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AM Jan. Challenge:
Marie Jarreau – “Cascading” from EP-549
Hello AM Fam,
The timing happened to fall into place just right for me to take a break from my writing project to join the ‘real-time’ Meet-Up organized by Manfred last week. While I hadn’t given thought to the January Challenge before that international event, by the time I’d left the ‘meet-up’ I was so invigorated and motivated about the wonderful world we share in the Active Melody Forum I had to carve out another bit of time to join-in this month’s Challenge.
I knew I’d be working under pressure to complete this one so I had to jump-in late this week to review EP-549 and take the challenge. I must say, having taken a break from guitar playing while working on other things it surprised me that I was able to ‘jump back in.’ I think that having stepped-away for a while may have been beneficial as I felt more comfortable with this lesson than I would have several months ago. Stepping away – is actually something Brian had mentioned when he joined-in the meet-up. I came in after he’d “left the building” but went back to review the entire event a few days later. What a great time.
I hadn’t seen EP-549 before but it does seem a great lesson. I’ve worked on it for the first time today (Thursday) and have really learned a lot from this one exercise! I loved the idea of the four note ‘cascading’ scale on which Brian focuses. He said there were “no rules” so I also added a few 5-note cascading licks and other bits and pieces of note-picking – in keeping with taking the tone “downhill.” TeeHee!
While the lesson’s backing track didn’t seem to work for me I did find a track that I could really fall right into with what I’d learned from EP-549. The track is from a YouTube site and Tim Thurau’s T-Guitar. He offers several tracks free for public use.The idea of using cascading notes in a scale, any scale, seemed a fairly simple exercise although I did find working to remember which note to return to while creating that cascading sound was indeed a workout for the old brain waves! But I think, I’ve managed to come up with a musical creation that is fairly true to Brian’s challenge instructions. It’s a piece that I had so much fun playing that I had to force myself to take a break and rest the fingers. I ended up changing the note sequence and/or expression each time but I think that’s what improvising is about – right? Hopefully, with the warts included, this will be as enjoyable to listen to as it is fun for me to play.
Now you guys know that I’m no lead-guitar-player and that’s obvious here, but to me – it’s a better job then I’ve ever done when it comes to improvising on someone else’s guitar work. I do hope you enjoy this one. Your constructive criticism, as always, is truly welcome.Looking forward to seeing all of you in the first Challenge of the New Year – and Best Wishes to all for whatever the year brings us. If only we could get the whole world to focus on music.
PS: When you have time, please check the Forum topic on “Discuss Your Gear” for a particular tool I used in this challenge. It’s one that I “think” is my own original idea as I’ve never heard anyone else ever talk about such a thing! I’ll be curious to get feed back on it and to see if anyone has heard of its use before, maybe something similar.
I’ll put that in the “Discuss Your Gear” topic after completing the Challenge so if it isn’t there as you read this please check back in a day or two.“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau -
Welcome back M.J.:). Way to jump into the spirit of the challenge! Well done! B
Bob U. (aka Bobby Ut)
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Sounding good, Marie!
Glad you found a time slot to do the challenge this month! Nice backing track and a good restraint on the lead notes – well done 🙂
🎸JoLa
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I’m so glad that our meetup has inspired and motivated you to take part in this challenge, Marie. I love how you Empathize with the music at the beginning and then enjoy the tones you have thought out and you play. That’s how improvising should be, I think. And your joy of playing comes across every second. I love it!
Take the chance to meet your AM friends on Zoom
The next Meetup is expected to take place in November 2025There will be a detailed announcement here in the forum in good time.
I look forward to meet you.
Manfred-
Manfred,
Happy that the opening notes of the tune caught your attention. There just seemed to be a need for that there. For the very last note I was a bit early, but really enjoyed my last minute dash to the Challenge! :o)It means a great deal to me to be part of the AM Forum Family and truly is encouraging. Involved in the writing, I’d been slipping away from the music! I’m so glad I got to join in the live Zoom meeting to once again be brought back to the place I love.
See you in March.
Marie“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau
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Way to meet the challenge Marie! I’m new to lead improv too and you sounded better than you think!
Joe
The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge -
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That was indeed “pretty good”, Marie – you may not consider yourself a lead guitar player, but with your excellent sense of timing and feel, it’s something you should not dismiss so readily. Your playing in this performance proves there’s plenty of natural lead playing skill that should be nurtured and fed 👍🎶😎
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Nice piece of cascading music, Marie. It’s a great feeling when you get so wrapped up in a tune that you can’t quit practicing it.
