Jazz Lesson: NARDIS in 7 Levels (Miles Davis)

[@leobassii]

Wow this is incredible..Im a bassists and I really love the visual of watching the vibes during your soloing. I absolutely love how you explain each level so clearly. This might actually help me get beyond the pentatonic scale in my soloing. Thank you for sharing this!!!

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Glad I could help!

[@leobassii]

@@TimCollinsVibes hey Sir do you recommend your jazz book for bass players? I really like the way you teach soloing

[@TimCollinsVibes]

@@leobassii I know some bass players have bought it for sure, as well as cellists. Everything is written in treble clef within the range of the vibes, but otherwise it really doesn't matter what instrument you play. Thanks for asking!

[@songswithryan]

Wow - the notion of not starting the improv process with the root motion really floored me. What a refreshing approach! Your ideas are incredibly clear, inspiring and practical!

[@trumpetart]

I don’t think Miles Davis ever actually recorded it. But if I’m wrong, please let me know, because I’d like to hear that!!

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Yeah, I think you’re right. Thanks for pointing that out!

[@paulcraig4483]

I play piano but seeing a video like this played with a mallet instrument makes it really easy to see what notes are being played. It's also the only video that does a good job at making this song accessable. Thanks!

[@tobiasbfh]

Nice playing, i caught on to the altered domminant, epic

[@MattiaPaganelliDrums]

please come to leeds conservatoire

[@VintageBassArchive]

music assassin! i grew up listening to MF doom! this is on raid-madvillian and michel petrucianni/bill evans

[@PeterOMaraJazzGuitar]

Seven Steps To (Jazz) Heaven. A fantastic presentation by a master musician. (who happens to be a friend of mine:-)

[@whwh7339]

Great vid, really helpful for intermediate jazz players. Makes me realize I tend to get trapped in Level 4 when improvising, just outlining the chords. Something to work on for sure…

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Thanks! Yes, I had (and still have) the same problem sometimes.

[@EricHaugenGuitar]

Less thinking more playing - love it! Great instruction bruh!

[@franksmith4383]

This was super instructive. Most people who talk about this tune ramble a good bit and don't show you that much. This is a solid way to approach what seems like a tricky tune with a definite process in mind.

[@elredoble]

Hey Tim I'm a new subscriber. Im a Latin Percussionist. I played with Marc Anthony in the 90s. I'm new on vibes and I'm learning from you and other youtube videos. What book do you recommend for 4 mallets exercises ? And most of all thank you for your videos.

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Thanks. I have a couple of etudes for chord voicings, maybe that helps? There are some really good four mallet peicesby David Friedman as well.

[@elredoble]

@@TimCollinsVibes Thanks Tim , I just sent you a friend request on FB.

[@ValirAmaril]

nice

[@forgetful9845]

First video I've seen from you. Cant lie, wasnt expecting mallets, but I liked it! Good to see this type of stuff on mallets

[@asktomysis]

i find the level 5 very interesting. Could you develop the concept in another video?

[@jonc4856]

You could think of it as throwing in 9ths and 11ths in your solos. Sounds really good over minor chords especially

[@takisdoukas1829]

Mr Tim Collins you are a great vibraphone player ,improviser and a teacher . I would like to ask you when you improve your solos and mixing all the elements you said on the video are you thinking or play freely as you said at the end of the video without thinking about harmony?

[@TimCollinsVibes]

When I said “freely” I meant freely between the different approaches. I was definitely thinking about the harmony though. Thanks for the comment!

[@thehugos6566]

Lvl 2 along with that B altered sounded more solid than the rest from my perspective. Instructive vid. Thanks!

[@christianladner6374]

great stuff the idea with harmonic embellishments, the one with the arpegio of the chord a quart deeper to start with

[@moirbasso7051]

OK, my head hurts, and I've only watched to Level 1. This is why I HATED theory in college....sigh.

[@takisdoukas1829]

The best and most colourful background ever.

[@utube9000]

Great vid - but not sure I understand Level Five. A fourth away from EB is Ab, not Bb

[@violetlight7]

Options and possibilities.. You can't ask for more than that.. My questions about what scales to play over Nardis have finally been answered.. An excellent video.. Cheers...

[@jacquesfinster5034]

.Forlane "à la mémoire du lieutenant Gabriel Deluc" Ravel Davis copied this theme.

[@jandiara.musica]

loved the common note technique

[@zan6585]

You're a legend for this pdf

[@dcross8034]

Great stuff- easy to get that tune was confusing me tks

[@z0mbyz624]

I was looking for extra concepts to use and this video actually solidified the basics at the same time

[@trigonomosm8637]

I’ve only been playing mallet percussion for about 6 months so your videos have been really helpful with vibes and music in general

[@emilianomarzelli573]

Amazing and nice approach to learn how improvise over any progression!

