Bilbo

I spent the weekend trying to find a dep for a Jazz gig (double bass) I cannot do at relatively short notice (family issue). I had to ring 9 guys before I found one who could do it. THen it dawned on me. I am everyone's 9th call guy and they were all busy because they had been called before me and I had been the 9th guy called for the gig I had!! Bugger!

Been solely a fretless player since about 1986 (some fretted work but minimal). Now I don't own a fretted bass. Ironically, however, I have recently been thinking 'shall I'? I even wanted to try playing with a pick again, having not done so for decades. I find myself mildly irritated by my own slight out of tuneness which probably comes of not enough practice aggravated by the lowest current gig rate for months (2 eac in July and August) !! I think I am just having a Steve Swallow love-in and nothing will come of it.

This summer has been my worst, gig-wise, in decades. Ever since I can remember, summer has been defined by two or three gigs, even four, every weekend throughout July and August, weddings, garden parties etc all good payers. This year; next to nothing. One Jazz gig in July (with Phronesis pianist Ivo Neame so I am not complaining) - that was it. One gig in a whole month! Nothing else. August sees me getting one duo gig I have done once a month for about three years and two one-off Jazz gigs over the August bank holiday weekend. 13 gigs in July and August 2013. 3 in the same months in 2014. Everyone is speculating that, becasue there is no money around, the weddings/parties etc are less ostentatious and live bands were the first to go. Any views? What's it been like at your end?

I think you are over complicating it. Start with the principle that you want to get the best signal at all points in the process. Set your amp eq flat and your preamp eq flat and start there. Mess about with the preamp first and then, if you want more control, tweak the amp. The idea is to get a decent pickup sound THEN a decent pre-amp sound and THEN a decent amp sound in that order. Otherwise you are working on the basis of amplufying a crap pick up sound snd a crap pre-amp sound before trying to get the amp to work it's magic. It's illogical. Start the other way around.

[quote name='eightbitraptor' timestamp='1408011767' post='2526197'] omfg that's beautiful! [/quote] Actually, I think it's Fugly but beauty is in the eye of the beholder

I am not so aure (although I am not discagreeing per se). When I taught (late 1980s/early 90s), it seemed that everyone could play Teen Town or some BIlle Sheehan/Stu Hamm/Flea stuff and so thought they had it all nailed. When you introduced them to the concept of 'music' that wasn't based on acrobatics, they got the 'ump (I didn't actually use those words). I think tere was an element of the 'wow' factor around then, certainly. It may have waiend now but I still hear young kids talking Wooten and the other whizz bang circus freaks.

In general terms, then, would it be fair to say that teaching, like gigging, is defined by the vaguaries of the 'freelance' world and sometimes you are busy and sometimes less so? As someone who has been in full-time employment for the last 27 years, that scares the s*** out of me but I guess it is no different to any area of self-employment.

I used to covet a Flamboyant six string headless I saw once. I have always loved the shape of the body these basses but never liked the headstocks so the headless was perfect for me. Never going to have the money for one, though, so game over. I am happy with my Wal and rarely play electric on gigs now (given the choice, everyone prefers the double bass in Jazz and I mostly play Jazz so that's that).

I have not taught for a long time (decades) and am not intending to start any time soon but I wanted to expore a few of the issues I have had previoulsy that put me off the idea. When one thinks about children and piano lessons, there is always this image in my mihnd of kids going once a week for years, even decades if they really take it seriously. I found, when I taught, that my students ca,e in three camps; the 'one off' who I saw once and never saw again, the 'occasional' who wanted the odd lesson but never really committed, and the 'eager beavers' who kept coming and soaking up whatever I threw at them. The percentages were about 40/40/20. I am, thereofre, curious to know what number of regular students people have. I am poretty confident that, if I started teaching bass in a town like Felixstowe, I would be lucky to find three in total and the idea of a teaching 'career' is pure fantasy. So, how many students have you got, how often do they come and how long do you hold them for?

I always thought Rod had a great voice but was plagued with crap material and crap arrangements. I don't own a single recording of his and can't see that changing anytime soon.

'I've heard of the drummer coming in late but he's still unloading the van, FFS'!!

Get what you can afford and make music. It's no more complicated than that. Everything else is a trap. Anyone who judges your worth as a player based on your gear is a tit. I work regularly with a great little player who only had a 335 copy. Another guitar player locally passed away and left him a Gibson ES175. He still a nice little player

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1407499294' post='2521167'] women tend to have smaller hands [/quote] I have never believed that big or small hands make any discernable difference to an individual's ability to play a bass. The one finger per fret thing is obviously a problem but tens of thousands of players use the three fingers thing without any discernable detriment in their playing (can you 'hear' a four finger per fret player'? - discuss). Most double bass players use three finger s and I don't think there is much to be said about the inadequacies of the technique. In short (see what I did there), little people can be great bass players too!