James
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Marie, your not a guitarist? Could have fooled all of us. You are really talented and good to see you back posting here. Nice job on this assignment. Good phrasing and timing. Thanks for the nice remarks on my submission this month…I appreciate it. Cheers. Pap
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Pap,
Yours was certainly a great piece both audio and visual presentation. And such a nice tribute to your son at the end.
I’m pretty comfortable playing cowboy chord and rhythm, and I feel playing rhythm so long has helped me with learning to play lead with “feeling” as Brian often mentions rather than just playing scales. At least I hope so! :o)
Cheers,
Marie“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau
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Very well spaced notes, went along good with the backing track. Nice mellow vibe, well done!
Live on planet Earth ? You got the blues.
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Nice one, Marie. I like your idea of trying a 5 note scale. Maybe you could use Dave Brubeck’s “Take 5” as a jamtrack. You are born musician, and your sense of melody and timing sounds really natural to my ears.
Sunjamr Steve
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Thanks Steve,
I’m so pleased you found some value there! As I mentioned earlier to Pap:
“I feel playing rhythm so long has helped me with learning to play lead with “feeling” as Brian often mentions rather than just playing scales.
At least I hope so! :o)”I’m familiar with Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five!” but I think I’ll put that complex track on the “back burner” till I’ve got a few more challenges under my belt! Like fifty or so! LOL!
Cheers,
Marie“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau
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Welcome back, Marie. It was pleasure meeting you in Manfred’s Zoom meeting.
Nice lead playing with great timing. 👍🏽Bluesige Grüße
Juxi -
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Hi Marie , glad the meet up inspired you to join in the challenge this month.
You have grasped the concept of the challenge brief very well with a subtle use of the pattern, also leaving a lot of space and letting things ring out , perfect sense of timing as well .Martin
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Hi Martin,
I’m glad the “timing” seemed to come through. It IS something I often struggle with from YEARS of playig solo with no backing. But I do feel I’ve made progress since being among you folks – learning from the lessons, everyon’s challenges, best of all the encouragement.Cheers,
Marie“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau
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Really nice plan I can see your confidence in the in the way you get around the fingerboard excellent.
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Thank you so much Catherine,
I so appreciate your comments and hearing from you.
Thank you for checking this out.Love your watercolor-guitars too. I may have to follow “your lead” and showcase a few of my own guitars in the beautiful medium of watercolor!
Cheers,
Marie“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau
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Good to meet you in the zoom call and so glad to hear it inspired you to enter the challenge. A very clear rendition with lots of space and subtle use of the pattern. Well played.
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Hi Marie,
I really like the sound of your guitar.
I have indulged myself in a few too many guitars in my life, but I have never owned an electric guitar with P90 pickups. I’m not sure if that is what your guitar has, but if not, it sounds pretty similar. One day I hope to come across a good deal on a Gibson SG with P90s. Sometimes, if you buy them right, you can come out ok. I bought a Fender USA tele a few years back for $700 and sold it last year for $1100. That’s the kind of SG deal I need to find. lol Keep on picking. You are the epitome of the old adage, “less is more”. It’s always amazing how much you can get out of one note, if you just let it marinate a while.-
Hey Barry,
Thank you so much! I’m really hoping to one day be able to rip out a full good lead performance like so many of you AM guitar-veterans! I’m loving being among you to learn and certainly appreciate your feedback.Years ago in another music life when I lived in Arizona, I had access to a friend’s 1970s Ibanez with a “hot Humbucker” as he called it. I loved that guitar but it did not fit into my bank account! LOL! He’d named it “Big Red” for its bright rouge color.
Basically same color (Though not an Ibanez) I call mine “The Little Red Hen.” Got it after the big move to Texas. I LOVE the sound and yes, it’s a P90 pick-up. The price tag fit GENTLY into my bank account for a chinese made guitar (I’d genrally shy away from that guitar origin) that far surpassed what I expected. It’s made by a company called “Grote.” Id never heard of them before but for weeks kept seeing marvelous reviews about this particular hollow-body. It did not disappoint and I so love playing it. Stunning construction, and sound – on the edition that I purchased from – of all places – Amazon!I’ve heard several different pronunciations of Grote but decided I like the fancier one as in “grow-tea” or maybe “grow-tay” LOL!
