TKenrick

[quote name='JPS' post='912988' date='Aug 2 2010, 05:05 PM']My question is how do you get a 15 year old interested in learning and understanding theory and reading is they are not really motivated by these areas?[/quote] I face this problem every week - I teach in a school and refuse to use TAB, so all my students read. I was lucky that most started as total beginners so hadn't got used to learning any other way, but even the ones that I had to wean off TAB eventually realised that there wasn't an alternative and got more engaged with reading. The initial problem was I couldn't find lot of good sight reading material that was both relevant to the students and appropriate for their ability level, so I had to generate my own through transcribing lots of rock/pop stuff. I try and put everything in context, so if I'm teaching about major triads i'll try and find some example of a bass line by a band that the student is interested in that contains that particular idea. Another way that seems to work for getting students engaged with the application of theory is to get them to create bass lines using theoretical concepts as a starting point, e.g. "Play a bass line using that works over Am7 using only chord tones" which (hopefully) helps them see how theory can be useful in making unfamiliar music more manageable.

Here's a transcription of Justin Chancellor's part on 'Vicarious' from Tool's [i]10,000 Days[/i] Not much going on in terms of harmony (which is why I haven't included chord symbols) but there are plenty of interesting rhythmic ideas. The verse/bridge grooves also serve as a good exercise in playing in 5/4 that isn't Take Five. There are a few bits that proved problematic when it came to writing down the part. Rather than write the intro in 10/4 I've divided it into bars of 6 and 4 for (slightly) easier reading, and the chorus is written in 6/4 although the drums imply 12/8. [attachment=55446:Vicarious.pdf] As always, questions/comments/corrections/requests are more than welcome. Tom

As I see it, you have two options to begin with: 1. Get hold of this. I'm aware it's not the most exciting thing in the world but it'll certainly solve any issues you have with syncopation: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Reading-Text-All-Instruments/dp/0769233775/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280318533&sr=8-1"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Reading-Tex...8533&sr=8-1[/url] 2. Transcribe things that you find rhythmically interesting and use those ideas in creating your own basslines. Not necessarily a suggestion, but certainly fairly syncopated:

I was thinking of sending it by courier as I don't trust other means of postage, even with an inexpensive instrument like this. Whereabouts are you based? I'll be around Worcestershire for a few days next week if that happens to be close enough for you to drive, otherwise i'll investigate courier/postage options if you're still interested. Tom

Ovation-style acoustic guitar (bolt-on neck, plastic body, wooden top) Originally bought off ebay for about £60, excellent condition owing to having hardly been played. Has issues staying in tune, hence why I'm giving it away. I suspect that tuning/intonation issues could be solved with a decent setup by someone who knows what they're doing, but as I don't really play guitar any more I can't justify holding on to it and would much rather it goes to someone who'll use it. I'm based in Chiswick (just off M4 junction 2), collection preferred but will consider posting if necessary. [attachment=54926:IMGP3734.JPG]

[quote name='funkle' post='900368' date='Jul 20 2010, 07:03 PM']Great stuff on your website BTW. subscribed![/quote] Glad you like it! I've been rubbish at regularly updating it but should get some new stuff on there this week. I've attached my version of the solo (in treble clef), which appears to be similar to yours apart from a couple of rhythmic things [attachment=54705:All_The_...Desmond_.pdf]

This is a great solo - lots of nice melodic sequences and some interesting phrasing, thanks for posting. Oddly enough I transcribed this last week so it's nice to see someone else's version for comparison!

[quote name='shiekaa' post='899281' date='Jul 19 2010, 07:08 PM']At the end of the day, you don't NEED music theory, you will know what sounds good by ear and intuition if you practice enough. I don't think people should knock TAB so much, it gets alot of people starting out to play bass who will one day become great bass players, not everyone can afford a tutor.[/quote] I completely agree that you don't [i]need[/i] theory to play bass (or any instrument, for that matter). There are plenty of fantastic bass players who haven't studied theory and play brilliant lines - at the end of the day it has to be about what sounds good. I wouldn't be able to survive as a working bass player/teacher without an understanding of how music works, but I understand that many people for whom music isn't a full time job don't need to learn theory in order to play. On the subject of TAB, I used it exclusively when learning to play, so I totally understand the perceived benefits of the system. It provides a quick-fix solution to learning music and in some situations is useful for showing specific fingerings. I didn't learn to read until I got to music college, and after an initial struggle I found that it made much more sense than TAB. I find that being able to read dots opens up a whole lot of musical possibilities, and allows me to access and digest new music quickly. As with theory I understand that you don't need to read to be a great player, but in my experience I find that TAB tends to restrict peoples' musical understanding. Again, I wouldn't be able to do the work I do without reading as TAB doesn't exist in the 'real' world (at least, I've never done a gig/show/rehearsal where it's appeared). I understand that people can't always afford lessons, but thankfully the internet provides a wealth of free resources for people who want to learn about music - there are plenty of sites that explain musical notation at no cost. I host a blog of bass transcriptions that I use for teaching (the link is in my sig) as I found that there was a distinct lack of notated rock/pop reading material elsewhere on the net. All of this is just opinion, so feel free to disregard it entirely. Tom

