Bass + clarinet, Misty cover

[aalam]

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Someone asked me to play Misty with her. She's playing a clarinet and I have the tablatures for clarinet. How could I come up with a bassline for it?

I don't know music theory. But I know that the traditional role of the bass is to play root notes, would that work here?

There is a performance [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_tAU3GM9XI"]here [/url]with a double bass in it, ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_tAU3GM9XI ) but there is not clarinet, and the bassline is not very audible anyway.

Any suggestions on what should I do, being a newbie and all?

Thank you

[aalam]

Second chance

[Lw.]

Could try following the notes written above the score on the following link - walk up/down the scales as desired.

[url="http://www.harmonytalk.com/download/ErrollGarner-Misty.pdf"]http://www.harmonyta...arner-Misty.pdf[/url]

Edited December 16, 2013 by Lw.

[steve-bbb]

[url="https://www.facebook.com/jamiebrownfieldjazz"]https://www.facebook...ebrownfieldjazz[/url]

there is a JB website and soundcloud but Misty is only on the facespace page at the moment

Edited December 17, 2013 by steve-bbb

[aalam]

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1387214246' post='2309484']
Could try following the notes written above the score on the following link - walk up/down the scales as desired.

[url="http://www.harmonytalk.com/download/ErrollGarner-Misty.pdf"]http://www.harmonyta...arner-Misty.pdf[/url]
[/quote]

Thanks Lw, I can't read music sheets, so I don't know what those notes actually mean. But I will try and see if I can figure it out, I'm sure it'll pay off in the long run.

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1387266866' post='2309932']
[url="https://www.facebook.com/jamiebrownfieldjazz"]https://www.facebook...ebrownfieldjazz[/url]

there is a JB website and soundcloud but Misty is only on the facespace page at the moment
[/quote]

Hi steve-bbb, are you suggesting I come up with the bass line by ear? Oh I don't know... Excellent performance by the way!

Thank you guys!

[Dad3353]

Good afternoon, Aalam...

My favourite tune. If I can assume that you have the chord chart for this, I would suggest starting by playing the root note of each chord as it crops up. There are many versions of this great tune, so I would suggest listening to at least some of them. I'd start with Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra, and see how each bass player adds his/her touch to the version.
I've attached a simplified version; you'll have to be able to read 'dots', of course, but that, in itself, is no bad thing. It's 'pdf' format, so save to your disk and rename (it's the forum software that makes everything 'ipb'...).
Hope this helps...

[attachment=150620:Mist_Bass.pdf]

[Lw.]

[quote name='aalam' timestamp='1387285547' post='2310198']
Thanks Lw, I can't read music sheets, so I don't know what those notes actually mean. But I will try and see if I can figure it out, I'm sure it'll pay off in the long run.
[/quote]

Ignore the proper written music - the chord sequence is written above in normal letters so for the most basic bass line just play the route note of the chord (so when it says "Gm7" just play a G). Not meaning to sound like I'm talking down to you (I'm not great at this either) but in it's most basic terms just keep count to 4 in your head every time a vertical line crosses all the way through the horizontal lines, change notes when you see the chord change.

Once you get the hang of it you can then maybe step up to the next route note by picking a note or two in the chord shown.

[Grangur]

Here's a version for violin and electric bass. The clarinet can play the violin part.

You can play the bass... naturally

http://static.musescore.com/32039/d534629c48/score.pdf

Here's the mp3 version http://static.musescore.com/32039/d534629c48/score.mp3

Both of the above show you the bass part first, then the violin joins in. I'd change that arrangement, but that's just me.

[aalam]

Wow guys, the amount of resources are great. I couldn't find anything.

@Dad3353 What do the numbers under the stave mean? I've ignored them and it worked fine but am curious

Thanks everybody

[Dad3353]

[quote name='aalam' timestamp='1387370028' post='2311128']...@Dad3353 What do the numbers under the stave mean?...[/quote]

Fingering. (Sniggers... )

The first Eb would be played on the A string, 6th fret, for instance. Other fingerings are permitted, of course. Enjoy.

