The Electro-Theremin: The Sound Behind the Beach Boys Good Vibrations @DavesTrumpet

DavesTrumpet Download as a podcast here:
tinyurl.com/ydcpej6m

These are the liner notes for the 2017 reissue of the historic 1958 recording by Paul Tanner, "Music for Heavenly Bodies" written by myself, and presented here for the first time. These notes represent a lifetime of research. I was haunted by the sound of this one, singular, musical instrument as a young child, and as an adult, would set out to find the truth about the instrument while hitting many dead ends. Along my journey, I took up learning to play the theremin, beginning in the 1990s, and during the summer of 1997, performed at the first ever International Theremin Festival. It was there I found the name of the man who played "theremin" on "Good Vibrations" was Paul Tanner. Upon returning home, I set out to find him.
To cut to the chase, I found Tanner through the musicians union and he agreed to do a telephone interview. My first question to Tanner was if his instrument was a true, played-in-space, traditional theremin. No, he said. It was a mechanical controller of an audio oscillator. Now, while this may not sound like a profound thing these days, twenty years later, back then it was rather important, particularly among electronic instrumentalists. Every printed source to this point all claimed that Paul Tanner played a traditional theremin. The fact was, he didn't.
And Tanner would claim he invented this mechanically controlled instrument, called the Electro-Theremin. A kind of ironic thing was the original liner notes to Heavenly Bodies stated the instrument was designed and built by two actor friends: Robert Whitsell and Joe Rozar. Of course, I wouldn't know this until I found a copy of the rather rare album! From here I set out to find Rozar and Whitsell. It took three complete years of searching.
I found Rozar first, in July 2000, and through him, I'd meet Whitsell shortly thereafter. Whitsell was truly one of the most unique people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. A remarkable human being! That rare type of person that changes you forever- the way you look at things, experience things. Thanks Bob, for your friendship!
I learned from Whitsell that it was actually he who had designed the instrument, not Paul Tanner. Paul kept a myth going on for many years that he had designed the Electro-Theremin. It wasn't so much being deceitful, or dishonest, as it was during all those years him wanting to keep the origins of the instrument secret. It's simple really- he didn't want anyone else having the same instrument built for themselves. Studio musicians are competitive!
So through all these years, beginning on June 19, 1997 until now, I've kept a journal on my Electro-Theremin research. This document, now 47,000 words includes all my research and findings, and all the conversations I had with these two wonderful gentlemen spanning the period of a decade and a half. And a lot of my research has been published and used by the New York Times, National Public Radio, Electronic Musician, ABC-TV, and several magazines and books, the most notable, Albert Glinksy's, "Theremin: Ether Music and Espionage", as well as used in liner notes. I also created a webpage for the Electro-Theremin in 1997, The Paul Tanner Electro-Theremin Page: http://www.electrotheremin.com/PTE-TPage.html
When I was contacted by Jay Millar last year to write the liner notes to the reissue of Paul Tanner's pivotal first album featuring the Electro-Theremin, I jumped on the chance! I had always looked for the right project to present a more complete picture, or retelling, of the instrument's history, complete with anecdotal inclusions to give what can be a rather sterile subject matter, a more human-like side of the story; and also, since so much of my original research had been disseminated and misused on the Internet, I found this a great opportunity finally set the record straight and clear up a few facts.
So, here you have it, the "rest of the story" version of the history of the Electo-Theremin. I hope people find this both informative and entertaining.
It's a bittersweet finally having this project complete, since both Paul Tanner and Bob Whitsell have passed on. I really wish they could have seen the result of our long conversations over the years. And I always felt, on a personal level, that Bob Whitsell didn't receive the recognition that he clearly deserved, both as an inventor and as an actor. But I'm glad to know that I can share these notes with their family members, so that certainly gives me solace.

The new reissue, both on LP and CD can be purchased through Modern Harmonic, here:
http://www.modernharmonic.com/paul-tanner-music-for-heavenly-bodies-lp.aspx
http://www.modernharmonic.com/paul-tanner-music-for-heavenly-bodies-cd.aspx

A special thanks to Jay Millar at Modern Harmonic and of course a huge thanks to the two men that I had the privilege to know, Paul Tanner and Bob Whitsell.

