Birdsong Grateful Dead Transcribing Improvisation Lesson

This lesson with Birdsong by the Grateful Dead gets into memorizing some improvised lines in order to gain a deeper understanding of the improvisational art form. My email is bobby@thehallsofmusic.com or bobhallguitar@gmail.com. Timecodes are listed below.

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Bird Song Transcribed Lines from my solo
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Timecodes

0:00 Birdsong Improvisation by Bobby Hall
3:00 Intro to the lesson
This video goes over the solo note for note
This book goes into detail for chords, scales, and arpeggios is 4 keys
Be sure to leave link for this here
4:31 Insights into the time signature
They rhythm is a swing time rhythm
Can you clap and count a swing time?
All exercises and studies will need to have swinging 8th notes
5:11 The harmonic substance of the improvisation
The Bm to Esus or Bm7/E chord to the E chord resolves to the E chord
Be sure to be able to play the chord progression to make your own backing tracks
5:59 Conflict Resolution
The small conflict resolution exists in each phrase of the chord progression
The long arcing conflict resolution is important and essential to good story telling
6:46 Phrase One Analyzed
This phrase imitates what Jerry plays on the Reckoning acoustic live album
This lines resolve to the E chord on the last note on the note B
Be sure to know your arpeggios to know how to resolve the lines
This melodic line is laid back to create a place to go with the long arcing story
9:03 Phrase One with the metronome at 135 bpm
9:47 Phrase Two Analyzed
This line also imitates what Jerry plays
The line is broadened in scope by both going higher and lower than phrase one
Repetition is a useful tool for improvisation to make it sound convincing
Be sure to slow the video down to tempo that is good for you
11:51 Phrase two with metronome at 135
12:36 Phrase 3 first half analyzed
This is where the solo starts to lift
The lead guitar and bass guitar have the most responsibility for building the dynamics
13:44 Phrase two first half at 135 bpm
Be sure slow it down to tempo that is good for you
14:33 Phrase two second half analyzed
Get the articulations correct with your right hand
15:27 Phrase two second half at 135 bpm
16:04 Phrase two put together
Get the articulations correct and slow it down to tempo that is good for you
16:48 Phrase two put together at 135 bpm
17:33 The Final Phrase Note for Note analyzed
This imitates the initial phrase starting on the note F sharp
This line resolves to a G sharp on the E chord
This phrase comes in on the “and” of beat one
18:52 The final phrase at 135 bpm
19:36 Analyzing the rest of the solo
The story telling arc of the solo is vital to its aesthetic impact
Being good teammates with bass means following the melodic lines
Good listening skills and knowledge of your instrument are needed for this skill
The melodic lines do not resolve as pleasantly in this portion to increase the conflict
Using the extensions to resolve creates a deeper sense of harmonic color
If the lines are note resolved, there is more conflict for the building to the climax
The height of the dynamic arc is the Grateful Dead’s addition that they made in the 80s
The resolution includes softer dynamic
The harmonic device of a suspended sounds happens right before the resolution back to verse
The notes A, D, C sharp, and F sharp are used in the melody to create the suspended sound
25:53 Build lines of your own with conflict and resolution with harmony and rhythm
27:20 The Backing Track with no lead guitar