The Magic Bullet

[All thumbs]

[u][b]“The magic bullet”[/b][/u]

Out of all the people I've had come to me for bass lessons over the years, most are looking for the same thing – they want to be able to improvise and play more inventive & musical lines and fills. They see other players play these exciting lines and fills here and there and want to do the same.

Well that doesn’t sound like a big deal does it? They’re already good solid players, maybe even making good money doing a great job holding the low end down! Well here’s the thing – it’s a MASSIVE deal!

Us bassists spend 99% of our time pointing out the root notes of the chords, and to a slightly lesser degree the 5th. This is especially true in rock music. Nothing wrong with this of course – it’s usually what the music calls for. But say you get to the end of a 16 bar section and you get that feeling inside urging you to play a nice line to bring in the next section of the tune, unless you know exactly what chord is being played at that point and how that chord is constructed the chances all you can really do is bluff it! Sometimes you might get lucky and accidentally play something cool, but more often than not it not going to sound good at all!

So it turns out for that mere 1% of your time playing fills outside of the usual Root/5th you need to know EVERYTHING about the harmony of the music your playing. Now that’s a LOT of work for what might seem like very little gain isn’t it? We’re talking about a lifetime study here with many thousands of hours work and practice! Phew – not worth it is it?!

It’s so worth it if you’re serious about your playing! Once you start on a journey of understanding harmony and other concepts relating to improvisation etc., you’ll never stop! But you’ll have such a great ride along the way. You’ll have dips and peaks, you’ll have plateaus, you’ll have periods where you simply lose interest for a while and get on with some other pastime or calling. In the end it’s all about taking a piece of music and making it your own and there’s nothing like coming off stage and knowing that you ‘spoke’ through your instrument.

Improvisation is just as creative as any other form of writing – in fact it IS “composition on the spot”! If you’re really serious about bass I urge you to make a start on your journey into the world of improvisation today and take your playing to places and heights you never dreamed it could go.

Oh and ‘the magic bullet’ – sorry there isn’t one!

Peace,
Scott.

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[Doddy]

I've been saying this for ages...and at times been argued with,but it's true.
The fact is this stuff is fun and interesting and it [i]will [/i]improve your playing. If you are even
half way serious about playing music,I don't know why you wouldn't want to learn all of
this stuff.