jakenewmanbass

[quote name='Clive Thorne' post='159793' date='Mar 18 2008, 05:57 PM']A trick I learnt many years ago, from a BBC sound engineer/roady, was to coil it up into your hand, but put a sort of reverse twist into it every other coil. Very hard to describe in writing, but the affect is that you can coil it up, then hold one end and through the coil away from you and it will (should) completely uncoil itslef and lay flat on the floor without a twist in sight. Clive.[/quote] I use the same technique and it works a treat

Best cable boxes I've seen (doubling as sturdy stands with a black cloth draped over) are Ammo tins, quite cheap from army and navy stores. Or the medium sized soft hardware cases for drums, 'Protection Racket'.

Huge Hands, you make some interesting points about giving it a try worry free, so I suppose I would modify my ealier posts and suggest that if people want to have a go, at least go to a dealer (such as Malcolm Healy) and try a few really lovely basses to see how wonderful they can sound, and how easy they can be to play. Then buy something you can have a bash at that doesn't cost a fortune and if you get serious, move up, if not, no great loss. Jake

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='159419' date='Mar 18 2008, 09:40 AM']I could go on and on - I read more than I practice (its quieter and I can do it on public transport!)[/quote] you mean you don't play your bass on the bus? thats not very hardcore of you Bilbo BTW +1 for the Art Pepper book. A stonking read, very open, warts and all, and an interesting view of the period, which incorporated after the main Jazz era.

[quote name='Jase' post='158824' date='Mar 17 2008, 10:32 AM']Sounds really good jake, your a bit like a guitar player I work with, on our myspace he wrote and recorded the vocals, backing vocals, guitar elec and acoustic and piano.[/quote] Thanks

[quote name='Huge Hands' post='159139' date='Mar 17 2008, 07:46 PM']I am obsessed with James Jamerson, but when I try and play like him I usually get lost and f**k things up, so I have developed my own "Basic Jamerson" style (poor man's easier version that isn't as busy but has a couple of his moves in it!) I used to have a bass teacher for a few years when I first started who advised (I'm sure others will disagree) to always try and play fretted notes rather than open strings[/quote] Disagree!!!! thats not the half of it. I answered this question regarding open strings in one of the earliest threads in which I posted. I'm going to say it again. Who the f*** are this idiot bastard no excuse f*** wits who give out such sh*t advice. As you can tell I'm seriously pissed off about this, For f***s Sake, Jamerson made the use of open strings an art form in its own right, they are sonically a variant to stopped notes and they give a rhyhmic articulation that is simply not available when playing two notes on the same string eg 9ths. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!! Right I've composed myself now. Huge Hands please don't take my vitriol personally I just can't contain my rage when people attempt to limit the freedom that should be available to all players. To answer the thread question: at the moment, an angry one

Double bass, bass guitar equal first instrument Voice, guitar, piano, drums, percussion, all to a reasonable level but I would only really record my BVs, percussion playing or kit looped in pro tools. If you go to my MySpace on the link in my sig. On the first track on the player I play double bass, cahon, shaker, tambourine, and claps. And I helped arrange the BVs, and partly produced the track. It was recorded at Sleeper Studions in Hampstead which is owned by Guy Chambers. Oh and the desk we used was used for Dark side of the Moon.

[quote name='paul, the' post='158047' date='Mar 15 2008, 04:31 PM'] Anyway, I can't help but feel a lack of connection with the music with session players. I don't think it's possible to take on the meaning of the music and perform it with a sincerity someone who was brought up with the music/background would, not to mention genuine unity between musicians. It always feels emulated. I guess I don't agree with it. I'd rather take the unrefined charms of traditional music to the over-produced stuff. Session work/repetitive technical exercises have so many connotations with 'industry' to me, over the love of music itself. I rarely want to listen to it because I can't connect with it. It is, so often, an artificial marginalisation and profiteering of the past's pure music.[/quote] While I would absolutely never attempt to suggest that you are wrong in your choices and taste (for obvious reasons) I do think you are slighly underestimating the musicality of quite a large number of really great musicians by lumping them in together as 'session players'. and at the same time I feel that you give them short shrift, by dismissing their output in the way that you appear so to do. They are people too, and even if their workload is more akin to that of industry (although to my mind I'm not sure it is) I don't think that that would necessarily preclude them from playing with great feeling, sincerity and intensity.

I absolutely take the point about clinical perfection, although I think that really great musicians shine through any squeekiness/cleanliness. We should remember that recordings, especially sessions, are done with a specific commercial purpose in mind. If you see top session players live they kick ass in my experience, and will rip it up with warts and all. The same guys employ a different mindset to recording under the guidance of producers and sensibilities stemming from the fact that recorded means forever. A couple of friends of mine play in Will Lee's Fab Faux, a Beatles tribute band, when they are in the UK (usually annually) Will is one of [i]the[/i] most recorded bass players in history, and can be very 'studio cool', but on the gig he is a bundle of energy and a f***ing awesome musician who can thrash with the best of them. Jake PS. I love the way this thread is developing, its covering all there is to know about bass. Nice one Guys!!

[quote name='paul, the' post='158034' date='Mar 15 2008, 04:12 PM']...here's good too.[/quote] what.. for me! Only if I want to dunk myself in the briney.

