bass_dinger

So, I played my own bassline to the song, and the band leader was content. On reflection, a tune in 4/4 which has a chord change on every beat of the bar, can't then shoehorn another 4 notes and rests into those beats, and expect it to be both lucid and funky. We ended up with one note per bar, and a few ghost and staccato notes. That's plenty funky enough for me. Thanks, all, for the advice.

So, in less than three months, you have progressed from absolute beginner, to performance. That is impressive, not just for you, but also for the brass band. They clearly have a training and teaching route for new musicians.

Not at all! This is a thread for everyone learning the piano, by whatever method. I simply started the thread. If I (and others) can share their learning journey, then those who follow us can more easily find out what works for them. I wouldn't have known about Fake Books were it not for my 78 year old teacher. I wouldn't have known that ABRSM exams are not always the best way of learning, unless others had shared their experiences. I wouldn't have known about what piano to buy were it not for the thread on stage pianos. Basschat.co.uk - the home of the hijacked thread and off-topic comment. And it is all the better for it!

That was a Dad joke . . . .

A very different lesson this week. My teacher happen to have a copy of The Real Christmas Book on the piano when I arrived. In spite of the name, it was a Fake Book - one of those books beloved of jazz performers. Melody line, chords, bar lines, time signature, and nothing else. He suggested that I have a try (he knows that I know the chords, so, it wasn't totally cruel of him!) I spent a happy hour picking out the melody with my right hand, and working out how to play C^7 , D-b5#9, Ab-11 etc. And it sounded wonderful! I am now looking for the full Book- and other Fake Books too.

You are right - fundamentally, the bassline is not a bassline, but a series of riffs and fills. I did actually try to play Bar 11 and needed to work out a different fingering to accommodate all the notes - by my reckoning, that's a 2 octave range, in a bar made up of 8th and 16th notes, with double-stops. I like your implied advice about basslines needing to have rhythmic or melodic repetition. I can work with that.

1) What's the tempo? - 78 BPM (according to the Tap Tempo on my metronome) 2) Is there some pattern that repeats itself over the parts? Good question - you are making me think. So, no repetitions that I can see or hear. Bars 5, 24, 43 and 62 cover the start of each verse, four bars over the chords D, Bm, Em and A. 2a) I am not able to see anything like that, yet, but most likely I should play it through first. 3) Done by a machine (see the first notes in bar 15)? Oh yes! So, a D and an E - two note a tone apart, that sound pretty muddy in that register - and it is hard to play. 3a) How does it sound straight from the computer? It works as a bassline - it is technically correct. However, it seems unnecessarily busy and noodley. As if a bedroom-player learnt some Jaco licks, and is trying to fit them all in. No real feel for how the line supports the band, but instead, a bass solo. 4) What kind of band is playing? Bass plus Drummer, Keys, guitar, vox, cello, flute. 4a) Is it even possible to go up high if there are keys close by? Soundwise it may be feasible to stay in the half and first position. Instinctively, I don't want to be ranging from the low B to a high E om the G string. So, I will stay low. 5) I think (this is my very biased opinion) that bass should be rhythmic instrument in modern music. Yes. Very biased, but very correct! I can't play the written line - if I could, I wouldn't be in a scratch church band playing carols! So, I think that I need to include a few riffs and pentatonic noodles, a couple of octave jumps, and waggle my head a bit. Instant funky, when you've ordered your bass player from Temu . . .

This bassline was created by software, to go over the chords to "Oh little town of Bethlehem". The Musical Director selected "funky R&B" (or somesuch) as the option for the bass style. Is this difficult to play for a competent reader (which I am not)? Is it unnecessarily complicated? I am struggling with it, and will probably simplify it. Does anyone have any hints or tips, to help me to create a funky yet playable line.

@greghagger You shared that lesson at the exact right time - with my commitment and ability, I will have learnt it by November 2026!

