Joe Hubbard Bass

No worries Stu! Best- J

But...since this is my thread, be sure to also check out my sight reading book that is currently endorsed by: - Damien Erskine - Bruce Gertz (Berklee Professor) - Roy Vogt (Nashville session ace) - Dann Glenn - Rufus Philpot [url="http://www.joehubbardbass.com/purchase-cds/"]http://www.joehubbardbass.com/purchase-cds/[/url] This book is actually four different books in one and nothing like exists on the market. All the Bass Joe

[size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][color=#000000]There is NO tablature in my books as learning tab is a superfluous skill. It was actually brought into public awareness in the 80’s by guitar magazines and music book publishers with only one aim in mind- to make more sales! You will never use or be given tab in a professional scenario- never. It has also dumbed down most up and coming rock players because it takes the onus off of developing your ears. I recently saw a post on a popular bass forum where some guy said, “Urgent- need tabs for Jumpin’ Jack Flash as I have a gig at the end of the week where I’ll have to play that.” These are sad times when the average guy doesn’t want to take the time to figure out simple tunes out by ear. [/color] [color=#000000]All the Bass[/color][/font] [font=Times New Roman][color=#000000]Joe[/color][/font][/size]

[quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1329394205' post='1541694'] The only caveat for me is that ... different folk like to discover methodologies that suit them best. [/quote] [color=#000000]This point of view has always baffled me. If people know what is best for them then they don’t need advice from a teacher. Can you envisage Mike Tyson telling Gus Damato what was best for him? In fact, after Gus passed away, this was Mike Tyson’s big downfall in his development; he tried to dictate to his coaches what was best for him- that was the point that Mike starting losing.[/color] [color=#000000] [/color] [color=#000000]It is generally a bad idea to hire a teacher and then only choose the advice that you like. When I studied with Charlie Banacos, it was his way or the highway. I never once questioned a single thing Charlie gave me to work on; I hired him to teach me because of his expertise on the subject of jazz improvisation.[/color] [color=#000000]With that in mind, with everything that you learn you should absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and then add what is specifically your own. [/color] [color=#000000]Best[/color] [color=#000000]Joe [/color]

[size=4][font=Calibri][color=#000000]I haven’t included a playalong CD for a reason- they don’t allow the player to improve. This is because the “playalong” represents a performance, not practice. Being able to play along with backing tracks successfully is the result or reward, not the methodology for development. I do include a recommended listening list that includes the legacy of jazz bass players who were influential in this genre. Check out bass players like Israel Crosby, Sam Jones, Jimmy Garrison, NHOP, Ron Carter, Jeff Andrews, Ray Brown, Charlie Haden and Christian McBride. Most young people do even know who these guys are, let alone done the research required by listening, transcribing and analysing the recordings they have played on.[/color][/font][/size] [size=4][font=Calibri][color=#000000][b]If you can already play world class walking bass lines, then you do not need this book! [/b] However, if after purchasing multiple walking bass lines books (w/ palyalong CDs) you find that you still cannot play effective walking bass lines that outline the harmony with laser sharp clarity, then this book will help you to improve exponentially![/color][/font][/size] [size=4][font=Calibri][color=#000000]This book follows a step-by-step modular approach that forces to student to work through the material progressively. The material in this book could easily take ten years to go through. It is not an easy book, but easily understandable. There is also an effective section on how to practice. I can guarantee your improvement because I have Beta tested this same material on my students and have witnessed real time success.[/color][/font] Best[/size] [size=4]Joe[/size]

No, it's just a book. I've beta tested these ideas on many of my students with great success. Please check out the glowing testimonials from some of the music industry's top pros. Best- Joe

My new book Walking Bass Lines is now available. Listen to what others are saying about the impact of this book: [size=3][color=#000000][font=Calibri]“Walking Bass Lines by Joe Hubbard is a wonderful book! It is perfectly formatted...in fact, it takes the same approach that I use with my own students, but Joe has spelled it out better than I ever could have; I only wish that I had written it! I am actually going to recommend that my students pick up this book to work through as we work on changes and walking. Thanks for the source material Joe!” [b]--Damian Erskine (Bassist with The Jaco Pastorius Big Band, Peter Erskine, Gino Vanelli)[/b][/font][/color][/size] [url="http://www.joehubbardbass.com/purchase-cds/"]http://www.joehubbardbass.com/purchase-cds/[/url] [size=3][color=#000000][font=Calibri][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Cheers[/font][/font][/color][/size] [size=3][color=#000000][font=Calibri][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Joe[/font][/font][/color][/size]