updated 7 years ago

The Electro-Theremin: The Sound Behind the Beach Boys Good Vibrations

DavesTrumpet 2017-09-20 | Download as a podcast here:
tinyurl.com/ydcpej6m

These are the liner notes for the 2017 reissue of the historic 1958 recording by Paul Tanner, "Music for Heavenly Bodies" written by myself, and presented here for the first time. These notes represent a lifetime of research. I was haunted by the sound of this one, singular, musical instrument as a young child, and as an adult, would set out to find the truth about the instrument while hitting many dead ends. Along my journey, I took up learning to play the theremin, beginning in the 1990s, and during the summer of 1997, performed at the first ever International Theremin Festival. It was there I found the name of the man who played "theremin" on "Good Vibrations" was Paul Tanner. Upon returning home, I set out to find him.
To cut to the chase, I found Tanner through the musicians union and he agreed to do a telephone interview. My first question to Tanner was if his instrument was a true, played-in-space, traditional theremin. No, he said. It was a mechanical controller of an audio oscillator. Now, while this may not sound like a profound thing these days, twenty years later, back then it was rather important, particularly among electronic instrumentalists. Every printed source to this point all claimed that Paul Tanner played a traditional theremin. The fact was, he didn't.
And Tanner would claim he invented this mechanically controlled instrument, called the Electro-Theremin. A kind of ironic thing was the original liner notes to Heavenly Bodies stated the instrument was designed and built by two actor friends: Robert Whitsell and Joe Rozar. Of course, I wouldn't know this until I found a copy of the rather rare album! From here I set out to find Rozar and Whitsell. It took three complete years of searching.
I found Rozar first, in July 2000, and through him, I'd meet Whitsell shortly thereafter. Whitsell was truly one of the most unique people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. A remarkable human being! That rare type of person that changes you forever- the way you look at things, experience things. Thanks Bob, for your friendship!
I learned from Whitsell that it was actually he who had designed the instrument, not Paul Tanner. Paul kept a myth going on for many years that he had designed the Electro-Theremin. It wasn't so much being deceitful, or dishonest, as it was during all those years him wanting to keep the origins of the instrument secret. It's simple really- he didn't want anyone else having the same instrument built for themselves. Studio musicians are competitive!
So through all these years, beginning on June 19, 1997 until now, I've kept a journal on my Electro-Theremin research. This document, now 47,000 words includes all my research and findings, and all the conversations I had with these two wonderful gentlemen spanning the period of a decade and a half. And a lot of my research has been published and used by the New York Times, National Public Radio, Electronic Musician, ABC-TV, and several magazines and books, the most notable, Albert Glinksy's, "Theremin: Ether Music and Espionage", as well as used in liner notes. I also created a webpage for the Electro-Theremin in 1997, The Paul Tanner Electro-Theremin Page: http://www.electrotheremin.com/PTE-TPage.html
When I was contacted by Jay Millar last year to write the liner notes to the reissue of Paul Tanner's pivotal first album featuring the Electro-Theremin, I jumped on the chance! I had always looked for the right project to present a more complete picture, or retelling, of the instrument's history, complete with anecdotal inclusions to give what can be a rather sterile subject matter, a more human-like side of the story; and also, since so much of my original research had been disseminated and misused on the Internet, I found this a great opportunity finally set the record straight and clear up a few facts.
So, here you have it, the "rest of the story" version of the history of the Electo-Theremin. I hope people find this both informative and entertaining.
It's a bittersweet finally having this project complete, since both Paul Tanner and Bob Whitsell have passed on. I really wish they could have seen the result of our long conversations over the years. And I always felt, on a personal level, that Bob Whitsell didn't receive the recognition that he clearly deserved, both as an inventor and as an actor. But I'm glad to know that I can share these notes with their family members, so that certainly gives me solace.

The new reissue, both on LP and CD can be purchased through Modern Harmonic, here:
http://www.modernharmonic.com/paul-tanner-music-for-heavenly-bodies-lp.aspx
http://www.modernharmonic.com/paul-tanner-music-for-heavenly-bodies-cd.aspx

A special thanks to Jay Millar at Modern Harmonic and of course a huge thanks to the two men that I had the privilege to know, Paul Tanner and Bob Whitsell.

John Hoffman (Shreveport) Drums

DavesTrumpet 2024-03-23 | Always a treat for me when my friend and drum teacher, John Hoffman (check him out on Insta and YouTube!) comes over and plays my Gretsch drums!!!!

Gretsch USA Custom in Black Nitron. 12, 13, 14, 18. The snare is a essentially a modern day Gretsch Max Roach model in Satin Rosewood (one of only two made). The cymbals are all Zildjian: The hi hats are 1960s pre-New Beat 14”, the ride is a 22” Constantinople Light, the sizzle crash is a 1960s 19” Medium Ride.
#jazz
#drummer #drumming #drums #gretschdrums #gretsch #zildjian #jazzdrummer #jazzdrumming #latinjazz #samba #sambajazz

Gretsch USA Custom My Current Tuning

DavesTrumpet 2024-02-13 | Just a quick video of the current tuning of my Gretsch drum set. I recently added a sixty year old 13” tom drum! (The 10” tom you see is actually a DW. (Still looking for a 10” Gretsch)). Anyway……
Spent the better part of this weekend retuning my kit. There’s a great channel here on YouTube called Sounds Like a Drum. They have an excellent video tutorial on jazz tuning!!! I highly recommend it for any drummer looking to get a vintage jazz sound. Without getting too bogged down in details, the tuning technique is basically:
Tuning the bottom (resonant) head a step lower than the top head. For example, my 12” has a high pitch of E-flat on the top head, it’s bottom head is tuned to D-flat.
I thought the end result, taking the ideas in that tuning video and applying to all my toms, really sounded nice.
I have learned one huge thing, and that is there really is no Right or Wrong way to tune tom drums. You just find something that works best for you! In the case of jazz tuning, the idea here is to introduce just enough dissonance (lowering the bottom head a whole step) to shorten the amount of decay. This allows for better stick definition.
Important note: the tom drums here are played WIDE OPEN with no dampening, etc. Again , this method of tuning actually shortens the decay! You can try it yourself! You’ll find that tunings that consist of intervals within the immediate overtone series (Unison, Fourth, Fifth), actually SUSTAIN ring and decay! So, this idea of adding dissonance to shorten the sound really works! #drummer #drumming #drums #gretschdrums #jazz #drumtuning

1964 Gretsch 13” Tom Drum #drums #drummer #gretschdrums #drumming #jazz

DavesTrumpet 2024-01-26 | 9x13 Gretsch
Just added a vintage 13” tom drum to my kit. It’s the drum closest to the ride cymbal. It’s from 1964!

