Joe Hubbard Bass

[quote name='arsenic' post='937853' date='Aug 27 2010, 09:57 AM']+1 to the above suggestions re: scale etc. Perhaps an option for 5 string with high 'C' If your site helps even one person - then you can count it as a success - and that includes me. - many years ago, my music teacher was upset that he had to use the word "abysmal" for my grasp of theory, because this left him no other word to describe my grasp of the practical side.[/quote] I would have thought your teacher would have taken you by the hand and figured out a way to teach you strong fundementals rather than calling you abysmal. Peace Joe

Not bad, but definitely change the scale length. Similarly to the way that you give the option of 4 & 5-string grids, you should have a drop down menu offering both 20 & 24-fret versions. While I am very"old school" in that the real learning of the notes on your bass, reading applications and ear training should be based on "flight time" that you put in on your instrument, these online applications can definitely enhance the learning process when you can't get to a bass. With that in mind, don't use these applications as the direct source to your improvement. The direct source is YOU putting in the practice time with your instrument- you have to bond with your axe. This is like: Old school meets new school, meets old school again. Peace Joe

[quote name='endorka' post='936779' date='Aug 26 2010, 09:16 AM']Joe, If you have time, I'd be really interested to hear about the process you go through to realise a transcription such as this? Jennifer[/quote] No problem- the precursor to transcription is listening. Make sure you do not skip this vital step. I always set aside time just to listen to things that I like and feel drawn towards wanting to learn. When I was at Berklee I had the great opportunity to spend some real quality time with Buster Williams. Buster was gigging with Ron Carter’s band when Ron was doing that piccolo thing. Buster and I had a mutual friend and during the week he was in Boston Buster virtually moved into my apartment. Buster taught me the importance of spending hours listening to all kinds of music. During that time Buster used to go through my record collection and proceed to analyse everything that was happening and explain it to me on the fly. We must have spent at least 4-hours a day doing this and then we would go to the gig. So the first step is to listen to what you are about to transcribe. Then sit down and go through the piece note-by-note, annotating the music to paper as you go. Depending on what you are transcribing this can be time consuming while striving for accuracy. Once you have everything written out, learn to play what you have transcribed with all the nuance and characteristics of the original performance in real time with the recording. After this phase, it’s now time to start recognising the characteristic phrases from the transcribed solo or bass line. Start to isolate and loop sections, transpose through keys, create exercises and drills to help you inculcate the “generic essence” of that particular player’s attributes. This progression works well, but the prerequisite is that you have a solid grounding in music (rhythm, melody and harmony) and a decent technical facility to play what you want to transcribe. Peace Joe

[quote name='Stingray5' post='935564' date='Aug 25 2010, 01:03 AM']Glad you got the YT vids on here ok, Joe. Nice choice of tracks, too. Definitely saw you a few times at The Half Moon (I was living in Brixton at the time). Guess it could've been Trevor Barry (or maybe John McKenzie?) that I saw with Morrissey-Mullen at Hammersmith. (Guess the old memory cells have diminished a little over the years! ). I actually still have "Thumbs Up" on vinyl. Come to that, I also have "Hubbards Cubbard" on vinyl, too (along with "Vanishing Point" on CD). Do you still have your BB1200? Sorry, don't mean to sound like some kind of suck-up but I have very fond memories of those times. Like John Waters' Jazz gigs at The Plough in Stockwell Road (saw guys like Jeff Berlin and Roy Babbington there). Also SFX with Alan Murphy at The Cricketers in Kennington, next to The Oval. Felix Krish on bass. Good times... Steve[/quote] I don't have the Yamaha bass anymore. I must have sold that in 1983. That was a great bass and was my primary instrument during that Morrisey-Mullen era. The Cricketer's was a regular gig for Hubbard's Cubbard for about 2-years. Peace Joe

[quote name='Doddy' post='936249' date='Aug 25 2010, 06:55 PM']Just as a quick aside.... Joe Hubbard's book 'Basslines' was one of the first books I bought when I started playing,and it really kicked my ass at the time.It also really helped me with my reading due to it's lack of tab (Yay!). Thanks for that Joe. Also,as the book features transcriptions of Jaco,Stanley,Marcus and King,Joe obviously knows what he's talking about regarding transcribing. Later Paul.[/quote] Hi Paul Glad you enjoyed Basslines. I have never been a fan of tablature. My philosophy is that when someone makes a conscious decision to be a musician then they should take the appropriate steps to learning the language of music. Although there is an argument that exists that there are extraordinary players who can’t read music and don’t have any real working knowledge about melody, rhythm or harmony, these cases are few and far between and in most cases these players are extremely one dimensional in what they can actually do. However, there are the players who can read, but can’t actually play. To be complete, you need to define: 1) Who you are: Attributes (musical, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual) 2) What you know: Skill (technical, tactical, conceptual and interpersonal) 3) What you can do: Play (real-time musical expression in a variety of musical settings) Peace Joe

