Earbrass

I also don't get the outrage over this. If you think you're being offered a crap deal, then don't take it. If you think you could make more money setting up and promoting your own gig, then do that. But don't act as if you've a [b]right[/b] to be offered a better deal, cos you don't.

Two things I've found that make composing easier are: - having something to compose [i]for[/i] (I used to do theatre/modern dance/film/tv stuff). Music in this category has a specific job to do, and a specific length of time in which to do it which narrows the possibilities and focuses the creative juices. Plus, you have a director to please, which, again, narrows the choices. - having a deadline. The question "is this the best I can do?" is always harder to answer than "is this the best I can do in the time available?" I remember for one dance piece, I was given a simple 4 bar rhythmic figure to work to by the choreographers - this produced possibly the most interesting 2 minutes of music I've ever written (this is not saying much, sadly). Unfortunately, the piece was about 5 minutes long. PS I agree that the head/heart dichotomy is largely twaddle (good word, that, and tragically under-used), and those unwilling to put the effort into assimilating the required technical skills are inevitably handicapped. Of course you need both. Nobody trying to make a beautiful piece of furniture would say that all you need is an eye for a good line, don't bother about learning to use the tools. Knowledge of harmony, counterpoint and arrangement are the composer's toolkit. Having said that, I think there is a case for separating the creative and analytical processes to some extent - make stuff up without over-thinking it, but then come back (as Spoombung says) the next day with your analytic head on, and then pull it apart to see how the good bits can be retained and improved and the less good bits ditched or reworked. But then again I've not written anything original for years, so what do I know?

I've heard this done a bit with morris and folk tunes - usually a major tune changed into a minor one. Great way to give a new perspective to familiar material.

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1358857259' post='1946019'] I've some gigs coming up outdoors with my morris side in the next few weeks. [/quote] Best of luck with those, Steve. Our lot got an invitation last year to do a show somewhere near Peterborough last Saturday - thankfully we didn't get enough takers to accept :-). We did do a wassail last January, though, which was great fun though very cold. I doubt we'll be out before George's Day now.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1358808691' post='1945585'] Yip - for this thread to be any use to the OP, we need something a bit more specific re: flavour of Blues... [/quote] See what you mean, but maybe if you're going in to blues for the first time there's something to be said for getting a feel for the full range of the tradition before diving in?

I don't think this is a new thing. There's plenty of sixties records where the bass is just a kind of dull "clicking" sound (those pesky pick players!). As to the original thread title - if it's a were-bass, perhaps it can only be heard at full moon?

Bessie Smith. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxQncVvsuyg[/media] Aretha Franklin: Dr Feelgood [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5eWL_-eY8Y[/media] Both of which show that blues doesn't have to be constrained to the "12-bar" I, IV, V formula that can quickly become tiresome.

[quote name='moonbass' timestamp='1356516603' post='1910602'] Major 6th = my bonny lies over the ocean [/quote] or The Holly and the Ivy Perfect 4th = Away in a Manger

Am I the only one who doesn't see any pics in the new Classifieds section? This happens in Firefox and Chrome - I just get grey squares where I imagine the pics should be. EDIT: I mean the thumbnails - I can see the main images in the actual ads

Reminds me of a conversation I had a while back with the drummer of my old rock band. She's a massive Phil Collins devotee, and now plays with a couple of Genesis tribute bands, while I've moved on to playing squeezebox for a border morris side. She was explaining how her kit was an exact replica of Phil Collins' one, and how the newer versions have the "wrong" colour hardware, or something. I suggested it was ironic that she was playing "progressive" music but was obsessed with historical accuracy, while I was playing "traditional" music in a band that's very happy to make stuff up when it suits us.

I'm very happy with my lot at the moment. Last night's practice went very well, and was a good laugh too. They're a great bunch of people, and we get some cool gigs; last weekend, for example, we performed at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon as part of a well-attended [url="http://www.witchfest.net/"]WitchFest[/url], and had lots of people (from as far afield as Australia) thanking us for our performances and asking about what we do. About 40 or 50 people turned up to our workshop in the afternoon to have a go themselves.

[quote name='Benplaysbass' timestamp='1353511677' post='1875431'] Mine turned up today, impressed with GAK and their speedy service....being an over seas customer. However not so impressed with the woman who has hidden it up and said you can have it for Christmas. [/quote] Ask her if you can have the manual now, so you've some chance of being able to play with it before Boxing Day is over.

How many bands can get this many people up and dancing to a tune in 5/4? [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I6ilM72a8U&feature=youtu.be[/media]

[quote name='sarah thomas' timestamp='1353491526' post='1875071'] Given that Bilbo's post now runs to 31 pages and is running strong, could we have jazz bass as a sub-forum so that it's easy to find? Maybe on January 10 2013 as a special five year tribute to the strength and abiding interest of the original post? [/quote] Probably best to call it something other than "Jazz Bass", though, or it'll soon be filled with Fender-related posts (and demands for a "Precision Bass" sub-forum).