John Hoffman Trying Out My Gretsch USA Custom Bop Kit

DavesTrumpet 2023-10-21 | Here’s my teacher, John Hoffman, trying out my new drums!
John is the top call drummer here in Northwest Louisiana. Check him out on IG, or here on YouTube:

youtube.com/@JohnHoffmanDrums?si=-2eYlVkTy1zMnrNF

Testing out my new Gretsch USA Custom drum kit!

DavesTrumpet 2023-10-17 | ...

Still alive, just retired now. 😀

DavesTrumpet 2023-10-16 | So I’m still around. Retired a year and a half ago. Been taking drum lessons since then. Got these BEAUTIFUL Gretsch USA Custom drums (18/14/12/5.5x14) a few days ago! I’m stoked!! They’re so gorgeous and sound so cool!
I haven’t touched the horn in a while. I’ll never stop playing trumpet though. But drums have kind of taken over for the time being. 😀

“What’s Next?” (orig. composition) rec. live 1986 - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2021-04-26 | “What’s Next?”, original composition performed live on television, 1986 - David S. Miller, trumpet.

Found this audio track on an old hard drive a couple of days ago. It’s a tune I wrote in college and this particular performance took place on live television in 1986, I believe. The performance was part of a telethon (Labor Day, I believe) on KXII Channel 12, Sherman, TX. The photos are from around the time it was recorded.

Musicians were:
David Miller (me): trumpet
Charles Williams: tenor saxophone
Terry Buckner: drums
Unknown trombone and piano.

Of course, if you’ve visited my channel before, you’ll know I’ve recorded this tune again not so long ago. 😀

Hope you enjoy!

A minute of drums 😀

DavesTrumpet 2021-04-05 | Just a few new patterns from lessons this week that I’ve been practicing on my brand new drum kit (!) a DW Performance model in Natural Lacquer.

Dr. Doom (Intro) - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2021-03-04 | Here’s a really cool tune originally recorded by the Killer Bees. My friend, Stan Hoffman, an original member of the band often performs this song here locally where I live. I like the tune so much that I thought I’d do a short cover version.

That’s me on all the instruments: drums and keyboards. Eight tracks were utilized.

Recorded March 2 & 3, 2021

Thanks for listening!!!
Enjoy!!!

Dies irae - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2021-01-31 | My modern arrangement of the Requiem Mass Sequence, “Dies irae” (Latin for “Day of Wrath”).

Headphones recommended. (There are some low notes that won’t reproduce on a cell phone.)

The “Dies irae” melody is one of the oldest known melodies in Western civilization. Some scholars believe the melody dates back to the sixth century and originates with St. Gregory the Great.

Instruments used:
Ludwig Classic Maple snare
Ludwig LM402 snare
20” Zildjian Low Volume Ride
22” Zildjian Avedis Dark Ride
Ludwig piccolo bass drum
Roland TR-808 electronic bass drum
Tambourine
Yamaha keyboard

Jasmine Blossoms (Original) - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2020-12-28 | Jasmine Blossoms an original composition by David S. Miller.

I recorded the first version of this over ten years ago, in May 2010. I decided I’d add some acoustic drums and percussion (snare and tom drums, tambourine, hi hat cymbals, ride cymbal), vocals, and remix it. Here is the result! I hope you enjoy! Thanks for listening!!!

Pick Up Sticks (D. Brubeck) - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2020-12-13 | “Pick Up Sticks” by Dave Brubeck

Here’s a cool tune I really like. It’s the last track on the famous Dave Brubeck album, Time Out. It’s in 6/4. I simplified the melody, and like the last upload, I did this to have something to practice drums along to.
Enjoy! Thanks for listening!!!

—
Yamaha keyboard; Ludwig Classic Maple 5x14 snare drum; 22” Zildjian Avedis Trans Stamp (1940s-50s) reissue ride cymbal; 14” Zildjian K Cluster (nonproduction prototype model) hi hats; 22” generic no name bass drum; Vic Firth SD2 sticks.

All Blues (M. Davis) Keyboard Cover - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2020-12-12 | All Blues (M. Davis) Keyboard Cover - David S. Miller, all instruments.

I’m learning how to play the drums and I like to find tunes to play along to, and this awesome Miles Davis tune is the latest one! I hope you enjoy it!

Ludwig Classic Maple 5x14 snare drum; 22” Zildjian K Constantinople Light (with 3 rivets) ride cymbal (for the melody); 20” Zildjian Avedis Take Five Reissue ride cymbal (during the organ solo); Yamaha keyboard. Vic Firth SD2 sticks.

Night Train - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2020-10-24 | Night Train - David S. Miller
Just a short little jam. I recently reworked a 21” Zildjian Avedis Sweet Ride cymbal by adding three sizzle rivets to it. Wanted to try it on a recording, so here it is. This cymbal plays behind the improvised trumpet solo beginning at 0:56. For the rest of the tune, I’m playing a 20”’ Zildjian K Constantinople Philly Joe Jones ride. Anyway, this is more or less just a test. Enjoy!
Dave

Equipment wise, everything is the same as usual: same horn, drums, etc.
Recorded in one take for each part, October 23, 2020.

Ride Cymbal Shootout

DavesTrumpet 2020-09-27 | Ride Cymbal Shootout
Which one is your favorite?

I thought I’d compare all my ride cymbals. Granted, cymbals have individual character, and what sounds good on one song or genre may end up sounding totally different in another setting. Personally, I like them all!
The standouts to me were the Paiste Thin Flat Ride, the 19” Avedis with rivets, and the Avedis Take Five 20”. The Paiste thin flat ride, while significantly quieter than all the others, has such clear “ping” quality and maintains a smooth consistent sound. The sizzle cymbal, Avedis 19” with rivets, sets its own kind of mood, and the Avedis Take Five 20”, as well as the 1960’s 21” Avedis have a classic jazz sound, quite appropriate to a tune like this. It’s also worth noting that the 18” Paiste 2002 crash has a decent ride sound if you don’t play it too hard.

