How To Play 'Chameleon' (Herbie Hancock Rhodes Solo)

[bigdog38au]

nice work!

[LKJDFDG]

I love this Rhodes solo

Great playing

[tomogradymusic]

@LKJDFDG

Thanks very much!

[tomerx4]

How u got the backing track?

[tomogradymusic]

@tomerx4

Hi there, I used the quadraphonic mix off the original LP for this particular video. I'm not up to playing the bass and drums on this as well!

[RPkeez]

Straight beast!!!

[treilaux]

Insane! Great job! 

[tomogradymusic]

@treilaux

Hey, thanks!

[rhodjuzz]

Thanx a lot Tom I just got your transcription for this one which I'v been waiting for such a long time (too difficult) for me and the Jamoriquai's Blow Your Mind. Both great Rhodes solos. Now all I have to do is study, study etc....

Thanks, thanks, thanks... great stuff !!!

[drumkey87]

dang this is off the hook!!

[iop223]

lol you looked disgusted at 5:27 :) pretty nasty stuff

[nickast31]

Just fabulous. Huge work !! Wonderful groove you have !! I agree with you, this is one of the best solo that inspired me and so many others like you. I like the ambiance, the changes and the strings behind the rhodes which slides so well. I advice you another fantastic rhodes solo in "Tell me are you tired" from Santana album "amigos". Tell me one word about this (Tom Coster is on keyboard) !

[tomogradymusic]

@nickast31

Thanks Nick - there's a lot of great Santana stuff (I've already done Golden Hours) and I've put 'Tell Me Are You Tired' on the list, along with some Chick Corea (Pharoah King, Fickle Funk) and Patrice Rushen (The Hump and Razzia)...

Cheers,

Tom

[tomogradymusic]

Thanks Seb!

I can't wait to hear the track you've done - did you re-record those patterns, or sample the bits from 2:50-2:55? Good luck scoring the drums from the Spook - are you doing that from the orchestral version in the film, or the flexidisc quintet version? I take it it's the flexidisc quintet version (that didn't make it onto Headhunters) :D

[sebuteo]

Amen brother Tom (and nice work by the way!). Like you this particular break in Chameleon is a spiritual high I still haven't come down from. I love the whole tune, but this bit most of all. And, indeed, there's a keyboard lick around 2:50-2:55, and a little harmonised flute figure, both of which, along with an attempt at the monster Mason groove, form the basis of a track I've done. I'm now trying to score the drums from Spook... mind blowing music!

[sebuteo]

Amen brother Tom (and nice work by the way!). Like you this particular break in Chameleon is a spiritual high I still haven't come down from. I love the whole tune, but this bit most of all. And, indeed, there's a keyboard lick around 2:50-2:55, and a little harmonised flute figure, both of which, along with an attempt at the monster Mason groove, form the basis of a track I've done. I'm now trying to score the drums from Spook... mind blowing music!

[tomiokalabo]

Excellent!

[hoodhendrix]

You just showed all the worth of putting heart into something great. Amazing performance!

[jvilla1966]

HEY HOW DID YOU LEARN THE JAZZ RIFFS? DID YOU USE SOME SORT OF SOFTWARE TO GET THOSE NOTES DOWN? OR IS IT ALL BY EAR? I wanna learn to! Please share! GREAT job!

[AiRzZtv]

niceee

[Lot2learn]

Outstanding!! You are right, this track and the Rhodes solo is definitely a life-changer! You're playing on this shows so much more than just knowing what notes to play, you are totally in tune with the heart and soul of this music. Major respect to you. ;-)

[tomogradymusic]

@Lot2learn

Thanks man, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[clediomir1]

Very good!

[educambienteTv]

SUPER!

[jupiterjazz]

aah..please Tom share the dots! Spread some love to those who care x

[PhuckHue2]

GREAT! !

[cbdisco]

wow. u + herbie = divine deliciousness squared x

[Oldjammer52]

AWESOME YOU ARE A PLAYER !!!! PEACE2U

[gravespt]

awsome man.

[tomogradymusic]

@gravespt Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[gravespt]

@tomogradymusic i did, really good version here, great musicians.

[infestedduke]

I wish i had a rhodes..

[estinky]

Very intelligent playing..Is it possible to let me know what chords your comping and what scales/arps/notes your playing..I'm an intermediate player but working to get my chops into a skillful level..nowhere near you, different galaxy still..lol... I can read, and play a good portion of acales. Just working to put it all together get better... My goal is to as you say, learn to play like I'm reading ...Thank you for sharing your great talent my freind...

