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Trebor - the Original Naked Kitty / Trebor occasionally exhibited ancient Roman tendencies. I once saw him eat until he had to make room for more, which he did (right next to the food dish). We kept him on a diet after that.

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Frank Singer - Wed, Nov 25th, 2009 11:43 PM EST
Justin - great to hear from you. Yes, we are missing our Lucy a lot these days. She was also my greeter when I came home from gigs, and I am still not used to not having her poke her tired nose around the corner as I came in the door.

Always glad to hear you are still playing. Yeah, good luck with that upright thing! Fingertip push-ups, right?

Take care, have a great holiday, and stay in touch.

peace - f

Justin Vargo - Wed, Nov 25th, 2009 9:48 PM EST
Frank, sorry to read about your dog. It always cracked me up when I'd be sitting, waiting for the lesson before mine to end, and Lucy would appear out of nowhere to soak up attention. She was a really friendly dog.

It sounds like you are keeping really busy, and as usual, playing with everyone. I am not in Erie as much as I'd like, but will definitely try to catch you out and about if I have the opportunity.

I started playing double bass in May, and have been taking occasional, informal lessons with Dick Thompson, who's a great player. Playing double bass is a blast. It's such a physical instrument; sometimes I feel like I could crush a coconut with my bare hands after I've been practicing. It even fits in my tiny Cavalier.

Take care and have a good holiday.

Frank Singer - Sun, Jul 26th, 2009 10:41 AM EDT
Greetings, Daniel

Thanks for your interest in booking me. I have sent you an email personally noting that I am booked twice on the date you are interested in, unfortunately.
For those interested in bookings, please check my calendar of events page (link in the navigation across the top of the header) for availability.
Good luck with your event; I hope I can accommodate you in the future.

peace - f

Daniel Wakefield - Sat, Jul 25th, 2009 11:32 PM EDT
Hello Frank,

I was hoping to find out if I could book you (and hopefully the rest of your group) for an even on Aug 14th in Warren PA. My email address is: davids_son1@yahoo.com

-thank you

Frank Singer - Thu, Feb 5th, 2009 12:02 AM EST
Greetings, Justin!

Nice to hear from you. Yes, we miss Jack. Thomas and Sophie are still here, and Lucy is getting on to 15 years! She is well, and still has the "drinking problem" (black lab...)

Abate should be fun! We hope to get him into Erie when Tony's place is together. We also plan on recording there as we get settled in, with Cat's A Bear in the forefront. We're working on a bunch of new material (as usual) and are making plans slowly happen.

Hope you're still working over the bass. See you soon.

peace - f

Justin Vargo - Wed, Feb 4th, 2009 10:56 PM EST
Frank,

Sorry to hear about the cat. I hope the dog (Lucy, if I remember correctly) is doing well. I still come to Erie a lot on the weekends, and have been lamenting the lack of gigs to check out. Greg Abate's coming to Cleveland in about a week, so that'll be a good time. I'm glad you have some new stuff going on. Now you just need a new Cat's A Bear cd! Catch you later.

Justin

Steve Trohoske - Tue, Oct 7th, 2008 12:00 AM EDT
Hi Frank, i would like to address a couple issues on Kennedy Thompson's comment. I agree there are a lot of Jazz musicians just opening Fake books and playing, the same guys who get comfortable & play the same resturant on the same night for 8yrs. granted we all gotta work but i must addmit even i don't want to see that. But if you want to hear originals mixed with a side of rare covers there are groups doing that out there in Erie . My group 3bop which Frank is a member of has been doing it for 10yrs. in this town as well as backing up many visiting musical heavyweights, and more then a few of them African-American. Also about the Jazz walk, this women must not have caught my group @ the Baybreeze Lounge,because i had a mixed band, a Greek Guitar player, A Latin percussionist & an African American Piccolo Bassist, And my crowd was 65% African American. So as i see Mr. Thompsons points and agree with some of them, there are other issues here first off i would be happy to play with African American Jazz Musicians in Erie, i play with them everywhere else, but were are they here in Erie? the few i know that did play are not even playing their instruments anymore. And trying to pay outta town guys is not the easiest thing especially when these places just pay the door. Thanks for your time, And thank you Mr. Thompson for your intellegent insight.

