Alun

I would think of polyrhythms more as different subdivisions of the same beat - a triplet over 2 8th notes being the easiest example and a cross rthym as the same values but accented differently eg one part playing in 4/4 while another accents every third note for example. So the opposite of what you said To be honest, the two get used interchangably so my definition may not be right but that's how I see them. Cheers, Alun

[quote name='kjb' post='25423' date='Jun 30 2007, 10:42 PM']I've been listening to a lot of his music over the last few weeks, he's a fantastic acoustic and electric player, and an excellent composer, he's got a really good live DVD/CD out that's well worth listening to, and his album 'At home' is fantastic, I especially like tracks 1, 8 and 10, but the whole album is great. Check out some of his stuff here [url="http://www.myspace.com/avishaicohenmusic"]http://www.myspace.com/avishaicohenmusic[/url] He's playing at Ronnie Scotts quite a bit later in the year, he's also at the Sligo jazz festival next month, I'm there as well so hopefully I'll get to see him live.[/quote] He's fantastic and all is albums are worth getting, but the recent live one is worth getting for the DVD alone. The Chick Corea New Trio album with him is also worth getting. Cheers, Alun

I'll be honest, I've never heard of upper and lower dominants and I've studied theory for many years ( doesn't mean I'm saying they don't exist, just that it isn't common terminology). You will however come across "secondary dominants" which might be what it's alluding to. Basically, in a major key, the dominant os the 5th note, so in C it would be G - 12345 - CDEFG. The four note chord built of this note is therefore a dominant 7 chord, in this case G7 - GBDF. In "proper" theory this is the only scale degree that creates a dominant 7. Dominant 7 chords are traditionally thought of as "unresolved" and sound like they want to move to a chord a fourth above ( or fifth below). If you play a G7 and then a C major, you hear what if referred to as a "perfect cadence" - the perfect resolution of a dominant chord ( G7) moving to a major chord a fourth above/fifth below (C major). A secondary dominant exists where you build a dominant 7 chord on another scale degree which then resolves up a fourth/down a fifth, For instance in C, you may have a D7 moving to a G, an E7 moving to Am, or maybe an A7 moving to Dm or D7. These secondary chords contain notes that aren't part of the scale but the natural reolution of dominant chords add a pleasant tension and release which is very common in jazz music. For examples, try some of the following common jazz progressions - C - E7* - Am C - D7* - G7 - C C - C7* - F C - A7 *- D7* - G7 E7* - A7* - D7* - G7 In each case the *chord is a secondary dominant. I'm wondering if the upper and lower are maybe directions as to which octave to play the notes in? So you'd go up to the D and then drop to the G below the C? Hope that helps. Cheers, Alun

[quote name='Steve Lawson' post='22436' date='Jun 23 2007, 06:59 PM']...to be fair, that's almost certainly because I sent it in far too late for them to edit it properly... Adrian does a great job of sorting out whatever I'm waffling on about each month, but when he gets it from me 10 minutes before it's meant to go to press, there are bound to be mistakes... must try harder to get my stuff in on time! Steve www.stevelawson.net[/quote] Fair enough. Bad Steve Cheers, Alun

[quote name='jwbassman' post='21573' date='Jun 21 2007, 08:28 PM']Been od'ing on the Randy Waldman Trio just lately - 'Wigged Out' - that's with your main man John Patitucci on bass and the awesome Vinnie Colaiuta on drums plus a whole host of horn players as well - although I'm looking out for the album that features Brian Bromberg in the bass chair - I think it's called 'timing is everything' - has anyone got it?[/quote] Waldman's stuff is incredible. The only one I've got is Unreel but have heard bits of the others and they all sound superb. You can get the "Timing.." one here but it is pricey... [url="http://www.audiophileimports.com/cgi-bin/ai/cart.cgi/command=listitems&pos=0&type=search?search=waldman"]http://www.audiophileimports.com/cgi-bin/a...?search=waldman[/url] Cheers, Alun

One of the biggest challenges with Latin, and particularly Cuban music, is retraining your ear to hear the important beat in a new place. In Western music, we usually count [b]one[/b] as the "important" beat where we place our bass note eg [b]1[/b]234, [b]1[/b]234, etc However, in Latin music the emphasis is on beat four so the bass is often changing chords a quarter note before the harmony [b]4[/b]123[b]4[/b]123 which can feel really weird when you first do it, especially as beat four is invariably tied over the barline so there's no real "one" being signposted. It took me quite a while of working with Latin bands to get comfortable with the concept but, like most things, eventually it does become comfortable. As for actual beat placement, it varies depending on who you listen to. A lot of electric players do lean back a little, but the more traditional acoustic players tend to be more on the beat (possibly because of the slightly slower attack). You do occasionally hear people play a little more ahead, but because the feel is quite "anticipated" by nature of the bass landing effectively a beat early compared to where we'd hear it in Western music, it can sound a bit too rushed and tense. Hope that helps. Cheers, Alun

Hi. I don't think I have a huge amount to add in terms of songs, theory, etc as the posts above advise on these perfectly, so instead I'm going to go back to your language analogy.. In your example, you show the words disjointed and seperate - a series of individual blocks rather than a sentence. What's the difference - one flows and one doesn't, basically. So, working on that theory I would say to not only listen to the notes and where they occur (which is the rhythmic element), but also how you move between them. Is the transition smooth? Is there any buzz? Do you move your hand/fingers more than you need to (eg lifting your fingers up too far from the fingerboard or shifting your whole hand rather than using another finger)? My whole outlook on playing ( OK, and life ) is do as much as possible by doing as little as possible eg economy of motion. If this is the problem, you could just try playing a line that moved between two notes, say the 3rd and 5th frets on the A string and really focus on moving as little as possible while still getting full notes and making it as smooth as possible. Cheers, Alun