A great track, and a great bassline. It has been a long-held ambition for me to learn this.

You are right - a good reminder. The Casio piano was on my original list, having tried one in Martin Phelps music in Croydon, about three years ago. I need to pop over and try it again.

Today, I went to each of those three shops. I took with me my AKG headphones, and some sheet music Rose Morris had the Kawai ES60, and the Kawai ES120. I preferred the ES60 - great feel, strong and boldly realistic sounds. There was an immediate and lively response to my playing. The keyboard felt a little tiring on my fingers, but I put that down to fact that I rarely play a proper weighted piano, and because the device was mounted quite high up. Slim form, good speakers, entry-level pricing: if that was the only option available to me, I would be entirely satisfied. The ES120? On paper, the specifications were better. But under my fingers, it didn't work as well, for me. It was somehow more polite, more sophisticated, and it lost the energy of the ES-60. The sales guy explained that the ES-60 had a shorter travel on the keys than the ES120. So, shorter travel means that there is less delay - and more immediacy. On to the Kawai ES920, just to see what a blank cheque would get me. Incredible feel and sound, and clearly a stage piano. However, the sound of the keys was the noisiest of the bunch. Not a problem for the stage, but potentially annoying when someone else is listening to the noise of the keyboard, without music. The quietest keyboard? The ES-60. Next door but one, and into the corporate world of Roland. No entry level Roland FP10 Digital Piano on display, but the Roland FP-30X Digital Piano had the same piano action. An incredible instrument! Lively and responsive, allowing for lots of expression and emotion when I played. And that model (unlike the FP10) allowed for three expression pedals, which is essential for Grade 4, I am told. The grand piano sounded huge, the string sound lush and expressive. For me, the Roland was the instrument that I wanted to play at home. The Yamahas? I tried a P145. It was....okay. Again, I would be perfectly grateful for it. However, it didn't excite me. So, in conclusion, it was important for me to have tried the keyboards, before I invest in one.

Thank you for sharing that. I am so used to bass guitars and my Boss TU2 footpedal, and my 30 year old acoustic guitar without an inbuilt tuner, that I hadn't realised that acoustic guitar technology had moved on. @Jack ignore my anachronistic comments about tuners. But i think that the guitarist should go old-school with a 1970s beard, and a silver jumpsuit.

For myself I have managed with a small Ashdown Acoustic Radiator - very powerful for the size. There are a few on eBay for around £130 right now, and Ashdown happily service them. Avoid anything with damaged speakers, as replacements were no longer available when I last contacted Ashdown. Some Acoustic Radiators have a DI out, so your guitarist could just turn down the amplifier and use the DI out and stage monitors if he is feeling bold. However, given his lack of on-stage experience, I would not recommend it. He can also use the Acoustic Radiator at home, to get used to the concept of stage volume, of adjusting the sound of the amplifier, and of identifying and removing feedback. Add to that a tilt-back amplifier stand to point the sound at his ears, and a chorus pedal to soften the sound a little. Cables in various colours (so that your guitarist can easily set up: "the long orange one from the guitar, into the chorus pedal; the short green one from chorus to the amplifier.") Maybe a breakfast-bar stool, if he wants to sit down. A guitar stand for the guitar, because it's important to set it down without laying it on the floor, or for when he swaps out instruments. As for which guitar to use, let him test them all with the band first. It may be that (for example) his hand-made custom shop twin neck acoustic is less stage-friendly than a cheaper Tanglewood. He will also want to learn that the rich bass and soaring trebles of his guitars when played solo, may not be necessary in a band setting. Let us know how he gets on! Robert Edit. He will require a footpedal tuner, even if he has a tuner in his guitars. That's because the footpedal tuner can act as a mute switch, to ensure that the guitar's sound can be switched off to the PA, not just when tuning but to kill sudden feedback, or to swap out guitars.

The Uke bass is a very different instrument to other basses. It would be good to have a separate subsection for it.