The COLLINS Method For Jazz Vibraphone

Рет қаралды 13,944

Күн бұрын

People have been emailing me asking about my 'general approach' to playing the vibraphone! So I decided to make a video about it.
I explain my general technical approach on the following subjects:
1. Tone
2. Chordal playing (edge or center?)
3. Sticking
4. Comping
5. Technical approach to soloing
6. Pedaling
7. Mallet Grip
8. Practice workout using 'Donna Lee'
I am sure that I've forgotten something - so PLEASE leave your questions and thoughts in the comments :)
My approach to playing the vibraphone is heavily influenced by my early childhood study of piano and drums - I didn't start playing the vibes until I was in college, so I already had basics of pedaling (piano) and sticking (drums).
There are many schools of thought on how one should approach sticking (for example: using double strokes on sharps in scales). I explain my thoughts on the subject here.
I also had a great suggestion from a viewer (Thanks Pekka!) to demonstrate how I practice 'Donna Lee' - so I did that in this video as well, using alternate sticking (mostly). It's a great exercise that I recommend you try ;).
As always, thank you for watching - if you enjoy these videos, please subscribe! New videos every week!
Feel free to check out my jazz vibraphone sheet music store as well:
www.timcollinsmusic.com
-Tim

Пікірлер: 29

@dongorgon4168 Жыл бұрын

Fantastic again, Mr Collins. You have shone a light and magnifying glass on this instrument. That section on comping was great. I think Roy Ayers does this a lot on some of his albums. Then I hear bits of Dave Pike in the later part on soloing. Love this site.

@edwardaviles6665 6 жыл бұрын

Excellent video. Thanks

@glennhenrich992 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this video, Tim. Your explanation of your technique was very clear. My approach has evolved similarly over 54 years. Since my one lesson with David Samuels in 1981 I have attempted to keep four mallets in hand à la Burton, always. Previously I used a traditional grip (Phil Kraus, 3vol. Mallet method), and had difficulty with strength and independence. Now I am working a lot on mallet damping. And I do change feet sometimes on the pro Vibe t9 access the upper bars more squarely, without twisting.

@TimCollinsVibes 6 жыл бұрын

I still go back and forth about holding 4 mallets all the time vs. putting two down. A lot of the time it really just depends on how I'm feeling, or the sound of the room (if it's very 'live' or not). I have in the past used my left foot for the pedal, but that was almost always in classical situations where I knew I had to play up in the high register for a while. Thanks for the comment!

@kurtschleunes5685 3 жыл бұрын

Interesting. If you watch Milt Jackson, he used the off center strike zone mainly, but he also hit right over the center on low soft notes or high held notes. He also did a strange thing where he would hit the node really hard on very high notes. Try it! It gives you a wider palette.

@Ecaroh74 6 жыл бұрын

Many thanks! This video covered so many important questions about vibes technique. One further question about pedaling: Do you always use right foot on the pedal? I've found longer vibes sessions sometimes quite tiring to stand right foot on the pedal and maybe left foot on pedal could give some relief...?

@TimCollinsVibes 6 жыл бұрын

Actually that’s a good point- I always pedal with the right, but that does sometimes lead to pain in my left foot. Sometimes after a long gig my knee will be sore. I push the pedal so that it’s more on the right side of the vibraphone, at least that helps a little.

@dariomulonia3480 10 ай бұрын

Super Tim!!!!#

@4csincerable 2 жыл бұрын

I have purchased some of your etudes. They are really good ! How do suggest practicing to get these ideas into my playing ? What is the next step ?

@Ecaroh74 5 жыл бұрын

Hi guys, I am still stuck with sticking sometimes 😉. Tim’s approach is mostly ”alternate” If I’ve read him correctly. There’re other players favoring more doubles and even triples, cause they like to eliminate ”black-white” movements or playing over another hand. I am still wondering what’s the most beneficial or should I try to have both...? In fact with many scales like f-minor I have practised it 3-4 ways: alternate starting l or r and doubles starting l or r. My idea is to give my brain many options or paths to choose and when for example improvising I try to let my ”inner player” (Gary Burton’s marvellous concept!) to choose what’s best. Sometimes it works sometimes ”he” chooses badly. Does this make sense? what’s your way of thinking? Is it better to have fewer options? At least it takes less time if don’t need to practise too many ways...

@TimCollinsVibes 5 жыл бұрын

I think that there's no 'wrong' way to practice - but you should also practice improvising on the scales. There might be certain melodies that you want to play that are easier with a double sticking. In the end, it's the melodies that count, more so than the scale.

@stixlawpercunivers2171 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks

@jeffdecker8665 3 жыл бұрын

Hey Tim, you sound great. I have question, I technically know chords and theory, but in the middle of playing a tune , my brain just doesn’t work fast enough to figure out voicings that quickly.

@TimCollinsVibes 3 жыл бұрын

Muscle memory! Just knowing the theory isn’t enough.. you have to practice playing chords and progressions the same way as scales.

@theglockenspiel 5 жыл бұрын

What microphone do you use/recommend for home recording, and is it a dynamic or condenser microphone?

@TimCollinsVibes 5 жыл бұрын

The mics I have are actually ribbon mics, but condenser mics are also great, positioned from overhead.

@BrendanB1 4 жыл бұрын

Why am I here? I play upright bass

@TimCollinsVibes 4 жыл бұрын

you can come over from the dark side any time ;)

@meptune 4 жыл бұрын

What is the vibraphone you're playing? From this angle and from the pedal, it looks kind of like this old Musser Windsor from the 1950's I just cleaned up. Did your nstrument originally have graduated bars, or are those new?

@TimCollinsVibes 4 жыл бұрын

It’s a Musser M48 but probably the GoPro angle makes it look weird from above.