funkysimon

Three basses (Warwick Fortress 1, Yamaha BBG5 which is for sale and a Yamaha RBX fretless), three guitars (Musicman Silhouette, Patrick Eggle Berlin, Taylor acoustic). Three: it's the magic number.

I heard that this vocalising of rhythms is common in Indian music; hey, there's even a wiki entry on it: [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_percussion"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_percussion[/url] OK, so it's the world music equivalent of beat-boxing.

Not really on topic for this thread, but a friend of a friend has started a "live karaoke" band where they have a spare vocal mic and encourage people to get up on stage and do their thing with the band. Apparently it's quite popular.

Here's a setlist from a two hour gig we did Bring down the birds Turn on tune in drop out Shaft Moonbeam woman Express Yourself Signed, Sealed, Delivered Rappers Delight Jungle Boogie Superstition Treat her like a lady Oye como va Mas que nada Smooth Ritmo Rico Cuba Sir Duke Car wash Gonna fly now I believe in miracles Always there Starsky September I wish Outside Canned heat Disco inferno Kung fu I want you back Blame it on the boogie Ain't no stoppin us now Young hearts Play that funky music Advice? Not much that hasn't been mentioned before, but dress smart, be polite, and expect to be badly ignored for 90% of the evening, packed dancefloor for the final 10%, then huge cries of "Don't stop now" when they could have all been dancing earlier in the evening. Regarding this, make sure your last few songs really get people moving. Also, listen to the lyrics of things - Young Hearts is a great tune and often requested at weddings but I have no idea why: What's the sense in sharing this one and only life Ending up, just another lost and lonely wife If your singer is quick he/she can play fast and loose with the words, but there's no real need to do so. Don't worry about having a huge set list if you haven't agreed a huge fee; I'd say it's only the pro and semi-pro bands who should be able to play every number one single from 1967 onward on request. As long as you politely explain that the request isn't one you've rehearsed people are usually ok.

Yeah, me too, but if I follow a strict alternating finger pattern sometimes I'll end up doing something like that, which is why I came to question whether it's silly to try and maintain i m i m i m i m etc. even when changing strings.

I can't get double thumbing to work yet, but then I think there are many parts to my playing that need a lot more work before I start focusing on really advanced stuff. That said, this video is almost as nice as the Miller one: Some of the guy's other vids are also worth checking out (I think he's been linked to before on basschat).

Raking is what I'm trying to cut out, I find that if I'm playing quickly, the timing of the second of the raked notes is off (I rush it). Maybe I should work on making my raking more accurate instead

Is strict alternation of your plucking fingers considered the "best" thing to do? I've been working on this recently with three note per string patterns, and also with things like the unison riff in Sir Duke. While it seems to make some sections easier, moments where I have to play something like this: [size=2][font="Courier New"]...i m i G -6---6--- D ---8----- A --------- E ---------[/font][/size] i.e. alternate high string with my index finger, low string middle finger, make me start turning my wrist so my fingers point back towards the bridge of the guitar and generally feels a bit unnatural. Is it something I should keep working on / worrying about?

Octaves: it's the classic disco sound. [size=3][font="Courier New"]G ----7---4---5---6 D ----------------- A --5---2---3---4-- E -----------------[/font][/size] lather rinse repeat.

[quote name='bassboy115' post='54404' date='Sep 2 2007, 08:27 PM']God there is some idiots on youtube...just looking at some of the comments...I bet most of them sit on the computer all day saying people are s**t, giving them 'there opinion' in the harshest words possible!... i bet most of them would struggle to play a blink 182 song![/quote] OK, it's geeky, but this cartoon sums it up for me: [url="http://xkcd.net/202/"]http://xkcd.net/202/[/url]

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='53918' date='Sep 1 2007, 05:45 PM']I would go a bit further. [b][size=4]Upper Horn basses - Why?[/size][/b][/quote] It's for people that aren't horny enough already!