[gaboonviper6969]

Close transcription but you are missing many notes in the chords and most voicings are not correct. I would suggest practicing the circle of fifths for a couple months and you'll get the hang of it. Just move around inversions and your ear should pick up the small changes. Also, the timing of your riffs are out of the "pocket" i.e. notes are not in line with the current groove. Playing with feeling could help with this, imagine you are playing in front of 1000 people! Hope this helps!

[tomogradymusic]

@gaboonviper6969

Haha, you're a funny man - if you're trolling and looking for a rise I suggest you go elsewhere. This transcription is 100% note perfect - if you'd like to take issue with that, I suggest that you record your own video (I notice you have no uploads) and demonstrate how you think it should be played. I have played numerous times in front of 1000s of people - have you? Incidentally, I've shown this particular video to David Rubinson and he seemed to think it was ok....

[gaboonviper6969]

@tomogradymusic

I don't see the humour in what I said... also I have no clue what trolling is. I'm simply giving you advice. The transcription may be 100% note perfect but your performance surely is NOT. I have no uploads because I enjoy performing in front of live audiences, it is also more lucrative. Playing in front of 1000s of you tube viewers is different then in front of a live audience. David Rubinson is a talented businessman, not a talented musician.

[tomogradymusic]

@gaboonviper6969

Haha - you're killing me - sorry, what's 'the pocket' and this 'cycle of fifths' thing again? Is it some kind of push bike? Please help me, I don't know how to play and I'm stuck doing youtube videos because I've never done a live gig. Any advice would be gratefully received.

[gaboonviper6969]

@tomogradymusic

Learning how to play music is a skill that can be acquired at almost any age. While advanced music can be quite complex, it is built upon a foundation of simple principles. Knowing the basic note and rhythmic notation will unlock limitless musical possibilities. With practice, playing music can become as comfortable as reading words. Try to learn the C scale. I find it exciting teaching new musicians. You could be my new pupil ;)

[tomogradymusic]

@gaboonviper6969

You are unbelievable. Thank you for brightening up my morning.

[gaboonviper6969]

@tomogradymusic

Thank you for the compliment young man. 

[tomogradymusic]

@gaboonviper6969

You're welcome. I played this solo exactly in time with Herbie so I'll pass on your very helpful advice and ask him to play his licks in the pocket better in future. Right, I'm off to learn C major - where's the 'C' again? Have you got any coloured stickers I could put on my keyboard to help me remember?

[DarkHalo08]

SKILLS!!!!

[Weasilfreak]

nice playing!  got a nice groove on your keywork

[wawuglio]

nice job!

[jnoke93]

No chance of reading over your Chameleon transcription then?

[jnoke93]

I enjoy transcriptions as they are great fun but I enjoy composition much more and performance (arranging, improvisation) of jazz, jazz fusion, modal jazz and bebop! There is a bit about me just so you know! :) Has been great fun coming across your work!

[tomogradymusic]

@jnoke93

Hey man, thanks for letting me know - this is just a sideline and a way of learning from the greats, but just like you I love composition. I'm trying hard to write my own songs, but it's proving difficult! That's cool you're studying at the RAM - I wish I was in a way, I'd have so much time to practise! I have a Nord Stage 2 and they really are excellent; the only slight weakness is the Rhodes; although there are lots of different models, none of them sound as nice as the real thing.

[metasjodiendo]

So fucking cool

[jnoke93]

Any chance of acquiring your transcription? I love what you have done. I happen to have a published transcription of sly that you might be interested in!

[tomogradymusic]

@jnoke93

Hi there, thanks for the message. I share quite a few of my transcriptions but I've kept the Herbie ones to myself I'm afraid because they took so much work. As I said, I do transcriptions even when I know others have done the same track, because I feel like I understand it so much better when I've worked it out for myself. Which transcription of 'Sly' do you have? ...

[tomogradymusic]

@jnoke93

... (cont) - my mate Jon Opstad did a partial transcription of 'Sly' for his dissertation on Herbie's Rhodes solos (which has been published) but I've also done the entire track myself anyway - I've got the video up on here in my channel if you want to watch it. Anyway, good luck with all your music - it's always great to hear from other Herbie fans. Do you have a Rhodes?

[jnoke93]

Oh hey sorry it's been a while! It is a very accurate version my a japanese publishing company, 'Shinko'. I wouldn't mind sending it to you over email if you want? Is there no chance I would be able to have a look at your transcription then? I am just a student at the Royal Academy of Music studying jazz and have no bad intentions. Purely just for educational use and personal interest. I do not have a Rhodes unfortunately, but, I do have a Nord Stage which i love so I can't complain!!

