Bilbo

If you have no reading skills, get some. Reading walking lines is easy as there are no complex rhythms, just straight quarter notes. Doddy is right, you need chord and scale theory to do it properly. Get loads of jazz cds and listen to the walking bass lines. Then, in about 20 years, you should be ready Seriously, walking bass is one of those things that takes a short while to learn and a lifetime to master. If you are playing standards, get the lead sheets and listen to the versions your singer wants to mirror, just to get a feel for where the harmony goes. Hum the root notes as the charts pass and try to internalise the root movement. Then fill in the gaps. Remember, the lead sheets may not be in teh same key as the singer wants to play the tunes so, if s/he has charts, use them.

[quote name='Doddy' post='1131083' date='Feb 17 2011, 02:42 PM']I find that I tire quicker if I've either not been playing it enough,or more often than not because I'm having trouble hearing myself. If I'm struggling to hear what I'm doing,I naturally start to play harder,and I tire out a lot quicker. I'm the same with electric bass,but it's not as obvious.[/quote] Is the problem about monitoring or other players being too loud? I did a gig in December in which my bass sounded great and the drummer, Alex Best from Ipswich, was sensitive to the situation and played Jimmy Cobb not Elvin Jones. The consequence was a solid swinging performance of two hours worth of jazz standards. Other gigs I have done with louder room noise have resulted in me struggling and losing momentun much earlier on. But I am not sure if I just need to turn up (risking feedback) or add some form of additional monitoring.

In the era when these guys were at the height of their powers, most jazz clubs in the US used to book acts for anythin up to 6 weeks at a time. I have no doubt that 4 sets a night 7 nights a week is going to give you stamina (or kill you )

I am interested in the fact that some report that the number of gigs they get has increased since taking up the double bass. To my surprise, I have found that, since taking it up, the number of gigs I have done has nosedived! 2 in Jan, 2 in Feb, none in March, 4 in April - that'll be 24 all year - my lowest in a decade! I think I am just unlucky and the gigs in this area are just drying up because of the recession (although I heard recently of a crap local jazz quartet (all beginners) are doing gigs for nothing to get experience. Thanks guys )

I am a 14 months into the double bass and have done gigs where I have played two sets without any problems and others where I have to go to the Wal after one. I am still finding that my levels of stamina for playing double bass are inconsistent. I also find that the volume of the band impacts upon my technique to the detriment of the longevity of my effectiveness. I assume this will rectify itself as I play more and more but wondered if there were any stories out there?

I have been raking about in the AACM/Art Ensemble of Chicago back catalogue for the last few days. I got hold of a Kindle book called 'A Power Stronger Than Itself' by George E Lewis all about the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and wanted to see what was happening. [url="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Power-Stronger-Than-Itself-Experimental/dp/0226476960/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1297940528&sr=1-1"]'A Power Stronger Than Itself' by George E Lewis [/url] Have downloaded some World Saxophone Quartet, the Oliver Lake Big Band, the David Murray Big Band etc. Some really challenging stuff, some delights and some train wrecks! But exciting stuff because it comes from a passion for the music and not a yearning for nostalgia!

[quote name='chris_b' post='1129868' date='Feb 16 2011, 04:47 PM']I think you've lost sight of the fact that the OP had a problem and he was asking advice about a fix for that problem. His problem won't be resolved by any of us discussing modes, syncopation or what ever part of music theory you deem to be of importance, or even cabbage.[/quote] My point was that the OP's problem is not a problem, its a choice. Any of the available alternatives will do and the differences will be barely discernable to 99% of the population. Unlike cabbage, where considerably more people have a preference based on knowledge and experience.

[quote name='silddx' post='1129853' date='Feb 16 2011, 04:29 PM']Would you kindly also note the tonal differences between the white, green, red and savoy varieties, please. Is curly kale an option? I've heard the heart is not as sturdy as the others, but it has a higher iron content.[/quote] Now you're being silly.

CELERYYYYYYYYYYYY, CALL ON ME, CALL ON MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, CELERY!!!

When you add in the player, the strings, the wood, the room, the pickups, the on board eq, the amp, the effects, the speaker efficiency, the other instruments, the cymbals (especially the cymbals), the phases of the moon and the Lord of the Rings, I would see the material of the nut to be less relevant than cabbage.

