Fee Fi Fo Fum - Wayne Shorter

Visit my website at www.lot2learn.com for midi files, backing tracks and solo transcriptions.

If I could step into a musical time machine, I would probably set the dial on December 24, 1964.

That's when Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Elvin Jones and Freddie Hubbard went into the studio and recorded the album "Speak No Evil" which contains the song I play in this video, "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum". This quintet, and the music they produced, is among my all time favorites.

So how to improvise on a tune like this? Well, the bridge is easy so let's start there. It's sort of like the second half of a Bb blues - Eb7 going to Bb7. So the Bb blues scale with grace notes and embellishments works very well. Then there are a couple of II-V's (Bb-7 to Eb7 and A-7 to D7) so chord tones and the like are in order. The rest of the tune I try to think of in terms of a blues but with substitutions. It's fairly complex but there are elements of blues in Bb and Eb and then a measure of G blues with some chromatic steps and assorted changes in between. This type of stuff never comes easy. I find the best way is to listen to the original recording a zillion times until I can sing back every (almost) note of each players solo. This gets the tune so ingrained into me that I don't have to think - just feel the tune and play.

The other aspect of this tune that makes it so great is the tempo. This laid back swing is just ripe for all kinds of rhythmic shenanigans during the solo. The last note of the melody hits on beat 4 of bar 22 which is just one more enjoyable twist in this unusual song. Playing at this tempo, I find it is the phrasing, almost more than the actual notes, which makes the solo interesting.

I've placed the "midi keys" on top of my own playing for enhanced visualization.

If you are interested in this and other Aebersold backing tracks, they are available at http://www.jazzbooks.com.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• jazz
• piano
• improvisation
• bass
• drums
• speak
• no
• evil
• Roland
• FP-4
• herbie
• hancock
• wayne
• shorter
• ron
• carter
• Roger
• Friedman
• lot2learn

[cbmuzik]

I'm loving it!!! Great upload...one of my favorite tunes by Wayne Shorter...woo-hoo!

[Lot2learn]

@cbmuzik Thanks for your comment!

[iplaybaritone]

this was a lot more helpful for soloing on this song than Shorter's. Thank you haha

[Lot2learn]

@iplaybaritone I appreciate your comment.

[bygota]

Hey, thanks a lot for sharing!!! You're very talented. Your channel is my favourite piano site on youtube. Congratulations. Great job!!!!

[Lot2learn]

@bygota I appreciate your comment, thanks!

[joetheautomata]

This channel is the best jazz resource I've found so far on the internet for the piano. Please keep doing this! You rock! (are you a professional piano player or you do this just for fun?)

[chasyboy1]

Really great playing, man...thanks for posting.

[b4nt2k]

You wouldn't happen to be able to do a segment on the intro of this song, would you? Your annotations are always great for big pictures, plus that intro is so ominous... it's more of the Fee Fi Fo Fum than the head is!

Never stop recording.

[MrKevin624]

Good job, A little too bright. This song gives off more of a dark vibe in the A section. Just my thoughts

[Zee1198]

Wouldn't it be cool if I could play this

[Lot2learn]

@ajolsen4544 Your comment is greatly appreciated. To me, this music is so "life-affirming" I feel it essential to keep the spirit alive.