Isolation of skills required by a 'professional' bass player

[Oscar South]

I've got a module next year at uni called 'Negotiated Study', its effectively a dissertation but weighed more towards the practical than the academic. Basically we pick a large project which has to have some practical element, our lecturers ok it and then we're marked on it when its done.

I'm thinking carefully about what I do for mine, I want to pick something that'll really benefit my playing and overall skill as a musician. The purpose of this post is to ask what you guys consider to be the vital and important skills for a bass player wanting to opperate in a professional setting. Once I've established the skills I want to focus the project on then I'll work it into something that'll serve my purposes and hopefully be interresting as well.

If anyone wants to suggest any specific projects then feel free. I was considering simply transcribing and analysing as many selected pieces as the lecturers think is the right amount, and carefully picking the pieces as to be most beneficial to my development as a musician.

Cheers,
Oscar.

Edited June 23, 2009 by Oscar South

[alexclaber]

I would have thought the most important skills are in networking, general people skills, self-motivation, etc. Basically all the truly professional stuff that makes musical directors and bandleaders want to have you around and recommend you to others. (I say this as someone who is a professional and a musician but never simultaneously! )

Also on the musical front I'd have thought the ability to help with arrangements is very valuable - being able to write string and horn parts, being able to communicate effectively with percussionists regarding the intricacies of groove. Plus being able to sing decent backing harmonies.

Alex

[Oscar South]

Thanks for the help but I'm looking for stuff more specifically related to bass playing and the study of music in general. Those are important aspects that I've been working on for the last few years though.

[jakenewmanbass]

Oscar, in my time (8yrs) as bass tutor at Salford University I had to negotiate final year syllabi with my third and fourth year students and geared them very much towards the requirements of a pro player. I still have some of those documents on file so if you PM me your email address I could send a few over for your perusal (with names removed of course)
I would very much suggest that you look at the core skill set of pro players and gear your own toward that.
You should also directly ask the Pros on here, me, Lowdown, XB26354, Out to Play Jazz, Major Minor, Steve K and I'm sure a few others (no offence if I'm not aware of you guys) what their individual spin on the busines is as the variety will give you an insight into breadth of skills out there.
Best of luck with it.
Jake

Edited June 23, 2009 by jakesbass

[xilddx]

There was a very interesting interview piece in the Observer Music Monthly last weekend about six session pros and their opinions on what they felt the attitude and skills should be for a session musician. Pino Palladino was one of them.

Here it is online [url="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jun/14/session-musicians-girls-aloud-paul-mccartney"]http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jun/1...-paul-mccartney[/url]

[Doddy]

Another Pro here. *waves*

Some of the things that I have found to be important for my career are.........
-Good reading skills........for theatre work,sessions,big bands or bands with a large pad.
-A quick ear..............to be able to learn songs on the fly,either in a studio or on a gig.
-Decent knowledge of theory.........don't want to play a major 7 over a dominant chord.
-Stylistic Diversity.........Rock,Pop,Jazz,Country,Funk,Big band etc
- Versatility..........MD-"Can you play more/less notes?" Me-"No Problem". Transposing a tune,changing the groove etc.
-Good technique.......No point being able to read a hard chart if my hands can't play it.
-Doubling on Electric and Upright........doubled my work load.

These are just some of the skills that have really helped me with being a Professional musician. Of course there are other,
non musical things,like Personality,Image,Attitude,Having a Reliable car -I could go on.

[lowdown]

[quote name='Doddy' post='521826' date='Jun 23 2009, 04:22 PM']Another Pro here. *waves*

Some of the things that I have found to be important for my career are.........
-Good reading skills........for theatre work,sessions,big bands or bands with a large pad.
-A quick ear..............to be able to learn songs on the fly,either in a studio or on a gig.
-Decent knowledge of theory.........don't want to play a major 7 over a dominant chord.
-Stylistic Diversity.........Rock,Pop,Jazz,Country,Funk,Big band etc
- Versatility..........MD-"Can you play more/less notes?" Me-"No Problem". Transposing a tune,changing the groove etc.
-Good technique.......No point being able to read a hard chart if my hands can't play it.
-Doubling on Electric and Upright........doubled my work load.

These are just some of the skills that have really helped me with being a Professional musician. Of course there are other,
non musical things,like Personality,Image,Attitude,Having a Reliable car -I could go on.[/quote]

A big +1 to all that....
I would add to a quick ear, that also means having a large repertoire of tunes under your belt...
although Doddy might have been leaning towards that when he said 'on the fly'.
There is also the other side, composing...
many, many Opportunities these days, with hundreds of digital broadcast stations around.
They all want and need Music. Its not a closed shop anymore.
Along with teaching, all part of being a full time Muso these days.
Its not just about being a Bass player.


