Jazz Transcription

[DanOwens]

I'm trying to improve my jazz playing and transcribing the great horn players is a bit beyond me but transcribing a bass solo is much more achievable.

I was going to post asking about recordings but I was thinking 'what about the greats of Basschat?'

So my idea is that you guys would perform a solo over All of Me, Autumn Leaves, some standard that I'm already confident with, record it, send it to me and I'll use your amazing playing as a challenge to improve my own skills.

In fact some mediocre playing will be just as valuable to me. Anyone up for helping?

[Dad3353]

Dan...

Is this any good to you..?

[attachment=226668:All_Of_You_1.mp3] (Download and save as 'All_Of_You_1.mp3'...)

Just in case, and if you want to check, here's the scores (download and rename as 'pdf' files...)...

[attachment=226669:All_Of_You.pdf]

[attachment=226670:All_Of_You_Bass.pdf]

I can do others in similar style, if they're useful; just say.

Hope this helps; meanwhile...

Have a nice day

Douglas

[bassace]

Dan, at its simplest a bass solo can be either an embellishment of the walking line you've been playing under the band or something built up from the tune's melody line, always keeping the chord sequence in your head. I'll look out for you at the Double Bass Bash and if you like I could show you how it works in practice. It'll get you started.

[DanOwens]

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1472566882' post='3122171']
Dan, at its simplest a bass solo can be either an embellishment of the walking line you've been playing under the band or something built up from the tune's melody line, always keeping the chord sequence in your head. I'll look out for you at the Double Bass Bash and if you like I could show you how it works in practice. It'll get you started.
[/quote]

Thanks, man. I'm using iReal and going over and over solos but I've started to feel things are getting really similar and I know it is because I'm just going to the same intervals in the same positions. I was hoping that by looking at other player's lines, it might challenge my repetitiveness.

[bassace]

Dan, keep the melody in mind and different tunes should inspire different solo lines. And by playing those tunes in the written key -iReal will provide the default key - you will find that you are playing on different parts of the fingerboard and finger positions. The more tunes you play you'll soon pick up all different lines.

As a jazz freelancer I find I get little opportunity to play prepared solos but rather I have to solo on what's thrown to me. Concentrates the mind wonderfully.

[mtroun]

[quote name='DanOwens' timestamp='1472486461' post='3121492']
I'm trying to improve my jazz playing and transcribing the great horn players is a bit beyond me but transcribing a bass solo is much more achievable.
[/quote]

Just to say not all horn players are blazingly fast. Try Miles Davis (on one of his more sedate outings) or Chet Baker or Lester Young.
I would record myself for you, but I've already got a tonne of verite recordings I have yet to sort through!

[Hector]

I think that playing transcribed horn solos at up to speed on bass is very difficult. However, that doesn't mean you can't get valuable information from transcription. You can shed and apply transcribed language indefinitely, and it will do wonders for your playing and musicianship. Long post so bear with me, hope it's of some help.

What you could do is think in terms of patterns, and variations on patterns, taking tiny melodic fragments from transcription and working them into your playing creatively. This can help avoid a feeling of playing the same stuff over and over.

This could be done with literally any melodic fragment, but for this example let's take the first phrase of the melody to Crazeology: [url="http://www.guitarcats.com/images/JazzStandardCharts/Crazeology-67.jpg"]http://www.guitarcat...azeology-67.jpg[/url]

It's D C Bb A C Bb.

First, think about the chord it's played over: Bb major. What are these notes? 3 9 R 7 9 R.

You could take this melodic fragment and run with it:

Learn to play it all over the bass with different fingerings.

Take it as is through a given scale, based on the pattern of intervals. This pattern is a 2nd down, 2nd down, 2nd down, 3rd up, 2nd down. You could run this pattern all through the Bb major scale. For example, the same pattern starting on A would be: A G F Eb G F. Try starting this pattern of intervals on every different note of a Bb major.

Keep the rhythm intact, but place it in a different place in the bar. This can often change the vibe of a given phrase.

