jakenewmanbass

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