dodge_bass

Yeah man - had it for years. Made / tweaked a few good presets for it a while back but it was SUCH a pain to programme that I gave up with it really. There are also no presents knocking around anywhere on line so it was hard to get the best from it.

Well....this is probably something that needs more than a quick post but I'd suggest: 4 x 7 min blocks - use a timer for each one - short and focused burst of practice will yield a good return in the medium term. Turn your phone off and just be in the moment in the practice room. Have a minute break between each one and trust the process. Try to practice at least 5 days in 7 - any less and you'll be playing catch up all the time - any more and you risk burn out. 6 days in 7 is the dream I reckon. Make sure you know exactly what you're working on each day before you even turn up to start practicing. Pick four exercises from the above given and start there. If you're an electric bass teacher then you'll have a sense of how to develop exercises to push you on and how to move on when you need to. For intonation practice working with a drone Is a good idea, as is one finger scales sliding between each note on one string. There are loads of options but I'd suggest just picking a few and getting started. Recording yourself is also a really useful tool for refection and self-evaluation. As you get into the process you'll start to see what works and what doesn't work and adapt the exercises as required.

I'd suggest the following: Set some medium / long terms goals and then work backwards from there. You want to play in tune? Fab - set that as you 12 month goal and then 'deconstruct' that and work backwards from there. What things do I need to work on to achieve this longer term goal? Folks have given you lots of ideas of WHAT to practice but nobody has really talked about structuring your practice and that's absolutely key. It sounds like you've got regular time available (absolutely vital) and some idea of what you'd like to achieve which is a real start. I've got a 12 month practice diary on my wall (in days) so I can mark off what I'm doing each day and see visually how I"m progressing and what I need to work on each day. Hope that helps - it's a quick summary but I'd be very happy to go into more detail via DM if you would like - I've got 20plus years of teaching and performing and practicing (!) so I'd like to think I've a vague idea of what I'm taking about. Good luck with it all.

These are amazing but SO convoluted to use unless you dedicate many hours to them. @peddo you have any presets you fancy sharing...I could be tempted to get back into mine again.

TASTY

Lush. And somewhat pricey before import taxes. BOO.

I don’t think anyones getting particularly heavy, just chewing the fat (bacon rind) on an interesting topic is all.

I too love this film. There’s a bunch of transcriptions on my website for those who haven’t got the book mentioned. I didn’t get it first time but second viewing in a decent home cinema setup and I was like ‘hello, listen to the bass…”. Dunn is a killer player - he says so much, often using very little. I always compare his (mainly) crotchet and quaver approach with Jamerson’s 16th note approach and how they both work, in very different ways to propel the music along.

Slightly tangentially - there’s been some really interesting posts from Ed Friedland recently about the role of a supporting bass player as opposed to a ‘superstar DJ’ bass player (all bells and whistles and looks great for 30secs on Instagram) and how important that is. Lots of food for thought about the differing roles of a bass player (and making money from it!).

Shsss! Don’t tell everyone or they’ll all want to move here 😂

Perhaps…though given the thread is titled somewhat specifically ‘Newcastle’ perhaps generalising could be moved to another thread?!

Try rocking up to any musical situation bar a sex pistols cover band with this lack of ability….

Indeed. This Q was posed about 15 years ago to me in a different context about the meaning of ‘professional’. If you’re in a band that’s making enough money to make a living then it doesn’t matter how good (or in this case bad) you are. For the most part though we’re talking about freelance musicians who aren’t in a single band and therefore need a range of skills to make money from a range of different musical situations.

And if you wanted a skill set / job description for being a professional musician you couldn’t go wrong as a starting point with: Musical attributes: - Good understanding of the genres you want to work in - ability to read music - ability to read leadsheets - good ears & ability to play from memory / off chart - strong sense of time (!) - ability to work with a click - ability to improvise / create own bass parts (not necessarily soloing though that’s definitely a bonus) Non-musical attributes: Good reliable gear Driving licence & a working car Flexible EXTREMELY reliable and good at diary management Very good and setting goals and organising yourself (practice / preparation) Excellent communication skills That’s a quick blast off the top of my head after 20 years. There will be more

I sort of agree and disagree with this point at the same time. For me (pro player of 20years) I know if somebody wants a good job then part of that is being organised. So if they can provide a set list (and maybe parts or, leadsheets or recordings in advance) then I’ll take them so that I can be as prepared as possible. The result is that I can then be as flexible as possible on the day because I’m not asking basic questions like ‘what key’ ‘or which version’ and don’t have my head buried in the music. If a booker is like unsure of what the gig is, what the setlist is etc there’s a high possibility that it may be crap and therefore worth avoiding. So for me being super organised / prepared whilst being ready to be as flexible as necessary on the night are two sides of the same coin rather than at odds with eachother. Ive worked for 20years successfully and nobody has EVER complained about me being too prepared or knowing what I’m doing on the bandstand

I’m based about ten mins from Stanhope street

Me and @wateroftyneare based up here - drop us a PM, we don’t bite!

It’s great. Fantastic varied music scene, great day and night life, near the coast, near the hills, has a good airport, houses are relatively cheap, people are nice, loads of investment recently. Perfect place to be. Highly recommend. Been here 20years, we won’t leave.

Total rubbish I’m afraid. Not true at all.

I’m not sure I can function with no kidneys 🤪

Do you have your own DI for the Phatty? if so what do you use?

Neat - I’ve got an LS2 so I’ll try that. Just need a DI box for the synth.