Regardless, I love it at less than $200.00 !!!!!!OK-Not an Ibanez, not a Gretsch (insert ‘swoon’ here) – but it fills that sound close enough for me. LOL!
Cheers,
Marie“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau
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Richard,
I’m so happy you took checked this one out and found some value there! Thank you so much. I really think having played ‘cowboy chords’in rhythm for so many years have helped my bring that love of melody rather than just playing chords into learning to play lead. I also think sometimes because I ‘naturally’ go for the “feel” in playing – I’m a bit resistant to or hesitate to focus on ‘technical’ elements. Oh well, I just love playing – but TRYING to be a good student of the technical as well. LOL!Good Wishes to you Richard,
Marie“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau
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Hi Marie, it has been a while since I have participated in one of these challenges and it is good to see you back here too.
Correct me if I am wrong but I think this is the first time I have heard you do a pure guitar rendition without putting your wonderful voice to it. I like the way you kept it simple and threw in some very easy listening melodies there – that is one beautiful guitar you are playing too. I think I have commented on that guitar before because I love semi-hollows 🙂
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Hi Geoff,
This was my “Come Back” as well. I’d been out for a few months. Welcome back to you as well.I have entered one or two others without a vocal part. I was short for time and wanted to TRY to be true to the goal of the challenge. Although, I’ll tell ya, as is natural for me – I did actually come up with rudamentary lyrics for “Cascading” but just not enough time to inculde. It’s been added to my list of songs under-development and I hope to offer it here – sometime in the future.
Yes, you have seen and noted “The Little Red Hen” in at least one other challenge. Actually a hollow-body, if you like – see my reply to Barry, above, for more info on the “Grote.” :o)
Cheers,
Marie“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau
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So glad you’re back for this new year challenge Marie! Very nice backing track, it somehow was reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams”. And your lead lines flowed great as you created beautiful melodic lines. You were listening and responding so well to the track and to what you played. Cheers, Tom
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Hey Tom,
Thanks for checking this one out. While I can enjoy a raucus rockin’ song I also love the meditative aspect of guitar. I think that is what I was going for.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. As I mentioned to Richard earlier:
“I really think having played ‘cowboy chords’in rhythm for so many years have helped my bring that love of melody rather than just playing chords into learning to play lead. I also think sometimes because I ‘naturally’ go for the “feel” in playing – I’m a bit resistant to or hesitate to focus on ‘technical’ elements. Oh well, I just love playing – but TRYING to be a good student of the technical as well. LOL!”Cheers,
Marie“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau
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Hi Marie, glad you made it into the challenge this month. I can tell that you think very melodically when approaching your music. You’re lines are telling a story as opposed to just running through the scale. Seems like you’re using one finger of your left hand a lot, moving back and forth, where you might have more efficiency using first and third fingers, for instance. That might also open up possibilities for hammer-ons and pull-offs, taking your ideas to the next level. Keep on practicing, it’s sounding good!
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Hi Michael,
Thank you so much, I LOVE dong hammer-ons and working to efficiently add pull-offs. I’ll definitely try out our suggestions for finger usage. Thank you for that. It’s the kind of constructive criticism that fosters growth and improvement.As I’d said in a few replies earlier: “I really think having played ‘cowboy chords’ in rhythm for so many years helped me bring that love of melody rather than just playing chords into learning to play lead. I also think sometimes because I ‘naturally’ go for the “feel” in playing – I’m a bit resistant to or hesitate to focus on ‘technical’ elements. Oh well, I just love playing – but TRYING to be a good student of the technical as well. LOL!
Cheers,
Marie“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau -
Hey Guido,
Yes, sorry I missed you on the Zoom. I was a bit unclear about the time frame but hope to also catch the full event in March. I have a feeling it’s going to be a crowded event however, as so many folks are really “jazzed” about it. Including me. I’ll either have to ZOOM out farther to get everyone on screen or get a bigger screen! LOL! But the more the merrier! It’ll be so great to attend that “party!”Seen ya soon!
Cheers,
Marie“Laissez les bon temps rouler“
Marie Jarreau
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Hi, Marie, I had to leave the Zoom meeting just before you got in and I’m sorry I couldn’t say at least “Hi” to you, but for the next meeting I’ll try to be free for all the 4 hours! Liked very much your melodic lines in your composition: I can hear that you’re trying to tell a story, like a songwriter does, more than playing simple scales, and I appreciate and enjoyed your music!
Guido
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