[Lowender]

In general -- the principle is the same. If you try to memorize "songs", it'll take years and you'll never quite get it. You have to understand form and basic theory. Do that, and you can play ANY song.

And here's the "secret."

When playing standards, there is no bassline. It's not a part. It's simply accompanying the chords. You don't to be able to read music but you have to know what notes are in a chord. Then you simply match the rhythm and notes of your choice to each measure.

The most basic example , and best to practise, is a 2/5/1 progression. So, in the key of C, that's Dm7, G7 and C maj 7. Pick a tempo (or several tempos) and just mess around playing the notes in those scales. Then you can do the same thing in any key.

After a while, you'll start to recognize chord groupings .

I know this isn;t the quick/.easy answer to your question but it'll take no longer than learning one song. And then next time you'll be looking to copy the bassline to another and another and another. This way, you have limitless basslines at your fingertips.

Good luck.

[Dad3353]

Not to contradict the post above, but the approaches are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Whilst echoing the wisdom of the above, getting a few songs down (especially songs that one likes...) will put into practise the theoretical stuff, and helps to give a boost to morale ("I can play xxxxx already..!"...). Getting the reasoning under one's fingers is, indeed, the way to go for complete mastery, but a couple of numbers under one's belt allows one to play along with chums, too. Both (and other...) paths are good to follow; one's own path is probably best for each of us, and could vary from person to person.

[aalam]

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1387373356' post='2311192']
In general -- the principle is the same. If you try to memorize "songs", it'll take years and you'll never quite get it. You have to understand form and basic theory. Do that, and you can play ANY song.

And here's the "secret."

When playing standards, there is no bassline. It's not a part. It's simply accompanying the chords. You don't to be able to read music but you have to know what notes are in a chord. Then you simply match the rhythm and notes of your choice to each measure.

The most basic example , and best to practise, is a 2/5/1 progression. So, in the key of C, that's Dm7, G7 and C maj 7. Pick a tempo (or several tempos) and just mess around playing the notes in those scales. Then you can do the same thing in any key.

After a while, you'll start to recognize chord groupings .

I know this isn;t the quick/.easy answer to your question but it'll take no longer than learning one song. And then next time you'll be looking to copy the bassline to another and another and another. This way, you have limitless basslines at your fingertips.

Good luck.
[/quote]


That reminds me I was following StudyBass.com lessons but I just ran impatient and started playing songs.

So far I can play a few and I learnt a lot while practicing them (finger dexterity, string muting, things like that), so I can't really complain of "the path" I've taken. That said, Yes, I should probably get back to learning basic theory one of these days. And when I know enough theory to understand what you are actually saying (so far I'm clueless about concepts you metion), I will follow your advice.

Thanks

[Lowender]

Understanding the intervals of a scale does not take years of university training. It's very, very basic stuff. A good teacher can explain it to you in 15 minutes.

[aalam]

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1387412620' post='2311803']
Understanding the intervals of a scale does not take years of university training. It's very, very basic stuff. A good teacher can explain it to you in 15 minutes.
[/quote]

I've started studying intervals. They're quite useful actually. Thank you!

[Dad3353]

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1387412620' post='2311803']
Understanding the intervals of a scale does not take years of university training. It's very, very basic stuff. A good teacher can explain it to you in 15 minutes.
[/quote]

Once again, and not to contradict the above, but for balance...
Learning (at first, by rote...) the 'vanilla' root notes for Misty "does not take years of university training. It's very, very basic stuff. A good teacher can explain it to you in 15 minutes", and it can serve, along with other 'standards', as an excellent support for putting into practice other aspects, such as intervals, chord tones, arpeggios etc. There are many roads to Rome, with advantages and inconveniences for different folks. None are to be ignored, and finding one's own path is part of the journey.