peteb

Some of these suggestions are a bit random considering the songs that the OP said that he was thinking of doing in his initial post...!

Steve Lukather did a cracking version of Freedom (the Hendrix tune rather thah the George Michael one): [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOmgg-1B85A[/media] First on that comes to mine, must be many others....

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1339153597' post='1684414'] Martin's a very experienced and skilled drummer - he could just play quieter , or he could use practise sticks. But we won't allow him to. His being a big hitter is part of the reason we chose him and he chose us so if venues don't want that they're welcome to go get another band. When I tell publicans what beer to sell they can tell me how to play. One of the benefits of not being fully professional is you don't have to compromise your music. Remember , also , to never respect the opinions of publicans - chances are they're just drunks who can't get proper jobs. In fact only speak to them to book gigs or ask for your money. 30 + years of gigging have taught me it's better that way. [/quote] Well said that man - a very enlightened and totally correct contribution to the debate!

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1339143084' post='1684170'] I was watching him at one point and he was hitting his snare drum so quietly that the snare (which was on) wasn't actually ratlling! Its all about control. [/quote] If he was playing THAT quietly, what exactly was the point of him being there??

There are different types of drummers, who have developed a different technique to suit how they want to play. I mentioned above someone who is a hard-hitting Bonham type rock drummer, but I can also think of another guy who is a terrific technical player but very quiet (no use in a rock band)! Both very good in demand players, both pretty successful drum teachers but one can't can't play loud and the other can't play soft convincingly. Just different types of players who play in different types of musical situations.....

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1339097210' post='1683687'] That sounds more like a problem with head tuning or equalisation on part of the engineer if it is miced up rather than how loud the drummer is playing. I guess it depends on what you're doing. Drums played loudly have a completely different sound to drums played at soft to medium volume. If you want to start playing the drums more softly, it is going to have less attack and not sound quite as good if you're doing rock music. I guess the question is whether you want to put up with that compromise for the purposes of not being too loud? The only other thing I can think of is either getting an electronic kit or drums with smaller shell sizes but I am guessing your drummer does not want to spend loadsamoney. [/quote] I completely agree! Loud drummers by no means necessarily have bad technique ! A mate of mine is a very capable, hard hitting Bonhamesque drummer who plays in a function band (among others). He uses an electronic kit in that band to keep the noise levels down. The only other option is to get a different type of drummer who plays quieter - just don't expect him to cut the mustard if you want to play Led Zep covers...!

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1338925646' post='1681264'] Yep, already been posted by Monckyman, who works with NMA: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/178209-stolen-gear-please-read/"]http://basschat.co.u...ar-please-read/[/url] [/quote] Yea, I was just asked to spread the word around - didn't see the original thread until after I had posted this one

Some gear stolen from New Model Army in Walsall on Saturday (below paisted from a facebook post): This is the full list of the gear stolen from New Model Army on Saturday night, this should not happen to any musician, but in this instance it is as personal as it gets. If anyone has any information but does not wish to speak to the Police directly then contact me and I will pass on the relevant information. Please re-post this net needs spreading as far as possible. Thank you x Gibson Les Pau...l Custom - red (serial number 2051429) Gibson Les Paul Standard - black (serial number 90362428) Epiphone Riviera - red with tremelo arm (serial number R97C0572) Lowden 025 acoustic guitar with pick-up (serial number 5131) Lowden 025 acoustic guitar with pick-up (serial number 12288) Gibson SG - black (serial number 8176566) Fender Precision bass - black All these items were in new or nearly new Hiscox guitar cases Evolution Keyboard (serial number MK361C - 222941) Ampeg SVT 3 amplifier head Fender Blues Master guitar combo (serial number B-181446) USA model 110volts. Custom built pedalboard containing three way control unit for Blackstar combo amplifier, 2 x Boss digital delays, tremelo and tuner pedals and a Cry-baby wah pedal Boss pedalboard containing Boss digital delay, bass overdrive, chorus, compression, and tuner pedals Gator 2U case containing AKG guitar radio receiver (serial number AK3254-001272) All these items were in new or nearly new cases Heavy multi-guitar rack Flight case containing tools for guitar repairs Bag containing microphone stands/drum loom Bag containing guitar cables, looms, power supplies, plectrums, capos, two guitar radio transmitters If you have any information please call the Police Station (crime number 20WS/91324T/12 - Walsall Police Station 0345 1135000) or email us at [email protected]

After a quiet few months I've got 5 gigs in 4 days! All connected to the Hebden Bridge Blues Festival thru, rather than the jubilee. I'm ambivalent about Frau Windsor myself, but if others want to celebrate then that's fine by me.....

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1338288443' post='1672064'] Marcus is a really nice guy and a great player too. He came and jammed with us after one of his gigs in Liverpool a month or two back. Small world [/quote] I've jammed with Marcus when playing in the house band for an late night jam session at a blues festival, and will hopefully being doing the same over the weekend at the Hebden Bridge Blues Festival Great bloke and a very nice player.....

