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Carole Kay on Bass Player TV. Eh?


thepurpleblob
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I imagine many of you will have watched this, but there is an interesting interview with Carol Kay on Bass Player TV. What struck me was how little I understood of what she was talking about. She was alluding to chord sequences based around what I assume to be the circle of fifths but I hadn't a clue where the chords where coming from or how they where related.

Anyway, if you haven't seen it, it might mean something to you smart-arsed jazzers out there and then you can explain it to me :-)

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Victor's hair band/scrunchie is to damp the open strings so he doesn't have to worry about muting them while slapping the others...

Carol's masking tape (really has felt under it) is to apply some damping to all the strings as they are played... rather like the original Fender mute that sat under the bridge ashtray... but less aggressive...

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[quote name='Faithless' post='440975' date='Mar 21 2009, 11:12 AM']Anyway, I've never spotted Victor using that hair band, I mean, it doesn't work (mute strings) in [i]that [/i]place, where he's normally holding that thing in, right?

Finally, it doesn't work to me like that..[/quote]
The hair band isn't to mute the strings when playing in a "normal" way. It's for using when tapping and is to mute the vibration of the top part of the string. When you tap, both the string on both sides of the fret vibrates, and this generates two notes – one of which isn't the note you want. Having something soft around the top of the string is enough to dampen the vibrations of that side of the string and eliminate the second note.

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[quote name='~tl' post='440980' date='Mar 21 2009, 11:23 AM']The hair band isn't to mute the strings when playing in a "normal" way. It's for using when tapping and is to mute the vibration of the top part of the string. When you tap, both the string on both sides of the fret vibrates, and this generates two notes – one of which isn't the note you want. Having something soft around the top of the string is enough to dampen the vibrations of that side of the string and eliminate the second note.[/quote]

But really that shouldn't matter because that top vibration isn't picked up by the pickups anyway.

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[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='440784' date='Mar 21 2009, 12:16 AM']Very interesting - And what a musician! I like the idea of the masking tape across the strings near the bridge. Very akin to Victor Wooten's hair band at the top of the neck.

Rich.[/quote]
+1

Great tone and technique and she really has done it! There's so much common sense in what she's saying there.. reminded me of when I saw Herbie Flowers last year and he was talking about his life and his work..

Thanks for the link...

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  • 5 years later...

As part of BBC Radio 2's guitar season, Johnnie Walker travels to Los Angeles to meet one of the most prolific and widely heard bass guitarists in history, the legendary session player Carol Kaye.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2014/22/carol-kaye

Should be well worth tuning in to!

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[quote name='Faithless' timestamp='1237633975' post='440975']
I couldn't believe about that SRX700.. :)


Anyway, I've never spotted Victor using that hair band, I mean, it doesn't work (mute strings) in [i]that [/i]place, where he's normally holding that thing in, right?

Finally, it doesn't work to me like that..
[/quote]

Oddly enough Vic has almost always had a scrunchie on his bass whenever I've seen him play :)

I use a Gruv Gear Fretwrap to achieve the same effect. It's about 10 times more expensive (as in £10 instead of £1!) but holds shape better and mutes more evenly across the strings.

I've seen quite a few pros using scrunchies or Fretwraps in the studio to help keep any unwanted string noise down.

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Very interesting video, thanks.

As the poster eludes to above, not the most humble person but then again when when one is that talented....reminds me a little of my old piani teacher but without the bottomless sherry glass!

I wondering if her books are any good?

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[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1401431972' post='2463483']
I wondering if her books are any good?
[/quote]

I have some of her bass instruction books and one DVD. While there is a wealth of knowledge to be gleaned from her books and DVD's, IMO the presentation leaves a [i]lot [/i]to be desired.

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[quote name='bass24' timestamp='1401378548' post='2463025']
As part of BBC Radio 2's guitar season, Johnnie Walker travels to Los Angeles to meet one of the most prolific and widely heard bass guitarists in history, the legendary session player Carol Kaye.

[url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2014/22/carol-kaye"]http://www.bbc.co.uk...4/22/carol-kaye[/url]

Should be well worth tuning in to!
[/quote]

Ahem....

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/237818-the-carol-kaye-story/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/237818-the-carol-kaye-story/[/url]

;)

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