Take 2 of "Billie's Bounce":

Compare to take 1.

I got significantly faster at that monster lick in the middle over the last couple weeks. I'd like to write about some ideas that have been working for building speed in another post. In short, I'm suddenly dangerously close to achieving that expensive meal I mentioned in the take 1 writeup. I underestimated my ability to play a lick hundreds of times in a single sitting.

I tried using some distortion this time. Big Muff Pi. Took it out of storage on the 14th in celebration and thought I might use it in a video. It's probably too dirty for this, but the sustain helps with the prominent vibrato at the very end of some notes, necessary to reproduce Bird's style.

I can tell I'm playing these lines with more confidence and fluidity. I'm always thinking about properly pronouncing the dynamics. That's one thing I love about Bird's playing; he had impeccable control over the intensity of every note at any speed. The accents in that monster lick, for example, take it to a level unattainable by a simple written melody.