Bilbo

You should just semi-over-emphasise it. Welcome!

[quote name='Phil Mann' post='256708' date='Aug 6 2008, 08:51 PM']I'm a full time electric and double bassist, London based. Graduate from Jeff Berlins Players School of Music in Florida 2006, and then five years study at Basstech @ The Guitar Institute in London (One year Diploma, Bachelors Degree and Masters Degree courses). Currently studying under Laurence Cottle before starting work on my PhD later this year. At the moment, I'm freelancing again, but otherwise I've just come off of Little Shop Of Horrors, toured with the shows Anything Goes, Jesus Christ Super Star, Jack The Ripper, Fame, One Step Closer, Return To The Forbidden Planet, and depped in the West End on Dancing In The Streets, I have a number of pads for other shows, but still am waiting the call. I did the uk tour of the National Lottery, when it was on the road, and was Alison Limericks bassist for a bit before moving on to tour around Finland with a John Lennon Tribute show. I've been fortunate enough to see most of the hot spots around the world with various shows and functions, Egypt, Dubai, Austria, Switzerland, Thailand, Italy, China, NZ etc...oh! And good old London! I have a residency in town, with a previously Universal signed band, The Tide, and do two days additional electric/double teaching, to help support the playing quite spots.[/quote] Yeah, but can you [i]PLAY?[/i]

Steve Swallow/Ohad Talmor Sextet: L'HIstoire Du Clochard - Athe Bum's Tale & Don Byron: You Are No. 6

Nope - just a set of spare strings and leads that I have never used.....

How high to tune before breaking a string? About 35 feet....

[quote name='jakesbass' post='256968' date='Aug 7 2008, 09:54 AM']Never done an audition in my life.[/quote] Did one in 1980, my first at age 17. I got the gig and was on Radio One 4 months later (Tommy Vance Friday Rock Show). Never done one since. Jazzers just [i]know![/i]

Its a language like any other. You need to immerse yourself in it. Learn all the scales, in thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths and sevenths, in all keys. Learn chordal harmony. Actively listen to as much music as you can. Transcribe everything you can; horns particularly. Listen closely to the the other instruments and DON'T just listen to the bass. Over a period of time, you will start to recognise things, get bored of things, learn to love things, embrace things, dismiss things, improve things, neglect things - all of this will come together in your own personal voice as an improviser. Eventually, as someone just said, you just forget the technical details and just make beautiful music but that's kind of not true. It's like language - you go to school to learn the techniques but you don't really think about them when you speak or write. But, if some prat want to split hairs about your spelling , you need to be ready to blow them out of the water with some epistemological hyperbole. Knowledge is power, but so is electricity.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=21583&hl=wal+custom+fretless"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...custom+fretless[/url] Follow the link to my earlier thread. I have played some duo gigs with Paul Herman, some years back. He is a fine guitar player as well as a top notch luthier. He did the last set-up on the Wal you see above (I need to see him again - my knobs are dropping off)

[quote name='Monz' post='252741' date='Aug 1 2008, 01:51 PM']LOL Actually the playing went ok apart from me playing 2 or 3 bars of "how sweet it is" a semitone down[/quote] Sounds like a fretless.....

Did one of my best jazz sets ever last night at Benson Blakes in Bury St Edmonds. Chris Ingham on piano, probably the best pianist I have ever played with. Shearing's 'Lullaby of Birdland' in 5:4 was a highlight - we all nailed it without a single slip - but the whole set was bl***y marvelous! Second set less so but it was a tough act to follow.

No - response was to Cheddatom's accusation of erroneousness on my part! To think....

My point was simply that any discussion of the relative merits of a player or his work should be based on a reasoned argument and not just a casual 'he's sh*te'. If anyone here says that 'the importance of Tal thingumybob is, for instance, due to her gender not her playing which, while competent, is unremarkable', then I will listen to that argument and decide its validity as you did on my point. If someone just says she is crap or superb, I have nothing to thing about and will almost always dismiss the contribution as blunt and of no value. Don't just tell me, tell me why.

[quote name='6stringbassist' post='251964' date='Jul 31 2008, 12:04 PM']The people making the comments obviously think in their own minds that their own playing is better, when in reality it isn't.[/quote] No they don't. They know that they are not as capable as the people they criticise but, in order to increase their self esteem, they negate the value of the things they can't do in an effort to subconsciously justify the fact that they can't or won't do the work necessary to attain those skills. The tragedy is that they actually have to work astonishingly hard on their train of self-talk in order to maintain a belief in what they are saying.

I understand what you are saying, wombatboter, but I think you need to understand that all people are doing is poorly expressing their belief that the work of the artists under consideration is subjectively of little value to them. My personal take on these things is to draw on my own experience as a player and listener and to draw people's attention to the difference between valuing a piece of music and recognising the technical skills required to execute it. For a developing musician, it is easy to get into the space where 'hard' pieces of music are 'good' pieces of music, a fact that is palpably wrong. It is equally dangerous, however, for the uninformed to assume that a 'complex' piece of music is bad because it 'lacks emotion', 'fails to communicate' etc. The secret is to develop the critical sense required to recognise the value of a piece in its own right. It is equally not enough to say 'all music is good and I like it all'. The assessment of the intrinsic value of a piece of music is subjective but that doesn't mean that it serves no purpose to discuss it. Its just not helpful to use aggressive and unspecific terms like 's***e', 'b******s and cr*p. They contribute nothing to the debate other than stating a position.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='251894' date='Jul 31 2008, 10:40 AM']This is a strange attitude from someone who loves Jazz so much! Surely it should be "there's no logic to music, you just have to learn to groove like a cat who's in touch with his soul".[/quote] You really don't get jazz, do you?

[quote name='Mcgiver69' post='251759' date='Jul 30 2008, 11:52 PM']Music is art and by any means you can't talk about poor note choices when you are improvising.[/quote] Yes you can. There is a massive difference between a wrong note and a subjectively poor choice - the logic of any given line is determined by what comes before it and what comes after. Anyone familiar with any genre in music will be able to recognise the difference. If you go for a 6th and hit a sharp 5, its a wrong note. If you INTEND to play a sharp five and hit it, its not. It can still suck tho'

I had heard that you can use any power ouput amp with any power handling cab. If any of these combinations makes bad sounds then turn down and/or stop cranking the bass EQ excessively or damage may occur. At least, that was the gist of it.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='251174' date='Jul 30 2008, 11:43 AM']ba dum t tisss t t tisss t t tisss[/quote] Is that Roy Haynes?

Everyone knows you can't dance to jazz

Come on in!! The water's lovely!!

I don't have the name; I am only the hired help! Will let you know the outcome as and when.

You are, of course, entitled to disagree. My point was to suggest that people make a critical assessment of your position before moving on it. If they agree with you, then they, and they alone, are responsible for the outcome of any decisions informed by your submissions. That shouldn't take too long

Did a function gig in June at a MAJOR London landmark. Signed contract in the bag. Still didn't get paid and the promoter has done a runner with the £140 a head agreed fee. MU are on it but I don't expect to see a penny. The law is not set up for little people to recover little sums of money.

Jeff Berlins approaches the dichotomies that exist within music education with a completely open mouth.