Hector

Major, are you using the regular Pirazzis or the Weichs? I've heard mixed reviews about them, with some saying that they die too early and are a bit of an extra effort to play - what are your thoughts? I've been using the same old set of spirocores for years now, and they're starting to sound a bit tired, so was looking for a new set but I'm struggling since my playing is pretty much split 50-50 between jazz and classical stuff. p.s. I like the spirocores' playability, but their tone is a little bright for me - looking for a woodier/ Christian McBride Style tone playing pizz.

I was taught by a great bass player called David Leahy over the easter. He had a friend who lent him an old tape recorder that had been given to him by none other than Dave Holland, when he left the UK to play with Miles (supposedly this tape recorder was once used by Holland for recording, and had some original cuts on it). Anyway, from Dave Holland to Mingus you can take your pick. Easier than I thought! p.s. - I had always thought it was Milt Hinton who played on "Shoes...."?

Great work! Funnily enough, I'm playing in a production of Rent at the moment as well. Santa Fe had me tripping up a bit the first time, and it's got some daft page turns, so I decided just to learn the patterns (which is all the song is) and just play them by ear off the vocals. Congrats on diving in at the deep end, it's how I first learnt to read too. Most important things to do would be to keep and eye out for key changes (there' a couple of tunes with sections in Gb major, so don't forget to play a Cb!) and count your bars. There's a lot of gaps, so you might find it useful to pencil in vocal cues (or drum cues etc.). Have fun, it's quite a groovy part to play! p.s. No way are there 525,600 minutes in a year - bloody bohemians.

Learning to read music totally changed my life. I'm not exaggerating. One day, about 4 or 5 years ago, a friend asked if I wanted to play bass in a production of Les Miserables. I lied and said I could read music in order to get the gig. I sweated over that score to learn to read, but when it was time for the show I nailed it. I jumped in the deep end, and it was scary at first. I never thought I'd be able to do it! 5 years later and I am a totally different musician. Learning to read started me playing upright, which is the love of my life. I joined an orchestra and started getting/taking much more gigs, partly because I doubled on electric and upright but mostly because I could read competently. Since then, I've not looked back. 75% of my gigs I play on a regular basis involve reading, and more often than not sight reading (and those that aren't are jazz charts). There are still things that catch me out occasionally, but for the most part I'm fluent. I play with countless different orchestras, big bands, musicals, ensembles etc. I've met so many great people and made so many friends, and become a more rounded, competent and employable bass player. It sounds like I'm blowing my own trumpet a bit, which I don't mean to do. The point I'm trying to make is that the one little decision I made all those years ago to get off my arse and learn to read properly has opened up a whole world of opportunities for me. Music is such a huge part of my life, and I love it, but I'd never have met so many people and played so many wonderful pieces if I hadn't learnt to read. It's allowed me to appreciate and enjoy what it is I do on a deeper level than I did before reading. It's made me so happy, and I'm grateful every single day that I get to play bass with and for so many people. I'm busy as feck mind, with my degree on top of gigging, but if you really love something it barely even feels like a sacrifice. I hope learning to read makes you as happy as it has me! EDIT: p.s. I feel the same about having a good ear, sight transposition (ever backed a singer who can't do original keys?) and being able to bash out a bit of piano.

For me, a few musical genii would have to be: J.S Bach James Jamerson - endlessly inventive, redfining the role of the bass, extraordinary creativity when put on the spot; day in, day out. Francois Rabbath - Total inovator. Self-taught, totally dedicated to his field, total facility and constantly striving to be a better player. Scott La Faro - double basses have never been played the same since, and he did it all before the age of 25. There's entire generations of players still catching up to his approach. Charlie Parker - bebop. Nuff said. John Coltrane All of these guys have pushed the boundary of how people do what they do, and all have had a lasting impact. Creativity, facility and dedication.

I've owned a Rumble 100 1x15 combo for a few years, and it's a pretty good combo. Puts out enough volume to be heard at anything up to a really large gig, and tone is great. They've been very favourably reviewed, as they're cheap, loud, decent sound and have some good features. *Shamless plug* Coincindentally, I'm selling mine for £150, if anyone in the Oxford area (or can pick up from Oxford) fancies one of these, shoot me a PM. I'm open to reasonable offers *Shameless plug* Bad form to plug my own sale on here, but I stumbled across this browsing BC while supposed to be working. I'll come on a make a proper thread in the marketplace when I get the time.