[@Marimbalogy]

Good god this is my favorite youtube channel. Keep it up!

[@alphasolutionstv3288]

Thank you so much for the tips! Great lesson! Keep going the amazing work 💪

[@miguelricardo731]

All of those G# sound great man

[@spacefunk8604]

what the heck! this was incredible. Thanks Tim!

[@franciscofernandezjimenez6319]

Excelent Job!!! Thanks!

[@zerochan2915]

afaik Miles Davis had never recorded Nardis himself. Unless there's a rare live recording or something like that, but I couldn't find any information online. Therefore the information at 0:22 is not ture.

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Yes, I made a mistake.

[@curandero88]

nardis is a slam dunk. I don't get the take-

[@bclare2544]

Good lesson Tim.

[@AlexHamlinMusic]

Hey Tim! I will be sharing this with my students. So good! Hope you are well.

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Alex! So nice to hear from you! Hope you are well too!

[@williamkelley1783]

thank you. Great content. (I'm a guitar player, used to play with Joey Carter, then percussion instructor at I think TCU, h'es vibes)

[@williamrobinson7061]

I think too much harmonic embellishment spoils it. The tune, evoking ancient Egyptian ideas, should sound more static, "primitive," modal, and mysterious.

[@godspods7681]

Wow, i will start using this method for many other tunes, thanks!

[@HammyAndTheGang]

Hey Tim! Best thing I do for my drumming is continued study on jazz vibes. Thank you for developing a “kidding method” that’s attainable and doable. You should SERIOUSLY consider doing a clinic at PASIC for this.

[@adolfomarineto9223]

You’re the man

[@germansozzi2187]

I've been listening to Bill Evan's recording and I think that on the solos he neveR plays a E major on bar 7, he always plays E minor. On the head, however, he does play that major chord. If anyone has some insights about thus, I would like to hear them.

[@davidrumpler5528]

Ha! You beat me to it! I was going to say the same thing! For me those live Bill Evans versions…with their almost dreamlike exploratory quality are the way to play this tune. But you need to have a rhythm section that will follow you there. At jams, most rhythm sections play this one more squarely.

[@davidrumpler5528]

In any case, in those live Evans recordings he seems to go directly to E-7….followed by Fmaj9 to get back to the beginning of the A section

[@germansozzi2187]

@@davidrumpler5528 actually, and with all due respect to Bill (his versions are amazing), i feel that it is more "square" to go directly to the minor chord than playing first major and then minor.

[@davidrumpler5528]

Just to be clear, when I mentioned “squareness”, I wasn’t talking about the harmony, but the way a lot of rhythm sections handle the rhythm on this (not Bill’s trio by the way). Many people… at jams for example….play this one in a very traditional, dah-dat-dah-Dah-dat-dah….way. I think it really shines when done with that freer Bill Evans trio feel. Imo

[@germansozzi2187]

@@davidrumpler5528 Ahhh, ok ok.

[@mybonesfellout]

Which I would've seen more videos like this when I started to learn improv

[@golds04]

Not everyone plays an e dominant. I prefer and some others an eminor chord as it is less constructive.

[@TheKirkYates]

Great explanation. Played this for the first time last night and I was like wtf is happening lol

[@sharman814]

Thanks!

[@williamrobinson7061]

Can't you bypass a lot of this by playing the phrygian scale? It is a mode of your major scale, so easy to learn.

[@christianladner6374]

do you have better ideas? ... directet at the negative thump downers

[@detachedprawn1431]

Fonky

[@MattiaPaganelliDrums]

i love you

[@andrewwhite9048]

Thanks, the video is very helpful.

[@binface9]

Tasty!

[@ricardoh87]

Could you do Beatrice in levels? Love that tune

[@tasosdiaforetico7377]

Great work recommend for any instruments I'd say

[@jamesjamerson1537]

Very nice. I would love to see an unedited performance of you playing this tune.

[@erickantoniolozanosanchez3313]

Thank you so much for this video, very helpful!

[@Ethanlee719]

Kick it back 😂

[@michaelhayes6887]

Fantastic.. Beautiful lesson. Thanks!

[@michaelhayes6887]

I used to play Nardis live in clubs-but never that well. Lol. I wish I had that lesson. Thanks. I even used to play it along with the Jamey Abersold albums. I bought those. Now that officially makes me a dinosaur! But a non extinct one. Haha.

[@TimCollinsVibes]

I have a bunch of Abersolds from my time as a student as well..