[quote name='Davemarks' post='158007' date='Mar 15 2008, 03:35 PM']This topic is awesome and has turned into something of a monster. I would LOVE to meet up and engage some people for a roundtable discussion that we could throw at the mag... A chat about the importance of technique and theory in playing and the benefits / drawbacks of different educational approaches. I live in West London. I'm sure I could get a free, quiet room to chat in the Institute in kilburn. Anyone game for it? Dave[/quote] Dave I'm just down the M3 a little, so West London is good for me and I'd be happy to. Send me a PM if it has legs. Jake

Of course that late fifties classic that was re done in the 90s. Miles Davis 'So What'.

[quote name='dlloyd' post='157381' date='Mar 14 2008, 01:19 PM']Perhaps I should have edited the quote by deleting everything except the line I was answering (about the legitimacy of E##). I did not disagree with the rest of the post. Dumb argument huh? [/quote] Doh! Text can be sh*t huh?

[quote name='dlloyd' post='157353' date='Mar 14 2008, 12:46 PM']Of course it is. I doubt there is a real example of an E## out there, unless the composer was being awkward for awkwardness' sake. F##, C##, G## on the other hand are fairly common. Not sure I know what you mean. I didn't edit your quote in any way... how did I misquote you?[/quote] Sorry I didn't really mean mis-quote. But E double sharp [b][i]is not[/i][/b] F. E double sharp would end up as F sharp.E sharp is F because there are only semi tones between E and F likewise B and C

[quote name='Merton' post='157300' date='Mar 14 2008, 11:29 AM']I like the sound of that! I keep getting lost at the moment when I jam with some jazz dudes, feel wholly inferior esp given the sax player is an awesome bassist too My jazz playing is cr*p so am trying to squeeze some study into my hectic life! To the OP - well done, kudos and all that. Nice pub too [/quote] I always get lost on jazz gigs. If only I could get to them first!

[quote name='dlloyd' post='157274' date='Mar 14 2008, 10:50 AM']Key of F## major? Certainly legitimate... admittedly downright odd and unnecessary. Most of the time I see double sharps denoted as 'x' rather than '##'[/quote] I was explaining in reference to the quote in my post that E double sharp is not F which is what the previous poster had stated. I think the notion of legitimacy of any note with any number of sharps or flats after it is a little trite and unnecessary. Hence the existence of the point at which we travel from sharp keys into flat keys and vice versa. And while I don't have a problem with those accuracies being pointed out, it did lead to you mis-quoting me and contradicting what I accurately said.

[quote name='queenofthedepths' post='156876' date='Mar 13 2008, 05:34 PM'][pedant]Surely there are only 7 notes in any key? If you include the octave as well as the root, that's 13 notes in an octave! So it's not quite 66%...[/pedant] Congratulations on finding the courage - now just keep at it! [/quote] are you suggesting pedant, that middle C and the C an octave above are the same note, they vibrate at different speeds and by my estimation are different notes

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='157257' date='Mar 14 2008, 10:18 AM']The concept of excellence in singing, for instance, is a Western phenomenon. Asking someone is Africa if they can sing is like asking them if they can chew. Its not an issue.[/quote] Thats both fascinating and beautiful.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='157214' date='Mar 14 2008, 09:26 AM']That's not true at all. ANYONE can analyse music just by listening and thinking about it, not just musicians. Whether or not they can communicate those ideas is limited by thier language skills. I don't see why you would have to be able to totally analyse every single detail in a peice in one listen. Are you comparing this to reading music or something?[/quote] I don't think you've understood what he means. I think his point, and I agree, is that your claim to have no problem understanding and conveying musical ideas would most effectively be tested/proved by your ability to instantly assimilate and regurgitate what you have just heard. If you can't do that then your claim is limited. And given some of your earlier posts I get the impression that you are not a master in that regard, and the poster was trying to let you know that there is work to do unless you are. The context of the posts is quite important here.

Its a totally pointless instrument as, in a five string you've already got a four string!! I suppose it could be strung differently? But then you might as well get a six or seven!

[quote name='The Funk' post='157144' date='Mar 14 2008, 02:52 AM']The simple answer to why you call it an E double sharp is that you already have one F in the scale and it is sharp. It just makes notation easier. (Although that many sharps will just look ugly). The simple answer to why you call a note a diminished 7th as opposed to a major 6th is because the former forms the 7th note of the corresponding scale and the latter the 6th note. The fact that you play E double sharp in exactly the same place as F, or the diminished 7th or major 6th in exactly the same place, on a practical level does not mean that learning about harmony - and the different contexts of a diminished 7th and a major 6th - is not useful. As tension and release form a big part of how music is put together it can be helpful to understand the different tensions and resolutions of a diminished 7th and a major 6th. (I think all of this has been said above).[/quote] Just for accuracy its E# not E## (E sharp not E double sharp) E double sharp would equal F# And I can't think of any circumstances where E## would legitimately exist.

The most useful thing to be able to do regarding theory is to know how chords for modern music pop, jazz, soul etc are spelled and the relevant scales (sounds) that go with them. Opens a world of possibilities.

we are only 63 posts away from 500 here... anyone!!

[quote name='owen' post='156567' date='Mar 13 2008, 10:44 AM']A furry leopard print cover is very good at suppressing resonance [/quote] somewhat like a duvet I would imagine, looks good tho!

[quote name='cheddatom' post='156737' date='Mar 13 2008, 02:20 PM']I'd like a consolation bottle![/quote] glad you realise it's a good natured poke, we have been over some ground in this one some of it a little rocky.