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='898878' date='Jul 19 2010, 01:12 PM']Don't worry, you can make money by teaching other unsuspecting and aspiring musicians what they don't need to know. [/quote] I'm sure my students won't be surprised to hear that everything I've taught them is irrelevant Maybe I should just print off some TABs and teach them Chili Peppers songs. That would be a valid waste of my time and their money, surely?

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='898306' date='Jul 18 2010, 07:21 PM']Rules of harmony? None.[/quote] I wish someone had told me about this [i]before[/i] I'd invested considerable time and effort studying music I don't quite know whether to laugh, cry or spend my next gig playing b9s on every major chord.

My advice would be to get a teacher to help you through things - the rudiments of music theory are pretty straightforward but making sense of it all in relation to your bass playing can be trickier. I'd suggest learning to read basic notation in both bass and treble clefs - not being able to read won't prevent you from understanding theory but it will limit your ability to access new information. Even without a teacher there are plenty of things you can work on. I'd suggest starting with working on your fretboard knowledge (can you quickly find 6 places on the neck to play F#?) as really knowing where the notes are on your instrument is something that a lot of bass players (and guitarists...) lack. On a separate note, I'm going to add a big +1 to steviedee's mention of the Simandl book. Even though it's a double bass method book I've been using it on electric for the past few years and can't recommend it enough as a means of getting a logical fingering system together and developing solid technique. I went through Rockschool grades as a teenager and use them with students. They're fine as a means of having a recognisable measure of your level of ability but don't actually [i]mean[/i] that much in real terms - it's possible to get Grade 8 with distinction and still not really understand what you're doing on the instrument. Tom

Have you tried The Grove in White City? [url="http://www.musicspace.co.uk/"]http://www.musicspace.co.uk/[/url]

Great work, some really nice stuff there. I've done a few Muse transcriptions but yours look like they're far more detailed! I'm always on the lookout for 'current' sight reading material for students so these should be useful. One small thing (and this is totally down to my personal preference for reading charts) is that some things could be condensed by the use of repeats - particularly in verses where there's a line played several times without variation.

If you click the link in my sig then there's a few transcriptions that might be of use to you - most of it is stuff I use to teach students to read so falls into the 'easy pop' category. Tom

[quote name='chrkelly' post='835256' date='May 12 2010, 01:26 PM']There's so much great stuff going on at the moment. Check out Gwilym Simcock and Kit Downes, both incredible pianists. Chris Montague's Troyka for some very heavy grooves. Saxophonist Trish Clowes has an album coming out later this year with full symphony orchestra on a few tracks, absolutely beautiful writing.[/quote] +1 for Gwilym Simcock. Caught his birthday gig at the 606 a couple of months back and was totally blown away. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Laurence Cottle yet - his live quintet record is one of my favourite 'bass player' albums, and his big band stuff is amazing [url="http://laurencecottle.com/listen/LC_BigBand-IGotRidovEm.mp3"]http://laurencecottle.com/listen/LC_BigBand-IGotRidovEm.mp3[/url]

[quote name='Patrickhadow' post='818321' date='Apr 25 2010, 06:58 PM']And Thanks for the TRANSCRIPTIONS![/quote] No problem, I'm always happy to help out people who want to read!

Apologies for the self-promotion, but if you click the link in my sig then you should find there's a few transcriptions to look through that should suit most levels of reading ability.

[quote name='Mike' post='770645' date='Mar 10 2010, 05:16 PM']I'm transcribing Mike Brecker & Pat Metheny's solos from Metheny's Song for Bilboa on Brecker's Time is of the Essence album, both brilliant![/quote] I've just started Brecker's solo on this tune on [i]Tales from the Hudson[/i], fancy a trade when we're done? Recently finished Wayne Shorter's and Herbie Hancock's solos on 'Witch Hunt', bass-wise I'm working through Me'Shell's [i]Plantation Lullabies[/i] album and some Bakithi Kumalo stuff from Paul Simon's [i]Graceland[/i].