Garry

Edited June 24, 2009 by lowdown

[51m0n]

[quote name='Doddy' post='521826' date='Jun 23 2009, 04:22 PM']These are just some of the skills that have really helped me with being a Professional musician. Of course there are other,
non musical things,like Personality,Image,Attitude,[b]Having a Reliable car[/b] -I could go on.[/quote]

There you go then, get down your local garage and do a mechanics short course

[JTUK]

You need to be able to do all the above and do it pretty quickly and without a fuss.

If he wants the tune transposed on the hoof, then you need to be able to do this at least to a level that shows it works or not...
Them liking your playing is a given... but dress code, attitude, sound and puntuality are all important.

I know some people who can read fly sh*t... and they fit into showbands really well... but some aren't the greatest players in the world...by a loooonggg way, IMV

The easier ride the MD or booker gets out of you tho' the more likely you are to get call backs.

[Doddy]

[quote name='51m0n' post='522578' date='Jun 24 2009, 01:39 PM']There you go then, get down your local garage and do a mechanics short course [/quote]

I realise you're joking,but seriously,you could be the best player around but if you can't get to
the gig you won't get hired.......simple.

[doctor_of_the_bass]

+1 to all the above; I'd also add `patience' to that list - sitting in the pit* for three hours whilst waiting for the lighting director to be happy with the gobo placement can fray ones nerves but there we are!

* or bar!

[endorka]

In terms of developing bass skills, I'd say that some of my greatest leaps in ability have come from the following;

- buying a keyboard, and learning elementary piano skills
- transcribing all the instruments on tunes, then re-writing the arrangement for different instrumentation
- getting *really* deep into a piece of complex music with the guidance of a tutor
- playing classical music on the double bass
- the realization the progress is sometimes measured in months or even years
- having knowledge of a huge variety of musical styles

The first two of these are great because they sharpen your ear and take you away from a purely bass playing perspective. You may be surprised how your outlook changes with respect to the bass part when you are arranging for an entire ensemble.

Jennifer

[woodster]

[quote name='Doddy' post='521826' date='Jun 23 2009, 04:22 PM']Another Pro here. *waves*

Some of the things that I have found to be important for my career are.........
-Good reading skills........for theatre work,sessions,big bands or bands with a large pad.
-A quick ear..............to be able to learn songs on the fly,either in a studio or on a gig.
-Decent knowledge of theory.........don't want to play a major 7 over a dominant chord.
-Stylistic Diversity.........Rock,Pop,Jazz,Country,Funk,Big band etc
- Versatility..........MD-"Can you play more/less notes?" Me-"No Problem". Transposing a tune,changing the groove etc.
-Good technique.......No point being able to read a hard chart if my hands can't play it.
-Doubling on Electric and Upright........doubled my work load.

These are just some of the skills that have really helped me with being a Professional musician. Of course there are other,
non musical things,like Personality,Image,Attitude,Having a Reliable car -I could go on.[/quote]


Can't '+1' this enough... Some great points there

[teej]

Pro upright player here

I've been trying to figure out what to add here, because it seems to me that there are very many different ways in which to make a living out of music, and so far most of the replies are coming from a particular angle - the session player - and eminently sensible those replies seem to be, if that's the direction you're going in (and it probably is).

However, I'm not. Much of my career is based around being a street performer, so the most important skill not directly related to playing ability is being able to get up in the morning - if I don't have a pitch because they're all taken, then I don't have a day's work. All the other non-music stuff already mentioned: people-skills, networking, appearance (ie one that's appropriate to the genre) etc are absolutely essential too.

But Oscar's looking at musical skills - and here for me they're almost all performance related, since that's how we make our money, through tips and CD sales and how we get our bookings. Simply put, we've got to be able to put on a great show, anytime, anywhere. Reading is a big no-no, everything has to be learned off by heart or (as we do), understood and improvised. Flexibility here is not about being able to switch genres, but working on the fly, being able to extend numbers that are working, adding new directions, new areas of light and shade, even new segues, and cutting short the ones that are making no money. We work with no set-list and no arrangements, probably because we're that kind of people, but also it really helps when performing in a highly fluid and random setting, like a busy shopping centre. We work set-piece musical/theatrical gags into our performances, much like busking jugglers/escapologists do, specifically to loosen up the crowd and remind them that we want their money.

None of the recommendations previously made are going to hurt, but may carry less weight if you're not a session-player. For instance, I've never been handed a sheet of music to play - on the contrary I have been asked at a West End audition if I can play without music. I suspect many BCers' favourite bass players work in a relatively small range of related genres: eg jazz/soul/funk, or blues/country/rockabilly (please insert similar rock example here ) - so diversity is very handy, but it needn't include stuff very far from your core genre.

Looking at the original post, Oscar writes about transcribing and analysing pieces, and I'm sure that would be very useful: I'm about to do just that with a bunch of jazz standards that fit with my repertoire and I'm sure I'll learn a lot from the exercise, I'll certainly improve my reading (wouldn't be difficult!). So I'd say this: look at the history of the core genre that you're interested in and head back into it. Hopefully as a result you'll gain a really solid grounding and 'own' your genre.