Thunderthumbs

Hi RAM, Welcome, and have fun. Cheers, Pete.

"Terry Waite's allotment" I won't apologise for laughing out loud at that one

[quote name='Bass_In_Yer_Face' post='117151' date='Jan 9 2008, 04:59 PM']There is some fantastic footage of The OX playing a track live on Youtube where they have isolated his bass part. I think it's on "Won't get fooled again" but I could be wrong.[/quote] How bizarre......I'd just posted that a couple before you

[quote name='Bass_In_Yer_Face' post='117140' date='Jan 9 2008, 04:47 PM']I've seen Mr Numan more time than I care to mention...not with Nick Beggs mind.[/quote] Sorry, I meant Joe Hubbard was Gary's bassist, not Nick Beggs. I can see how it reads wrong.

Sky+ for me. For anyone who fancies a listen to the great man beforehand......

Another one I've just remembered......Dennis Smith that played with Nik Kershaw. Appeared at Live Aid with him. 80s bass players rather than "New Romantic" bass players........and who could forget Mark King?

[quote name='Bass_In_Yer_Face' post='117113' date='Jan 9 2008, 04:27 PM']Ahh Nick Beggs..what a legend...another guy who got bad press because of the poodle hair cut but could play very well. A top bloke who I have had e-mail conversations with. I bought the second EBH album from his website which is why I got into an email chat with him. He played on album by a band called Private Lives and when I heard it I thought the bass was good on it before I knew it was him.[/quote] If I remember correctly, he was taught by/had some lessons with a bass player called Joe Hubbard who played with Gary Numan......he was also a tremendous bassist. Saw him live at the Manchester Apollo many years ago, and thought he was actually too good to play with Gary Numan if you know what I mean. Then again, a musician's got to keep a roof over his head.....and I'd snap Gary's hand off I suppose if he asked me

Don't know the bass player, but I always like "Is It A Dream" by Classix Nouveaux. Never like John Taylor when I was younger, but I'll give him far more credit now I'm older and wiser. Some of his bass lines are incredible. Nick Beggs was another great 80s bassist. Great on a Chapman Stick too. Saw him live - Ellis, Beggs & Howard......now where are they these days?

[quote name='Jamesemt' post='116848' date='Jan 9 2008, 10:29 AM']The secret is to set yourself a goal of learning a song or part of a song in a pratice session (and not give up until you've got it, even if it's only half a verse or something).[/quote] I persevered with something for about 2 hours that I thought at first was very simple.....the bass line along to the guitar solo in "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz. No problems with the rest of it, just the guitar solo bass. Tabs were inaccurate. Used BestPractice software, looped that part, slowed it down, worked it out by ear in "bit by bit" parts, and cracked it. I always liken songs to jigsaws. You just have to break the song into lots of smaller pieces, and then finally put it all together. No point constantly looping a full song, as it could be 3-4 minutes before you get back to the part you got wrong initially, and will have forgotten it anyway by the time you reach it again.

[quote name='JD1' post='116546' date='Jan 8 2008, 09:04 PM']PM me if you want any more info. And good luck![/quote] Thanks.....I may very well do that. Cheers, Pete.

[quote name='JD1' post='116597' date='Jan 8 2008, 09:50 PM']The books will give you a very structured practice route but they are a bit dry on their own. Hats off if you stuck to it though. If I didn't take the exams I know I wouldn't have put the same amount of work in to internalise the stuff.[/quote] And that's where I think I'd have the same problem. I could have a hundred theory books lying around, and probably wouldn't put the required effort in. The recognised qualification, as in, having the piece of paper that'd say I'd passed wouldn't be the rewarding part for me. It's would be knowing that I'd pushed myself beyond my expectations to attain it.

I do think an awful lot can come from the teacher. In any subject of a teaching profession, a key skill of a teacher is to be a leader, an inspiration. I left school with a lot of respect for my music teacher. I wasn't at that time a flourishing pianist, trumpet or trombone player as some of my fellow pupils, and as such, a lot of my theory was simplified as I wasn't trying to overcomplicate everything as they appeared to be doing. He didn't see this as a bad thing. He gave me the confidence to believe in myself as a musician, and liked the beauty of my simplicity. He was an inspiration to me. But like Dave has said, the rest is down to me. He could only ever lead me so far. So for someone to believe that simply leaving a college with a certificate in any subject, let alone music, leads them onto greatness is foolish on their part. There are bad pupils, and there are bad teachers, and it takes an awful lot of effort on both parts for there to be any modicum of success.

[quote name='wotnwhy' post='116425' date='Jan 8 2008, 06:43 PM'][/quote] Nice. That bit of blur just adds something to it.

[quote name='Mike' post='116039' date='Jan 8 2008, 07:23 AM']I've always thought looking down a bass from the headstock or up from the bridge gives the best view.[/quote] Just got this from a photographer at a party we played at recently looking down the neck of my Marcus Miller Jazz. Updated my profile with it to get my ugly mug off

[quote name='alexclaber' post='116276' date='Jan 8 2008, 03:20 PM']Last year we playing on the same bill as a BIMM band. They were insanely tight, grooved well and generally did all the right things on a technical basis. Unfortuately they were also totally hopeless at writing songs, particularly on the lyrical front, deeply uncool, totally emotionless and one of the least rock and roll things I have ever encountered. Music by numbers.[/quote] Reminds me pretty much why Toto used to get a lot of criticism too. I'm sure The Clash would never have attended the likes of BIMM, and although they were never my favourite band at the time, I can't deny the influence they've had on music on both sides of the Atlantic.

