Jonny May Feedback on YAMS!

A few days ago, I mentioned that I’d shared a rough version of my "You Are My Sunshine" arrangement with the PWJ community. I got some feedback, which I appreciated, but I’ll admit I was hoping for more pointed critique. I wanted someone to really poke at it and tell me what wasn’t working.

Then Jonny May himself commented.

He said many generous things about the arrangement, which meant a lot. But what mattered more were the specific suggestions he offered for how I might push it further. That kind of feedback is even more valuable because it gives me something to work on instead of something to simply feel good about.

At Tuesday’s “Ask Jonny” Q&A, I worked up the nerve to ask him about possible introductions. He paused, played around, thought out loud, and gradually assembled a handful of ideas on the spot. None of them felt rehearsed. All of them were clever, musical, and full of personality. Watching that process was at least as valuable as the ideas themselves. He even played one “intro idea” that sounded more like an outro to me, which was also helpful.

He also said some very kind things about my playing, which boosted my confidence to somewhere in the stratosphere. I told him I couldn’t wait to get home from North Carolina so I could watch the recording and start experimenting.

Unfortunately, the video isn’t up yet. The PWJ Community Manager, Katie, lives in north Louisiana, which was hit hard by last weekend’s ice storm, and now they're expecting more bad weather this weekend. So for now, I’m working with what I already have.

One idea from Jonny’s Facebook comment was to use more triplet rolls. Someone else suggested rolls as well, so that’s where I’ve decided to focus. This video shows me working through a couple of verses, rolling just about everything I can think of. These aren’t finished choices so much as a way of testing the ground, listening carefully, and seeing what works where.

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