Vary the rhythm of it. This is all 8ths, but you could stretch this in any way you please. A relatively mundane example is if played in just quarters it could be part of (a bar and a half in 4/4 or 2 bars of 3/4) a walking line. Add rests, whatever you feel like - the limit is your creativity. You could do all triplet quarter notes even. You could take a rhythm from another transcribed phrase and use that with these notes.

Keep the same rhythm but vary the notes. What about D Eb F G Eb G (the pattern reversed). What about D Bb C Bb A F. You can add notes, or subtract as you like.

Vary the notes and rhythm, to get a completely new phrase based on the original in a manner known only to you and telepathic audience members.

All this so far is keeping true to Bb major. You could (should!) do all of the above in every key: Db major, G major, E major etc...

Try playing the same melody over different chord qualities in Bb using the mode you like to use over them. Try for eight different chords to get you used to the main types used in jazz:[list]
[*]major 7 (major or lydian)
[*]minor 7 (dorian)
[*]min7b5 (locrian, or locrian natural9)
[*]dominant 7 (mixolydian or lydian dominant)
[*]dominant 7 b913 (half-whole diminished)
[*]dominant 7b9b13 (altered, or 5th mode of harmonic minor)
[*]diminished (whole-half diminished)
[*]minor major 7 (melodic minor).
[/list]
What notes, if any, do you need to change in the original phrase to fit new chord qualities? Then apply even more rhythmic and melodic variations in new qualities. Take the pattern through each of these scales in the same way you took it starting on different notes. Do each chord quality in every key and you'll have something to play over any one of 96 chords (12 keys, 8 main chords) - you'll be laughing!

What about taking the same melody through a tune you're working on? You could play it as it is over every chord, only changing those notes you need to make it fit the chord quality being used (i.e. starting from D every time, e.g. over C minor 7 it would be the same pattern, but over Ab7 it would be D C Bb Ab C Bb if you choose lydian dominant sound, or Db C Bb Ab C Bb if you choose straight up mixolydian sound). Or you could transpose it and start on the 3rd of every chord. (e.g. over C minor7 it would be Eb D C Bb D C, or if there was an Ab7 it would be C Bb Ab Gb Bb Ab). Add in some rhythmic and melodic variations of the sort you've been doing and you can craft an entire solo based just on one melodic fragment!

So, I hope this post has helped a bit. Don't get hung up on the technical side of transcription, when there's a very deep musical side to explore without the need for the technique. Plus, basically all bassists find soloing like a horn tough Good soloing though is based on an understanding of melodies, which is what the audience want to hear.

If you work on this, you're really working on so many different jazz-related skills. You're learning your modes associated with chord qualities. You're assimilating good language, you're building facility on the instrument, if you're singing these phrases too you're working on your ear, you're building your musical creativity and importantly you're (hopefully) having lots of fun!

If this post isn't answering your question or isn't that helpful then do feel free to tell me to naff off

Edited August 31, 2016 by Hector

[DanOwens]

[quote name='Hector' timestamp='1472677227' post='3123285']
I think that playing transcribed horn solos at up to speed on bass is very difficult. However, that doesn't mean you can't get valuable information from transcription. You can shed and apply transcribed language indefinitely, and it will do wonders for your playing and musicianship. Long post so bear with me, hope it's of some help.
...
If this post isn't answering your question or isn't that helpful then do feel free to tell me to naff off
[/quote]

Thanks for the post, Hector. I was saying to a guitarist friend of mine the other day who isn't as up on theory as me that if I hear something I try an understand it as intervals as the first step so the Crazeology fragment and its implications is actually very suited to my playing style.

I have played with many pure improvisation groups in the past but it has all been modal and the chromaticisms of the changes in jazz require either a very in-depth analysis or a sense of relaxation, acceptance and confidence. I've done the analysis so I'm trying to exploit the other techniques and its crazy how difficult I find it.

Thanks for your input. When my daughter wakes from a nap I'll get practising. I've also arranged a meeting with my old teacher Steve Berry to hopefully address some of my shortcomings.

[Bilbo]

Steve Berry is a great teacher and player.