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Play what you sing


jakenewmanbass
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It's been mentioned around here once or twice that learning to play what is in your head can be helped by singing along and making sure that the idea in your mind is properly executed on your instrument
This clip illustrates beautifully just how much great fun that can be.
Slam Stewart is the bass player, check him out at 2.11



It's really worth noting that you are listening to 2 instruments that only play one note at a time... see what melody can do...!!!

Edited by jakesbass
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Slam rocks. An underated player if ever I heard one. He had perfect pitch, apparently. There is a lovely quote out there somewhere about the fact that SS used to play with Art Tatum (arguable the greatest jazz pianist of all time) and Tatum couldn't lose him even if he tried. Paul Chambers would not have existed without Slam.

Talking of which, PC was someone who sang along with his solos - I have listened to hundreds of hours of his playing and you can often hear him humming away in the background. It really works but, as Jake already knows, it is easy to fall into the trap of humming what you are playing not playing what you are humming! What this technique does do is draw your own attention to the depth (or otherwise) of your harmonic knowledge.

I need to woodshed. :)

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[quote name='silddx' post='1129425' date='Feb 16 2011, 11:36 AM']Fantastic! He's ripping! I think that illustrates the principle perfectly, the solo was human, not mechanical, and therefore was so enjoyable to listen to.

Thanks Jake.[/quote]
It's a very important point, it's music not exercises, the guy clearly learned to play melodies and make music, very different to some of the gymnastics that wow people in other arenas.
And this was in 1945!!!

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[quote name='fatback' post='1129507' date='Feb 16 2011, 12:29 PM']Great.

Apart from the educational side, I've found singing can be really useful when trying come up with strong bass lines for original songs.

Amazing how often the part you sing is so much better than what you get noodling.[/quote]
I never sit down with an instrument to write anything. I listen to myself and feel what's right, then I learn to play what I came up with. Singing is the voice in your head and it's a true reflection of your influences, experience and imagination. The art of improvising is being able to do that instantaneously and seemlessly.

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[quote name='phil.i.stein' post='1130152' date='Feb 16 2011, 08:02 PM']i do sincerely hope you're not jaking the piss.. :)[/quote]
Not only am I not, I fail to see how I could be... :)

For the purposes of clarity... I meant it's an irresistible feel, to listen to... I find myself swept along with the feel it swings so hard

Edited by jakesbass
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[quote name='jakesbass' post='1129340' date='Feb 16 2011, 10:36 AM']It's really worth noting that you are listening to 2 instruments that only play one note at a time... see what melody can do...!!![/quote]

That is amazing, no chords just 1 note each from 2 players, and it sounds like there is a jazz kit and keys behind it in my head, spooky


[quote name='Bilbo' post='1129352' date='Feb 16 2011, 10:45 AM']There is a lovely quote out there somewhere about the fact that SS used to play with Art Tatum (arguable the greatest jazz pianist of all time) and Tatum couldn't lose him even if he tried.[/quote]

And there's me having to listen to 80s pop songs 5 times over, just so I don't get lost, I feel very small



I've not listened to Jazz much for a long time, this makes me wonder why

Edited by lojo
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[quote name='lojo' post='1130224' date='Feb 16 2011, 08:40 PM']And there's me having to listen to 80s pop songs 5 times over, just so I don't get lost, I feel very small[/quote]

A nicer way of saying you 'feel small' is to say 'humbled'. To me that you see that in that piece indicates that you have what it takes to improve (which is a great attribute) those that dismiss it as rubbish because they don't understand it display a tendency to refuse to accept growth, this, in my experience, is often reflected across attitudes and in other aspects of life, and it's therefore no surprise to me that artists and people dealing in the arts are often thinking people and often open minded people, in fact it surprises me when I come across people in the business who are not!

Edited by jakesbass
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