

dB

I always thought is was 6 notes in two groups of three, but I'm always late to the party (and usually wrong). The Latin origin of the word seems to support 1.5/1, which = 3:2

"For instance" is not proof.

 

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