norvegicusbass

I think my playing can be a bit messy at times and think it high time I tightened up on my muting technique. I dont however like the standard floating thumb method and was interested in the various other methods you can employ. I like the kind of right hand muting that Jaco does placing his unused plucking fingers on the other strings kind of like a spider with its legs on the spokes of its web. Are there any other unusual methods out there?

I have just been jamming to a few drum tracks on Wikiloops ( great site ) and although I can play along quite happily to the standard twelve bar blues pattern I cant for the life of me satisfactory jam to any other chord progression. Dont get me wrong I LOVE the Blues but would love to be as fluent in other chord progressions. When I was first learning bass as a kid virtually all the books I studied dwelt heavily on the Twelve Bar Blues and I think I might just be locked into that pattern. How can I break out of it?

Great musician. Get well soon.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1382634380' post='2254800'] This is going to go two ways - coffee tables and solid colours! [/quote]

What do you reckon is the best looking bass on the market? Not talking about tone or ease of playing or cost just a flat out " that is a beautiful looking bass" kind of thing

I find my lack of musical theory is a handicap when I am playing along to a chord chart that has chords with strange names such as C 9sus4 or whatever. I simply have no idea what to play over this chord bar the C root!! Same with more common chords like minor chords. I mean if the chord was a C minor and I just played the root what makes my bass line reflect the nature of the chord being in minor? By playing the root it could just as easy be a C major chord. I do know about a flattened third in the major scale turns it into a minor but what does that mean? That I have to make sure I play a flat third to emphasize the minor? When I noodle around I can come up with things that work and I take on board all those comments that I am using theory without being fully aware but I must admit I would love the ability to sit down with a blank page and write a great bass line without needing to check it on my bass

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1382299963' post='2250437'] I get the impression that this thread better than we've had before pinpoints what one is talking about here, with "theory" existing as a backdrop even if one doesn't explicitly think in theoretical terms, and with delightfully little (or none) of this "You theorists only follow some rules. I however am free!" bollocks. My take is the same, I think: Man has developed musical sensitivities through the ages, and one slowly has reached a level of agreeing on how stuff by large works on the human ear. Normal, tradional theory, in my mind is just a reflection of some shared and agreed-on insights about how the overtone spectrum governs what the human ear likes, and how the human ear likes it. Since music is all around us, and our ears thusly are trained all the time, in my mind we're rather musical people, and I think I see this confirmed when so many people love for example Pink Floyd, The Beatles or Queen - artists who do not belong in the realm of the most unmusical music there is. The following may be too local for Brits to get a good impression of it, but I'll take the chance, as I think it exemplifies this more: A popular and simple style of music here in Norway and in Sweden is what is called "dansband" (dance band as it were). It's not about cover versions of popular music, but small orchestras playing their own songs with a strong and recognisable 4/4 beat and very simple lyrics, melodies and chord structures. Nothing there to expand one's brain by. "Modulation" for example is often achieved by simply repeating the same structure in the new key. Now, in this setting, the most popular band by far is the one that IMNSHO is the most professional in musical terms. Their songs float like a piece by Mendelssohn, and these songs are flawless if one analyses them with classical theory in mind. Simple, mind, but flawless in the light of what they try to achieve. Gazillions of other bands exist in these circles and with this specific musical style. What most of them share is a lack of success AND compositions that are as leaky as a house without a roof. This, to me, is a great example of my notion that people are not unmusical, and do indeed take part in this shared knowledge base - also on this simple level. So yes, theory is there, even if you're not aware or think you don't use it. Each musical choice is a choice that in some way comments on or reflects our shared experience. One of the things that make Swedish prog band "von Zamla" so exciting to me, is their strong sense about exactly how much they can break conventional rules without landing in chaos. Their music tickles and amuses, and IMO is deeply musical at the same time. They confirm the rules by defying them - or rather: defying is probably the wrong word here. How about "bending the rules"? (If by any chance you're interested, look up Samla Mammas Manna / Zamla Mammaz Manna / von Zamla. They're essentially the same band under three different names.) [/quote]Excellent post

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1382296857' post='2250362'] Absolutely. Of course there's theory behind it - I'm just not thinking of it from a theoretical standpoint. [/quote] wateroftyne where in Newcastle are you?

[quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1382295182' post='2250310'] This is an interesting answer because I think it's what's true in most situations. I have three thoughts on this: 1. in this discussion there is massive incidence of the blind leading the blind. 2. If you are playing things from your own musical imagination there is theory that expresses it in a written communicable form [i]Whether you like it or not fellas. [/i]Just because you are not thinking in theoretical terms (which is perfectly fine) does not mean there is no theory at play. 3. People that are both musical and theoretically able will be at a bassline in around a 100th of the time that a noodler will take which is what makes me able to go on a gig or recording session with people I've never met and read chord charts to come up with a bass part on the spot. I did this session with one rehearsal and chord charts so when I recorded the song it was the 2nd or 3rd time I'd played it: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/220192-new-artist-video/page__pid__2249848#entry2249848"]http://basschat.co.u...48#entry2249848[/url] [/quote] Really? A hundredth of the time?

