Bilbo

I had been experiencing that left arm thing you describe: no stamina (like trying any form of work that involves working above your head, the heart has to work harder to get blood to your muscles to give them oxygen). What I noticed last night was that I had the end pin too far out and the bass was higher than it should have been, I was looking at a picture of Dave Holland and realised that I had the nut of the neck about 3 inchs higher than it needed to be (it was level with the top of my head not with my eye line) so I really was playing above my head. So I took it down a few inches and it was easier immediately. Still not a breeze but not nearly as bad as it was. I guess the point it to listen to your body and, when it complains, analyse why. It is probably something you can do something about with a little thought. But, yes, lessons are more important with the big fella.

It is the sheer physicality that is a shock to the system, isn't it. But I am finding that a little attention to posture etc pays dividends. Patience is the key: 30+ years of ripping around an electric means it is inevitable that we will all want to play like Dave HOlland on day one but we can't and shouldn't. Take time to build up stamina and tone, intonation and technique. Its so easy to get a false sense of progress in a practice room.

Novice - some James Jamerson stuff (Can't Hurry Love, Get Ready, My Guy) Intermediate - some James Jamerson stuff (What's Going On, Heard It Through The Grapevine) Bloody Good - some James Jamerson stuff (Ain't Too Proud To Beg, How Long Has That Evening Traini Been Gone) Something a Little Bit Special - some James Jamerson stuff (live version of Ain't No Mountain High Enough, I'm Gonna Make You Love Me)

Yeah, I see the problem. Your old technique saw you hitting the strings with your pick at 45 degrees, meaning that you weren't plucking them as much as scraping them: hence the extraneous noise. I guess it depends on your sound. If there is some distortion/grunge in there, it will matter less but, if you like a clean sound, you will need to address the problem. Be patient. These things take time but there is noone screaming for a resolution today. World class jazz trumpter Terence Blanchard had to re-establish his embouchure after winning grammies and it took him two years!! If you have to do something to improve your technique do it now, don't waste any more time doing it wrong. Of course its hard and takes discipline but so does everything else on these planks of wood. You could, of course, ditch the pick and play with your finger!!!

The thing that I practice most is the one thing that eludes me the most. When you make noise on a bass, it requires two fingers to act in unison; the finger that determines pitch and the finget that determines volume, dynamics etc. Once that note has been played, other fingers do other things but, at the point of creation, your two hands are working together to create a single sound. If you are playing minims on the first beat of every bar, its not too hard to get your hands working together. When you are playing something complex, however, you are required to make your two hands operate as one in a unified way, in a way that makes each note as long or as short and as loud or as quiet as it needs to be. If I don't practice, even for a couple of days, THAT is what I lose first. The longer I go between gigs, the less sharp this becomes and the harder I have to work to get it back to form. On top of this, however, comes the brain; getting the mind to think clearly enough and quickly enough to formulate ideas in real time then getting that brain to make choices and to tell you hands to do the things required to execute the idea that is forming in your head; that is the thing. So, if I do a gig that requires the execution of complex ideas, I need to be mentally sharp and physically sharp. As an improvising musician, I don't practice what I am playing, I practice playing things that are hard so that when I need it, my hands and my head are working together as one. The scales and exercises are about muscle memory and getting used to and internalising note sequences, intervals, sounds that I can use in my playing. To be honest, its not the technique that matters as much as it is the ability to bring the idea to life. The more you practice, the less you have to rely on cliched patterns and the more you can let your head and your ears guide you. But regurgitating the practice regime on stage is uninspiring and uninspired. Its then that you are seeking to go beyond yourself. Virtuosity, in my mind, is being able to do what you want to do when you want to do it. How fast you play in doing it is completely irrelevant.

[quote name='thunderbird13' post='746941' date='Feb 16 2010, 10:14 AM']One question though - why is it the 1st 2nd and 4th fingers can you not just use 1,2 and 3 with the 4th being held out of the way , like when you drink a cup of tea[/quote] Nothing clever about it. The pinkie just has a bigger reach. Also, the third finger is dependent upon the second for its muscle power and is, thus, less flexible. If you place your hand flat on a tale then curl your middle (longest) finger underneath your palm, you cannot move the third independently as teh muscle is locked into the finger being restrained.

I started with the 1fpf method way back when but, in all honesty, can count the number of times when it has been absolutely necessary to execute a musical passage on the fingers of one hand (using 1fpf ). It is a useful perspective to have I suppose but, as an absolute, it is just not that important. The question should always be, can you get to the next note? If you can, in a musical and congruent way, then you can use whatever fingering method you like. I have naturally evolved into using the Simandl method and now I am looking at the double bass, can see why double bass players prefer it. The additional potential gained by developing the 1fpf stretch on an electric is such a tiny, tiny part of the instruments potential, I just wouldn't get hung up about it.

Good payer, good communicator. Would do business with Cham anytime.

[quote name='phil.i.stein' post='743240' date='Feb 12 2010, 04:11 PM']work computer[/quote]

Sorry can't read your links as they are blocked but L.A's Ozomatli are a great Latino funk band. Also look up Sargeant Garcia, Joao Bosco (some of his stuff will appeal), Caetano Veloso (A Luz A Tieta).....

My Wal. Just approach its 24th anniversary with me. They will have to wrench it from my cold, dead fist.

My leads have pentapeptides. Makes for a firmer tone.