Linda Oh seen here with Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas. For her electric chops go to Spotify and look up Linda Oh, 'Deeper Than Happy' from her CD 'Initial Here' which features a bass solo that sounds to me like Bruford/Holdsworth era Jeff Berlin. http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=A0JVeKKI7io

Any playing is a mixture of instinct, practice, thinking, intuition, spontaneity, rehearsal, improvisation etc. It is all of these things and much more. You prepare as much as you can but not over prepare. You practice everything but sometimes play new stuff on the gig. You improvise on tunes you know easily but struggle when someone calls a tune you are less familiar with. You know Jazz inside out but struggle with Latin grooves. YOu are instinctine with reggae but have to think harder when playing ska. Its a dynamic process and that is what makes it all so wonderful.

......Communards recorded it.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1406977922' post='2516382'] Many of that repertoire come, not from any ephemeral 'chart toppers' list, but rather from very popular musical shows or films; [/quote] Not as many as you (and I) would think, Dad. Most are 50s and 60s hits. Come Fly With Me - was written for Frank Sinatra, and was the title track of his 1958 album of the same name. I’ve Got You Under My Skin - is a song written by Cole Porter. Written in 1936, the song was introduced in the Eleanor Powell MGM musical, Born to Dance That Ole Devil Called Love - is a song written in 1944 by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher. It was first recorded by Billie Holiday, who released it as the B-side of her hit "Lover Man" in 1945. Love letters – is a 1945 popular song with music by Victor Young and lyrics by Edward Heyman. The song appeared, without lyrics, in the movie of the same name, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song for 1945. Fly Me To The Moon - originally titled "In Other Words", is a popular song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. Kaye Ballard made the first recording of the song in 1954 Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You - is a 1967 single by Frankie Valli (the title is actually ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Of You’) Up On The Roof – is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King (once James Taylor's partner) and recorded in 1962 by The Drifters: released late that year, the disc became a major hit in early 1963, reaching #5 on the U.S. pop singles chart and #4 on the U.S. R&B singles chart.[1] Will You Love Me Tomorrow", also known as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", is also a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and originally recorded by The Shirelles. It has been recorded by many artists and was ranked among Rolling Stone 's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at No.126. The song is notable for being the first song by an all-girl group to reach No.1 in the United States. Big Spender - is a song written by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields for the musical Sweet Charity, first performed in 1966 (much later than I expected). It is sung, in the musical, by the dance hostess "girls"; it was choreographed by Bob Fosse for the Broadway musical and the film. It was not written for Shirley Bassey. Never Can Say Goodbye is a song written by Clifton Davis and originally recorded by The Jackson 5. The song was originally written and intended for the Supremes to record; however Motown decided the song would be better for the Jackson 5. Released as a single in 1971, it was one of the group's most successful songs. The

I can't tell the difference and have neither. That's me done.

Barry Green - The Inner Game of Music http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inner-Game-Music-Timothy-Gallwey/dp/0330300172/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407419544&sr=8-1&keywords=the+inner+game+of+music

I have always loved Beardsley's stuff and have a book of his illustrations somewhere. Good choice. Hopefully I can get something happening this month.

The above is by no means the best Maria Schneider arrangement but I added the video on the fly and didn't really get a chance to find the best ones. I would recommend anyone who is interested in large ensemble writing to listen to Maria's work. She learned her craft at the feet of Gil Evans and Bob Brookmeyer but has long since found her own voice as an arranger so any of her stuff is worth seeking out. She is one of those artists who has got the measure of the 'industry' and runs her own lebel/distributes her own stuff via her website. The Pretty Road is a favourite of mine from her 'Sky Blue' album. Her use of voice and accordian are a specific texture that marks a lot of her recent work. If I wrote one piece as good as any of hers, I would die happy. http://www.mariaschneider.com/

Aubrey Beardsley, huh? This could go anywhere!!

I did a gig recently where I had to reproduce some Laurence Cottle lines and I nailed 90% of it but the 10% has revealed some shortcomings in my playing (as well as my reading). The question is, do I now spend months trying to get the chops I need to nail that three bars I blew on the gig? Frankly, I doubt it. I woudl love to nail it and all that but the investment required may be too much, given the other things I could do with that time. It's always a tough call.

If I knew what this was about, I would moderate it's ass!!

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1406729848' post='2514153'] So you just play the opening riff to 'Watcher of the Skies' on C for the entire gig? [/quote] It kinda works.....