[quote name='metalmaniac' post='116207' date='Jan 8 2008, 02:02 PM']The RGT books are very self explanatory so you could theoretically go through it yourself. I took RGT when I first started out, and my teacher was always on acoustic guitar. This gave me the opportunity to do bass lines, solid backing whilst he played the chords, so it was a real cool thing for me having only been playing bass for 1 or 2 months. However if you have 25 years experience i'd say you might as well go solo. I mean, I'm sure if you phoned them they'd tell you the score.[/quote] Cheers for that. Much appreciated.

[quote name='Darryll-Profane' post='116271' date='Jan 8 2008, 03:14 PM']Having an open mind I feel helps me enjoy music.[/quote] I agree wholeheartedly. One thing I always tell young kids is not to be ignorant towards any style of music. Don't just go with the flow. Give everything an open ear. Do you know, I'm almost sorry I posted this to start off with. It was never meant to cause some of the "I'm right, you're wrong" sort of stuff that's been going on. He has got tremendous technique, and sadly, this video doesn't do justice to the many other ways he can play, and so it provokes a very blinkered attitude. There is a part of me that wishes I could do some of what he can. Whether what he's doing would fit into a song is of no importance, because I think we all know it wouldn't, so I just wouldn't do it. It would be just for doing something a bit flash, just because I could. He's also doing covers now. Something he's avoided for 20+ years. And he's doing the likes of Mustang Sally like an awful lot of us. And you can bet your bottom dollar he won't be playing like this when he does. As has been pointed out on many posts, it's him just slapping away for the fun of it. And criticising it for the fact that it's a style that was popular 20 years ago is irrelevant to me. Or am I the only one that still slaps to a bit of Level 42 if I'm practicing for fun along to my iPod? Or maybe I pick a plectrum up and play along to a Jam track as they were my first serious influences? I didn't try out one bass at the Bass Day in Manchester.....simply because I'm not a trickster......I'm just a good ole' solid bass player. Instead, I drove all the way to Brighton to try and buy EBS cabs from Bernie Goodfellow.....in private. I want to improve myself, and push forward with my limitations. I want to learn to sight read. I want to be technically much, much better. But do you know, there's still a part of me that wishes I could do what Nigel does......for my own self gratification. Good luck to him.

[quote name='metalmaniac' post='116028' date='Jan 8 2008, 01:56 AM']This was a solid foundation of my bass playing and its a shame my school replaced it with some sh*tty private tutor crap. RGT really do have a solid basis, and excellent structuring imo. The early grades, foundation and 1 are a bit pointless and tedious, but as you start moving higher, they really gain weight. At least in my experience.[/quote] Cheers. I've just reached a point where I want to try and iron out bad points, improve what I'm not good at, etc. Although I'm very experienced having played bass for about 25 years, I know my limitations, but I want to push myself beyond those limitations. It's a little like having been a learner driver for 25 years, and never having passed my test. Did you pass the early stuff in conjunction with a tutor and/or having lessons, or do you reckon it's just stuff you could pass with theory books and practicing at home?

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='115971' date='Jan 8 2008, 12:08 AM']Oooh... almost forgot this one. If we're talking about ICONIC bass images.... Yeah... tell it like it is, Duck.[/quote] Ladies and Gentlemen......we have a winner

[quote name='OldGit' post='115953' date='Jan 7 2008, 11:49 PM']oh What's a "false tab"?[/quote] Probably a northern WMC saying......basically an "encore"......whether they really want one or not!

[quote name='Rich' post='115934' date='Jan 7 2008, 11:28 PM']And what a fabulous pic of the great man it is too. Still sadly missed. Here's another classic: [attachment=4703:bruce_foxton.jpg][/quote] You've only gone and picked my first "bass God".......why didn't I think of that one!

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='115842' date='Jan 7 2008, 10:10 PM']If thats aimed at me then i should explain that i meant when playing WMC's (those who do will understand).[/quote] Yeah Dave, I understand fully. I said pretty much the same. We do WMCs, as it's the bread and butter, and we're doing the best we can to get more and more weddings, corporate gigs, etc. The trouble with an awful lot of WMCs is that the same people go in, and sit in the same seats, week in week out. We are there just as their entertainment for the night, and are of no more importance. They haven't come [b]specifically[/b] to see us. At weddings and the like, the people are there already in celebratory mood. So, they're generally a lot more enjoyable to play at. Some WMCs can be great, because some punters surprisingly [b]do[/b] care about the music, but some do almost try and challenge you, which is why I also sometimes wonder why I'm bothering with them. One example.....a club in Liverpool where they didn't shut up, and virtually didn't clap all night. Then when we finished, we politely did one "false tab", and they brought the house down wanting us to do a second, just so they could stay and drink longer. Needless to say, I told the other guys in the band where to get off. I wasn't doing another under any circumstances.

I'm interested in looking at gaining some form of qualification, and was looking at the [url="http://www.registryofguitartutors.co.uk/exams/bass/bass_guitar.htm"]Registry of Guitar Tutors[/url] examinations. Has anyone any experience of these, and if so, would you recommend them or not? What are your experiences having taken them? Did you definitely improve you as a bassist? Has it gained you anything regards work and/or reputation?

[quote name='99ster' post='115644' date='Jan 7 2008, 06:16 PM']It don't get much cooler than this.[/quote] Yeah, like that. There's just something about black and white photography that captures the feeling of an image so much better than colour.

[quote name='Davemarks' post='115093' date='Jan 6 2008, 11:31 PM']If they can't do something (read, improvise, solo, compose) they just ignore that part of their musical makeup and probably miss out on opportunites because of it. It's a sad fact that people rarely work on things they are not good at, and those are the things that need the most work![/quote] I'm humble enough to admit that I've done pretty much that for some years. I've recently been inspired by a few bass players, and it's given me new impetus. I'm trying to concentrate on the things I know I'm not good at. I may be in my 40s now, but it's never to late to learn and improve.