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I am posting this as a benchmark, not because I think I'm playing very well yet.  The idea would be post a video every month for a ye...

Sunday, November 24, 2024

Art Tatum

 I have a book of Tatum transcriptions. I can't play them, aside from a few easier measures here and there, since I don't have impossibly fast fingers, or even medium fast chops, but there are a few revelations. The voice leading is wonderful, with chromatic movement in the left hand. Voicings are full and complex, very cool chords The tune "Moon Glow" has an ending in the A section with quarter note triplets, and Tatum milks the syncopated rhythm for all it's worth. The longer runs are wonderful, though the least playable for me.  Sixteenth notes go by fast at 184 bpm, to be exact, four times that rate. 

My fingers are getting a bit faster, not by doing Tatum runs, but through other exercises. The idea is not to be super fast, but to more comfortable at a moderate tempo.   

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