jakenewmanbass

Everybody here has mentioned some great players/lines jamerson, marcus, willie weeks, entwhistle, flea etc etc but there is one guy for me who is conspicuous by his absence. Jimmy Johnson on anything by James Taylor, any of the sessions he has done with huge artists, his own thing, flim and the bbs not to mention the groundbreaking material with alan holdsworth. guys, check this man out he is the epitome of taste, time, placement, and choice Jake PS The line that really blows me away that he is on is 'The frozen man' on the James Taylor Pull over tour dvd, The reason? because he plays so little, so well

[quote name='BigBeatNut' post='1397' date='May 18 2007, 01:36 PM']I plan on getting the ray brown book (looks like a bargain) and the "evolving bassist" one too, perhaps the DVD in that case. If I have problems figuring it out (a distinct possibilty) I'll find a teacher. I'm well aware you can do yourself damage with incorrect technique, so I'll be taking it easy ...[/quote] Both those books are absolute gems on walking bass. I would very strongly recommend a decent classically orientated study book and an experienced pro for a teacher to go with them. Jake

Not forgetting the tireless gem that on all 27,000 occasions i've been asked it still has my sides splitting: How do you get that under your chin? or the fantastically imaginative: 'I bet you wish you played the piccolo' one from the ladies 'you've got a big one' i usually reply 'you should see my c**k' tell me, do i sound jaundiced? Jake

[quote name='Mikey D' post='59622' date='Sep 13 2007, 01:04 AM']There is nothing wrong with getting good technique.[/quote] hear hear

ped you are more than welcome although nearly is not doing it for me Jake

I had difficulty with this, and then a really good player/singer I know told me to learn each part (bass, vocals) really well, seperately, then put them together. It really helped me give it a go ps i also try and see how the parts interlock rythmically, that also helps Jake

there is a great left hand excercise called the spider which trains your hand for exactly the thing that Mikey speaks of 'one finger per fret' if you would like to know more let me know and I'll try and explain it on here. Jake

I cannot believe that there are ''teachers'' out there advocating 'no use of open strings', Its complete crap, tell James Jamerson, Jimmy Johnson, Ray Brown, and any number of the worlds leading bass players out there that the incredible bass lines and musical genius that they have bestowed upon the world of music are somehow invalidated by some jumped up opinionated git who likes to make rules up in order to cover up his or her apparent lack of credible resource when peddling their unmitigated rubbish to poor unsuspecting apiring young musicians who probably pay for this utter drivel. I'm hoping you can excuse the level of my vitriol, but I am seriously infuriated by the dissemination of such bilge and equally angry at the idiots who spread such inexactitude, not realising the long term harm it can do. ASK THE GUY FOR A REFUND. ASK HIM WHICH GROUNDBREAKING GENRE OF BASS PLAYING HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR. You may use open strings Rant over

Be aware that while tonic and fifth are strong notes in any chord, it is the third and seventh (or flat five) that actually define the status of a chord (Maj, Min etc) so they too are strong notes and judicious use of them makes for good lines Jake

And another thing!!!! so many bass players are ear players because it is a highly evolved aural language and many of the nuances are not really conveyed on the page, but still as a pro its an essential skill and it makes communication many times quicker so that rehearsal is well organised. Jake

The funny thing about reading bass (which I will do for money) is that you often bust your balls to exactly reproduce something that has either been poorly conceived (compositionally) or badly transcribed by some inexact keyboard player or MD. Very few composers (or for that matter musicians in general) have a keen awareness of exactly what makes a good bass part. J.S Bach and his fellow composers of similar calibre knew their stuff, but with the advent of MIDI composition where guys play in something approximate with their left hand filled with rhythmic innacuracy and notational inexactitude it can be a frustrating process to make a big effort to get it right and find you would play something better from your head on the spot. From a real bassplayers perspective you should be able to read, interpret and improve basslines at sight! When you do encounter really good parts that are well written by a good composer, arranger or transcriber it's a real joy. Jake

[quote name='Mikey D' post='52267' date='Aug 29 2007, 12:47 PM']Jake!! I think you taught me! I was only there for a semester as I didn't really get on with the course as a whole. I am now (after a big hiatus) studying at Birmingham Conservatoire on their jazz course. If I recall we played Periscope and sight read some bach pieces. Just wanna let you know I enjoyed the few lessons i had with you.[/quote] Glad you enjoyed it Mikey, and glad to hear you're still learning. all the best for the course Jake

As Jennifer said, Time and feel are the principle ingredients to a good walking bass line as the harmony can be as complex or as straight forward as you like (I was bass tutor at Salford Uni for eight years so I've tried to teach alot of people to swing) Its quite difficult to swing effectively on electric as the generation and decay of pizz notes on upright lend themselves to a forward motion feel (which is everything in swing) due to the fact that in order for the note to speak in the right place, the pluck needs to be ahead of the beat a fraction, this is harder on electric as the response is so much quicker. It can be done, but I don't know many bass players who really pull it off well. As for the harmony, It's a lifes wok and is a never ending challenge (wich is why I love it) Get a real book and learn to make simple lines that convey the sound of the changes well (there is swing to be found in the notes as well) be really simple at first but be sure that the song is being served well. Roots, fifths, thirds and sevenths are a good staring point as they have the strongest flavour of the chord in them, as your ear accustoms to the movement and you learn the chord sequence (which is crucial) you will begin to hear passing notes that link and longer lines that work through the changes. Of course the very best way to learn lines and note choice is to listen to the millions of great recordings that contain walking bass, I love Ray Brown, Sam Jones, Scott La Faro, Dave Holland, Paul Chambers, Ron Carter..... the list goes on and on. These guys are all masters of the genre and have encyclopaedic harmonic structues mapped out in their heads which is what you need to be ANY good at this. Jake

Hi all, a quick note to introduce myself. I play both upright and electric live near London and work wherever I'm needed, which luckily so far has been all over the place. Jake