After a long time away from DB due to shoulder/arm problems I'm finally in a position to start practicing again. I live in a flat where noise travels easily between floors and I'm wary of annoying my neighbours when practicing. I've already got an ultra practice mute (http://www.thestringzone.co.uk/ultra-double-bass-practice-mute) but it doesn't really cut down the volume much. My main concern is vibrations going through the floor- I've tried putting a pillow under my endpin but this doesn't seem to do much either. Does anyone have any suggestions for more something more effective? Tom

I bought one of [url="http://www.squierguitars.com/products/search.php?partno=0300575500"]these[/url] for teaching to save wear & tear on my fender, and had been thinking about making the switch to E-C for a while. As it happens, the B string on this bass sounded awful so it made sense to try it out with a high string instead. I had the nut replaced and added a ramp, and now it plays really nicely for a £200 bass. The only complaint I have about the sound is that the C string is noticeably thinner that the others - I suspect this is partly to do with scale length (I remember reading that this was a factor in Garrison/Gwizdala moving to 33" scale instruments) As far as the mental adjustment goes, it takes me a few seconds to get comfortable if I've been playing my 'regular' 5-string a lot, but otherwise it's fine. When I first got it I spent a fair amount of time getting acquainted with the new fretboard layout before I started playing anything too involved. As others have already said, it's great for chordal work, and for getting together ideas that I've stolen from guitarists/horn players etc. When budget allows I'll invest in a better 5 to string E-C as it's becoming my favourite setup for practicing, and the only thing that's preventing me from gigging with it is that the Squier doesn't sound nearly as good as my other basses.

Been working on this on and off for a while and finally got round to finishing it. I know there are a few Me'Shell fans here so I thought I'd post it. Not the entire album, but a selection of grooves from most of the tracks. The feel of some of the lines and fills can't really be done justice in notation (not by me, at least!), particularly when it comes to slides, trills and other ornaments. [attachment=42825:Peace_Be..._Passion.pdf] Comments, corrections and suggestions are always welcome Tom

[quote name='JTUK' post='746838' date='Feb 16 2010, 08:16 AM']Marcus Miler as a sideman does it .. Off the top of my head, his live work with Miles Davis and studio stuff with Luther Vandross are places to start. Basically gets aways from the solo pyro player as that came later The Vandross stuff pretty well spawned a Marcus Miller style used by loads of artists...and other seesion guys like Tom Barney built a career aping his Grooves..IMV[/quote] This one gets my vote...

[quote name='jakesbass' post='746027' date='Feb 15 2010, 04:02 PM']"The value of music is to be able to play one note at the right time in the right way."[/quote] Couldn't agree with this more. Great post Jake, thanks for sharing. Tom

In my experience, the use of the 1fpf system (particularly in the form of those '1234' exercises) in the lower register of the bass stems from guitar techniques/exercises. Due to the smaller scale length of the guitar, 1fpf can be used all over the neck without causing any physical problems, and is undoubtedly a highly efficient and logical system in many playing situations. Unfortunately this doesn't really work on bass due to the increased scale length. Although my hands are large enough to accommodate the use of 1fpf from the first fret, I find that the potential benefits are outweighed by increased fatigue, unnatural stretching and the risk of injury. Try this: - Let your left hand/arm relax completely. Notice how the fingers of your left hand naturally curve over towards the palm and there's a gap between fingers and thumb that's conveniently about the same width of the neck of a bass. - Without changing this natural hand position, bring your left hand up to the bass so that your first finger is at the first fret. Notice that the natural hand span in this position is 3 frets. - Keep your left hand completely relaxed and bring it up the neck to roughly the 7th/8th fret. Notice how the natural hand span here is 4 frets (this may vary according to hand size - some may have a 4-fret span at the 5th fret, others at the 10th) I use this method to help decide the point at which I (or those that I teach) should use 1fpf, as it allows me to see where on the instrument it will work from a [i][/i]physical[i][/i] perspective. I can't recommend the Simandl books enough. Working with the first Simandl book did more for my tone and articulation than anything else I've ever practiced, and I believe that the 1-2-4 fingering system presented in the book is the best way of navigating the bass in the lower register. I do still use 1fpf exercises, but only in the upper register of the bass where it makes physical sense. There's a book called 'Bass Fitness' by Josquin Des Pres that has lots of great exercises that help finger independence, but unfortunately all of the exercises are presented starting from the first fret... I give these exercises to students, but starting at the 12th fret so they can get the benefit without putting their hands in unnatural and potentially damaging positions. Apologies for the long-winded reply, hopefully this is helpful! Tom