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Mr Sandman

PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2016 1:58 am
by MrAstro
Here's a cover of Chet's iconic Mr Sandman.

It's not perfect but I hope there's something in there for you to enjoy.

Cheers

Andrew


Re: Mr Sandman

PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2016 6:20 am
by DagerRande
Andrew, that was nice! I have a dentist friend whose father was a huge Chet fan but unfortunately passed away just before I moved to this area. The dentist told me that his dad played Chet's recording of "Mr. Sandman" all the time. This dentist is a musician himself and was always impressed with all of the changes throughout this arrangement and asked if I had ever figured it out? My response was to play it for him. He was almost in tears remembering his dad.

Thank You!

Re: Mr Sandman

PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2016 10:39 am
by Ray Bohlken
I always enjoy your playing....I hope you keep posting the videos. I've never learned this song and I think I'm going to give it a go and see what happens.
Ray

Re: Mr Sandman

PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2016 5:55 pm
by MrAstro
Thanks very much Rande and Ray - glad you liked it. It's not as smooth as I'd like it but I guess I can work on that over time.

Most of the song isn't too hard but there are a couple of 'pinch points'. The stretches in the opening passage are pretty nasty if you have small hands like me although once you done it 1000 times they get a little easier :roll: The other hard bit is the chromatic run at the very end (some 9th flat 5 chords). Chet frets those chords with his thumb for the bass on the 5th string (I spied him doing it on a video on youtube). So you really need to wrap your hand around the neck and choke it if you have small hands :-) The alternative is to just play them without your thumb but that's also hard because it's a very cramped shape.

Not sure what to play next... I have a few ideas. At some point I need to make a start on Hello Bluebird. I have a few other songs I need to record but I have to fiddle with backing tracks for some of them.

Re: Mr Sandman

PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2016 6:14 pm
by DagerRande
I enjoyed your analysis, Andrew! I have a suggestion for another one that I feel is fairly difficult....."Little Bit of Blues".
I've always loved it. It's one of several of Jerry's songs that Chet recorded, although for many years I never knew it was Jerry's. It's not fast but once you get into it, you'll see why I said it was difficult.

Re: Mr Sandman

PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2016 8:26 pm
by cliff
Very Nice, Andrew. Loved it.

Cliff
Perth, WA

Re: Mr Sandman

PostPosted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 5:51 pm
by MrAstro
Thanks very much Cliff!

Hope things are well in sunny Western Australia - I love it over there! :-)

Rande - I had a listen to A Little bit of Blues. Without playing it I think I can see why it is challenging. I like playing some of Ted Greene's chordal blues solos as an exercise and before I tried fingerstyle I played a lot of blues (like so many guitarists). It would definitely be fun to give this one a go. Thanks!

Re: Mr Sandman

PostPosted: Wed Apr 27, 2016 9:34 pm
by DagerRande
Yes Andrew, the changes are quick and as you know it's more difficult to move and reconfigure multiple finger placements quickly than it is to control one finger at a time.