A New Practice Regimen (A Season Of Al DiMeola)

[la szum]

Extended lunch break at home jamming along to DiMeola-era Weather Report.

 

[metropolis_4]

Extended lunch break at home jamming along to DiMeola-era Weather Report.

Such a great album! All four of them are amazing here

 

[la szum]

It's insane how good they all are on that Album. The musicianship is just top
notch. Love it!

 

[FuzzyAce]

It's insane how good they all are on that Album. The musicianship is just top
notch. Love it!

Gonna have to start calling you La SzuMeola. You're definitely putting in the listening time. Great album!

 

[Stone]

It's insane how good they all are on that Album. The musicianship is just top
notch. Love it!

Yup agreed love the golden Era of fusion

 

[la szum]

Gonna have to start calling you La SzuMeola. You're definitely putting in the listening time. Great album!

Haha! Only problem is that would be a total insult to Al.

I am putting my time in listening, though. There is great power in
just listening. Or so I have come to believe.

The other thing Al is doing for me is training my ear. I have not looked
up any sheet music (or Tab) and am leaning totally on my ear in copping
his parts. It's fun as fuck, FA! So rewarding to nail a part and then realize
the more you do it, and get close, the better and faster your ear becomes.

 

[la szum]

Such a great album! All four of them are amazing here

I found some live footage of them back in the day. Have you seen this, Met?

I am just blown away by the level of musicianship on display. Literally 4
freaking virtuosos.

 

[metropolis_4]

I found some live footage of them back in the day. Have you seen this, Met?

I am just blown away by the level of musicianship on display. Literally 4
freaking virtuosos.

I haven’t seen this yet! Thanks for sharing

I’ve only had time to watch the first 1/4 or so but I love it so far

 

[metropolis_4]

@la szum I just finished watching the whole thing.

One thing I can’t stop thinking about is that conversation we were having about Plexi’s and how they’re so responsive.
Al isn’t using any pedals here. The whole thing is just Les Paul -> Plexi for everything from his distorted lead tones to clean chord comping.

I feel like that kind of control is becoming a lost art. How many of us today would either have multiple pedals, or channels, or presets to cover all those sounds?

I admire the simplicity of the gear and letting the notes do the talking

 

[la szum]

I think it is why I dig Al so much as a player. That's right up my alley. Control all the
timbre of the notes with your right hand and the volume and tone controls on your
guitar. You can hear it on his first few Solo Albums, too. Rolling the volume back
and playing lighter, and then digging in for more bite and intensity.... and then rolling
the volume all the way up and flaming wide open.

The coolest thing--and this is what I try to do to---is that he is seldom wide open and
usually his core tone is more subdued. He doesn't start on 10 unless the song calls for
it. I just love that approach, and in an era where dynamics are often not part of any
song or performance I cherish those players and approaches that work to use the
entire dynamic range an electric guitar is capable of.

 

[la szum]

I also noticed Al stays in the Middle Position a lot and then blends in and out the Bridge and Neck to taste.


More on his funky amp settings from his own mouth.

 

[metropolis_4]

I think it is why I dig Al so much as a player. That's right up my alley. Control all the
timbre of the notes with your right hand and the volume and tone controls on your
guitar. You can hear it on his first few Solo Albums, too. Rolling the volume back
and playing lighter, and then digging in for more bite and intensity.... and then rolling
the volume all the way up and flaming wide open.

The coolest thing--and this is what I try to do to---is that he is seldom wide open and
usually his core tone is more subdued. He doesn't start on 10 unless the song calls for
it. I just love that approach, and in an era where dynamics are often not part of any
song or performance I cherish those players and approaches that work to use the
entire dynamic range an electric guitar is capable of.

It seems like before guitarists had so many gear options there was more of a focus on what the player could do to shape the sound rather than what the gear could do. Now we’re all much more dependent on gear to do these things for us and focus less on the player.

I also noticed Al stays in the Middle Position a lot and then blends in and out the Bridge and Neck to taste.


More on his funky amp settings from his own mouth.

View attachment 33344

I became a huge fan of this approach when I started using a Les Paul. I even chose to have my HSH theatre-caster wired with separate volumes on the neck and bridge so I could do the same thing on it.

I always miss the ability to do this when I play anything with just a single master volume control.

 

[TubeStack]

Spinning this right now, @la szum .

 

[la szum]

 

[la szum]

Any thoughts, @TubeStack ?

I have not listened to that Album much. Maybe not at all.

I kind of got stuck on those 2 Return To Forever Albums, and the 1st
4 solo Albums up to Splendido Hotel.

I'll have to check it out.

 

[TubeStack]

Any thoughts, @TubeStack ?

I have not listened to that Album much. Maybe not at all.

I kind of got stuck on those 2 Return To Forever Albums, and the 1st
4 solo Albums up to Splendido Hotel.

I'll have to check it out.

Yeah, I haven't heard it much, either. Grabbed it at a flea market, mint condition for $3.50.

I really enjoyed it. Rock fusion vibe, some good riffage, lots of great Di Meola leads with some guest spots from Paco. Jan Hammer and Steve Gadd are on there, too. 80s-sounding production but a good mix and sounds great on vinyl. Not shred overkill or overwhelming, just creative and fun composition and arranging. I dig it and will give another listen tonight.

Always had a connection with DiMeola ever since I recorded a performance of his from the Montreal Jazz festival and watched it many times as a teenager learning guitar ((VHS days). Tried to cop his classical-style-vibrato thing on electric, but never quite did. Was blown away by his picking hand too, of course.

 

[Shredder777]

I do find it kind of funny that Al says strict alternate picking makes no sense and is not possible,
and then Paul Gilbert teaches and does the exact opposite of that. I always assumed Paul got it
from Al. But no.

If someone can work out the mechanics of string crossing with alternate picking, it may pay dividends in the long run. Once velocity gets to a certain point, the actual notes played don't matter as much, but the texture and emphasis is most important. So I have taken a practical approach, if alternate picking would cause a difficult cross, I just find something equivalent that can be picked easier. If I am doing a sequence and get to a difficult cross, I might just do a position shift or skip that degree. My technique looks most like Vinnie Moore, for better or worse.

OTH, there is alot to be said for economy picking and sometimes I do it. But I think speed is about texture and pressure, so trying to learn fast playing of a scale form that works well at normal velocity, but gets difficult at high velocity is a waste of time. Unless you are YJM and playing the same phrases in every song. PG showed us 3 note per string shredding which has plenty of mechanical advantages.

I started in the late 80s with Troy Stetina and later JP Rock Discipline and PG Intense Rock. I still aspire to be as good as JP, or at least I can try my best.

Edit: I actually have an old DiMeola lesson book where I thought he said alternate picking was the goal... let me check...

 

[Diary Of An Axeman]

Some cool dubbed/harmonized lines in here from his 1st Solo Album.

A lot grittier/fuzzier tone than he used on later releases. Great fucking
tune and playing. He was 22.

I really wished that he could have joined a band like Steely Dan .... That would have been phenomenal !!!!