Kennedy Thompson - Mon, Aug 18th, 2008 2:12 PM EDT
Hey Frank, I'm gonna weigh in on this topic and hopefully provoke some thoughts on the subject. First of all in most small and mid level markets especially the ones that have a lot of summer festivals and are around water, it is extremely difficult to draw crowds in clubs during the summer as far as live music not just for jazz artist. Simply because people would rather be outside. Rochester is similar. Most of Rochester's established local acts will tell you that during the summer they try and avoid doing club dates because on any given weekend your competing with a summer event that is presenting what ever music you play and are presenting it free of charge. The other factor in this i think is the strength of Erie's jazz scene. I don't think that Erie's present Jazz Scene can generate enough interest to make people wanna go check out what's going on on a hot summer night and I'll give you several theories i have about this. First i think there is a real or at least perceived lack of diversity in Erie's jazz scene. For example i hear comments that a lot of jazz musicians are using the same format, that is they open up the fake book and play standards and that it's almost all straight ahead style. Erie doesn't have a Latin Jazz Act, A Fusion Act, A Jazz/Funk or Pop Artist like David Sanborn to bridge gaps amongst the Music Listeners to keep the Scene exciting and fresh. I mean where would i go in Erie if i wanna hear something that sounds stylistically like Return to Forever? I did an interview with a lady from Gannon last weekend about the history of African Americans in the Erie Music Scene and she commented on how when she was going to events during the Erie Jazz Walk, she did not see one African American Jazz Musician playing. Not saying that this is anyones fault but just the fact that you would not see a Black Jazz Musician when your dealing with a art form that is an African American art form, that is a statement in itself and i will tell you why. Many people will see that and come to the conclusion that what's going on lacks authenticity and once that mentality is out there in the consciousness of local music listeners it will effect the scene. For instance in a city like Pittsburgh you have this diversity and you have several local artist who are known Nationally which helps to maintain a level of excitement in the local jazz scene,that Erie lacks. So i don't really know that there is a solution to this problem in Erie. Competing with these summer events is not going to be easy under in circumstances but i think it's gonna be twice as hard when the scene has other issues afflicting it Just some thoughts

Steve Trohoske - Thu, Aug 7th, 2008 10:36 PM EDT
Hi Frank, This is a tough one, in one case this really hurts the clubs, especially the ones that are not equipped with decks or outdoor seating & the free concerts outside do all the choosing, so going to them to sell a gig is out, you just hope you are one of the lucky chosen. We have been fortunate to have been chosen for a few of these shows, but we have missed out on some of those great club shows that have been so good to us. Playing Jazz & getting gigs has always been a lot of work. Maybe it's time to try a new plan. I have some thoughts. Also thanks to this horrible economy & outrageous gas prices people have been forced to cut way back on extras, like having a cocktail & watching live music. As hard as this is on the clubs i would have to say without sponsors, free outdoor music & the hope people want to see Jazz, we may not have worked this summer @ all

Frank Singer - Tue, Oct 16th, 2007 8:36 PM EDT
Greetings, Georgette

Thanks for your comment and request. I appreciate your interest.

I also get to make the joke about my last name - I became a Singer naturally....

In all seriousness, if you are interested in singing, first you should seek out a vocal instructor, someone who sings professionally or has a professional background/history. I sing as a part of my job, but I don't have a training or teaching methodology for vocal instruction.

Second, if you are winning talent shows, you should be able to find out who the singers are in your area, and see who studies with who. When you keep hearing the same teacher's name over and over from different sources, you can be pretty sure you have found a good teacher.

Get to know your region, and find people of quality to help you. Learning how to use your natural instrument is a very worthwhile endeavor, and one that should be pursued with the personal touch.

Good luck with your quest, and keep us posted.

peace - f

Georgette - Mon, Oct 15th, 2007 11:21 AM EDT
can you help me become a singer i can sing really good i have won all of my talent shows for 3 years in a row

Frank Singer - Mon, Aug 13th, 2007 10:31 PM EDT
Greetings, Ray

Okay, let's see if we can sort out this bee's nest!

First, the cycle of fifths is NOT key dependent. The movement is as follows: C - F - Bb - Eb - Ab - Db - F# - B - E - A - D - G. Notice how some of the notes are diatonic to the key of C and others are not.

If you are "limited" by a diatonic scale (C major as the example in the following discussion), then you can only use the roots from the cycle of fifths that INTERSECT the scale - C as example: Em7 - Am7 - Dm7 - G7 - Cmaj7 - Fmaj7.

