Bilbo

Kim Mitchell was the guitarist and singer with Max Webster but he has had a solo career post MW. Check out Lemon Wedge from the cd 'Itch'. There is a transcription of the bass part here: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/109178-funky-rock-transcription-kim-mitchells-lemon-wedge/

Joao Bosco, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Djavan, Celia Cruz, Ozomatli, Airto Moriera, Flora Purim, Dave Valentin, Israel 'Cachao' Lopez, Orlando 'Cachaito' Lopez, The Fort Apache Big Band, Ray Barretto, Robin Jones Latin Sextet, Luis Bonfa, the Buena Vista Social Club, Tito Puente, Afro Cuban All Stars, Santana, Ruben Blades, Ruben Gonzalez, Ibrahim Ferrer.... Come back when you have looked at that lot and I will suggest some more.

I was just reading the Allanah Myles thread and it occured to me how much I have always loved so much of the Rock music that come out of Canada; Rush, Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush, Max Webster, Kim Mitchell, Bachman–Turner Overdrive, Alanis Morrissette, Avril Lavigne, Bruce Cockburn, April Wine, Pat Travers, FM, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Bryan Adams.... not the sort of stuff I listen to any more but the quality was always great. Go Canada!

You are near Jake Newman (Aldershot). Get over to his place for a lesson and talk it over with him. He's a legend!

Cannot watch videos here but try looking up Steps Ahead, Jean Luc Ponty, Dave Valentin, CHick Corea, Return To FOrever, Weather Report, Tribal Tech, Kevin Eubanks, Airto Moriera, Flora Purim, Stanley Clarke, Passport, Dreams, Marcus Miller, Pat Metheny Group....

Always!

Is that Jefferson Airplane?

Any anxieties I had were not about the playing, the piece was quite simple. I was anxious that my recording/engineering skills and kit would be found wanting but apparently not so that is good news for me (and my City and Guilds in Audio Engineering }.

It's all about Chemistry!! When it works, it works.

I recommend this book. It starts easy and gets more and more complicated but incrementally so it is a good workbook. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Musicians-Institute-Encyclopedia-Workbook-Instruments/dp/0793573793/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403771213&sr=1-1&keywords=reading+rhythms

You can spend the rest of your LIFE dealing with this!!

Voted. Some interesting perspectives as usual. RockfordStone got my vote for his convincing Floyd 'Dark Side Of The Moon' thang!!

My entry for this month. I am surprisingly pleased with it. Dischordant cluster mixed up wiith diminished runs and repeating themes that are lost in the miasma!! https://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/the-final-frontier

I am finding these descriptions unreadable but I haven't got this problem so that is ok. I had a lesson with Jake so my technique is now impeccable. Nearly.

Thanks, Skol. I have a couple of my tracks recorded with proper musicians and the stuff is ok but, to my mind, poorly performed (look for Low Men Dancing on my Soundcloud page - they liked that one but, whilst I like the tune, I am not convinced that the performance is up to par. Having got over the thrill of being asked, I am beginning to think that the professional thing to do may be to pass the offer on to Garry. These guys are connected to me and they deserve to have the best they can afford, even if it isn't me I can give them a link to his stuff and it's up to them then.

I worked out a long time ago that you shoudl buy what you want because then the GAS stops. If you buy nearly but not quite, the GAS remains. As a result of this approach, I have a bass I bought in 1986 a guitar I bought pre-millenium and have only ever owned about 5 amps (Frunt, SWR, EDEN and now Acoustic Image). Save you thousands in the long run. Hold out for the Dolphin.

I think what was driving me, recently anyway, was the preparation of the chart in Sibelius rather than the idea of a recorded version of the composition. Having finished the chart, I would create an mp3 file and export it to Cubase where I would populate the file with better (!) VSTs, sometimes adding a bass/double bass for some reason. The mp3, which was often only a head chart, would be used simply to accompany the written score so the other musicians, who are not expert readers by any means, have a fighting chance of nailing the chart. It is only when I go back to them looking for a usable tune that I realised these are only pencil sketches and not oil paintings. I also think that one of the problems I have is that I am writing Jazz tunes that do not quite lend themselves to VSTs and sequencing the way that a lot of other genres might. My bad, all the way.

