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Topic: Dizzy Fingers (Zez Confrey) surf style |
Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 26 Dec 2022 3:09 pm |
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This is a 1920s novely piano tune written by Zez Confrey (Kitten On The Keys) called Dizzy Fingers. I’ve been working on this for about two weeks, meticulously mapping this out for the best articulation possible and I worked straight off of the sheet music, ultimately transposing it from A to C and discovering all kinds of goodies. It was really quite a journey and it wasn’t until about two hours before I recorded this video that I came up with the idea of playing it Surf style. I think it works pretty well! I created the track in Band In A Box, the first time I’ve ever done that.
Hope you dig it.
https://youtu.be/2ucHaZ1STws
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 26 Dec 2022 6:54 pm
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| I dig it! |
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Jim Mckay
From:
New Zealand
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Posted 26 Dec 2022 7:34 pm
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I'm dizzy just watching. 
great stuff Mike 👍
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Canopus d-8
Excel Jerry Byrd frypan
T-8 Stringmaster |
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Bill Groner
From:
QUAKERTOWN, PA
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Posted 26 Dec 2022 8:46 pm
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I agree with Jim! Very nice Mike. 🤗
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Currently own, 6 Groner-tone lap steels, one 1953 Alamo Lap steel, Roland Cube, Fender Champion 40 |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 27 Dec 2022 4:12 am
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Surprising approach to that tune. Very cool and original. I dig the Joplin stuff more but always fascinating to see where you're taking the instrument.
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Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 27 Dec 2022 4:28 am
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| Andy Volk wrote: |
| Surprising approach to that tune. Very cool and original. I dig the Joplin stuff more but always fascinating to see where you're taking the instrument. |
Thanks, I was not planning on taking this approach, but I like to play around with styles as you know. I literally had the idea and a few minutes later was making this track. If I ever make a legit recording of these tunes, I won't go this direction. But the tempo that this is usually played at on piano is somewhere between 300-350 bpm. There is no chance of that happening on steel, at least not by me.
This tune really pushed me to dig deep to find ways to play it. I am particularly pleased with the way certain things turned out, such as taking advantage of using open strings to create a nice ringing effect and also to accommodate some of those fast runs. A real technique builder. This one has a little of everything.
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 27 Dec 2022 4:32 am
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It’s mind boggling to even think of tackling a tune like this and even more so to pull it off.
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Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 27 Dec 2022 4:38 am
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| Andy Volk wrote: |
| It’s mind boggling to even think of tackling a tune like this and even more so to pull it off. |
Pianists, especially classical, are my favorite musicians, and when I think about the work they do in learning repertoire, this is like a drop in the bucket. I've resolved to do more in the way of really learning full length compositions with minimal improvisation. But it did take me a few weeks and I have at least 8 or 9 drafts of tab that I made for posterity. Even now, if I can find a better way to play something, I am open to making the change.
I am definitely more into arranging now than I am into just blowing on tunes.
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Rich Arnold
From:
Tennessee, USA
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Posted 29 Dec 2022 5:00 pm
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| I dig it a lot! |
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Sebastian Müller
From:
Berlin / Germany
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Jeremy DeHart
From:
North Carolina, USA
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Posted 1 Jan 2023 1:12 am
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| Mike I love this so much! Really excellent and the surf style I think makes it incredibly enjoyable. To me it sounds like Sol Hoopii playing with the Ventures, and I just cannot think of anything more awesome than that! Please make your tab available for this. Looks like something that would take me a lifetime to get down. |
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 3 Jan 2023 8:59 am
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Thanks for listening. The idea for the surf arrangement was born of the fact that I can’t yet play it at the tempo that I intend to play it to fit another arrangement. So, you make the best of what you’ve got and just try to make it musical.
I was raised on 1950s Rock and Roll styles like Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley as they were among the large pile of 45s my parents had. Even to this day, Rock and Roll is still at the core of everything I do. I didn’t have much exposure to Surf, but it is pretty cool and makes a great vessel for a tune like this.
I have often relied on little tricks that I’ve learned from others, especially Sol Hoopii. Most of those I figured out after all other possibilities had been exhausted in transcribing a performance like 12th Street Rag. I go through the same type of process when arranging a piano tune. I work on sections until I am convinced that it is a) the best sonic choice (timbre) and b) able to be played without sounding like lifting a boulder. That last part is so important. Then, I just move on through the tune, hoping that I don’t reach any deadends (always a possibility). Sometimes you have to work around it, as Chet Atkins did in the clip Doug posted. Chet played nothing resembling the third section, which truthfully is my favorite part.
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Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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