Cymbals in order:
1. 20” Zildjian Avedis Take Five Reissue 2186g
2. 21” 1960’s Zildjian Avedis 2762g
3. 19” 1960’s Zildjian Avedis Medium Ride with six small rivets 2044g
4. 18” Paiste 2002 Crash 1480g
5. 20” 1971 Paiste Thin Flat Ride 2208g
6. 24” Paiste 2002 Ride 3904g

Sticks used: Vic Firth Steve Gadd Signature Series, wood barrel tip.

Whats Next? [Original Composition] - David Miller, Flugelhorn

DavesTrumpet 2020-09-27 | “What's Next?" an jazz original composition. I wrote this little jazz tune 35 years ago when I was in college.

So, here it is again, this little jazz tune. I’ve posted two other versions over the years with different accompaniments. In this version, I’m using the flugelhorn track from 2014 but everything else is new. Since I’m learning to play the drums, I thought I’d do a “remix” version. I hope you enjoy! Thanks for listening!!!

I'm on all the instruments: flugelhorn, harpsichord, piano & bass (played on keyboard), and drums.

TECHNICAL DETAILS:
Flugelhorn: Kanstul 1525 Flugelhorn
Mouthpiece: Curry 3FL
Snare Drum: Ludwig Classic Maple 14x5
Ride Cymbal: 1960’s Zildjian Avedis 19” Medium Ride with six rivets
Hi hats: 14” Zildjian Avedis New Beats
Bass Drum: electronic sample
Keyboard: Yamaha PSR-E433
Microphone: Royer R-101
PreAmp: PreSonus w/ vintage Telefunken 12AX7 (for added warmth)
Compression: ART Pro VLA II
All into a Tascam DP-008 8-trk digital recorder
Flugelhorn track recorded in July 2014; everything else, recorded on September 26, 2020.

Jean Pierre (M. Davis) - David S. Miller, trumpet

DavesTrumpet 2020-09-21 | “Jean Pierre” (Miles Davis)
One of my favorite Miles tunes. Simplistic melody but funky and catchy!
Just wanted something to try my new 24” ride cymbal on so I thought I’d record this.
Enjoy!!!
Thanks for listening!!!

Straight, No Chaser (Slow Blues in F) [T. Monk] - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2020-09-12 | Straight No Chaser by Thelonious Monk, performed as a slow blues.
This tune is usually approached and played as an up-tempo. That’s the way I’ve always played it in public. But I got thinking this morning that I’d like to do a slow blues to work on my drum chops, so why not this cool blues by Thelonious Monk!
I hope you enjoy! Thanks!!!!

——
I used my Kanstul Chicago CHI-1000 model trumpet with a Laskey 65MC mouthpiece; Ludwig Classic Maple 14x5 snare drum; Zildjian Avedis Take Five Reissue 20” ride cymbal, Paiste 2002 15” Soundedge hi hats, a generic no-name bass drum; and Yamaha PSR-E433 keyboard all into a Tascam DP-008 Pocketstudio digital 8 track recorder.

Wake the Monster (Big Jullien) drum cover

DavesTrumpet 2020-09-07 | Drum cover??? 😮
Yeah. I’ve been in the studio most of the day practicing drums along to different types of music. I really like this tune, so I thought I’d try it.
The tune is “Wake the Monster” by Big Jullien and his All Star Band. It was recorded in 1970.
Ivan Jullien was a French jazz trumpet player who worked alongside Claude Bolling and Maynard Ferguson. He passed away a few years ago.
YouTube will probably flag this for copyright, so it may not stay up long.
I’m banging on my new Paiste 2002 Sound Edge hi hats. Wow, they have such a great sound! Also my Ludwig 14x6.5 Supraphonic (that’s it in the video) sounds awesome. It’s like “the” snare for recording stuff like this.
Anyway, this was fun doing. And since I don’t consider myself a drummer at all, I probably won’t be posting other drum covers. Lol. I just play them mainly to accompany my own recordings. 😀

Jamming on Pink Floyd’s “Money” - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2020-09-06 | Jamming on Pink Floyd’s “Money”

Just a little jam I did in the studio today. Fun tune to play along to, if it’s done in B-flat. Lol. The original is in B. 😲

Enjoy!

I’m playing my Kanstul CH-1000 Chicago (Chicago Benge copy) trumpet. Ludwig 6.5” Supraphonic snare, Sabian HHX Evo hats, HHX Studio crash, generic no-name bass drum, Yamaha keyboard.

Lucky 7 (Original) - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2020-09-04 | Lucky 7 (Original) - David S. Miller

A little original tune I’ve been working on over the past week. I wanted something to try my new Sabian crash cymbal and new Paiste 2002 Sound Edge hi hats on. Oh, and my new cowbell I just got today!
I had previously uploaded kind of a working session where I had looped part of the drum track. That video has now been deleted and replaced with this one. There’s no looping in any part here. I also wanted to try getting a really sloshy sound with the hi hats. This particular model of hats is excellent at that!
Please have a listen! Thanks!!!

