Barry Galbraith "The Fingerboard Workshop'

[van]

I don't think this book has been mentioned much here, but I've been working on it the last few days, and BG pretty much tells you how to become as great a sight reader as he was on this problematic instrument.
If you have the patience, there's a wealth of material here. Every note in it is extremely well thought out, and I can see why everyone that had the intelligence to study with BG still raves about him today.
He basically lays out HOW he thought of the fingerboard in relation to every type of musical line you can imagine: pentatonic, poly-chordal, quartal, sequential, apoggiatura, chromatic, etc...
From what I've read about him, I was under the impression that he was just a natural sightreader, but just from the introduction he wrote for the book, you can tell that he was very methodical about how he approached reading on the guitar, and must have spent countless hours in the shed getting it together.
Ironically, I've gotten more out of this book on improv, than his book "Guitar Improv", and it also has a lot to say about technique.
The only thing this book won't help you with is rhythm, because the entire book was written with continuous eighth notes so that all the position shifting has to be done on the move.
I'm thinking of checking out his "Daily Exercises" book- any opinions on it/

[TD]

I had the great luck to have studied with Barry back in my teens. Back then there were but few primo guitarist/musician/pedagogues around anywhere. Barry was one of those few and he was right here in NYC. He was an intelligent man and a real gentleman of the 1st class. He was a University unto himself and it was Jimmy Raney who first introduced me to him and Raney had the utmost respect for Barry, to give anyone an idea. Having both as teachers at the time set me well on to my path. Barry was the most organized and appropriately methodical within his teaching and you have hit the nail on the head with your observations.

[Bill Williams]

I notice a guy called Mike Littlewood has put some of the Fingerboard Workshop exercises on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Barry+Galbraith+-+The+Fingerboard+Workbook&sm=3

[Gerry]

Curious, in the first one listed, C Maj, his first shift, he slides up
with his 4th finger. The exact thing Barry used these etudes for to
learn to avoid: Always use the 2nd or 3rd fingers in shifting. As
instructed, you find an earlier place in the chart where you *should
have* shifted earlier, mark it, and try again.
--
Those who wish to sing always find a song. -- Swedish proverb

[van]

In the introduction, he says you should shift with your first finger most of the time, but you can use the pinky if the shift is in a higher position, where the frets get smaller.
Johnny Smith does the same thing in some of his arpeggio fingerings.
When I first bought the book, I just glossed over the introduction, which was a big mistake.
The book is worthless unless you read the introduction and understand exactly what the point of each exercise is. He even tells you how to practice the exercises (with a metronome) so you can eventually progress to his level; BG could sightread anything at extremely fast tempos.
This was pointed out in that Martin Williams book where Jim Hall was trying to play a fast chart written by Lalo Schifrin, and couldn't read at that tempo.
Gunther Schuller (who was conducting) said to him. "I didn't know you couldn't read at this tempo- should we call Barry?"
BG was out of town, so JH took it home and shedded it until he was able to play it for the concert.
It's hard to believe that we used to live in a world where they had to put up with musicians; technology has taken care of that...

[Gerry]

On 2013-12-07 21:11:29 +0000, van said:

> In the introduction, he says you should shift with your first finger
> most of the time, but you can use the pinky if the shift is in a higher
> position, where the frets get smaller.

I beg your pardon: He said the first or second finger, but placed
emphasis on avoiding shifting with the 4th. The video has the guy
making his first shift with the fourth.

> Johnny Smith does the same thing in some of his arpeggio fingerings.

Special cases are special cases. I've forgotten regarding the
Fingerboard Workshop, does he stress having your hand position "follow
the triad"?

[TD]

Shifting with the 4th is all too often a fallacy. When shifting and the 4th finger is intended to make the target, the index finger/eye connection (whether looking or not) shifts simultaneously, as if 1st and 4th fingers are a single unit. This is especially critical in advanced sight-reading situations. It's often done subconsciously, among experienced players.

[van]

On Saturday, December 7, 2013 4:23:36 PM UTC-5, Gerry wrote:

Yeah, that's one of his seven rules he lists in the beginning.
All these ideas about position shifts are fine in theory, but when it comes down to sightreading on a gig or rehearsal, I find I try to stay in position as much as possible to avoid mistakes. Maybe Barry had large hands?
Thanks, Bill for the youtube videos.
The guy obviously memorized the exercises (he's not looking at the music) which is nice for technique, but might not be a good idea to improve your sight reading.
It's interesting that Barry had flawless technique, but never really highlighted it on his improvised solos.

