cheddatom

[quote name='jakesbass' post='155798' date='Mar 12 2008, 10:05 AM']What I didn't say is that a lack of technique will prevent you expressing yourself, and neither do I think that, so to me your question answers itself. There is a huge difference between copying someone elses solos and having global harmonic awareness to be able to construct your own on the spot. Whether you listen to modern jazz will make not a jot of difference to anything, Bach and many of the composers of and around his time were improvisors. Last night I did a gig with an eight piece band doing original material, we spent the previous week rehearsing to create our parts as the songwriter gave us frames of the songs. Last Saturday I did a hotel gig in Manchester playing songs from the 20s and 30s playing largely two feels but all improvised to some extent. And thats just the last week. None of it modern jazz. I've spent nearly 20 years doing this, a tiny proportion of the time in modern jazz groups. And as I said before I enjoy, indeed [i]love[/i] it all.[/quote] What i'm saying is that some of these extremely fast, extremely difficult, and extremely impressive improvisations don't sound like something some would have inside their head and want to get out. I don't listen to enough jazz to know that for a fact, and so i'm asking. How many times did you play impressively fast during all of your gigs? I fail to see what's technically brilliant about being able to play basslines to songs, because that's what you're describing to me. I know you're not proffessing yourself as a technically brilliant player, but you are arguing that practicing technique to such a degree that the music you're making is almost unlistenable, will make you a better player, or a more able to improvise player. What i'm saying is that I have never practiced in such a way, and yet I find improvising no problem. I have played with a few different groups where i've had to learn an hour's set in 3 hours or so, but I always just remember the chord changes and play along. If I wanted to play walking bass I would have to practice it, but not until I could do it at 400bpm. Scales and Keys are sets of notes on your fret board. They're useful for putting different parts of music together, but you can basically hear what's right or wrong. Many a time, what's wrong from the technical viewpoint will be right to your ears. If you've just been practicing scales all your life, you might not be aware of a note that would sound great. If you ignore all of this theory, you have the entire fret board to play with, and you can play anything you like, and judge it with your ears and your brain. This is what works for me! This is might a bit arrogant, but only because i'm relating it to myself. I'm sure there are thousands of other musicians out there who play in the same way.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='155684' date='Mar 12 2008, 12:53 AM']I think the one thing that has been consistently overlooked here is that the whole point of good technical facility is to free your playing so that emotion and creativity are [i]more[/i] accessible, it has been mentioned earlier but nobody seems to take it on board, in jazz creativity is paramount.[/quote] I'm technically not very good, but I have no problem at all expressing myself on my bass. I can play anything I want. The only time I want to improve is when my guitarist comes up with something I can't play fast enough with my fingers, but don't want a pick sound for. Is playing these incredibly fast and complicated improvisations really an expression of the self? My guitarist spent a long time learning to play some nuno solos, and he uses that technique in his improvisation, but it's basically just to show off. I suppose I don't listen to enough modern jazz to really know the answer to my question, so sorry if that last comment seemed presumptive.

The feedback loop is good for making noise between songs, or at the end of a gig. In my band we do some atmospheric stuff in the middle of some songs, so it's cool for that too.

Why do you want the volume pedal in the middle? Surely you would get the same effect with it at the start negating the need for any clever wiring? I would want OD just before delay, but you have no other dirt to go before your modulation, so if you like it there fair enough. Apart from that it looks sensible etc... I'd love to play with that board, although I would miss another distortion or two!

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='155396' date='Mar 11 2008, 04:33 PM']I kinda like that![/quote] You chin-stroking widdle-wonder!

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='155375' date='Mar 11 2008, 04:05 PM']Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!! It's happening again!!!!![/quote]

[quote name='Roady' post='155268' date='Mar 11 2008, 01:20 PM']Theres also another Jr model coming out soon that will let you control the blended amount with an expression pedal...[/quote] That sounds cool!

They're not quavers if they're not original cheese flavour!!!

Yeh, I know, sorry, I didn't mean to go round in circles. I was kind of just commenting on the sheer quantity of mates some of you guys have. Our good friends will turn up, but that's about 20 people at the most, maybe another 5 or 10 family.

What the hell is that you're holding in your avatar?

There are different words for the same and different things, so this is a bit weird to talk about but.... You can use a loop/switcher to kick in or out several effects at a time. So, if you had a wah and a OD that you always used together, and quite often wanted the option of turning them both off at the same time, you would buy a loop. I like to switch between two effects settings, each of which consist of 2-7 pedals, so I use an A/B loop switcher. Basically, if you feel the need to do some switching you can't do at the moment with your feet, you will know exactly what kind of looper or switcher you need.

dood sold me a CA amp and the deal all went swimmingly! Cheers!

