Paul Pieper - Feel Like Makin' Love (D'Angelo)

[@linsaku1150]

you can't even begin to imagine how surprised I was to see this video! I lived in Japan for two years and this song was played at every jam session there - it was really popular. But no one could play it like you do! Amazing! Fan from China

[@CliffHuxtableSweater]

My fault but i still crack up laughin when a old white dude just starts blazin over a soul/r&b/gospel type tune😭😭😭 you blazed😂😂😂 i gotta send this to a few buddies 👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥👍🏾

[@PaulPieper]

🤓🤓🤓 I appreciate it! I did the backing track too - drums, bass, keys, horns. I have covers of “After the Love Had Gone” and “Just The Two Of Us” on my channel as well. Thanks so much for checking this out - it means a lot 👍👍👍

[@derrickdeon6302]

Absolutely incredible playing!

[@potz]

You are incredible, Paul.

[@kuleebaba7911]

Gawd dayum, truly blazed it 🔥🔥

[@JM-gz7ji]

Hey Paul! I'm quite blown away by your feel and how you use your jazz vocabulary in a tasteful way while still respecting the melody and feel of the song. I would like to ask if there are any Guitar/Jazz books about improvisation you have encountered through your jazz studies that you can recommend, and have you ever considered writing a book about your approach to improvisation?

[@PaulPieper]

Hey, thank your for your kind and encouraging words! I love improvising over these kinds of grooves - though my center will always be "bop / straight ahead jazz", its true that the things we learn about creating lines and playing time are pretty transferable to other grooves and styles. I can't really recommend any books on improvisation. I am quite sure there are some good ones, but none that I've personally used enough to be able to recommend. I did study a bit out of Walt Weiskopf's "Intervallic Improvisation: The Modern Sound", but that is a book about triad pairs, which is just a small part of the larger picture of jazz improvisation. I have long considered trying to write a book about improvisation. I think there are many such books out there of course, but mine would be as non-academic as a book like this could be. My central ideas are: 1) Improv is not about chord/scale theory but is about creating lines with melodic integrity, that relate to the "history of melody" in some way, and understanding the melodic devices one needs to keep a line going in a meaningful way, and 2) When you improvise, you need to focus on your line almost entirely to the exclusion of all else. "No letters and no numbers" - meaning, don't think about or look at chord symbols. At all. You have to have an ear-based understanding of the changes. An intellectual understanding is optional, and has very little to do with the "in-the-moment" creation of an improvised line. Whew! I think I just wrote a book there! Happy to talk more about all of this. I do hope to begin offering more and more educational content soon. Thanks for your interest!

[@JM-gz7ji]

@@PaulPieper Wow! Thanks a lot for your detailed response! I like that approach. Focusing your mind on only creating the meaningful lines to the specific tune, instead of thinking about scales and numbers in the moment. Gonna try practicing your approach for a while. And well, if you were to write the book, I would buy it! 

 All the best
 J

[@40791]

@@PaulPieper fabulous guidance on improv right here! Wow!

[@gerardmanjoue]

So good and tasty ! Un régal à écouter :⁠-⁠)

[@donkei4956]

I'm from Brazil I saw now the best solo of this song

[@PaulPieper]

Isso significa muito! Obrigado por ouvir 👍🎶

[@JeffBlazer74]

Love your videos. Tasty playing!

[@jackbrust7202]

The way you solo is just addicting.

[@PaulPieper]

I’m late on this response but thank you, that means a lot!

[@BACCHANDHT]

you play like a jazz horn player.... i love it

[@ShaneHennessyMusic]

Killer! I saw someone on my Facebook timeline mention your name and so I checked your videos out - incredible playing Paul. Have subscribed and am looking forward to hearing more

[@MrDharampaaji]

This is too great!

[@PowMusic]

great feel man!

[@travelingman9763]

Killing!

[@giac7baci]

Cmon maneeee

[@benedens1590]

Sick

[@areeegooosh]

brilliant

[@joekazadi1252]

WWWWHHHEEEEEWWWWWWW MAN!