——-

Equipment used:
Kanstul Chicago 1000 trumpet with Laskey 65MC mouthpiece
Yamaha electronic keyboard
Ludwig Classic Maple 14x5 snare
18” Sabian HHX Studio crash
15” Paiste 2002 Sound Edge hi hats
Old, generic 24” bass drum
Tambourine
LP Ridgerider cowbell

One minute 7/8 groove

DavesTrumpet 2020-08-30 | Been working on at least 11 different 7/8 patterns lately. I really like this one. I thought it up last night.
Equipment used:
Ludwig Classic Maple 14x5 snare
Ludwig LM402 Supraphonic 14x6.5 snare
14” Sabian HHX Evolution hi hats
20” Zildjian Avedis Take Five ride cymbal
Electronic Roland TD-7 bass drum
Ludwig LM400 Supraphonic 14x5 snare used as tom
Ludwig LM402 Supraphonic 14x6.5 snare used as tom
Tambourine
Cow bell

Theme to ZOOM (1970s PBS children’s show) Cover - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2020-08-23 | Theme to ZOOM (1970s PBS children’s show) Cover, David S. Miller, all instruments.

Just for fun.
If you grew up in the 70’s like me, you might be familiar with this kids show from WGBH, Boston, which ran on PBS from 1972 to 1978.
I always loved this theme tune from it. Actually, all the music on the show was awesome, and jazzy- all composed by Newton Wayland. They also had a catchy song for sending them mail which ended: “Boston, MASS, Oh, Two One, Three Four! Send it to Zoom!!”
I was working on a surfing beat the other day and thought it might fit the Zoom theme. It did! Trumpet sounds a little crackly. I don’t know why. Not my normal mic and studio setup, so please forgive the sound quality.
PS: if you’re looking at the sheet music, there’s a tiny mistake: I wrote a quarter rest on beat three of the last measure- it should be an eighth rest. Enjoy! Thanks for listening!!! 🎺

Caravan (Excerpt) - David S. Miller, trumpet

DavesTrumpet 2020-08-23 | Caravan (Excerpt) - David S. Miller, all instruments.
Spent this morning practicing drums and coming up with a couple of cool grooves. Decided building a tune around the grooves, and Caravan worked perfectly. One of my all time favorite tunes that I really need to do a full version of. Enjoy!

Me on:
Trumpet
Drums
Tambourine
Cowbell
Keyboards

No Arrangement (Fela Kuti) Cover Version 2 - David Miller

DavesTrumpet 2020-08-03 | This is a remix of a cover arrangement I did several years ago. Sorry for a re-run but I’ve been wanting to rework this one for a while now. I’ve edited it (removing the intro organ solo) and added drums to the mix. The ending was also edited.

The original upload version can be found here: youtu.be/qIR3QNU9tx8

TECHNICAL DETAILS:
Track Breakdown-
TRK1: Drums & Guitar (L)
TRK2: Drums & Guitar (R)
TRK3: Bass
TRK4: Trumpet 3
TRK5: Organ
TRK6: Tambourine
TRK7: Trumpet 2
TRK8: Trumpet 1 (SOLO)
TRK9: Hi hat cymbals and snare drum
TRK10: Bass drum

Trumpet: Kanstul CHI1000 (copy of Chicago era Benge 3X)
Mouthpiece: Laskey 65MC
Microphone: Royer R-122
PreAmp: PreSonus w/ vintage Telefunken 12AX7 (for added warmth)
Compression: [NONE] (Hardlimiting in post prod.)
All into a Tascam DP-008 8-trk digital recorder
Mixed and reverberated on board the DP-008 as well as Adobe Audition
Recorded February 13 & 14, 2016 and August 2, 2020 (additional drums)

Neowise Blues - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2020-08-01 | Built off a 7/8 time signature exercise I wrote to practice drums to. It’s fun playing in 7. My keyboard playing could be improved though. Lol
Roland digital drums and a digital Yamaha keyboard.
I took the photo of Neowise. I was astounded to find I also captured a shooting star, UNTIL a friend of mine, an astrophotographer, pointed out that the white streak is actually a satellite. Unfortunately, our sky is now littered with the garbage of satellites- thousands of them.

7/8 Blues in C - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2020-08-01 | Just a short ditty in 7/8. Since I’ve been taking drum lessons, I’ve been challenging myself to come up with grooves in unusual time meters. This one is in 7/8 (2+2+3).
I used the Roland TD-7 drums and my Yamaha keyboard.

Slow 88 Groove - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2020-07-26 | I worked this little groove and jam up based on a groove we worked on in drum lessons. Thought why not make a short jam out of it.
Breakdown of instruments:
Trumpet: Kanstul Chicago 1000, keyboard, tambourine, cowbell, drum set: Ludwig Classic Maple snare, 1960s Zildjian Avedis 21” ride cymbal, Sabian HHX Evolution 14” hi hats, Roland TD-7 toms and bass drum.

Drums in bluegrass

DavesTrumpet 2020-07-18 | Just a snippet of a track by Jimmy Martin (the King of Bluegrass) that I decided to play drums over since traditionally there are no drums in bluegrass. 😀
I used my vintage Roland electronic drums.

Blue Monk (T. Monk) - David S. Miller

DavesTrumpet 2020-06-21 | Blue Monk (T. Monk) - David S. Miller
Since I’ve been learning to play the drums, I thought I’d pull up some older tracks and re-recorded the drum part. So, here you go. :-)
Thanks for listening!!