[quote name='thumperbob 2002' post='1129361' date='Feb 16 2011, 10:57 AM']Pretty amazed Bilbo cant tell the difference between a Jazz and P.....[/quote] I cope

I change amps every 15 years, whether I need to or not. Basses, every 40 or so.

Hackett/Howe/Fripp/Gilmour? No pressure then....

I left a band that wanted to do My Girl.... its naff with knobs on and its on my list of YEEEEEEEUCH !!

Slam rocks. An underated player if ever I heard one. He had perfect pitch, apparently. There is a lovely quote out there somewhere about the fact that SS used to play with Art Tatum (arguable the greatest jazz pianist of all time) and Tatum couldn't lose him even if he tried. Paul Chambers would not have existed without Slam. Talking of which, PC was someone who sang along with his solos - I have listened to hundreds of hours of his playing and you can often hear him humming away in the background. It really works but, as Jake already knows, it is easy to fall into the trap of humming what you are playing not playing what you are humming! What this technique does do is draw your own attention to the depth (or otherwise) of your harmonic knowledge. I need to woodshed.

The trouble with this is that everyone thinks they are playing to the same audience when all of us are always playing to several audiences at once, depending on the function. Whenever I see a band covering an endless list of 'must plays' like MS, WT, Dock Of The Bay, Billie Jean etc ad nauseum, it turns me off in an instant and I know that I am not alone. There are always people too young for your set, others too old, more too sophisiticates and some too distracted. If we all play the same material, we will become like TV - homogenised, predictable, mainstream, unchallenging, unstimulating etc etc. Arguably, we are already. I guess the art is to come up with a set of songs that everyone knows and loves but noone else plays. Good luck.

I think there is an argument that some players (not all by any means) are trying to 'buy' talent and, rather than working on legitimate, tried and tested methods of musical learning, try and adress their shortcomings by buying gear. I heard even Guy Pratt talking about a bass with a 'fast neck'. I don't care how fast the neck is, if a player has no musical knolwedge and lacks core competences like time etc, a 'fast neck' ain't going to solve the problem. I make no secret of the fact that most of the talk on here about gear is irrelevant nonsense - there is a thread on here about the best material to make a nut out of (walnut, obviously). What possible difference can that make to anything? I get that you get more sustain from this or that material but how many times a night do you hit a note that sustains long enough for that to matter? In fact, you are as likely to NOT want it to sustain. I think its all smoke and mirrors. I can't tell the difference in sound between a Jazz and a Precision or a Ken Smith or a Fodera. I [i]can[/i] tell the difference between a Dorian minor and a Phrygian minor. [i]That[/i] matters. But an ebony vs plastic nut? As important as the colour of your lead, methinks.

Muhal Richard Abrams 'Young at Heart / Wise in Time'

[quote name='J.R.Bass' post='1127804' date='Feb 14 2011, 11:22 PM']The Red One - Pat Methany & John Scofield[/quote] Try the Metheny version with Christian McBride on Daytrip. Might help you make sense of it. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kc8BrGLEJA&feature=fvst"]The Red One[/url]

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1128248' date='Feb 15 2011, 12:40 PM']Heres a handy link called [url="http://readsheetmusic.info/readingmusic.shtml"]Read Sheet Music.[/url][/quote] Great site. Thanks for the link.

[quote name='misrule' post='1127978' date='Feb 15 2011, 09:04 AM']I got one yesterday ... for £23. A new set of strings? [/quote] Or, if you play double bass, half a string

You will certainly get to the point where you could read well enough to cover most reading gigs. There will be some passages that would still catch you out but these would be few and far between and your ears will help you cover most of those passages. It will be fun.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='1127217' date='Feb 14 2011, 04:05 PM']That surprises me somewhat... It's a synth part so I agree it's difficult to capture the feel but if you're on that groove with a really locked down drummer it can rock... I find it interesting to try to get the notes in the right place. Especially because it's quite jerky.[/quote] It never gels for me (even on the original). When I play it with the function band I play in, I do a sixteenth note variation that kind of works but I still feel its a bit like polishing a turd.

My double bass is a five stringer and I like the fact that my intonation is better for a wider range than it was on teh 4 string i.e two octaves within third position).

Good for her. Nice to see a jazz act/non-mainstreamer getting it although I haven't really heard her yet, other than briefly on Spotify.