[@KallanPhillips]

yes lawd

[@josecussi1933]

loco

[@kiyavance]

what do i practice to solo like that. i feel like im stuck where i am please help

[@PaulPieper]

Honestly, the best thing to practice to learn to solo like this is straight-ahead jazz. I think some people see that as eating their vegetables, but really, practicing the music of Charlie Parker is where you learn how to put lines together, and to really learn what an improvised line can do over changes. That's my recommendation :)

[@thadiusventricle6752]

My father would always say “study Music”. Paul was being very humble in his response. There is so much music encapsulated in this solo. Rhythm, melody and harmony. Rhythm Contrast -Smooth languid feel over body -Eighth and quarter note pickups Pickup on push chords Harmony -gorgeous chords progression Simplicity vs. simplistic -use of a chords that anticipate the anticipatory chord (b6 to 5 chord) and b5 to 4 chord Those are subtle undercurrents that influence mood and momentum changes to the song generally. Melody -Bebop language -intervalic language -Chromatic language -blues language -Harmolodic language -Symmetrical patterns -other synthetic non-diatonic lines Keeping in mind that each of these melodic devices has its own rhythmic component (groupings of rests and notes) and harmonic component that outlines the chords AND contrasts, complements or augments the chord movement. Just hook all of that up in real time in a tasteful, intelligent fashion and you’re making music!! Additional note. This is a delicate point but one that is important if your studies is sincere. This music is centered in African American culture and the progenitors of all of the above were largely African Americans. In contrast the racist stereotypes suggest that African Americans are not capable of the kind of genius that is represented by the foregoing analysis. This causes an approach-avoidance whereby a student (of any ethnicity) sees a high level of so-called “jazz” playing and is inspired to approach the music. The subconscious racist stereotype causes the student to vastly underestimate the degree of intelligence and diligence it will take to get to the “get down”. When their playing fails to transcend the mundane moving of fingers, they become bored and retreat. They repeat this pattern and eventually quit. The players who either are not burdened by these stereotypes or are able to “shed them” will budget the time and resources that such a demanding undertaking requires. You wouldn’t think of trying to master calculus or physics or mechanical engineering in a 5 minute KZbin yet we sometimes look at so-called Jazz in this fashion. Trane and Bird and Diz and Ellington studied music. Traditional western music theory artfully combined with African blues-based, polyrhythmic, syncopated, pentatonic music. So in a word, what you study to play like him is “Music”. Hope that helps. Good luck. Work hard. Keep your mind open and remember that “race” is a social construct created to justify the transatlantic slave trade in the context of a ruthless expression. Of capitalism. Every player that-like Paul-is getting some traction invariably must overcome this fictional social construct in order to invest sufficient time and energy into this music. The up side is that once your playing transcends, you become an agent, representative and diplomat for this powerful transformative mode of musical expression. Hope this helps.

[@thadiusventricle6752]

I listened to this again. Scratch everything I said about above. It’s hopeless. In the words of Miles “if you could do everything I could do, you’d be me”. Play like YOU.

[@udaytcollective]

Hey great playing and phrasing! Just curious, do you create the backings/drums yourself too?

[@udaytcollective]

No worries, I just read the description - Great work!

[@PaulPieper]

Uday, I did. Not specifically for this video - I did it a few years ago. When I wanted to do this video, and feature more soloing / improv rather than just the melody, I asked the engineer who recorded it (Tom Bernath at Upfront Audio in Fairfax VA) to send me an MP3 of the tracks minus the guitar. Thanks for listening!

[@141JohnPrice]

what scale are you using thanks

[@PaulPieper]

Hi Bryce! I’m not really using any one scale. Essentially, this is jazz vocabulary that i’m using, which has a lot more to do with the chord tones (1357) of whatever chord you’re on at the moment, and resolving your lines on the right note at the right time. If you like this kind of playing, I think studying straight-ahead jazz improv would be a great place to start - you can use the ideas you learn from it, in any style of music. Thanks for listening!

[@141JohnPrice]

@@PaulPieper thanks for the reply mate thats killer playing btw thanks for the tip i'll definitely try and learn straight ahead jazz improving 😁😁

[@STWUGAMMA]

Stealing some of these lines