How does anyone have time for that amount of practice?!? I suppose I have other priorities, but, if I was Janek's (for example only) girlfriend and he was practising 10 hours a day, I think it'd get to me. 10 hours bass, 8 hours sleep, 6 hours actual life? I suppose I spend 8 hours at work every day doing something I don't enjoy, so if I could do something I love for 10 hours a day and make a living.......... Still, I can't imagine sitting playing the bass for 10 hours. I never play for more than an hour really, unless it's with my band.

[quote name='acidbass' post='154644' date='Mar 10 2008, 03:50 PM']It's not to everyone's taste[/quote] Zing! Carry on Bass Chat!

I've got a TE 18" cab that's somehow broken. I'm sure it's an easy fix. Are you a DIY type? Want to buy my massive cab?

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='154629' date='Mar 10 2008, 03:33 PM']And make sure you don't get sand in the vaseline.[/quote] I thought we were going to use marmite?

No idea, can we see a transcription or is that illegal?

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='154598' date='Mar 10 2008, 03:07 PM']Sad but true.[/quote] Yeh

[quote name='BOD2' post='154591' date='Mar 10 2008, 03:02 PM']Getting back on topic, Janek's article was about practicing for modern improvisation - quite specifically.[/quote] This topic has morphed out of your control!

[quote name='mcgraham' post='154574' date='Mar 10 2008, 02:42 PM']I would say that is an entirely real and plausible issue we face as improving musicians. However, I would like to point out that technical ability on its own is transparent; it is not creative, it is not egotistical, it is not proud, it's just ability.[/quote] I don't agree that technical ability is transparent. I'm not sure about the actual brain functions and etc, and it would be interesting for someone who knows to come on and post? But, I thought of learning the bass like building up a set of habits. I would play the same scales over and over again, or practice the same hard/fast riff. Especially when improvising, I would have a few little "runs" that i'd like to do, and I could play them in whatever key and sound semi-impressive. Obviously the idea is to build up an infinite number of habits, creating a sort of infinite creativity. Anyway, that didn't work out, so now every time I play something i've heard myself play before (unless it's a song i'm working on), I stop and play something else. I don't know if i've explained this very well, but what I mean is that technical ability always comes with the bagage created by the learning process.

I had a quick listen at lunch time ehre at work. My speakers are crap so maybe I should check it out at home. It's quite cool. I went on your myspace to hopefully download some music to listen to in the car but your songs aren't available. Is there anywhere I can get them?

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='154568' date='Mar 10 2008, 02:36 PM']I know I've been on this f*cking thread too long when I find myself agreeing 100% with Bilbo! Well put mate.[/quote] BBC and Bilbo, sitting in a tree, J A Z Z I N G

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='154549' date='Mar 10 2008, 02:23 PM']Goin back to the painting analogy, I agree that practice improves your bility to make marks on a canvas. You can practice painting in all styles and become very accomplished. You could also develop some pretty firm ideas as to how to paint in a certain style. What would happen if someone who had never painted before picked up a brush and started slapping paint around? It would not be as good technically, but it may be just as creative. It would certainly be different and less likely to conform to any known styles. Hell, it could even be more creative than the pro's picture![/quote] Yeh, exactly. I fail to see how studying Pablo Picasso, or Vincent Van Gogh would have helped Tracy Emin f*ck up her bedroom. Not that i'm a fan of her work, it's just I think there is a valid point here. I personally did spend a lot of time learning all the theory I could stomache. I've forgotten it all now, but my hands still remember. I suppose if this is what everyone's going for, then fine, but I really doubt whether players that practice 10 hours a day until they can play faster than they will ever need to will ever be able to forget their theory. I find it hard enough to play something unconventional, and this frustrates me. I suppose i'm one example of a player sufferring the detriment of learning theory as it has deffinitely limited my creativity in the past. I'm my no means a technical/fast player though. EDIT: Wow, we're replying fast on this thread!! I just wanted to say that I don't think this is subjective. I think we can probably generalise and say that if you want to create music that sound original, or is unconventional, then learning music theory and complicated/fast techniques can be detrimental to the creativity required. Obviously, if you're the fastest most brilliant bassist in the land, you can play anything. Whether or not you could have written it........