Sorry to have to inflict the pain on you - it's a bit like seeing that tape in the ring..... Ok, so vomits are a specific exercise that my first teacher showed me. Gary Karr is well known for advocating them, and I'll try my best to explain. What you do is set your metronome at 60bpm and play an Ab major scale starting in half position on the G string. With your first finger, sliding between each note with the finger pressed firmly down, play Ab then slide up to Bb in one bow. Then on the next bow, play Bb and slide back down to Ab. Now slide from Ab up to C on one bow, then from C back down to Ab on the next bow. Do this for the entire scale, making sure to slide on just the first finger, and one bow per shift (If you're a total badass, keep going and do a 2 octave scale). Once you've done this, repeat the whole thing but playing each Ab with the first finger and each other note with the second finger. Then again with the ring finger for other notes (you heard right!) and again with the pinky for the other notes. Then repeat all that, but with the Ab as the second finger and going through using the other fingers as the other notes. Repeat again using ring finger on the Abs, then with pinky on the Abs. If you're feeling hardcore and your fingers haven't been ground down to the bone, you can repeat this, but starting at the top and working down. Take care to always make your tone lovely! (Btw, you can do this in Bb or any other key or scale type on the G string if you want). I'll say now [i]don't overdo it![/i]. If it's hurting your fingertips or anywhere else, just stop. You're practicing to make music through solid technique, not to take on Vinnie Jones in a nutkicking competition, so no need to prove how tough you are. Anyway, sounds gruelling huh? The reason I like this exercise so much is that it drills so many things at once: You build mega callouses. You work your intonation awareness (helps to sing along, so that the note you are heading to is internalised). You get more comfortable with shifting (hence why I originally mentioned it, as you'll be shifting past the heel of the neck as you would be going into thumb position) and let's be honest, with the size of the bass you're gonna have to get used to being comfortable shifting! If you watch most of the top players, they shift very accurately. It's not a coincidence. It's great for bowing: you'll need to get comfortable finding the right bow speed for each pitch and position (higher up the fingerboard = faster bow speed and bowing closer to the bridge, make sure to keep the bow perpendicular to the strings). In order to get a nice sounding portamento you'll need to adjust this on the fly as you shift. If you try as hard as you can not to squeeze with your left hand thumb on the back of the neck, it becomes about using your arm weight to stop notes rather than squeezing with your left hand (makes playing easier, as well as making sure you get a nice vibrato that isn't strangled). For me, bowing is the most important aspect of this exercise. You'll get your left and right hands indpendent. ...phew! I've got a headache, all that explaining! Have fun doing these, I really recommend them. Bear in mind that I'm just some guy on the internet, so [i]I take no liability for any distress they cause you[/i], not to mention the distress cause to those who listen to your practice (who will want to vomit themselves, in the other sense of the word!). Take it easy and look after yourself. Build up to the full exercise, it can be quite tough to start with. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about any of this. Aaaaaaanyway, back on the topic of le thumb, one more thing I'd say is about where on the thumb you stop the string: make sure not to use your thumb joint, as this will eventually cause pain and a loss of mobility (arthritis maybe?). Better to use the soft bit (not soft for long!) between the joint and the base of your thumbnail. It'll be tender at first, but this will soon give way to a callous and you'll find your hand position is bit more relaxed (at least I did when I made this change I'll stop harping on about TP playing and let you get down to it - enough of my blabbering! [quote name=' "The Major"']I could say "There's no such thing as a good german bow!" but that would be rude and uncalled for. Each to his own i say (but French is better ! - sorry I didn't mean that to slip out).[/quote] Explain [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WMO0nJRWAM"]THIS[/url] then! Just kidding, I prefer French but that was the way I was taught to start due to my teacher's preference. I think it's probably a preference thing. Seriously though, that video is the mutt's nuts! Hector