[TD]

He didn't have large hands. It's tough to learn sight-reading from a book other than improving it by reading from a book. Sight-reading is best served via apprenticeship. As far as shifting, the strategy is to build up an ability to read a few bars ahead all the time and/or develop an ability to scan as much as possible at a glance. For a wee example, if something that might usually be played in Vth pos will be followed by something up in IXth or Xth pos and beyond,the learner may consider playing the initial part in VIIth Pos (It mimics what is available in Vth pos), unless timbre is an issue.

If timbre is an issue, then 'shifting en route to shifting' may be necessary. For example part of the line in Vth and part in VIth en route to the higher positions. But again 'talk' can only be peripheral at best. Staying in one position can be economical, but economical does not always meet the remaining elements that may be unavailable within the confines of a single position. Such ideas are only critical in studio, TV, orchestral or depending upon who is the boss.

[Gerry]

On 2013-12-08 19:53:45 +0000, TD said:

> He didn't have large hands.

Average, with pretty thick fingers.

> It's tough to learn sight-reading from a book other than improving it
> by reading from a book. Sight-reading is best served via
> apprenticeship. As far as shifting, the strategy is to build up an
> ability to read a few bars ahead all the time and/or develop an ability
> to scan as much as possible at a glance. For a wee example, if
> something that might usually be played in Vth pos will be followed by
> something up in IXth or Xth pos and beyond,the learner may consider
> playing the initial part in VIIth Pos (It mimics what is available in
> Vth pos), unless timbre is an issue.

Barry really eyeballed the whole piece in advance too and made slashes
and circles and such to guide things. He'd talk his way through a chart
and say "This is the high point, but all of this is down here. When
are you going to move. Hmm. Looks like in here somewhere." That kind
of stuff.

> If timbre is an issue, then 'shifting en route to shifting' may be
> necessary. For example part of the line in Vth and part in VIth en
> route to the higher positions. But again 'talk' can only be peripheral
> at best. Staying in one position can be economical, but economical does
> not always meet the remaining elements that may be unavailable within
> the confines of a single position. Such ideas are only critical in
> studio, TV, orchestral or depending upon who is the boss.

True. Just like and video of Raney demonstrates, freedom of movement
for shifting is governed by the shape of the intended line; it's not
governed by neck geography. Barry stressed economy of motion as the
best policy, but when a line shifts back and forth between two triads
that are a shift apart, you shift each time, rather than come up with
convoluted stretches to "merge" them into a single location.

I use my 4th finger a lot. More than most players I've seen. It works
for me, but I wouldn't recommend it for others. Barry on the other
hand didn't use his 4th a lot, because his first three were always so
perfectly situated for the line. That's the case for Raney too, but
it's not because of some explicit rationale for avoiding one finger
over another. They just got where ever they needed to be to play the
line best.

It only takes a few decades to learn...

[van]

I envy both of your experiences studying with BG.
There was no one else around that had every aspect of music and the guitar completely mastered as he did. If anyone doubts that, they can try to obtain a discography of the recordings he played on, which probably number more than 1,000. And while there were West Coast guitarists that played on as many dates, most of their sessions were Pop music related dates, while Barry's were mainly jazz recordings with all of the greats and innovators of the time.

[TD]

Here's a nice sight=reading helper ;): http://www.jazzonthetube.com/videos/john-coltrane/giant-steps---animated.html

[van]

That gives you a new appreciation for Trane.
I've worked with guys who could SR something like that. When it's my turn in the chart, I explain how my car is double-parked, and if I don't leave that very instant, it's going to be towed away...; - )

[jjt...@gmail.com]

On Friday, December 6, 2013 2:16:40 AM UTC-5, van wrote:

> I don't think this book has been mentioned much here, but I've been working on it the last few days, and BG pretty much tells you how to become as great a sight reader as he was on this problematic instrument.
>

Do you mean "The Fingerboard Workbook"?

http://www.amazon.com/Barry-Galbraith-The-Fingerboard-Workbook/dp/1562240382

[Gerry]

Yeah. That's the one.