Fretless bass

[Hellzero]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

I was late home and missed it. Sods law i guess.

Dave

 

I wrote to Steve Bailey to know if it is possible to see the webinar again...

[Crawford13]

1 minute ago, Hellzero said:

I wrote to Steve Bailey to know if it is possible to see the webinar again...

Hopefully the answer is yes, I would love to see it. 

[tauzero]

I had an email from Steve Bailey telling me that the webinar is going to be edited and then will be available for viewing (you've probably all had it too).

I find playing vibrato the proper fretless way very awkward, for some reason. I resist side to side vibrato when playing fretless but I really must work on it.

[Aidan63]

I received the email yesterday  FYI...

Hi Aidan , Thank you for attending Fretless Bass Pioneers. We hope you enjoyed our event. Please submit your questions or comments to: [email protected]. If you want more info on these kinds of events AND to see a replay of this event, please check the Berklee Bass Department Facebook Group. THE VIDEO will be available in the future, after some editing https://www.facebook.com/groups/berkleebassdepartment You have the option to Join the group. We hope you do because we would love your comments about the video and its easier to stay in formed about upcoming events, and there will be many. And you will also be able to view it at Thebassvault.com Hang with is as there are a lot more events coming... thebassvault.com is also a sponsor, so check out Vic & Steve's current happenings. And.... keep your eyes and ears open for the Track featuring everyone in the webinar! Thanks, Steve Bailey Chair, Berklee Bass Dept Victor Wooten Berklee Performance Scholar in Residence John Patitucci, Berklee Performance Scholar in Residence

[dmccombe7]

Got that too and joined the FB page. Some good stuff on the FB page too.

[EMG456]

10 hours ago, tauzero said:

I find playing vibrato the proper fretless way very awkward, for some reason. I resist side to side vibrato when playing fretless but I really must work on it.

Funnily enough, I’ve been doing it for so long it’s completely natural to me, as is sideways in a fretted bass but I recently was given a cello as a present and I can’t seem to get it together in the upright orientation!

As you say, I really must work on it. 

[EMG456]

Actually, thinking about the above, on watching these top guys talking about what they had been doing during the pandemic, it came home to me why I’ll never be as good as them- the dedication to practise and improvement. I’m ages with most of these guys and I have no motivation to sit for hours honing my technique. I’d rather just continue to enjoy playing within my own limitations. 

[ezbass]

5 minutes ago, EMG456 said:

Actually, thinking about the above, on watching these top guys talking about what they had been doing during the pandemic, it came home to me why I’ll never be as good as them- the dedication to practise and improvement. I’m ages with most of these guys and I have no motivation to sit for hours honing my technique. I’d rather just continue to enjoy playing within my own limitations. 

Don’t forget that this what these guys do for a living, both performance and teaching. Therefore, it is (or was) in their interests to put the time in. Don’t feel bad about not being able to have the same dedication, their drive often comes from a different place. Of course, I realise that there are those who can and do have this level of commitment without the financial driving factor, but I imagine the vast majority of us do what we can, when we can so that we can also pursue the other activities that make up our lives. In addition, there are potential physical limitations that might stand in the way of that high level of dedication to a practice regime. Having had a lot more time for practise recently, coupled with the added drive of a new bass, has resulted in me acquiring tendonitis in my left forearm (too many one finger per fret, across the things and up the neck exercises). If you don’t rely on playing for putting food on the table and paying the rent, do as much as gives you pleasure (surely that’s why one does it).

Regarding vibrato, I come from a guitar playing background where side to side vibrato seems to the de facto technique. However, when I came to play fretless bass (I don’t remember using vibrato on fretted when I first started and turned to fretless really quickly), I naturally used and use the nut to bridge action and I don’t know why (perhaps I was tying to emulate Pino). It’s certainly more controllable than sideways movement and, therefore, more subtle and pleasing to the ear IMO.