[tomogradymusic]

@jnoke93

Thanks for the offer too, no need to send the transcription over though - I do try and be consistent in my attitude to transcription so I'm always happy to transcribe things myself rather than use anybody else's. I've already transcribed all of Sly including the drum, bass, Arp and Clavinet parts. Best of luck with everything at RAM - I can't wait to hear your compositions and arrangements!

[ORUPRANKSTAZ]

@tomogradymusic

In one of your earlier messages to jnoke93, you said you tend to keep the Herbie transcriptions to yourself; As if you own the copyrights, and as if you have some sort of unique entitlement that allows you to possess music - keeping it all for yourself. Music is a force. Also, the likelihood of someone using a transcription, and it affecting your income is incredibly slim. I'd hate to think what you're like to collaborate with...

But fantastic playing.

[tomogradymusic]

@ORUPRANKSTAZ

Thanks for watching. Your comment missed the mark though - you need to chill out. You can have those opinions but they're way off the mark and if your language goes beyond just inflammatory then I'll delete your comments. I always do my own transcriptions because I trust mine more than anybody else's - and I expect others to do the same, since it improves listening skills. If somebody transcribes a song that I write and hold copyright for, they are welcome to keep their chart!

[ORUPRANKSTAZ]

@tomogradymusic

I believe you misunderstood my earlier remarks. My opinions tend to be rather pointed at times. Apologies for harshness, but you also apparently didn't notice the compliment at the end. Those three words are worth more than the entire paragraph above them.

[tomogradymusic]

@ORUPRANKSTAZ

I did notice that, and I appreciated it. I just didn't appreciate the suggestion that I'm difficult to work with (that would amuse anybody who actually knows me) or the suggestion that I think I have ownership of others' songs having only transcribed them. Anyway, if you meant most by the last three words, then thank you. I hope you enjoyed this video and the others - I'm going to try to do some more videos soon and I'm currently trying to write my own songs. Thanks,

Tom

[jnoke93]

PLEASE SAY WHERE YOU FOUND THE TRANSCRIPTION!!! I know there is one out there circulating but i can't track it down. I can tell you have used it so please pass on where you found it!!!

[tomogradymusic]

@jnoke93

Hi, I had no idea there was one circulating - I don't trust anybody else's as much as doing it myself because I have perfect pitch. All the videos on my channel are from transcriptions I did myself! I seriously recommend doing your own transcriptions as a way of learning.

Thanks,

Tom

[jnoke93]

Oh right well have you scored it? I would die to see it on paper. I find transcribing melodics easy but not harmonics.

[Keyboardman88]

What are you using for the reverb / delay in the mix. Is it in the recording software or is it a stand alone effect box

[tomogradymusic]

@Keyboardman88

There is substantially more reverb in this Quadraphonic mix of the track than in the original. I hardly did anything to this recording at all, other than a tiny tiny amount of reverb on my Rhodes using the Platinum reverb plug-in on Logic. Other than that, what you hear is exactly how it sounded when I recorded it.

[harpkeyAl]

Very well done. I'm also a Rhodes fan, and a big fan of Herbie Hancock. I'm very impressed by your playing. How did you learn that? I heard the Headhunters and Thrust albums dozens of times, but I can't figure out what Herbie is doing on his solos. Do you have any tips for me? And do you have a transcription of the solo you played?

Thank you very much and all the best for you! Keep jazzin' and funkin' on!

[staystilljason]

holy fuck this is amazing

Did you write out the transcription for this? Or is this all from memory?

[ashmoors]

There is something immensely satisfying about watching someone play along to the original recording of this. A window to what Herbie was playing at the time. Love your work :)

[tomogradymusic]

@ashmoors

Thank you very much! I have more of these in the pipeline; some just need practising, some still need transcribing. Hopefully once I've done enough of these, I'll have picked up enough licks that my own improvising sounds half decent!

[kaufmann6988]

Very nice ! I love your Rhodes sound. Any special mods on your piano to get that Herbie sound ? Check out my Suitcase video to hear the sound of mine. What can I do to get your sound ?

[tomogradymusic]

@kaufmann6988

Thanks very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it! My piano is completely stock - the preamp and amp have been serviced but what you see is what you hear. I had some help voicing it but that was a while back and I should probably do it again. You've got a lovely suitcase there btw - my Rhodes has quite a lot of harmonics in the sound, so when you voice yours, perhaps start with mainly the fundamental and then turn the screw to get more harmonics - if it goes dull, back it off a bit.

