lobematt

Hey! I've started going to a few jazz jam nights, just watching not playing at the moment. I was just wondering what songs are most likely to come up and are pretty essential to have under your belt? The songs I'm most comfortable with are probably Autumn Leaves, Blue Bossa, Blue Monk (and a few other blues tunes) and Take The 'A' Train. I thought these would have been safe bets but I've not heard any of these tunes called yet! I'm doing as much ear training as I can so that I'll have a better chance at playing tunes I'm not familiar with but it's a pretty slow process. So I was just wondering what songs you guys have played on the most or heard getting called the most when you've been at jam nights? Cheers

Hey! I've just posted a new transcription to my blog, this ones for the jazz blues - Parker's Mood! [url="http://mattlawtonbass.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/parkers-mood-bass-line.html"]http://mattlawtonbass.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/parkers-mood-bass-line.html[/url] Hope you like it

I'm still trying to get my reading up to scratch too but I find reading songs that I can already play helps me recognize common rhythms that crop up in other songs. Also as far as dexterity I'd say practice everything super slow with a click if you wanna be able to play fast and CLEAN. Or just transcribe a load of Miles' licks and fill up your solo with slow tasty playing

Ok, so my keyboard skills are rubbish! Can anyone double check this for me? Bb7|Eb7|Bb7|F7 Eb7|Eb7|Bb7|D-7 C-7|F7|Bb7|Bb7

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1349995144' post='1833469'] The best advise is to listen to rock. Go and listen to the bands that he's listing as influences and check out what the bass is doing.Then have a listen to some of the 'classic' rock bands and their bass players. That's really the best way of familiarising yourself with a genre. [/quote] THIS! The most important thing for any rock line (or any bassline??) is to make sure you lock in with the kick drum!

I'll dust off the keyboard...

Hey everyone! I've got a standard Fender Jazz, knobs are vol,vol,tone. I wanna rewire it as master vol,pickup blend,tone. Any ideas how to go about it?? Thanks

Hey there, I'm doing a transcription of the bass line on this tune and I can't find a chord sheet for it anywhere. I know it's a Bb blues and I've worked out the root note for each chord but I'm not sure if they're all 7 chords or not and I'm not too sure how to figure it out. Any tips for me?? What I've got at the minute is... Bb | Eb | Bb | F Eb | Eb | Bb | D C | F | Bb | Bb Thanks!

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1349802841' post='1830762'] Why no "all of the above" option?? [/quote] Because I'm a bit of a poll making amateur as well as a blog making amateur!

[quote name='alstocko' timestamp='1349804387' post='1830784'] Pure improviser, Miles made me that way. Licks make me feel like I'm living in the past, I want to be individual [/quote] I'm pretty sure Miles used licks too. From transcribing his solos I've seen a few crop up that are pretty much identical.

Nice man! Great explanation too

Hey guys, Just added another lick to my website you may be interested in! http://mattlawtonbass.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/lick-of-month-5.html

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1349784654' post='1830419'] I like reading about bassists talking about their favourite bits of gear. I also like reading about normal everyday bassist on the pub circuit sharing stories about gear that really lasts and is excellent value for money! Truckstop [/quote] Thanks man, noted!!

Thanks for the input!

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1349779009' post='1830304'] Hi matt I've got a confession mate, i use your site as a transcription resource. Sorry bout dat. Snce we're sharing, I sometimes leave the toilet seat up too. [/quote] Haha well that's cool too mate, on both accounts!

Hey guys, I wanna make my blog ([url="http://www.mattlawtonbass.blogspot.com"]http://www.mattlawtonbass.blogspot.com[/url]) a pretty cool place for bassists to go! I would like to know what kind of posts people are most interested in reading so I've made a poll! If you wouldn't mind ticking a box to let me know and also if anyone has any other comments/suggestions please feel free to let me know! Thanks

I use licks a lot, probably about 50% of my soloing is licks. The main reason for this is how can I ever expect to sound like the musicians I most admire if I can't play what they play? I don't plan on using other peoples licks forever, just until I'm happy with my own sound I suppose. I remember seeing a Michael Brecker interview where he said when I was improvising on stage he wouldn't play anything he hadn't played 1000 times before. Meaning yeah, he uses licks! So that makes me feel a bit better about it!

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1349369843' post='1825427'] They reply I got was: "Hey there, its OK our guitarist knows who you are, an audition won't be necessary. When can you practice?" [/quote] That's amazing!! Yeah as well as everything that's been said just be proavctive, make your own work. Put a cover band and approach a booking agent, see if any pubs are looking for a house band for jam nights, see if restaurants need any music, advertise! I've gotten much more work by doing this than from answering ads on gumtree!

Haha damn! Yeah may just have to pull it down a bit!

Hey guys here's some recordings I've done this week with my new trio, hope you like them! Any comments good or bad are welcomed!! [url="http://soundcloud.com/mattlawton/sets/trio-recordings"]http://soundcloud.com/mattlawton/sets/trio-recordings[/url]

Transcription is available here [url="http://mattlawtonbass.blogspot.co.uk/p/transcriptions.html"]http://mattlawtonbass.blogspot.co.uk/p/transcriptions.html[/url] But I find if I do it myself I tend to remember it better and the licks are a bit more usable so use at your peril!!

Check it out man! [url="http://mattlawtonbass.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/how-to-build-pedal-board-for-less-than.html"]http://mattlawtonbass.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/how-to-build-pedal-board-for-less-than.html[/url]

Thanks guys!

Thanks mate, yeah I love the space you get playing in ballads

Here's my cover of Coltrane's solo on Blue In Green! Transcription available from the link in the vid! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtOl6CFfq8I&feature=plcp"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtOl6CFfq8I&feature=plcp[/url]