A little drum thing

DavesTrumpet 2020-06-19 | Just a minute of layered percussion sounds that I did while practicing last night.
Track 1: hi-hats (Avedis New Beat)
Track 2: snare (Ludwig Classic Maple, 5x14)
Track 3: tambourine
Track 4: crash cymbal (Sabian HHX Evo, 14”)
Track 5: ride cymbal (late 1960s Zildjian Avedis 21”)
Track 6: cowbell
Track 7: tom drum (Ludwig Classic Maple snare drum with strainer off)
Track 8: bass drum (old 24” generic)
All photos by me, David S. Miller

Mo Hippa - The Monday Night Blues Jam Band

DavesTrumpet 2019-02-27 | Recorded live in Shreveport, LA on Feb. 25, 2019
"Mo Hippa" (Jon Cleary & The Absolute Gentlemen)
Tiki Bar & Grill Monday Night Blues Jam Band:
David Deaton, guitar (host)
Stan Hoffman, keyboard
Jimi Don, guitar
Jesse Don, bass
John Hoffman, drums

Train - Buddy Flett - Live Oct. 7, 2017. Downtown Shreveport, LA

DavesTrumpet 2017-10-08 | The amazing blues musician Buddy Flett in concert today at the Red River Revel in downtown Shreveport, LA.

Buddy can make a single guitar sound like an entire band. Here he is playing open strings and harmonics along with his kick drum to simulate the sound of a train. Enjoy!

Flett wrote this song in remembrance of his late father and pet dog, both who died within a short amount of time from each other.

Video and sound from iPhone 7. Sound processed post production (light hard limiting, EQ'ing and reverb).

Recorded Oct. 7, 2017 by David S. Miller

Buster Keatons The Boat (1921) [SILENT]

DavesTrumpet 2016-08-24 | One of my favorite Buster Keaton shorts, "The Boat" follows the misadventures of a determined and sea-bound man and his family as they head off in uncharted waters on-board the "Damfino" (read/pronounced, "Damn, if I know!").

We're lucky to have this film to enjoy in part to actor, James Mason, who purchased Keaton's former home in 1952 and found the only print of this film (a nitrate in deteriorating condition), as well as other films, and had them restored. It's interesting too that Keaton is working with children and I think it's this point that makes this particular comedy short stand out among all his other works, because here we see him married with children--a theme not common to his other movies. And his interacting with the two children in this short probably bears some resemblance to how Buster and his father worked together when Buster was a child performer.

This short is in the public domain and I'm uploading a truly silent version with no background music. I'm sure you'll agree, most times the cheesy, canned music (usually synthesized) isn't necessary. So, here is.... "The Boat" starring Buster Keaton! Enjoy!
You can read more about this silent short, here:

http://www.busterkeaton.com/Films/B10_The_Boat.html

Down the Rabbit Hole [aka, Rabbits] (J. Adams) Cover [TEST] - David Miller

DavesTrumpet 2016-08-06 | Here's a great tune I heard yesterday from a very talented young multi-instrumentalist & vocalist, here on YouTube, Joseph Adams of StormTree Music: youtube.com/channel/UCF7b77EPA8gVETBGpCKRgqA
and here's the original composition:
youtu.be/-cU5WX_Cloo

As soon as I heard this awesome melody, I knew I had to record it! The melody is based on the Mixolydian Mode, which happens to be probably my favorite scale to improvise with. I was planning on doing either a trumpet or flugelhorn cover of this tune later this year (when I'm back to playing on a normal schedule) but this tune has been stuck in my head all day, so I thought I'd do a keyboard version.
I hope you enjoy it. Credit goes to Joseph Adams for coming up with such a cool melody. Thanks, Joseph!
This kid's talented, believe me! Check his channel out.
Thanks for listening. Dave

Naima (John Coltrane) - David Miller, trumpet

DavesTrumpet 2016-06-18 | FREE MP3: http://soundcloud.com/davestrumpet/naima
Here's a beautiful ballad by my favorite jazz musician, the late John Coltrane. It's called, "Naima" and was named after his then wife, Naima. It dates from 1959 and first appeared on Coltrane's famous LP, "Giant Steps". I would have preferred a slightly slower tempo, but this was the best sounding backing track I could find on youtube. I played a short, improvised solo in the middle. (Yeah, I know: I need to work more on my jazz licks!) I hope you enjoy! Dave

Thanks for listening!!!

TECHNICAL DETAILS:
Backing track provided by Visual Real Book:
youtube.com/channel/UCAehqUaxR1EjQuuLOb6vmxQ
David Miller, trumpet
Trumpet: Kanstul CHI1000 (copy of Chicago 3X Benge)
Mouthpiece: Schilke Symphony M3
Mute: Harmon style mute by Emo
Microphone: Royer R-101
PreAmp: PreSonus w/ vintage Telefunken 12AX7 (for added warmth)

My Little Suede Shoes (C. Parker) - David Miller, trumpet

DavesTrumpet 2016-06-04 | FREE MP3!!!: http://soundcloud.com/davestrumpet/my-little-suede-shoes

Here's my cover of a nice, little Charlie Parker tune called, "My Little Suede Shoes". Makes me think of tropical places in the summer time! I hope you enjoy it! Backing track provided by Davide Severino: http://www.youtube.com/user/davidebach

TECHNICAL DETAILS:
David Miller, trumpet and various auxiliary percussion instruments
Trumpet: Kanstul CHI1000 (copy of Chicago 3X Benge)
Mouthpiece: Schilke Symphony M3
Microphone: Royer R-101
PreAmp: PreSonus w/ vintage Telefunken 12AX7 (for added warmth)
All into a Tascam DP-008 8-trk digital recorder
Mixed and reverberated on board the DP-008
Recorded June 3, 2016

Goldman Thibodeaux at the 2016 Cane River Music Festival

DavesTrumpet 2016-05-18 | Goldman Thibodeaux & The Lawtell Playboys performing at the 7th Annual Cane River Music Festival on the grounds of Oakland Plantation, Natchez, Louisiana, May 14, 2016. A slide show of photos taken by myself.