[kaufmann6988]

@tomogradymusic Thank you. I'll give it a try. Did you process the Rhodes in your DAW. EQ ? Reverb ?

[tomogradymusic]

@kaufmann6988

Hi, I put a tiny amount of reverb on, that's it! Absolutely no EQ!

[tomogradymusic]

@KoolKandies Hey man, at the start of the Rhodes solo, the synth follows the Rhodes chords, Bflat dorian and Dflat mixolydian - if you want to stack notes, it would be:

F Aflat C Eflat (over the Bflat bass)

Gflat Bflat Cflat Eflat (over the Dflat bass) - this is just for the first part, you can pick out the rest relatively easily too.

I still can't work out whether those synth sounds are a Mellotron or an Arp Soloist though..

[Keyboardman88]

@tomogradymusic  The chord you've named would be a Fm7 / Bd....or in other nomenclature a Bd11

[tomogradymusic]

@Keyboardman88

I know my harmony. There was a reason I described it the way I did - KoolKandies wanted to know how to play the chord so I named the notes so that he had the voicing.

[Keyboardman88]

@tomogradymusic I'm sure you know your harmony and voicings...especially by the way you play. Fantastic job.  I find myself using short cuts also when naming chords. If I want to use an Ed13...I'll write it as

Dd Maj7 / Ed for simplicity. Same thing goes for other chords. Keep up the great work...you sound excellent.

Rob

[tomogradymusic]

@KoolKandies Hi there, it's most likely to be one of the Mellotron string sounds - there is no Mellotron on the Headhunters album credits, but it sounds exactly like a Mellotron and if Herbie had used something like an ARP Soloist for those string chords, he would have had to build them up note by note because that synth was monophonic.

If you want to recreate the Mellotron string sound, you can use a Nord Wave or even an Electro 3, which both have samples from the real thing.

Cheers,

Tom

[MrDeFontaine]

Keep Your Groove ! Respect From France !! :)

[AntiPirateSquad]

really lovely.... smooth technique.... inspiring.

[TheBirdo2626]

Kudos to you...that is nice! Look after that Rhodes.....it has that nice crunchy HH sound.

[BigTSIMS1]

Nice hits Tom, I really enjoyed that.

[CaptainKernow]

Nice one Tom. I'm another former Rhodes player.

Well done on 2 levels, first the equipment. I've fought Rhodes Pianos internally and that sounds pretty bang on. I got sick of humping mine around (you've got to have the suitcase) and got a Nord 88, which is a very very good gigging instrument. I can't say I've looked back after ditching all of my classic kit, until seeing your vid.

Well done on the playing. I'd like to have a go at transcribing it myself, however, I'm too lazy!

Keep it up!

[tomogradymusic]

@CaptainKernow

Many thanks for the kind comment! I also have a Nord Stage which I use for gigging these days. I use my Rhodes and Clavinet (and Solina) as much as possible, but for recording - they are all pristine and I've decided that I want to keep them that way! The Nord does the job and sounds great but my Rhodes is just something else - it's so inspiring to play! And when you switch the tremolo on ...

[CeBeeBS]

One of my alltime favorites - nicely played !!! Keep that Rhodes as well as the D6 ;-)

[tomogradymusic]

@CeBeeBS Thanks! I will definitely be keeping them, and playing both of them A LOT :D

[rspexperiment]

well done!

[paulprocopolis]

Great stuff Tom - 'Chameleon' was the first HH tune I heard too!

[tomogradymusic]

@paulprocopolis Thanks Julian, I've really enjoyed your Debussy videos recently! How's the temperature in your piano room? I saw Mum and Dad for a meal on Friday (they're on half term too); they say hello!

Tom

[vintagekeyboards]

seriously..... you command the respect for nailing this. well-done, sir.

any chance (for any future recordings) you can record the parts you play with the camera angle above your hands on the keyboard? it helps people like me who aren't as good with their ear, to see where to place my hands/fingers. Just an idea.... again, well-done!

[tomogradymusic]

@vintagekeyboards Thanks for the comment, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I record the audio directly from the Rhodes so it is very high quality, but the video comes from my laptop camera. I can't think of a way to suspend the laptop above my head to allow a view like that. I can always send you the transcription if you'd like? All the best,

Tom

[tomogradymusic]

@ volvoxburger: Rob, thank you for your kind comment, it means a lot coming from another Rhodes player. Let me know if you want the dots and I'll send them over; that's if you haven't done this solo already! I trust my transcription over any I've seen before though...

[volvoxburger]

Respect, you are playing the hell out of that solo.