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Posted
33 minutes ago, TKenrick said:

I wasn't going to make a list, but it might be good to make it public as a way of holding myself accountable and making sure I don't quit by March!

Perhaps a dedicated BC thread on the topic, others could contribute too.  I've kicked off my own version of the challenge which is to pick a particular (iconic and inspirational to me) bass player then listen to their recorded work in chronological order.  I really want to hear how they developed their playing over time, what projects they contributed too and what I can learn from them.

I've kicked off with Jaco and Oteil Burbridge.    It doesn't get more iconic in the bass world than Jaco, yet I've barely listened to his work.  I knew some of classics like Donna Lee, Continuum, Portraits of Tracey etc but not much else.  After listening to the self titled 1976 album and a few other random songs like Little Beaver's I Dig it Baby I'm surprised to hear some just damn funky grooves.  Definately some songs there I'd like to transcribe some parts of. 

Posted
11 hours ago, PJ-Bassist said:

Perhaps a dedicated BC thread on the topic, others could contribute too.

Great idea - I don't know where such a thread would live; maybe keep it in theory & technique as it's probably a fairly niche topic?

11 hours ago, PJ-Bassist said:

I've kicked off with Jaco and Oteil Burbridge.    It doesn't get more iconic in the bass world than Jaco, yet I've barely listened to his work.  I knew some of classics like Donna Lee, Continuum, Portraits of Tracey etc but not much else.  After listening to the self titled 1976 album and a few other random songs like Little Beaver's I Dig it Baby I'm surprised to hear some just damn funky grooves.  Definately some songs there I'd like to transcribe some parts of. 

Oteil is a player who I know very little about, but I always hear other players speak very highly of him. Most of my favourite Jaco moments are actually him as a sideman; the Joni Mitchell stuff, Metheny's Bright SIze Life album and his solo on Ian Hunter's All American Alien Boy are the ones that I keep coming back to (I transcribed/analysed that Little Beaver tune a while back, some great stuff in there, especially considering his age at the time!).

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Posted
2 hours ago, TKenrick said:

Oteil is a player who I know very little about, but I always hear other players speak very highly of him. Most of my favourite Jaco moments are actually him as a sideman; the Joni Mitchell stuff, Metheny's Bright SIze Life album and his solo on Ian Hunter's All American Alien Boy are the ones that I keep coming back to (I transcribed/analysed that Little Beaver tune a while back, some great stuff in there, especially considering his age at the time!).

Bright Size of Life is the Jaco album I'm planning on for next week.

I actually stumbled across your transcription of I Can Dig It Baby last night - i like the way you don't include tablature, forces me to practice my reading.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
On 08/02/2020 at 12:02, TKenrick said:

I'm resurrecting the Groove Of The Week Series, starting off with a look at a straightforward groove and a challenging lick from MonoNeon:

 

Full analysis/notation here: Groove Of The Week #51: Ghost Note - 'Swagism'

Awesome, I've only recently discovered Ghost Note through the Nate Werth / Snarky Puppy connection.

Great groove, I'll be working on this tonight.  Thanks for the lesson.

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Posted
9 minutes ago, stewblack said:

I'm still playing the main groove to Swagism, it's totally addictive, has it really been a week. No wonder i'm hungry

Me too, though that unison line is causing me a few troubles.

Another great choice @TKenrick - I'll be working on this one too now.

Posted
3 minutes ago, PJ-Bassist said:

Me too, though that unison line is causing me a few troubles.

Another great choice @TKenrick - I'll be working on this one too now.

I refuse to move from Swagism until I've at least attempted the tricky bit. And not just because I don't really like Jamirouquoiea (nor any other band I can't spell). I am learning to be able to switch off from songs I don't like and just try to focus on the bass part. Trouble is the bass is so vital to the song it's hard.

Posted
14 hours ago, stewblack said:

I am learning to be able to switch off from songs I don't like and just try to focus on the bass part.

This is one of the most important - and overlooked - areas for anyone wanting to make a living out of playing an instrument. There are bright spots to be found in even the most banal music, and it's vital to find them if you're going to survive playing Brown Eyed Girl 100 times a year without wanting to physically hurt people...

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Posted

'I want to be more melodic' is something that I hear from students and other bass players (including myself) all the time. Here are some thoughts on getting started:

 

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Posted

It seems I've been slacking off on the chart front...

NoTreble were kind enough to feature an updated version of my chart for ABBA - Dancing Queen (this is by far the most popular chart on the website and is now much more accurate than the first one I wrote for a gig a decade ago!).

Cliff Williams' parts are always a masterclass in simplicity, and AC/DC- You Shook Me All Night Long is no exception; the first inversion in verse 2 always makes me smile.

Here's a snippet from one of Marcus Miller's early sessions with Bernard Wright - I heard Thundercat mention that this was one of his favourite basslines and realised that I'd never heard it:1834806652_BernardWright-Haboglabotribin.thumb.jpg.5cfb4af91a92360f9b6a30f9b64c1f97.jpg

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Posted
On 18/05/2020 at 07:32, TKenrick said:

Leland Sklar showing how to get away with lots of 'dusty end' action in a singer-songwriter setting:

James Taylor - 'You've Got a Friend' Bass Transcription

I transcribed this, without detail of total accuracy, about 25 years ago, but never wrote it down, just committing it to memory, which fades over the years  - so it is nice to see it transcribed accurately. My memory, muscle memory and familiarity of my own transcription have long since been ingrained into my playing of this piece so I'm unlikely to correct the mistakes I made, but then again, I think you have to add your own slant to it anyway. I've always liked this bass line and it sounds much better [to me] on a fretless, particularly the bridge.

I also wanted to say thank you. You're doing a great job - I'm just having a play with Manifestation Destiny. I have the Stuart Clayton notation, but it's great to have a YouTube clip to get me started and also to read the breakdown analysis on your website.

👍

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Posted
28 minutes ago, philparker said:

I also wanted to say thank you. You're doing a great job - I'm just having a play with Manifestation Destiny. I have the Stuart Clayton notation, but it's great to have a YouTube clip to get me started and also to read the breakdown analysis on your website.

Thanks @philparker, very happy to hear that you're finding this stuff useful 😀

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