I have been approached by someone who knows me and who is looking for a piece of original recorded music that they can use for a 1 minute video on their website. The video relates to the services they offer which are nothing to do with music/Jazz or anything that requires the music to be specifically tailored. They just wanted something to provide a suitable but not intrusive soiundtrack to their images (the music is also talked over - you get the point). Anyway, their approach was to ask if I would write something and my response was to say that I had already written dozens of pieces that could meet their needs and that I would put a selection together to see if there was anything they liked. So, last night, I went through the dozens of pieces I have written and recorded to see what I could find. Over recent years, most of my recording has been simply putting together mp3s of tunes I have written for my sax/bass/drums trio and which features a dodgy drum machine, my basses or a VST bass and some nasty synth sounds that approximate a tenor, alto or soprano saxophone or flute. It was immediately apparent that, whatever qualities these compositions have as sketches, they are not remotely credible as products. My older stuff, where I have used more sophisticated drums programnming and played real guitars/basses etc and even sung (mostly me approximating a vocal) are all fairly poorly put together (intros that go on too long, poorly edited starts, low recording volume, shaky vocals, flaky intonation on fretless etc etc). What I am left with is, at the most, about a half dozen things that are OK (they have already identified a piece on my soundcloud page that will meet their needs so I am not overly concerned). I guess the lesson is to do the thing properly, to begin and end things musically, to record real instruments when you can (not programme naff VSTs) and FINISH THE DAMN JOB!! Strangely, I have found the experience quite cathartic and now want to get back to writing and recording to see is I can do it properly and develop my competence in these areas.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1403167221' post='2480322'] Is that how you tune your 3 string bass? [/quote] No - I think it is the music theory for Drum and Bass - 'Oh, C and D....'

My own thoughts are, if you need to read an article on how to play bass in a band, you probably shouldn't play bass in a band.

We wander over and pick up our instruments and then stand around until the lead horn player tells us what tune we are going to play. There is then a moments frantic activity as we look for the requisite chart and then, bam, we're off.

I agree with Hector 100%. One of the rarely talked about 'skills' required for your progress as a musician is the development of a 'critical sense' that allows you to recognise the difference between things that are of value in helping you develop and things that are 'snakeoil'. I don't think there is much in the Galper book that would require you to completely reconfigure your learning, just some ideas that you may want to think about. It isn't chock full of musical exercises but includes some ideas that you can apply to the other stuff you do to make it work a little better. I think there are some books like Effortless Mastery and The Inner Game of Music that are not so much about scales and theory as they are about thoiught porcesses and application. The most fundamental learning tools seem to be listening to and learning other people's solos/lines/comping etc, the mainstream theories of music (scales, chords, modes etc) and learning the reprtoire. Everything else is about concepts and application as defined by your won ambitions as a player/composer. It is not in finding a magic system that will see you improve but in finding a way of staying disciplined in your approach.

It astounds me how few fo these I have heard of!! I am listening to the Jimmy Guiffre Trio with Jim Hall and pre-electric bass Steve Swallow

Don't take any solos. It really is that simple. After every gig I find myself thinking 'I am never going to take any solos ever again'. And then I get the chance and it's 'I can do this, I know I can do this.....'. And then,After every gig I find myself thinking 'I am never going to take any solos ever again'. And then I get the chance and it's 'I can do this, I know I can do this.....'. And then, After every gig I find myself thinking 'I am never going to take any solos ever again'. And then I get the chance and it's 'I can do this, I know I can do this.....'. And then, After every gig I find myself thinking 'I am never going to take any solos ever again'. And then I get the chance and it's 'I can do this, I know I can do this.....'. And then,

I have tried three avenues of exploration to fate but nothing was happening. Something came to mind again at the end of a two hour session last Saturday and I know where to take it so, here's hoping.