[@michaelhayes6887]

@@TimCollinsVibes Education has improved as has technology! I even had "Eight Men in Search of a Drummer", when I played traps years before. Lol.

[@michaelhayes6887]

@@TimCollinsVibes The funniest thing I remember with those records was when I got lost and was afraid to stop and scratch the record. Lol. So I wandered on until the end and started over. I initially scratched one so bad if I continued to play it I would have been permanently out of time on the tune. Education is Way Beddah now. Lol.

[@asafsophone]

Thank you very much. You are a great musician and teacher

[@loufugier3481]

Wow thanks ! Great source of inspiration !

[@dan1294xx]

You made my day, my week, mi entire month 😂 Ty very much

[@christianladner6374]

the 3 negative thumb downers

[@giliack7017]

Really helpful!!! Thanks a lot!

[@theruzz]

Nice one, Tim!

[@bvrzvrk]

thanks for the lesson it helps to have it broken down into simpler stages. My main difficulty is the speed of it. The description implies some ambiguity as to who composed it, but afaik Bill Evans himself said Miles wrote it for Cannonball.

[@jamesjamerson1537]

Have a look at the Bill Evans video of Nardis with the introduction conversation at the composer. As if there's not enough confusion about the issue. lol

[@TimCollinsVibes]

You’re right- Evans would even say this at concerts in his announcements. When I made this video I wasn’t %100 sure so I didn’t really want to state it. Live and learn.

[@williamrobinson7061]

I first heard Nardis on a George Russell album.

[@RanBlakePiano]

George. The best !

[@tn3294]

great lesson tks

[@g.2049]

thx for the help

[@gilregev4823]

very inspiring, thanks. why did you prefer not to do the TriTone subs penta? in this case: F major penta I wish that the oriental flavor of "Nardis" would be more emphasized.

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Thanks for the comment - do you mean using the F pent on the B7 chord? I suppose you could do that, but the chord before is actually F major, so that would be a situation where using the tritone sub actually gives you less movement - usually it's done to give more harmonic movement. But, sure - you could do it. I probably could have done 15 'levels' but no one would watch that whole video ;)

[@gilregev4823]

thanks what about Nardis oriental flavor?

[@TimCollinsVibes]

@@gilregev4823 I think what you mean by that is using the G#, F, E in the melody in the second to last bar of the A section - you could just play that every time as well. It's part of the melody after all, so it's always good to include in the improvisation.

[@SzamaNi-v7u]

7:10 Personally I would aim for B half-diminished since the b5 would imply the b9 over E minor for the Phrygian vibe. Love your videos!

[@brianswitzer]

If you’re ready to make that case, you are not the target audience for this video. Congrats.

[@Theolonius-ov1ij]

Bravissimo

[@jonnyparry1032]

Hi Tim, thanks for sharing these videos. Really useful resource. I have a question: on my set of vibes the lowest few notes don't seem to resonate as well as the rest of the keys. Any ideas how to fix this? Cheers!

[@TimCollinsVibes]

What kind of vibraphone?

[@jonnyparry1032]

@@TimCollinsVibes A Majestic 3 octave that I bought second hand recently

[@TimCollinsVibes]

@@jonnyparry1032 I've never played on a Majestic, but it's possible that the resonators aren't tuned correctly. There is a sweet spot for the stopper on the inside of the pipes that should produce maximum resonance. You night want to contact the company and ask about it.

[@jonnyparry1032]

@@TimCollinsVibes Great, thanks for the advice Tim. Will get in touch with them and see what they have to say. Jonny

[@michaeldavis9954]

Maybe the best video I’ve seen of this kind of thing. I’m an intermediate sax player but will definitely take this to my practise room.

[@SuperVali111]

Amazing! :) Piano could have been a little jazzier...

[@LeafGreen906]

appreciate the video but i feel like you kinda missed the entire point of the piece, which is modal coloring from phrygian, neopolitan minor and double harmonic in contrast to aeolian. miles intentionally left the second degree of e minor very vague in the melody so you can freely choose to improvise with it, and color e minor chords with a b9 or a 9, up to your choice. bill evans had a habit of voicing the emaj7 as an emaj9, also using that as a passing chord as it has a very tasteful cluster voice leading into the lydian fmaj, as well as the B7. also worth mentioning that miles thought only bill evans did his composition justice.

[@TimCollinsVibes]

Those are all good points - I think the reason I left that stuff out is because I think it’s easier for beginners to work from more clear cut structures. Once they get comfortable in that zone, then they can start to be more ambiguous with the b9 or the natural 9. Anyway, thanks for bringing it up.