Gimme a Break Seminar
By registering for the seminar, you help us know how many people are coming. We have only twelve seats for each seminar.
Our seminars are free. However, we request a refundable registration fee because we've discovered that, in this crazy, busy world, people are less likely to double-book or forget a commitment if they have a few dollars on the line. We will refund your registration fee when you arrive for the seminar.
If you do not attend, we will instead use your fee to cover the cost of the time and materials we invested in preparing the seminar.
10:15 am - Gimme a Break Seminar Registration
Gimme a Break Seminar
The seminar will last one hour followed by open Q&A.
GIMME A BREAK!
In arranged instrumental music, players read or memorize parts. In jam sessions, they take turns playing solos (“breaks”)—sometimes memorized, sometimes improvised. Developing a break for a song is a little different than developing a break for an instrumental piece.
Because vocal melodies can sound sparse or mechanical when played instrumentally, musicians need tools to transform them into engaging breaks. This involves creating ornamented or harmonized melodies, or new lines that relate to the original by key and rhythm.
Key skills include recognizing:
- The song’s key and related scales
- Its range (highest and lowest notes)
- The chord progression for harmony and ornaments
- Rhythms borrowed from the vocal melody that adapt well to instrumental breaks
Years ago, string wizard Robin Bullock told Mike that when he develops a break, he tries to,“stay in the box, and hit the corners.” In this seminar, use some familiar songs and step through these four core skills to find that “box” and its “corners. Together, we will create credible breaks.