Hi Noojb The solution is simple- you have to understand Harmony. Many musicians do not understand that Western music is based on a Major and Minor system. Those who do tend to be totally in the dark about the Minor Harmony part and its applications. The sad thing is that there are a lot of teachers out there that don't have a clue about this either. By understanding how Major and Minor Harmony work interdependently will provide you the cornerstone to understanding more advanced concepts and enable you to weave a common thread through those progressions that you are finding difficult to memorize. The mind doesn't work at memorizing thousands of different things; you have to have a system that organizes these concepts into broader chunks. Best- Joe

[quote name='fluffo' post='1129927' date='Feb 16 2011, 05:29 PM']Hi Joe, A mate of mine used to have lessons with you, A guy call Matt Hooper. P.s Vanishing Point is one alsome album[/quote] I'm in the process of putting a new band together. I've got loads of new material and hopefully I'll have some new tracks available by the summer. Best Joe

[quote name='JeSuisSkeleton' post='1129404' date='Feb 16 2011, 11:27 AM']Not really. We touched on guide tones briefly but it was literally "play the 3rd or the 7th!" stretched out over 10 minutes. That's my main issue with the class, they're judging people on their solos but not teaching us how to solo![/quote] That's a good exercise - to play the 3rd & 7th - but that should have been preceeded and followed up with a complete progression of 2-note combinations. Go over to my website and download the lesson Understanding Intervals: [url="http://www.joehubbardbass.com/cool-free-bass-stuff/"]http://www.joehubbardbass.com/cool-free-bass-stuff/[/url] This lesson covers the basic theory of intervals. To apply this to your bass, play all the 2-note combinations (intervals) through the Cycle of 5ths. Look on the theory lesson and it explains "interval inversion." When playing the interval combinations through the cycle, play the interval in both inversions as you go through the cycle. Also explore some fingering possibilities as well. Isolation drills using 2-notes is a great way of stripping things down so you can start to hear how these notes fit over a harmonic progression. This is basic stuff, but built in a progression will build a solid foundation and really help you to understand how to play and hear the notes on your fretboard. There are many exercises that I use to implement this. If you don't really know all the notes on your fretboard and where all the possibilities to play them are, then download The Random Note Finder Exercise on the same page. Hope some of that is useful to you. Sorry you are not being taught what you should be at an established University- shame on them! This is common though; many people who call themselves teachers do not have the capabilities (or the knowledge) to actually teach- especially when it comes to jazz improvisation. Best Joe

[quote name='JeSuisSkeleton' post='1125002' date='Feb 12 2011, 02:58 PM']It went alright. Turned out we all had to solo twice. Wasn't very pleased with either of mine but hey, it's done at least! I'm not a fan of the teaching. Handouts of Thelonius Monk quotes isn't teaching. Bah.[/quote] Aren't they teaching you harmonic principles about improvising- actual musical concepts that you take home to practice? If not, you are being robbed. Best- Joe

[quote name='JeSuisSkeleton' post='1121578' date='Feb 9 2011, 05:09 PM']I have an improv exam tomorrow. We have two lecturers, and the one who's conducting this exam isn't so great. He doesn't teach us anything about improv and expects us to solo for FIFTY SIX bars over Brown Skin Girl by Sonny Rollins. How do I do this? I'm not a natural soloist at all; everything I play sounds gash or just goes into a pentatonic funk riff that doesn't fit at all. Hurrgh. Any help would be greatly appreciated![/quote] What music school are you attending? Best Joe

[quote name='iconic' post='1122350' date='Feb 10 2011, 09:26 AM']thanks for the link[/quote] My pleasure. Best- Joe

The first step to understanding harmony is understanding intervals and how to construct them. I've just put up a free download lesson on Understanding Intervals that will come in useful: [url="http://www.joehubbardbass.com/cool-free-bass-stuff/"]http://www.joehubbardbass.com/cool-free-bass-stuff/[/url] Enjoy Joe

The Mixafewofthem Scale!

[quote name='chris_b' post='1097095' date='Jan 21 2011, 08:50 AM']Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS) is the phrase and it applies in all walks of life.[/quote] I prefer the way Einstein put it, "Keep it simple, but not too simple." Remember: all complicated ideas are just simple ideas strung together. Peace Joe

[quote name='funkle' post='1087185' date='Jan 12 2011, 08:32 PM']Wow, great story. When I was studying with Jeff, he used to tell me stories about how he and Mike Stern spent hours by a piano testing each other with that exercise. I can't remember how many notes Jeff made it to at the same time, but I can tell you he has intimidatingly good ears. Now I'm going to do some ear training...excuse me.. :-) Pete[/quote] Yeah, I think Jeff went through that same program too. He studied with Charlie in-person when he was living in Boston. In fact, that's why he moved there. He was in New York prior to that playing with everybody and moved to Boston to study with Charlie; to invest in his own personal development. When he moved to LA, I'm pretty sure he continued studying with Charlie off and on for years. Peace Joe