You'll note the huge, gnarly trees. Those are Live Oaks, which were planted in 1820. They're almost 200 years old! They form what is called a "Oak Allée" (pronounced, "Alay"), or just called, Oak Alley, which is a double row of trees which extend out from the main house, down the front lawn, and face the Cane River. The Oak Allee functions to draw cooler air from the river towards the house, creating a true, breeze way.

Field recording made with Tascam DR-1.
Cameras:
Nikon D-90 with Nikon AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED lens
Nikon D5100 with Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED lens

Enjoy!

Goldman Thibodeaux Plays Creole La La Music (Live, 2016)

DavesTrumpet 2016-05-18 | Goldman Thibodeaux & The Lawtell Playboys play Creole La La Music at the 7th annual Cane River Music Festival held on the grounds of the Oakland Plantation, Natchez, Louisiana, May 14, 2016.
The slide show is of images I took of the band last year on May 9, 2015. The gentleman with the straw boater hat, playing violin in the images, is Cedric Watson. (He is not playing on this musical track, as it's from 2016, while the photos are from 2015). Be sure to check youtube for videos of Cedric Watson as he is truly a world-class musician. Enjoy!

Field recording made with Tascam DR-1.
Camera: Nikon D-90 with various lenses.

Goldman Thibodeaux performs Oh Bye Bye (Live 2016)

DavesTrumpet 2016-05-17 | Goldman Thibodeaux & The Lawtell Playboys performing, "Oh Bye Bye" at the 2016 Cane River Music Festival at Oakland Plantation in Natchez, Louisiana, May 14, 2016.

The is Creole "La la" music. It's not Zydeco or Cajun music. This is a fun song which ends rather prematurely. I guess you could call it a false ending. I noticed throughout the entire set that the bass player was playing rather closely to Mr. Thibodeaux. It just so happened that towards the end of a phrase in this song, the bass player's instrument tapped Mr. Thibodeaux's hat ever so lightly, signaling to him, so he thought, that it was time to end the song!! I love everyone's reaction! "Mistakes happen all the time!" Such fun music! And great times! Enjoy! Oh, and if I have the title wrong, please let me know the correct one. Thanks!

Recorded live in Natchez, Louisiana on May 14, 2016 at the Oakland Plantation.
Field recording made with Tascam DR-1.
Camera: Nikon D-90 w/ AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED lens.

Goldman Thibodeaux - La Valse a Austin Ardoin (Amédé Ardoin)

DavesTrumpet 2016-05-15 | Goldman Thibodeaux and The Lawtell Playboys performing "La Valse a Austin Ardoin" by Amédé Ardoin today at the Cane River Music Festival, held on the grounds of the Oakland Plantation, Natchez, LA.

While shooting photographs of a Louisiana roots music festival today, I decided to shoot a little video of Mr. Thibodeaux. He's such a nice gentleman and I wanted to have video of him performing. He's a true living legend.

This is a tune from the La La style of music. Musicians that play this music do not call it Zydeco or Cajun music. Occasionally you'll hear it called Creole, but Mr. Thibodeaux and his musicians always refer to it as "La-La". It comes from the tradition of Amédé Ardoin and is indigenous to the area these musicians are from. As you can tell, it is sung in French, as is most of this style of music.

The setting of the Cane River Music Festival is the Oakland Plantation, which began operating in 1818, though I believe the Prud'homme family started working the land there as early as the late 1600's. The plantation is surrounded by Live Oak trees which were planted in 1820. The stage you see here is placed between two very large 200 year old oak trees!

Please disregard the camera shake. My tripod is outfitted with a heavy duty head which isn't meant to be used with a lot of live panning and tilting movements that shooting video requires. Plus, with the weight of the 300mm lens and camera, there was probably 20 pounds I was having to adjust live during the video.

Enjoy!!!!

Field recording made with Tascam DR-1.
Camera: Nikon D-90 w/ AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED lens.

Lixomydian 3 Blues (Original Composition) - David Miller, keyboards

DavesTrumpet 2016-04-05 | FREE MP3: http://soundcloud.com/davestrumpet/lixomydian-3-blues
--Optimized for Headphone Playback--
Here's a recording of a little blues I did a while back that keeps evading me. I started this tune exactly three years ago to the date with a note, "Just an idea for a tune" and apparently I was practicing improvisation on what's called the Mixolydian Mode. I had forgotten about this track (and it's accompanying weird little video) until recently when I stumbled across it. After discovering it, I recorded several additional tracks on top of the original Clavinet improvised solo. (I've always loved the Hohner Clavinet- it's one of only a few instruments that truly gave funk music its sound. I'm using an older Yamaha keyboard here to emulate the sound of the Clavinet). For the newly recorded tracks, I recorded an additional synth track, cowbell, tambourine, drums, and keyboard bass.

I don't know how well received this will be but it's really the best keyboard playing I have of myself. I don't think I could do this again as the improvised keyboard solo (0:50 - 02:25) was done in a single take.

Anyway, here it is. Enjoy! Dave
--Optimized for headphone playback--

Recorded: April 3, 2013; March 20 & 21, 2016. Mixed on March 22, 2016

Rest in Peace, Bailey and Daisy

DavesTrumpet 2016-03-19 | A slide show of my two Boston Terriers, Bailey and Daisy. Daisy passed away a few days ago on March 15. Bailey passed away a year ago on March 23, 2015. They were my two best friends. Both were rescued animals and absolutely the two best dogs ever. Bailey lived with me for nine years, and Daisy, just under thirteen years. Rest in peace little sweeties, Daddy loves you.

