Bilbo

[quote name='Sibob' post='731483' date='Feb 1 2010, 11:30 AM']Bilbo, it's almost like you're suggesting that a person who enjoys 'gear', generally won't be a good player!? I can imagine you on a session: "I bought my Wal and my Jazz bass"....."oh have you got a Precision, the producer wants a precision?"....."naa I'll just use the Jazz, it's the same"....."PINO??" lol, I jest of course.[/quote] Not sure what I mean. I guess I am saying that liking and enjoying gear is ok as long as it DOESN'T overtake the music in importance. For me, its like the pleasure of owning a book for its binding and not for what it contains. By all means enjoy the artifact but not at the expense of the art. As for that conversation at a session: if they call me, its for me, not my bass(es). If they want generic Fender Jazz/Precision sound then they should call someone who has a clue what the difference is!! In 30 years of playing (this year), I have only ever had one MD who wanted something that specific (a low B in his case) and, to be blunt, he didn't really have a legitimate reason for it. I guess there are producers out there who can tell the difference but I can't see too many of them splitting hairs over a '57 or a '72. And not many of them are woirking in Suffolk anyway One of the things that a lot of people may not be aware of is how many jazz double bass players travel the world on tours without basses, picking up a new instrument in each city. And they mostly still sound like themselves. Hell, what do I know. I'm a Probation Officer.

[quote name='Flanker' post='731488' date='Feb 1 2010, 11:32 AM']To the vast majority of the worlds population the cost of a MIM Fender Jazz would equate to a Bentley to most of us.[/quote] Good point well made.

Its got to be the music. Without that, the basses are just planks of wood with wires attached. I have long thought that some people are so into the gear and messing about with it that they forget to get good at playing it. I acknowledge it is important to invest time and effort in ensuring that your gear is of appropriate professional quality but, after that, its hair splittin' . One of my twitches comes when people say things like 'I like the sound of a Jazz ovber a Precision'. I have no idea what the difference is. Or a graphite nut over a wooden one. Or pick-up configurations. Or woods. I pick up a bass and see if it sounds subjectively 'good' and play on. If it doesn't, I look for another one. But I have only played around 10 basses in my life and all but two were perfectly satisfactory. I guess that's why noone has heard of me :lol:

Is it just me? Is it my age but I grew up in a world where you lived within your means and made do with what you could afford. I love the look of these basses and would love to own an Anthony Jackson model six-string but, despite earning a very good salary and living a fairly unostentatious lifestyle, I just can't justify the expense. Like others, I could sell my Gibson ES175, Ovation Adamus, Takamine CD132SC and Status Energy 5 - but, if I did, I still wouldn't have enough to get a Fodera unless I sold the Wal as well. To be blunt, its not worth it. I don't care how great they sound (and they do), as a mere mortal, I can't justify that level of sacrifice and expenditure for a bass. WIth absolute respect to some of you guys, I don't know where any of you get the money for these basses! I did a latin gig last night with the Wal/Eden Metro and it sounded marvellous. I can live with denying myself the Fodera. And, as I always say, its the music that matters not the gear.

Don't forget my bass players mantra: 'Nobody notices you unless you catch fire'.

To get it good, you have to practice. TO get it great - noone knows. That's why its so great when it happens. One thing that is important, however, is your respective sounds. A poorly chosen ride cymbal can kill your bass sound. A great one can lift it and let it fly.

Kenny Garrett - Triology

[quote name='silddx' post='727381' date='Jan 28 2010, 10:54 AM']We had an artist support us called Betty Steeles. She had a fantastic upright player who was having so much fun. Can't find out anything about him though, he's not mentioned on her website or myspace.[/quote] PM her on myspace and ask. As for Chris Childs, I used to watch him in pubs in Cardiff when he was doing deps for Pino who had just broke with Go West and Paul Young. He played as Status headless as I recall. Great player.

There is no quick route. Its practice, practice, practice (it shouldn't take very long to get a handle on it for bass lines. Its only usually solos that get so complex that they can't be played in one position).

Faithless - the convention when writing swing solos is to write them as even quavers/8th notes and then indicate 'triplet swing feel' at the start. It means you haven't got to spend so much time writing triplet figures (which are also very hard to read).

Fun is overated. Being a great bass player requires you to get off on making other people sound good. Once you get that and make it so, its the best fun in teh world. But getting to that space is not all 'fun'; it can be damned hard work. Satisfying? Rewarding? Yes, but fun? Not always. But what I will say is that, particularly in the early stages, it is when it is NOT fun that most of the learning is taking place.

Just listening to it and have to say, I had forgotten how good some of this stuff is. The time signatures are all over the place. The bit I think you are thinking is 15/8 actually a bar of 4/4 followed by a bar of 7/8 (8+7 is 15). So, yes, it is technically 15/8 although it can be broken down more easily. All they are effectively doing is dropping a beat every second bar (it gets more complicated than that as there are bars of 3, 4 and 7 alternating here and there). It is easy enough to count as they have a note on every sub-division (i.e. 15 notes across 15 quavers).

Which Genesis track (never heard of 15/16) - its about breaking it down to manageable chunks. 7/4 can be a 3 and a 4 or a 4 and a 3. 5/4 can be a 4 and a 1, a 3 and a 2 of a 2 and a 3. I would expect 15/16 to be 3 4s and a 3. To be horrible blunt. if its Genesis, its unlikely to be that complicated. They tend to think in one bar patterns and don't cross bar lines much.

I have transcribed the head and solos to this and want to complete the chart with the chords. In an effort to try to avoid having to spend the time going through it and finding each chord by ear (its taken a fortnight to do what I have already done), I am posting to ask whether anyone has the chords already? In case you're wondering. yes, its bl**dy hard!

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