[quote name='ARGH' post='42335' date='Aug 7 2007, 09:38 AM']Thats the jealousy bug....the "hes better than me I dont like him" germ. I have not seen that for a long time,I guess it will come back as music gets back into a more technical fashion (REALLY early 90s was the last plague of that) its quite childish.[/quote] We always joke in one of the bands I play in that our bassist is better than the rest of us put together! I always feel like sacking myself for being sh*t, but hey, it's the thing that makes me practice harder, to try and be less rubbish. Apart from drums. I'm happy to be sh*t on drums: I just like hitting things with sticks.

I don't think less of a musician who has to read the headsheet, but I do think less if they're juggling through a folder of music in between each song; that looks more than a little un-professional, and breaks the songs up too much. Personally I memorise the songs I play, but then my memory is pretty good, I'm sure not everyone can do it. And even then there are some songs that just will not stick; no matter how many times I practice For Once In My Life, the difference between the first and second verses always eludes me mid-gig.

[quote name='Dillsfretless' post='41803' date='Aug 6 2007, 09:02 AM']This isn't a guitarist problem, it's an asshole problem. They come in all shapes and sizes and play all manner of instruments. In a great band everyone has equal value.[/quote] Definitely this; your guitarist just sounds like he's being a dick. I play guitar and bass in a couple of different bands, and years of playing funk (where the guitar does little more than add a bit of syncopation, and is very much secondary to the bass) have taught me to know when to STFU and just keep the song grooving and when you can get away with dicking around. That said, playing in an eight-piece band there isn't much musical space, I usually just let the horn players wave their musical cocks around.

Fingerstyle on bass, mainly pick on guitar with occasional fingerstyle there too. I love the sound of pick 'n' bass though, and keep having the urge to buy a plectrum and a rickenbacker bass and join a rock band.

The recent bad weather has made me want to sort out a decent amp cover for a Trace Elliot 1215 (my old one of a few rubble sacks gaffer taped together was ok, but not 100% rain-proof ). Does anyone have any recommendations for where to get one from? Thanks!

I've got the BBG-5S, and it's a great guitar. People often say that Yamahas are good purchases across their range, so I'd say if you've tried it and like it, go for it.

[quote name='The Funk' post='34816' date='Jul 20 2007, 05:38 PM']Well, continuing your oral sex theme, Good Boys Deserve Fellatio Everyday[/quote] ... the only downside is that I realised a couple of minutes after posting that the bass clef is GBDFA. Maybe I should demote myself from option 3 on the poll to 4 Give Blood! Don't Fear Altruism

[quote name='Bullet-Rule' post='34807' date='Jul 20 2007, 05:09 PM']I know the lengths of the different types of notes and the dots and have a rough idea of some of the notes on the stave (FACE) but apart from that I have little else knowledge. I haven't done any music grades and I'm only 17 so there's still time. I do think that it is quite a big advantage being able to use musical notation, however as I can't do it, I don't know what it would be like.[/quote] FACE! And the other good mnemonic for the treble clef, Every Good Boy Deserves Fellatio I can't think of a good one for the bass clef lines. George Bush Deserves F'kin Evisceration, maybe? Hmmm, bit political.

How many of us basschatters can read music? I can just about stumble through, though I'm never certain I'm playing in the right octave, and I certainly wouldn't be able to sight-read a piece of music; usually I have to think long and hard about tied semi-quavers and dotted this-that-and-the-others. That said, I've not done any music grade exams, and I guess that's where a lot of this stuff is taught. If you can read music, do you find you use the skill a lot? Do you think it's an important skill? To test a correlation, if you can read music, are you also the kind of person that never practices without a metronome?

That's a lot fun! Nice fretless tone. I like the mad fills

No way! Small world, and all that If you saw Casa and the bassist was really good, then that was probably our old bassist... if you saw Casa and the guitarist was really good, that probably meant I was on bass Maybe I'll catch one of your gigs around town, or vice versa! It looks like we have some sort of Cambridge basschat possee in the making.