Bilbo

I have long believed that there is a lot to be said for transcribing solos from instruments other than bass. There are problems with doing this, however, as there are different techniques and tricks associated with other instruments that don't translate particularly well to bass. I started this transcriptions and got the head and two choruses down before it got a bit mad and the benefits of continuing were less clear. This is Wynton Marsalis's head and the first two choruses of the solo of the tune 'Just Friends' from the album 'Live at Blues Alley'. A very strong live album from the period where Marsalis was really blowing and before he got into the more heavily arranged stuff. Marsalis Just Friends.pdf

I sooooo value this skill. It takes me places I may otherwise never go with the 'rote learning' approach. It is not about reading on gigs, it is about access to material. Of course, reading a chart won't bring the music to life without other important information but it will get you to the point where that stuff matters much more quickly that learning by rote. It does replace good ears, it enhances them and vice versa. No brainer from where I am standing. My transcription archive is an attempt to make learning to read about learning to read rather than searching for stuff that's worth reading

A bit more Chris Squire - again made possible by the isolated bass tracks available on YouTube. This one is a lot shorter than I remember and is actually quite easy to play. Great songs, great arranging but seldom virtuoso playing, despite the reputation the band had during this time. 'Long Distance Runaround' from the Yes LP 'Fragile' (the first one with a Roger Dean cover). Long Distance Runaround Chris Squire Bass.pdf

I thought it was a competition to see which young musician has the best eyesight.

I have, for a long time, believed that so called 'great' bass lines do not automatically result in great songs any more than a 'boring' bass line makes a song boring. https://youtu.be/QPFVv6-umLs

Today's transcription is something a little bit 'off the beaten track'. It is the bass part for a piece called 'Cha Cha Con Meatus' from the trio of bass player Steve Berry. Steve was the main bass player throughout the history of the band 'Loose Tubes' and his trio album features Mark Lockheart on saxophones and Pete Fairclough on drums. I understand Steve is still a big part of the education scene up North but am not sure of the details. I met him on a Jazz Summer School in the 1990s and told him I had done this transcription. I revisited yesterday and there were definitely some clinkers in there that I have addressed. I have to say that I am not entirely happy with the transcription as there are moments when the bass is hard to pick up but this is my version and, if it encourages anyone to check out Steve's great little album, that's good enough for me. I lost the LP when I ditched my vinyl a few years ago but it is now available again on Bandcamp for whatever you feel inclined to pay. https://steveberry1.bandcamp.com/album/trio Cha Cha Con Meatus - Steve Berry Bass.pdf

That sounds like a dare.....

Isn't it? It was arguably the first Prog track I ever heard and it blew my mind. I still don't know what they are doing half of the time.

I am lying 😀

What I found surprising, bearing in mind I have listened to the track for decades, is that there is very little of it that is actually hard to play The opening bars is about it, really.

I just pressed the button on one of these https://m.thomann.de/gb/gibson_citation_na.htm

It is worth flagging up that there is a massive section of this track where there is no bass (the 'I Get Up, I Get Down' section). And there are other sections where the bars are repeated (e.g. opening riffs is one bar repeated about 48 times across the piece). It did take a while but not as long as you would think (it took longer because I screwed up the time signature and was writing twice as many bars as I needed to).

I don't hate it. What I do find, personally, is that I recognise it is an 'important tool' and should be explored but, when I will have spent a million hours perfecting it, I will be left with the ability to impress other bass players and play music I dislike. Like most bass players, I am impressed with the 'juggling' aspect of the technique but, unlike some of you, I have no real use for it. I respect players who can do it but see no need to spend time with it myself.

It's never too late.

That would be tantamount to self harm...

I wanted to draw people's attention to this as it took me 'kin ages and I am not altogether sure who looks at my Transcription Archive page. I have completed a FULL transcription of Chris Squire's bass part to Close To The Edge. I have been meaning to do this for years and, now we have these 'Isolated Bass' things on YouTube, it's a no brainer. A labour of love, this one. Close To The Edge Bass Part.pdf

This one took a wee while but it was a labour of love. I remember when I must have been about 14 (no idea really) and, for reasons I cannot recall, I went into town with my mate's older brother. At this point, my knowledge of music was essentially Pop driven, like most young kids. This 'older guy' was about 16 or 17. When we were out, he bought two LPs 'Time And Tide' by Greeenslade and 'Close To The Edge' by Yes. He loaned them both to me soon after and I have loved both LPs ever since even after 40+ years of hearing other things. Technology was not what it is now back then and we didn't have YouTube etc so I never really spent much time playing along to CTTE as I couldn't really hear the details enough to play them. Roll forward to 2020 and we discover the wonders of 'Isolated Bass' tracks on YouTube. 40 years later, I give you Chris Squire's bass part to arguably THE most important Prog track of all time. Lots of lovely surprises in the exercise for me, not the least of which is the realisation that most of the track (but not all of it) is in 3:4. Time signatures and bar lengths-wise, this transcription is how I hear it and there may be other ways of putting it together. Either way, I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it down. Note: There is no bass during the 'I Get Up, I Get Down' section. Close To The Edge Bass Part.pdf

Charles Benavent invented Flamenco bass. There are some great recordings out there with him on but one of my favourites is Gil Goldstein'Zebracoast.

This just landed on my YouTube feed. A Spanish bass player who has taken traditional Flamenco guitar technique (the most sophisticated approach to the instrument in the world) and transferred it to six string bass. I love Nuevo Flamenco as it is but this is astonishing. The guy is called Juan Farjado Louva and is new to me. Makes most slappers look a little silly. Enjoy.

I love the music from Noggin The Nog.

I always thought of it as a Telecaster bass because of the headstock. It is important to acknowledge that such details have never really interested me.

Over-rated: almost everybody but special mention goes for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Snarky Puppy, Van Morrison, Jacob Collier, Modern Jazz Quartet, Rappers (all of them). Underrated: Me. Massively

Colchester Arts Centre

I was turning old demo cassettes into mp3s over the weekend and this came up. I am pretty sure that this is the first time I ever recorded with my Wal (1986?). I vividly remember taking it to a rehearsal soon after I bought it. As a bonus, the track features singer Grant Nicholas from Feeder and, on guitar and keyboards, Brian Sperber, producer, engineer and arranger for the likes of Moby, Ric Ocasek, Whitney Houston and Blues Traveller.

Ovation Custom Legend and Ovation 2058 Tx 12 string. I also have a Takamine CD132SC nylon ac. electric and an Epiphone 335 Dot (red). I actually practice guitar more than bass nowadays. So few bass gigs, there doesn't seem to be much point.