Background music performed by myself on trumpet and flugelhorn:
1. "Abend Wird Es Im Tal" ("Evening in the Valley") [Heintje]
2. "Demons" [Imagine Dragons]

No Agreement (Fela Kuti) Cover - David Miller

DavesTrumpet 2016-02-15 | FREE MP3!: http://soundcloud.com/davestrumpet/no-agreement-fela-kuti-cover
I heard this tune the other day for the first time and thought I'd do an arrangement of it. I've always enjoyed the music of the late African multi-instrumentalist, Fela Kuti. He was such a wonderful musician. I hope you enjoy this! I know it's a long tune, but I hope you'll listen to all of it. There are some cool trumpet lines in the middle!!! Dave

TECHNICAL DETAILS:
Track Breakdown-
TRK1: Drums & Guitar (L)
TRK2: Drums & Guitar (R)
TRK3: Bass
TRK4: Trumpet 3
TRK5: Organ
TRK6: Tambourine
TRK7: Trumpet 2
TRK8: Trumpet 1 (SOLO)

Trumpet: Kanstul CHI1000 (copy of Chicago era Benge 3X)
Mouthpiece: Laskey 65MC
Microphone: Royer R-122
PreAmp: PreSonus w/ vintage Telefunken 12AX7 (for added warmth)
Compression: [NONE] (Hardlimiting in post prod.)
All into a Tascam DP-008 8-trk digital recorder
Mixed and reverberated on board the DP-008
Recorded February 13 & 14, 2016

How Deep Is Your Love (Bee Gees) Trumpet Cover - David Miller

DavesTrumpet 2016-02-13 | FREE MP3: http://tinyurl.com/hjeas8l
Here is my cover version of this 1977 hit from the Bee Gees. I hadn't heard the song in a long time and then this morning a Karaoke channel I'm subscribed to (Sing King Karaoke) posted a backing track for it, and like a lot of songs, once I heard it, it stayed with me all day long. So, I decided to record a cover of it. I hope you enjoy it! Dave

Backing track courtesy of Sing King Karaoke:
http://www.youtube.com/user/singkingkaraoke

TECHNICAL DETAILS
Trumpet: Kanstul CHI1000 (copy of Chicago era Benge 3X)
Mouthpiece: Laskey 65MC
Microphone: Royer R-122
PreAmp: PreSonus w/ vintage Telefunken 12AX7 (for added warmth)
Compression: ART Pro VLA II
All into a Tascam DP-008 8-trk digital recorder
Mixed and reverberated on board the DP-008
Recorded February 12, 2016

Love Yourself (Justin Bieber) Trumpet Cover - David Miller, Trumpet

DavesTrumpet 2016-02-11 | FREE MP3: http://tinyurl.com/hjeas8l
Here is my cover of Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself". Whether you're a fan of Justin Bieber or not, I believe a great song is a great song. I hope you enjoy this! Dave
Guitar backing track compliments of Guitar Karaoke! Check them out:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbzz_Y9oVH2-57G4k0awE0w
Sheet Music Download:
http://bit.ly/1PpkpcM

TECHNICAL DETAILS
Trumpet: Kanstul CHI1000 (copy of Chicago era Benge 3X)
Mouthpiece: Laskey 65MC
Microphone: Royer R-122
PreAmp: PreSonus w/ vintage Telefunken 12AX7 (for added warmth)
Compression: ART Pro VLA II
All into a Tascam DP-008 8-trk digital recorder
Mixed and reverberated on board the DP-008
Recorded February 6 & 10, 2016

Second Line (Joe Averys Blues) - David Miller, Trumpet

DavesTrumpet 2016-01-31 | Second Line (Joe Avery's Blues) - David Miller
FREE MP3: http://soundcloud.com/davestrumpet/second-line
or http://tinyurl.com/hjeas8l (where this and other tracks are available for free download)
Here's a fun Mardi Gras tune for everyone! I had a blast recording this! I hope you enjoy! Laissez les bons temps rouler!!!!!!!

TECHNICAL DETAILS
Trumpet: Kanstul CHI1000 (copy of Chicago era Benge 3X)
Mouthpiece: Laskey 65MC
Microphone: Royer R-122
PreAmp: PreSonus w/ vintage Telefunken 12AX7 (for added warmth)
Compression: ART Pro VLA II
All into a Tascam DP-008 8-trk digital recorder
Mixed and reverberated on board the DP-008
Recorded January 30, 2016

Recording the Trumpet - My Equipment and Setup

DavesTrumpet 2016-01-29 | Here's a video by request of Rob Grady, a young multi-instrumentalist from the UK who asked about my setup and recording technique. This is by no means a definitive video on recording technique, this is just how I do things. I show the equipment and technique I use in making my recordings and share a few things that I've learned. I know this one is a bit long, so it will only be of interest to a select few, but hopefully it's helpful. I hope you enjoy! Dave

We Like To Party! (Vengabus) How-to-Play Tutorial for B-flat instruments

DavesTrumpet 2016-01-25 | For Logan. Here's a tutorial on how to play the Vengaboys' tune, "We Like To Party! (Vengabus)" for B-flat instruments (Trumpet, Cornet, Soprano Clarinet, Tenor Sax, Soprano Sax). Enjoy!
Here's the scan of the music:
http://www.dropbox.com/s/59xgjsm9h84p3ch/Scan209.jpg?dl=0
Here is my complete cover of this song: http://youtu.be/8sU7N7DRuV4