I don't profess to be the font of all knowledge, especially compared to such distinguished gents and ladies as Jake, the Major and Jennifer, but I've been paying my dues in the practice room really intensively during the last month so I thought I'd share some advice/encouragement. I'm sure one of them will tip up to correct me/give much better advice than I can in due course. 1. As far as callouses are concerned, take it easy! A little bit of practice each day will be, in my opinion and experience, much better for developing a bullet-proof thumb than a big session that decimates your thumb and leaves you unable to practice for a few days. 2. Keep your elbow up - dropping it will cause an awkward angle in your wrist and make stopping notes much harder than it ought to be. Also, this will help you use the weight of your arm more, rather than pushing with your fingers/hand (which will impede agility and cause pain). Better to take some of the strain in a powerful muscle group like the shoulder than in the delicate muscles of your hand. 3. Don't straighten your fingers, rather keep them curled and relaxed, playing on the tips. This will cause you to approach the string like this: -->/ rather than like this: -->|. A perpendicular approach is much better at transferring the force of your fingers onto the string, making notes easier to stop. 4. Supportive fingering is quite important. When you cross strings, your thumb (and any other fingers closer to the nut than your fretting finger) should be there to press the string down. Another useful tip is to tilt the bass slightly into your body, so as to use some of the instrument's weight to help you stop notes. 5. Don't be afraid! A lot of people get all wound up about the thumb position, but it's no harder than playing in 1st or half position, just different. So long as you stick to the cardinal rules of not settling for being out of tune and using the right technique. Thumb position isn't a big deal. 6. Watch the pros. There's a lot to be learnt by keeping a beady eye on their left hand. For some really inspiring stuff, I recommend [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXt6htVi3C4&feature=fvst"]Renaud Garcia- Fons[/url] (intimidating, but he does have a super low action, which helps!), [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ono-jJPGCs"]Marco Panascia[/url] (and [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxnurDFZCgQ&feature=related"]here[/url] for a better view) and of course my main man, [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGfGF3o5rAI"]Christian McBride[/url]. As for exercises, playing a Bb major scale with the left hand in chromatic position and going across the strings is good, as you can use the harmonics to check tuning. Also try vomits for ability to shift into and out of thumb position. If you want some Etudes, try Petracchi's "Simplified Higher Technique". You can also transpose anything up an octave and work on that. Take home point: don't fight the instrument, with the right technique you should be able to work with it. A bit of patience and some elbow grease in the woodshed, and you'll be playing soaring melodic lines in no time, especially with that formidable harmonic knowledge of yours Bilbo! I hope you don't think this post is presumptuous/ rude, just trying to share my (fairly limited) knowledge with a fellow DBer. Feel free to tell me to p**s off! p.s. One more thing - about PC not playing above thumb position: although traditionally you play thumb position from the octave upwards, it's the technique that is the thumb position rather than the place on the neck. It's quite normal/possible to play thumb position below the octave (although not too far below) and in some cases this makes particular passages easier to execute. There's an example of McBride doing this on a nice bluesy lick in the Superbass video I linked to.

[quote name='TPJ' post='797481' date='Apr 6 2010, 01:12 PM']You play enough DB and you won't be able to cut the skin for callouses [/quote] So true! After practicing my higher position playing over the last month, I've had Nasa pop round for some skin samples off the edge of my thumb - if they can replicate it, they'll be able to use it to protect space shuttles during atmospheric re-entry.

Thanks guys, this is all great advice! I've had a crack at playing changes this way, and I've realised that I need to get to work on spotting key centers in tunes. One thing that still puzzles me is that the lines I'm playing over rhythm changes don't sound particularly like bebop. Is there a particular way of thinking in order to achieve this sound, or is it more of a "listen and assimilate" jobbie?

Hi all, Starting to move into the realms of bebop playing, and was wondering how you would approach soloing over rhythm changes (figured they'd be good to get into my head)? They go by so fast, I'm guessing guide tones are pretty much the only option, but apart from that I'm quite stumped. I've read about bebop scales and get the concept, but it seems such synthetic scales weren't used by parker et al in the way they were presented in textbooks. Anyway, I'd like to be playing some decent lines over changes, so does anyone have any tips/exercises? H

[quote name='jdstrings' post='772355' date='Mar 12 2010, 03:21 AM']Jonathan Githero in Witney -doublebass specialist. Get back to me if you can't find him and I'll dig out his contact details...[/quote] Just to say I've recently had some work done by Jonathan and he was speedy, professional and friendly. Not to mention that he's also very reasonably priced! I usually have my work done by Malcolm Healey, who Jonathan used to work with, but my bass was damaged whilst at uni here and Jonathan was kind enough to meet me in town to collect and return my bass. Definitely check him out. I have his card on my desk somewhere, so PM me if you'd like contact details.

So, I had pretty much the most upsetting experience of my life last night. Was playing with a swing band for a black tie ball out of town, and the ball's organisers offered to take my bass over with their keyboard and amps. "Sure" I thought, "What could possibly go wrong?". BIG. MISTAKE. Opened my case up to take out my bass for sound check only to find that the fingerboard was no longer attached to the rest of the bass! Maybe I'm silly, but I held my head up high and played through the soundcheck/gig on a borrowed electric bass and when the first opportunity came, retired to a quiet room on my own and wept. I mean, I got that bass when I was 18 and have been through all sorts of gigs over the years. I completely babied her, she was the most important thing I own Has anyone had an experience like this before? Is it an easy sort of damage to fix, and will my bass ever feel like she used to?