Kimbara Jazz Bass copy - bought 1978, sold early 80's - end of my bass-playing for a few decades. Good but heavy. [b]Peavey Milestone III (red)[/b] - bought 2004?? s/h for £50. Fender Aerodyne Jazz - decided I was ready for a "good" bass. Realised it wasn't significantly better than the Peavey, and sold it again. Peavey Milestone III (sunburst) - bought s/h for £45. Replaced the Aerodyne: used as backup/spare when I was in a band. Kept afterwards in Suffolk for playing with my Dad. Given away after he died last year. Peavey Zodiac - fancied the P/J layout - intended to replace 2nd Milestone - lovely bass but a bit too heavy for me, so sold it again and kept the 2nd Milestone.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1352459932' post='1863298'] Get a decent interface that allows for all the ins and outs you require. If you arent recording full bands you probably need no more than 2 ins, and 4 outs (2 for headphones). Go for quality, I would recommend an RME Babyface as a great sounding interface with absolutely bulletproof drivers. Seriously good quality. Personally I'm about to pull the trigger on an RME UCX, because I can expand it easily up to a full 14 mic inputs, which is enough to record a full band, I can also get some [url="http://www.seventhcircleaudio.com/"]real quality mic pres[/url] later to plug in to it for some flavour. Added to that the lowest latency in class and the RME reputation I just cant control the GAS on this device [/quote] Got to stop reading your posts, Simon - they always end up costing me money . (Line Audio CM3 mic due for delivery today!)

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1352458842' post='1863272'] The Latin Percussion expansion pack is very useful. You can use individual elements in non Latin tracks. The midi files [And there are loads of them] have a nice swing about them. [/quote] Hmmm....tempting.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1352397703' post='1862588'] I found these short tutorials very useful initially. This is part one of four. They will show you pretty much everything you need to know to make a decision mate. [/quote] Thanks Nigel.

I was wondering about EZ drummer. Drums are the part I struggle with most. I already have loads of drum [i]sounds[/i] in EmulatorX, DimensionPro and an external MIDI module. Given that the music I work on tends not to use traditional rock/pop drum patterns and fills, is there anything that EZ drummer provides that I might find useful?

I'm all in favour of reading - a very useful skill for all the reasons already mentioned. But here's an additional thought: Learn a tune from TAB and you know how to play it one way on one instrument Learn a tune in terms of dots / note names and you know how to play it on any instrument that you play, but only in the written key Learn a tune in terms of intervals and degrees of the scale, and you can transpose it into any key on any instrument that you play Actually, it's not so much how you [i]learn[/i] the tune, but how you 'think' of it / remember it once learned.

If only one of the audience had decided that sitting still and listening was too "boring" a way of experiencing a lecture, and had instead opted for shoving a huge custard pie into the speaker's pretentious smug face.

You're new around here, aren't you? OK everybody, tin hats on; you know the drill.

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1351671643' post='1853885'] My preference would be the bright yellow, with a rosewood board and a black pg. No matching headstock. [/quote] +1

I wouldn't go for the controller keyboard + computer option - I think it would be a pain to have to boot up a computer every time you just want to play the piano, and you'd probably end up playing it less as a result. There are so many variables here it's hard to know what to advise; personally, I have a very old Yamaha electric piano (bought second-hand in the late 1980's) which has a lovely weighted keyboard, but crap sounds and which weighs a ton, plus a cheap secondhand MIDI module for the bread and butter sounds, and a computer DAW for recording/sequencing. This means when I just want to sit and play I just turn on the piano and module, but I have more sounds available in the computer for when I'm composing/arranging/recording. The module cost me about £150 on ebay, and I think I'd struggle to give the piano away, so maybe you could pick up something similar cheap. Do you want to keep open the option of playing keys in a band? If so, consider portability and weight - properly weighted keyboards are much heavier, and a full 88 note board can be awkward to fit into cars (76 notes is a good compromise). Are you a piano player or more into synth and organ sounds? For serious piano playing, weighted keys give a much better feel - but for organ/synth playing it can be a disadvantage. [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1351635666' post='1853644'] There's only guitarists in Perth, no musicians available at all. [/quote]

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1351529925' post='1852239'] Looking forward to the rehearsal, but hope Vox and Guitar don't start bickering as usual. [/quote] I feel for you. That was a big problem in my last band. Guitar and Vox were a couple, and rehearsals pretty much always descended into a nasty row. Sometimes bands are like abusive relationships - once you're well out of it, and into something better, you wonder why you put up with all the cr*p for so long.