Also remember to balance what you work on in regard to YOUR goals as a player. Rhythmically, Western music is broken down into 3- catagories: 1) 8ths 2) 16ths 3) Triplets The 4th catagory is the swing time conversion to 8ths & 16ths. In regard to genre, focus on bass lines that cover all of these rhythm structures. After you have developed a vocabulary in bass lines that are functional, move on to adding some solos to your list for transcription. Don't make the mistake of only transcribing solos. Also, Do NOT make the mistake of basing what you do on technical tricks. By all means learn some tricks, but it has to be based on the music- the music always comes first. Peace Joe

When transcribing always remember that figuring out and writing down the notes is only the first step. Next, thoroughly learn what you have transcribed and be able to play along with the recording replicating the piece with all the different articulation nuance. [i]Remember in Vic Wooten's book - The Music Lesson - when the teacher advises the student that one of the hidden secrets to understanding music was jamming with musicians that are better than you? When the student replies, he makes excuses how he will never be able to jam with the likes of Mike Stern or Herbie Hancock. Of course the teacher is reffering to playing with records.[/i] Transcribing and then learning to play what you have transcribed fluently will enable you to understand the attributes used by the players you are transcribing. It is clearly the only way to learn by osmosis from other musicians without actually playing with other musicians. Another important point to focus on is the time spent doing this. Depending on your level you should be spending at least a month on every transcription you are working on- sometimes many months. Hope that was helpful. Peace Joe

Some early influences that I had included the amazing Louis Johnson. This track from George Duke's Guardian of the Light is dope: Another player who influenced me to great degree was Byron Miller. I got to hang out with Byron for a week when I was going to Berklee when he was playing with George Duke at a small club called the Jazz Workshop. This was just before Reach For It came out: Pleasure was a hard grooving funk band with Nathaniel Phillips on bass. This track No Matter What just kills: Last but not least, I had to add Stanley Clarke playing a smokin' duet with Steve Gadd. Stanley was the guy who inspired me to become a professional musician: Hope you guys dig these tracks. Peace Joe

Transcription is the best way and quickest route to understand how to create happening lines whether they are supportive bass lines or linear improvisation. This is a direct route to integrating the "attributes"”(not the techniques) as they relate to melody, rhythm and harmony into your playing. In other words, model what has already been done at an expert level. Many are mislead that transcription only involves figuring out what has been played and then writing it down. However, that's only the first step- from there that you have to learn to play every aspect of the performance- every articulation and nuance. Remember, the "music" came first, then people started to formulate and organise systems- not the other way around. Have you ever known people who know and practice scales all day, but can't play? Always, start with the music first; from there, work backwards reverse engineering to come up with skill drills to practice. By adopting this, your playing will improve exponentially within the next three to six months. Hope that helps Peace Joe

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='934433' date='Aug 24 2010, 08:49 AM']Good to see you on the forum, Joe. I've still got the 'Bud' album on vinyl. You did a seminar in Stoke in the 80s for our store, R & B Music. I think it was some connection with Peavey. A great night, as I recall. [/quote] Cheers Pete, glad to be aboard! Thanks for the welcome. Peace Joe

Hi Steve Thanks for that, I'll try posting some stuff later on today. I was with Morrissey-Mullen from early 1982 to around August 1983. The support gig I did with them at the Hammersmith Odeon was with Roy Ayers. While I was with them we gigged on an average of 5 to 6 nights a week. We played the Half Moon in Putney every Tuesday- maybe you saw us there? I recorded an album with them called "It's About Time" and Jim Mullen used Hubbard's Cubbard as a backing band for his solo album called "Thumbs Up." After I got back from the Warriors Tour with Numan I returned and gigged with them for another 6-months. After that Jim and Dick wanted a change so that line-up disbanded. Henry Thomas filled in for me while I was with Gary and I think Trevor Barry joined the new line-up. I learned a lot from that gig and Jim and Dick were both great mentors. Peace Joe

[quote name='Stingray5' post='710144' date='Jan 12 2010, 05:09 PM']I actually thought of 'East River' while on this thread last week but got so distracted with other tracks, I totally forgot. Honest, guv! Anyway, just to say, it's one of my all-time fave funk tracks. Yeah - Heavy Metal Be-Bop... Along with East River, I was also going to post some Joe Hubbard and others. [b]Joe Hubbard - Can't Find The Time[/b] [b]Joe Hubbard - Auspicious Time[/b] [b]Ronnie Laws - Always There[/b] (couldn't see if this had already been posted). (So many other versions of this tune: e.g. Willie Bobo's is a good 'un) [b]B Baker & The Chocolate Company - Snowblower[/b] ...and finally... [b]Norman Connors - Black Cow[/b] [/quote] Hi Stingray5 Thanks for remembering! Those were the days- I have great memories playing those tracks in LA with Dave Garabaldi, Patches Stewart, Michael Paulo, Kei Agagi and Frank Gambali. One small correction though- the second Hubbard's Cubbard clip is actually called Auspicious Romance. I wanted to post some of my funk and groove influences, but can't figure out how to post a Youtube clip here. The embebded code doesn't seem to work. Assistance needed. Peace Joe