[b]1) How long have you been playing Bass Guitar/String Bass for or both? [/b] 7 years on bass guitar and 3 years upright. [b]2) If you don’t play string bass/bass guitar have you thought of doubling up on either to get more recognition as a bass player? [/b] N/A [b]3) Who are your favourite exponents of both string bass/bass guitar?[/b] I think there's something to be gained from listening to everyone, but personal favourites are: Red Mitchell, Ron Carter, Ray Brown, Chris Minh Doky, Scott LaFaro (String Bass), John Patitucci, Christian McBride (Both), Nathan East, Marcus Miller, Anthony Jackson, Paul McCartney, Richard Bona, Matt Garrison (Bass Guitar). These are just a few that spring to mind, but there are hundreds more! [b]4) Do you think that both the bass guitar and string bass are important as bass instruments?[/b] Yes. I also think their roles as treble instruments are becoming more and more important with the advent of extended range bass guitars and the prevalence of thumb position playing on the string bass. [b]5) What genres do you think are important for bass players to listen to? [/b] Best to see things as only two genres: Good Music and Bad Music, both of which depend very much on the listener. Good music (as defined by you) tells you what to play like and Bad music (again, defined by you) tells you what not to play like. This helps you find your own voice on the instrument, as everyone has a different idea of what's good and bad. [b]6) Do you think electric guitarists can learn to play bass guitar more than string bass? [/b] Probably yes, in terms of physical difficulties. [b]7) Do you think bass can be used to solo as well as accompany other instruments?[/b] Yeah, but it ought to be used with taste, as with any other instrument. [b] 8) Do you think it is important to learn to sight read?[/b] Important depends on what each player wants out of the instrument. Errol Garner never learned to sight read and he did just fine. However, it's not exactly like you've got anything to lose by not learning to, and it opens up lots more offers of jobs. [b]9) What do you think of bass guitars such as 5 string/6 string e.g. as being an add-on to the bass players role?[/b] They're fantastic, helping to redefine the role of the bass. [b]10) What are your opinions on electric upright basses as a substitute for the string bass? [/b] Maybe I'm too traditional, but I think that although they're much easier to transport they can never sound quite as beautiful. [b]11) What is the best amp to use for bass guitar or string bass?[/b] Depends on each player, obviously. I would go for any combination of Markbass and Aguilar, as they're my preferred brands. [b] 12) What pickups for string bass are the best for capturing the natural tone of the instrument?[/b] This is and incredibly individual choice, as it depends both on the bass and the player. I tend to favour pickups that go under the feet of the bridge, to get a good dollop of body resonance. Personally I prefer a pickup not to colour my sound, simply to keep it exactly the same but make it louder!

The only one of my instruments I've named is my upright, who is called Magda (she's a dark hungarian beauty...!). I feel such a connection and I spend a lot of time with her, so a name seems an appropriate way to express my affection. It's a lot like being in love, and personally I'm not comfortable being so loving with a dude.

Wonderful transcription, thanks Bilbo! Always good to learn some Scotty lines. There was quite a good article about him, and a few bits and bobs of music in the latest issue of Bass Player (I don't usually read it, but it caught my eye on the newstand). Wish I could transcribe half as well as you do......

Got two gigs coming up over the weekend: Friday 27th November: Oxford Millennium Orchestra at the Sheldonian. Playing Rachmaninov 2 and Hebrides. 8pm, think it's round about £10. Saturday 28th November: Oxford String Ensemble, St. Michael's Church (on Cornmarket). Playing 5 Variants on Dives and Lazarus, Simple Symphony, Divertimento, Glazunov Sax Concerto and Coplan's Hoe Down from Rodeo. Should be round about £10 as well. Stop by if you feel like it, both concerts have really good programmes and, not to sound biased, they're sounding pretty good!

Just to say, I ended up going to TOP and it was one of the best gigs I've ever seen. I'm still grinning ear to ear exactly 24 hours later!

I'm playing for a production of Die Fledermaus that evening. Maybe I should dress up too? I'm sure it'd go down a storm............

Well, this is one of those situations where someone complains about their diamond shoes being too tight, or their wallet being too small for the their money, but here goes: I've got tickets to see Tower of Power on Nov 21st, but have discovered that Esperanza Spalding is playing Ronnie's on the same night. Which should I go and see?

Hi guys, Been looking at guys like Wooten and Marcus a lot recently, with the result that I've become intrigued by one tiny aspect of their playing. It's the way they mix in the percussive extra little notes, which are what really make their lines groove so hard. It's really obvious in [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWNiFw_W3mA"]this[/url] video, at about 12 seconds, where Vic does a tasty little percussive triplet thing; but camera angle doesn't show his hands! Does anyone have any idea about this sort of thing, or how he seems to be doing it? Cheers, Hector