[quote name='Faithless' post='1086793' date='Jan 12 2011, 03:24 PM']I'd really like to go for those Skype lessons, but I think you have to have very fast Internet for smooth going? BTW, for the Miles thing, I think I read it on Banaco's site, that Miles actually asked Stern for Banaco's phone number to get lessons from the man?[/quote] Yes, you do have to have a fast internet service to do the Skype lessons. For those of you who were not aware, Charlie Banacos died in December 2009. I wrote an article on my site about him: [url="http://www.joehubbardbass.com/369/charlie-banacos-zen-master-of-jazz-improvisation/"]http://www.joehubbardbass.com/369/charlie-...-improvisation/[/url] Peace Joe

[quote name='funkle' post='1082345' date='Jan 8 2011, 05:41 PM']Where to start? Here's a link to an ear training one: [url="http://www.miles.be/articles/14-the-charlie-banacos-exercise"]http://www.miles.be/articles/14-the-charlie-banacos-exercise[/url] Here's the link to software to help you do the above one if you don't have a piano: [url="http://www.miles.be/software/4-functional-ear-trainer-basic"]http://www.miles.be/software/4-functional-ear-trainer-basic[/url] You'll have to move to the next step for the later parts of the above exercise: [url="http://www.miles.be/software/5-functional-ear-trainer-advanced"]http://www.miles.be/software/5-functional-...rainer-advanced[/url] I would point out I've done a lot of solfege over the last 2-3 years and have only in the last year or so been able to do the first part of the Charlie Banacos exercise of hitting one note then another and correctly naming the interval 99% of the time. This is with the key changing every time I do the exercise, so that 'do' keeps moving. I haven't had time yet to tap into doing 3 notes yet; it's the next step. In terms of exercises on the instrument, there are a ton. Nonetheless they are awkward to come by; you have to find someone who's studied with Charlie or with one of his students e.g. Jeff Berlin. An 'early' one would for instance be playing approach notes to all notes of a given chord in all keys: e.g. approaching the root two half steps from below, the from two below and one above, then from two above and one below, then two above and two below, and so on. This would be then repeated for the 3rd, the 5th, the 7th, once again in all keys and for the chord tonality you desire. Later on the exercises move into tensions, chord pairs, pentatonics, 'hexatonics', and a lot of other fancy stuff that I don't know how to name (see [url="http://www.charliebanacos.com/moreinformation.html)"]http://www.charliebanacos.com/moreinformation.html)[/url]. Scales also feature but are not particularly important in the way that chords are. When I read through Some of Jerry Bergonzi's stuff, esp vol 6 from his series of books, it looks familiar. Not surprsing, he was a Banacos student. When I read through 'Forward Motion' by Hal Galper, it also looks familiar too. I get the flavour that 'the good stuff' goes by a lot of different names, but that at the root of it most of it seems to relate to chords and working with chordal material. I would point out that by no means am I an expert, I am simply a passionate hobbyist as opposed to a working pro. My day job eats time and gets in the way of serious practice at the moment. But I squeeze in the time/gigs where I can. Pete[/quote] Many of the top bassists, and musicians in the world have studied with Charlie. Alain Caron, Jeff Berlin, Jimmy Earl, Lincoln Goines, Bruce Gertz and many, many more. I studied with Banacos for ten years through his correspondence program. He really didn't do the ear training stuff in the same way that he did in-person, but he took me through several exercises near the end of my study with him. There is a great story that Charlie told me about Mike Stern when he was with Miles Davis. For the unwashed, Stern was a student of Banacos' for the better part of thirty years. The last time I attended Berklee, Stern was unknown and the most awesome player; he was truly awe inspiring and I got to see the likes of Stern and Jeff Berlin playing small jazz dives every week for a year. Anyway, Stern got the gig with Miles and they were rehearsing at Miles' brownstone in Manhatten. While they were taking a break, Marcus Miller was at the piano playing these ten note cluster voicings and Stern was naming every note from top to bottom- no problem. Miles was rather unimpressed by the whole thing, but that was just the way Miles acted. The next day when they began the rehearsal, Miles handed out charts to everyone except Stern. Stern then sheepishly asked Miles, "Where's my chart." Miles just said, "If you can really hear alll them notes, you don't need no chart." You see, that exercise from playing the cadence and then learning to hear one note progresses to eventually hearing clusters played together. Wayne Krantz told me he went through the same program as did Jimmy Earl. Anyone who is interested in studying these types of improvisation exercises with me either in-person or via Skype, click on the link below for further info: [url="http://www.joehubbardbass.com/study-bass-with-joe-2/"]http://www.joehubbardbass.com/study-bass-with-joe-2/[/url] Peace Joe