Bilbo

I think things are dismissed because they are of limited use to the individual not because they are of no value. I completely agree with you that people are entitled to use music for whatever purpose they choose and good luck to them. I am perfectly well aware that I am so far up my own derrière that I am sure I can see daylight. My point is entirely moot.

Steve Swallow - Wrong Together (opening solo - 18 bars). No recording available for uploading. Wrong Together - Steve Swallow.pdf

Damaged In Transit 8 - Steve Swallow - sorry, no youtube version Damaged in Transit - bass.pdf

A three bar transcription. Richard Bona 'Mbanga Kumba' off his Celebration CD. The lick is at 1.25, where the fast ride comes in. When you can play these three bars, give me a shout and I will transcribe another three. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SGuP9knrPc Mbanga Kumba - Bona.pdf

I completely agree. Whilst there is a 'groove' in everything, playing in a 'Groove' (capital G) in the sense that it is used in Funk music generally means playing between one and two bars of music again and again and again or, in other pieces, the same phrase but with a changing root note. I can see why this might work in these genres but, for me, it's just a bit merrrr? I could play one note throughout Ravel's 'Bolero' and enjoy every second of it but a two chord vamp under some cheesy dance music? Not my bag..

Just thinking through a post I put on another thread and I thought it may be useful to open the discussion wider. I started playing bass in September, 1980, when, after starting work full time, I bought a black Hondo II Precision copy. I was playing Rock and Heavy Metal at the time but my head was already being turned by other music forms including Prog, Fusion and Jazz. As my playing progressed, like most of us, I was exploring the big names and couldn't get enough of everything. I recall reading bass magazines and hearing all these names and I would always check people out when I could (it was harder in those days as this is pre-internet and finding a recording with a certain player on it was not nearly as easy as it is now). I remember hearing names of the funk greats; Marcus Miller, Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins, Rocco Prestia and, much later, Victor Wooten etc. I also recall everyone getting excited about the tapping guys like Billy Sheehan, Stu Hamm, Jerry Peek and, later, Michael Manring. Both of these areas got a little attention for a while and I learned some slap playing (remember that Thumb Basics things with Jonas Hellborg) and tapping (I recall playing Jeff Berlin's Motherlode and a couple of things off Hamm's 'Radio Free Albemuth'. I recall a couple of years ago learning about double thumbing so I could 'do' it. Despite these forays, I never really used them because, fundamentally, despite 'enjoying' the challenge of applying the techniques, I never actually liked the music that is played using these techniques. I listen to Run For Cover by David Sanborn and LOVE that bass line but I cannot listen to the whole song. Same with Good Times by Chic; 'great' bass line but the much is a big fat nothing. I just find funk ultimately unsatisfying and hatefully repetitive. Two handed stuff is the same. Impressive as a technical exercise but, ultimately, pattern based, repetitive and not particularly nice to listen to. In modern bass playing, there is increasingly too much 'technique' for one person to be able to do it all at a satisfying level and, whilst I can (or, at least, could) slap and tap, I don't, for no other reason than I find that I don't like any music that uses those techniques. My pick playing, for instance, is very good although I never use it live but the other two have been consciously left to wither. Lots of great music out there to play, why bother playing stuff you don't like. Consequently, I don't need these techniques. Thoughts, anyone?

The entire Funk canon. I always hear these great lines and great techniques; slappin' (no 'g'), poppin' (likewise) etc, flamenco strums, two handed tapping etc. All great from a technical point of view but, God, the music is s***. The one that I love and hate at the same time is 'Run For Cover' by David Sanborn. The funkiest bass line ever but, basically, like all Funk, it's chewing gum.

You are welcome. Some of them have been lying around for years and I have posted them in case they may be of use to others. Seems a waste otherwise

Paul Chambers' bass solo on the Curtis Fuller version of 'Seeing Red' - starts around 4:51 Seeing Red.pdf

I have just posted my transcription of Geddy Lee's bass part for Show Don't Tell off their Presto CD in my transcription archive thread. My little tribute to Peart.

Benny Reitveld on Santana's 'Smooth' Benny Reitveld - Smooth.pdf

Ben Allison's version of We've Only Just Begun. The video is a live version whilst the transcription is off the recording. It's a really interesting approach. Only Just Begun.pdf

Jeff Andrews on Mike Stern's 'Sunnyside' Sunnyside - Jeff Andrews.pdf

Geddy Lee's bass part on 'Show Don't Tell' from the Presto CD Show Don't Tell - Rush.pdf

I use them for reading practice so I consciously don't learn them.

I recall someone saying that Prog is the only popular music that does not originate in dance. Which is why a lot of us gravitate to it.

As well as being before a Squire fan, my favourite bass sound is Martin Brierley on Greenslade 'Time and Tide' which is a Ric. The gritty bass referred to throughout this thread is the problem. I think the nuanced differences some of you reference goes over my head as, I would argue, the idea that other fusion players not sounding like Jaco does people who don't listen to a lot of those kinds of music. Beggs is a gritty growler, Jon Poole of Lifesigns. What set this off is the recording I did recently with a Prog band and the suggestion made during those sessions that the toppy growl was great because it 'cuts through' (the assumption being that cutting through was important. I always considered Geddy Lee to be a Squire disciple, even to this day.

Don't get me wrong. I love Chris Squire. I just don't want to be him 😃

It may be my imagination but every band I see, live or on video seem to with have a Rickenbacker or SOUND like they have a Rickenbacker. Maybe Progressive Rock has stopped Progressing (Chapman Sticks are another frequent offender - The Levin Factor!)

Wow. Another blast from the past.

My passion for Jazz is taking a knock lately for reasons that are to do with the dearth of meaningful playing opportunities where I live and the disconnect between the amount of time you need to spend keeping your chops together and the amount of work you get. Anyway, I have been revisiting an old friend in the form of Prog Rock and started looking at what's new out there and I am enjoying checking out stuff I have missed over recent years. Whilst there are a lot of interesting things out there to take stock of, one of the things that I am finding a little tedious is the over-reliance on Chris Squire-esque bass playing whether it is the ownership of a Rickenbacker 4001 or just the purloining of Squire's rattly, crunchy sound. One of the attractions of Prog originally was the diversity. It seems like a lot of the New Prog is arguably derivative but, whereas no-one steals from Steve Howe, Alex Lifeson, Peter Banks, Steve Hackett or Bill Bruford, Alan White, Phil Collins etc, every other bass player wants to be Chris Squire. Is it me or am I just seeing ghosts?

Shakti meets Chick Corea's Electric Band

I disagreed with a lot of what Neil Peart said over the years but I also disagree with some of the things that I have said over the years. He wasn't perfect, as a drummer or as a lyricist, but he kept trying and growing and for that he was a real example. He was a man of integrity and for that he has my eternal respect.

Jon Poole again; At The End Of The World of th Lifesigns 'Live In London' DVD. Not entirely accurate as some of the parts of a bit mad and off piste and difficult to hear even with Transcribe software but there is enough here for folk to play the tune. No video of this version on YouTube as far as I can see but this is the original track. Lifesigns At The End Of The World.pdf

I thought it was MP because I recall Red Barchetta on the video malarkey. May have been ESL. I saw them at Wembley on the Signals tour also.