Not as difficult as it first appears! [color=#222222]As mentioned above, the Ox uses some pretty unusual techniques - try listening to the Van Halen version for a more straightforward interpretation of Entwistle's original bass part[/color] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x122AkW4CyI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x122AkW4CyI[/url]

FWIW I think that there is a place for tab, despite it having no professional applications. I play a little classical guitar around the house and have a small repertoire of old English lute pieces and can even shakily play something just about recognisable as ‘Mood For A Day’! There is no way that I could have done that with my meagre (notation) reading skills & limited classical guitar technique if I hadn’t have had access to decent transcriptions in tab! The main problem with tab is not that there are lots of poorly transcribed ones on the net, but that the many good ones that are available, along with a plethora of ‘Lick Library’ type video lessons, allow you to play exactly like your heroes without you having to figure it all out for yourself, which is how most of the old school guys developed their ear….. Reading music will open up certain types of opportunities, especially if you want to play in an orchestra pit (that so happily changed Hector’s life), if you’re going to audition for Beyonce’s backing band or if you want to play the type of sessions that Bilbo was talking about. That is all great, but you can spend a lifetime playing in top quality bands without being able to read. In fact, it would probably be better for your music career to have good harmony BVs or the right haircut! Bilbo asked before if it was a coincidence that if the musicians that I know who could read got the best pro gigs. Actually, by far the most successful of my mates would quite cheerfully admit to being a pretty modest musician and certainly can’t read music at all. However, he looks like a star, can sing, is a nice guy who networks well and has a certain amount of charisma (always the life & soul of the party)! He plays keyboards and rhythm guitar in a couple of alt rock bands (and works as a freelance guitar tech when they are not on the road) and is the one who is currently in France halfway thru a two month tour and who was posting pictures on Facebook of himself on a beach in Australia when we were all freezing in the snow a few months ago…!!

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1336157551' post='1641993'] And perhaps reading helped them to become great players...! [/quote] [color=#222222]Not necessarily! It's the same old argument, there are plenty of great players who can’t read (Billy Sheehan can’t read, neither can Jeff Beck, etc, etc,), but are they exceptions to the rule or are there so many exceptions that the rule does not apply? Probably the best player I have ever played with (also the most highly regarded locally) can’t read a note…..[/color]

[quote name='Faithless' timestamp='1336138924' post='1641493'] And how would you develop your ear? [/quote] You sit at home with your favoutite records, a bass and a pair of headphones and learn the parts to the smallest detail. Ideally you do this with a wide variety of players and styles, hopefully developing a style that will be the sum total of all of your influences yet still your own. Then you play with as many different musicians as possible.....

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1336117932' post='1641010'] Not at all. My point was that your reading friends had the pro gigs and you didn't. Is that evidence of cause and effect? Might be, might not. [/quote] Wasn't sure there - when I read back what I had posted I'm not sure that I wouldn't have doubted me! I really don't know if reading was the deciding factor. I chased the gigs that I wanted and made contacts in the same way that they did, theirs just led to bigger things. I don't know whether reading got them in the position to be considered for the pro gigs or not. It helped that they were always great players! [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1336117842' post='1641009'] I did a session last night and, in just over two hours (inc a tea break) recorded 4 tunes I had never heard with people I had never met before. The ear was important but it would have taken a lot longer without the dots. Tab would have been of no use at all. [/quote] Reading undoubtedly makes gigs like that a lot easier and opens up opportunities (although these opportunities do seem to be pretty rare IME). I don't think that anyone is arguing that tab would be anything other than useless in that situation, only that you can spend a lifetime playing in bands (including ones containing guys who play for a living) without ever seeing a chart.....

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1336035455' post='1639683'] I just want to stress that reading music is not just about reading music on gigs/sessions. Its a great way of learning about the mechanics of music. Learning parts by rote has its place but understanding notation is a massively useful skill when you are working with lots of different people. Writing ideas down becomes easier, studying other pieces of music like solos by other players, understanding theory and harmony, explaining intervals etc. Of course you can get by without it and millions do. You can also undo a screw with a butter knife at a pinch but why would you want to? [/quote] I would suggest that developing a good ear is far more important....

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1336035455' post='1639683'] You have played with these guys but they are the ones who play music for a living and have done tours, played on sessions (records, TV themes, adverts, etc.) [/quote] You seem to doubt me sir! The chap that I am particularly referring to is a very good keyboard player that I had the pleasure of playing quite a lot of gigs with last year, and who has on his CV a long stint touring the world with a 60s singer who is a genuine household name (he also played with a 70s pop singer who is pretty well known) and who worked in a studio and has a number of TV themes, ads, etc. to his credit. It is always good to play with good players, not least because you can learn a lot from them. And one of the things that I learned from him is that he seemed to place great value on having a good ear! I would guess that he may be able to read music because of some of the work that he has done in the past, but I certainly saw no evidence of it….!

This old chestnut again! If someone asks me to do a dep with songs that I don’t know, the first thing I do is pull up the tabs and then check them against the originals on YouTube, just because it saves time and tabs will give you a starter for ten! Many tabs on the net are not very good, but surely it doesn’t matter if a poorly transcribed piece is tab or dots? As far as I understand, tab for stringed instruments actually pre dates notation, which I always think of as tab for instruments where you can only play a note in one position (such as a keyboard). Both have their limitations; mainly that it is more difficult to show note length in tab, whereas notation can get very messy once you go too far off the stave. If a guitar player wants to learn ‘Eruption’ by Eddie Van Halen, then a standard notation transcription will be worse than useless but a decent tab could be very helpful…… In over 30 years of playing in bands I have [b]never[/b] been presented with a piece of written music (or tab for that matter but I have played dep gigs with chord sheets). I should point out that I have played with plenty of guys who play music for a living and have done tours, played on sessions (records, TV themes, adverts, etc.). I assume that most of them can read, but the subject has never come up when I have played with them in a band situation. If you want to play pit gigs then reading dots is obviously a necessity……

3-1-4 for me usually, pivot with your thumb to move from the 3rd to the 5th Obviously depends on the passage you're playing though.....

He has has also got quite a fascinating story for the film to call on, so it could cross over to the mainstream and appeal to people who have never heard of him! People are always fascinated by the best in any particular field and when you can throw in a rags to riches story with a tragic ending there is always a chance of it catching the imagination of a wider audience....