How many of you create a bassline by just noodling away to find something that works rather than using musical theory? I must confess that music theory is beyond me ( which as someone well versed and in love with mathematics surprises me somewhat ). I find that I can make up quite a decent bassline when I just mess around on my bass but as soon as I try to justify the line with musical theory I just cant see how the notes relate. So my question in a nutshell is when faced with the task of coming up with a bass line that fits a piece of music how many of you get out your music theory books and how many just noodle around?

Excellent site well put together. Whats that beautiful bass he has in the first lesson?

Just been listening to a few Buzzcocks records as is my wont as a former punk and was struck by Steve Garvey's playing. Everybody's Happy Nowadays has a lovely upbeat bassline that will be on my to do list. Thing is when I was a young'in he totally went under the radar and I never felt like learning his lines. Anyone else have a bass player that they never gave much mind to at the time but on a revisit to their work were mightily impressed?

This was meant as a question about the learning process really and not gigging. I know most people will look at their fretting hand when remembering the patterns but not sure if anyone puts much effort into thinking about patterns of plucking so to speak. And by looking I really mean the effort to establish a pattern of fingering rather than staring at ones hand.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1370020084' post='2095692'] It's in the Stuart Clayton book [i]Funk and Disco Grooves for Bass[/i]. [url="http://www.basslinepublishing.com/nile-rodgers-and-bernard-edwards-funk-and-disco-grooves.html"]http://www.basslinep...co-grooves.html[/url] [/quote] Looks a great book going to look into it thanks

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1370023482' post='2095748'] Don't actually think I'm supposed to do this, but they don't know who I am so it doesn't matter I guess . Don't know how clear it is, if you need any help just say ! [/quote] Thank you so much. Its a little fuzzy yeah but I am sure I can work with this again thanks so much.

I love the bass on Thinking Of You but always struggle to pick it up from the record and damn my factory worn ears for that fact. Can anyone just tell me the sequence of notes for the main riff? In a million years I doubt I will ever get BE's groove but atleast I can maybe hit the right notes.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1370007297' post='2095472'] I don't look at either [/quote] You cool f***

I know when learning a new tune we have to look intently on our fretting hand but do any of you really closely observe your plucking hand when learning a tune?

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1368389380' post='2076528'] Loving all this sage advice from people who haven't a clue about the passage in question... [/quote] That was obviously my fault. Yeah sorry folks I meant the chorus bit which begins on C of the A string. By the way what does pedalling mean? Someone mentioned it earlier

[quote name='hairyhatman' timestamp='1368375900' post='2076260'] I prefer to leave the open strings out of the equation as much as possible. Mainly because I struggle to transpose to different keys if there are open strings involved. Can't remember why I do this but somewhere along the way someone said it was the best approach so I'm stuck now. Guess Its a style thing. If you generally play muted/staccato then a big ringy open string is going to sound off unless you mute it a bit. But agree with Jellyknees ... who's to say ..... Different Strokes etc. ([i]Whatcha Talkin 'Bout Willis![/i]) [/quote] Yeah I think this was the reason I first did to easily transpose but isnt it a tad ironic that your avi shows a player who is perhaps synonymous with open strings

[quote name='iceonaboy' timestamp='1368381595' post='2076342'] Sorry , didnt see that post earlier. Yes its played at the tenth and twelvth fret with open strings to give the octave. There are loads of tuition videos on you tube [/quote] Really iceonaboy? Its the chorus I am talking about and even the embedded video on this thread shows him playing it the way I describe. I understand the main riffs are played higher up the neck but the part I mean is about one minute five seconds into the piece and looking at the guy on the video he plays it further down the neck at C on the A string

Some excellent replies to my post so thank you all so much. Yeah its a co-ordination problem alright and I am going to play as many pieces with open strings as possible to rectify it. An excellent point about the left and right hand working in unison and for open notes the left has nothing to do. I will do all the things you kind people have highlighted and report back in thirty four years when all the practice bears fruit.

[quote name='WalMan' timestamp='1368363468' post='2076081'] It still sounds more likely to me that he is pedalling the open string and playing the riff along that string rather than across the neck & different strings, which would be a far easier way to do things [/quote] Well the part in question is played C on the A string then its octave on the G string back down to C on the A and then the part I struggled with a quick leap to F on the G string hammer onto C on the G string so I am unsure how I could play this part with open strings

I have tried this fingering the root with my index finger and the octave octave with my ring finger and I can get up to speed this way using the pad of my index on both the root and the seventh ( is it the seventh? not even sure about that ) . I have the fourth longest fingers in the UK so using the one finger one fret method even low down the neck is OK for me. Funny though how I can do it that way and not my pinky. Cheers for all your responses except for Twigman who is mean

[quote name='Baxter' timestamp='1368197707' post='2074390'] I use open strings as little as possible - With the exception of low E [/quote] Why do you choose to do that Baxter?