Only these chords are both diatonic to the key of C and listed in the order of the cycle of fifths.

Here's an example of a progression using the same roots, and ending in the key of C, that is not diatonic: E7, A7, D7, G7, C. If you spell the chords leading up to G7, you will note that each one has a NON-DIATONIC note in it (E7 - G#, A7 - C#, D7 - F#).

Here's an example of a progression with both diatonic and non-diatonic roots that ends on C:
F#m7(b5) B7(b9) Em7 A7 Dm7 G7 C.

Thus, it can be seen that cycles are not key-dependent, but can intersect keys in a number of ways.

Modes are a different story. Modes are created by shifting the tonal center of an existing scale through use; meaning by creating progression using the chords from the mode. Modes are also EXCLUSIVE, which means to be MODAL is to only use notes from the scale, including in the creation of chords.

There is not a direct correlation between modes and the cycle of fifths (there are some deeper ones that I typically explain to my students in private lessons), but modal progressions, like most progressions, will often have chords that are neighbors in the cycle of fifths (like the blues, or I - IV - V harmony - C, F and G in the key of C).

Like everything in the Western Euopean system, there are 12 of everything, one for each pitch-class in the chromatic scale. So there are 12 (actual pitch) major/diatonic scales, and each one produces seven modes.

Is this helping you get a handle on these relationships? If not, please help me be more specific.

Thanks for the question.

peace - f

ray - Mon, Aug 13th, 2007 5:02 PM EDT
One can make an entirely new circle of fifths and fourths based upon each key and each mode? So the circle of fifths we typically see is really the C ionian and you coud easily create a D ionian and so forth and D lydian?
So, 7 notes and 8 (probbably more modes)so that's 56 circles of progressions?

REBECCA - Sat, Jul 28th, 2007 5:54 PM EDT
I LOVE SINGER

tovorinok - Thu, Jul 5th, 2007 6:10 AM EDT
Hi all!

Great book. I just want to say what a fantastic thing you are doing! Good luck!

Bye

Frank Singer - Wed, Apr 11th, 2007 6:04 PM EDT
Greetings, Rod

In response to your question about Night and Day, I assume that you were looking at the reharmonization changes in that section, since those are the only changes on the site. In order to understand what's happening there, you need to read the article on Tritonic Reharmonization.

The changes posted go along with the original melody in C major, but the chords will be radically different from the standard changes. That is what a reharmonization is (although it doesn't have to be "radical", just different).

The original change for Night and Day's opening chord is D-7(b5), which makes the melody note the "11th" of the chord. I like to replace this in the standard changes with an Ab(maj7), which makes the melody note the "major 7th" of the chord.

The point here is that there are many ways of playing a tune, and the better the tune, the more flexible it is. Night and Day is a great tune, so it lends itself to reharmonization.

Hope this clears it up! Let me know if not, and I will try to be more specific.

Thanks for your interest.

peace - f

Rod Keiser - Wed, Apr 11th, 2007 2:22 PM EDT
What am I missing here? Night and Day in any key starts on a minor not a major chord.

trmadol - Sat, Jan 27th, 2007 6:08 AM EST
Bonjour! What a super websight! Very refreshing to peruse from where we live in Paris (France). Best regards! Mikael.

Frank Singer (your host!) - Tue, Mar 21st, 2006 12:11 AM EST
Greetings! -

I am not sure about the garlic tea! If you are already doing this, there is a ginger tea that is simply made by low-heating the ginger in a good deal of water (probably 3 times what you will end up with). It is quite a strong tea, and very good for severe colds and coughs. - -

The ginger-garlic mix also might also be a hell of a flavor... - -

Let me know how it turns out, if you attempt such a brew! I am always curious about what helps others, especially the natural stuff that's readily available. - -

peace - f

- Sun, Mar 19th, 2006 4:59 PM EST
i take garlic to help lower my high blood pressure. Could i mix the garlic and the ginger in a tea?

Frank Singer - Sat, Jan 14th, 2006 12:12 PM EST
Greetings - I just found out the comments posting was not working properly. I have corrected the situation, so please feel free to post. If things don't work in the future, please send me an email at frank@franksinger.com.
Thanks!!

Frank Singer - your host! - Sun, Mar 6th, 2005 12:39 PM EST
Greetings, Friends - - -

Welcome to the new comments page. If you leave a comment, look for my answer in subsequent postings. Let's talk! Thanks for visiting FrankSinger.com

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