[quote name='nick' post='19339' date='Jun 17 2007, 10:07 PM']Good call - Lalo Schifrinn. Some killer bass lines on 'Dirty Harry' soundtrack. Wish I knew who the bass player was(?)[/quote] Was it Chuck Rainey? Not sure where that came from, but it leapt into my head when I read your post. Alun

[quote name='Bernmeister' post='19243' date='Jun 17 2007, 07:16 PM']Dug out one of the old Terence Trent D'arby cd's today the Vibrator album & was very impressed with the bass playing by a chap named Kevin Wyatt. There's some cracking grooves,very tasteful playing & bass funk to the max.[/quote] I'd forgotten about that album! Yes, some truly wonderful bass stuff on that one, especially the title track IIRC. I'm afraid I've been listening to myself for the last few days Have been picking through the rough mixes of an album I played on, spotting the mistakes Cheers, Alun

Ignore me, just found the answer on your site. For anyone else who's interested, more info here... [url="http://www.basslinepublishing.com/stuhamm.html"]http://www.basslinepublishing.com/stuhamm.html[/url] Cheers, Alun

From what I've read so far, it looks pretty good. Shame the proof reader missed Steve Lawson's column heading still referring to tapping chord extensions when this month's lesson is about syncopation. Also, there still seems to be a lack of communication between whoever does the "new gear" bits and the reviews as there's a full review of the new vintage ESP, followed a few pages later by a section about ESP's new range including the bass you've just read about. Overall though, it's improving month by month. Good news on Stu's new Stu Hamm book being nearly ready for release too Any idea on a price yet Mr C? Cheers, Alun

One of my favourite under rated players. Great time, feel and choice of notes. His funk playing is also beautiful - have a listen to "Tightrope" from the "In Step" album. As far as contemporary blues bassists go, I'd definitely go for Tommy and Roscoe Beck as my faves. Cheers, Alun

Welcome to the world of ERB, so many possibilities I've had a six for about 11 years and it's my main bass for most gigs. As well as the people mentioned above, I'd like to add a couple of jazz sixers - Mike Pope and Todd Johnson (the master of jazz chord arrangements). For higher number of strings, my personal fave is Yves Carbonne - I think he's now on 12 (or maybe more) and it's fretless. Regardless of the visual "wow factor", his intonation is near perfect and he's playing some beautiful compositions. Trip Wamsley has also done some beautiful music on 8 string. Cheers, Alun

Personally, I have found new "fans" via Myspace and have had several gigs and recording opportunities as a result. I agree that the player can be temperamental and the layout isn't great but I have found it beneficial. I still have a [i]real[/i] site too with much more info on it but I have found Myspace invaluable. The way I look it at is as the most diverse free radio station available which allows the opportunity to find bands you'd probably never hear otherwise. Without any "quality control" you do find a lot of less-than-great music (and no doubt I fit into that category to some listeners), but then that's the same for Youtube and the Internet as a whole really. Haven't tried Facebook yet, but have got an invite sitting in my Inbox, so may try it ( but not sure I have the time to dedicate to running another site as I'm currently responsible for 5 Myspace pages ) Cheers, Alun

I use for one for a solo piece but have never needed one for a "proper bass" song. Cheers, Alun

Hi John. I know the person I used to deal with at Livingston left last month so I'm not sure who's there now. I'm just about to email an order (to Germany) so I'll ask if they've heard anything about Polywebs losing their coatings easily. I use Nanowebs and they do flake a little occasionally but nothing serious. Mine have been about six months and are worn in places but I have been playing a lot lately. Still sound fresh though. Cheers, Alun

Or the old DOD Stereo Bass Flanger (FX72 I think?) Much better and warmer to me than any of their current models. My first one died but I found another on Fleabay. Cheers, Alun

Time and beat placement.

I've only ordered once from them and that was only the Colin Hodgkinson book, so not too expensive, but that was a fortnight ago and so far the "1-2 days" shipping time doesn't seem to be happening Cheers, Alun

[quote name='JJTee' post='11739' date='Jun 4 2007, 11:34 AM']Don't hate me, but I think [b]Rutger Gunnarsson[/b], the chap who played most of the ABBA bass lines, is a superb player... Go on, force yourself to listen to stuff like Money Money Money, Dancing Queen, One of Us... Some great melodic lines.[/quote] +1. His lines are great fun to play. Most of the ones I would have mentioned have already been named so I'll add.. Nick Seymour of Crowded House ( "Fall at Your Feet" is one of my favourite lines of all time) early Gene Simmons ( the 80s stuff is a bit dull but the early albums have loads of great walking lines and melodic parts like "Goin' Blind") Ewan Vernal (spelling?) from Deacon Blue - lots of great playing, especially on lesser known tracks Graham Maby with Joe Jackson - especially the live version of "Fools In Love" Winston Blissett - UK session player Steve Pearce - another great sessioner and from the upright jazz world, some great UK players - Paul Morgan, Jeff Clyne and Roy Babbington - all worth investigating. Cheers, Alun

I'm flitting back and fore between a few at the moment so... Michael Brecker - Pilgimage ( John Patitucci) Hiromi - Time Control ( Tony Grey) Jellyfish - Best! (?) Avishai Cohen - As Is ( Cohen) Devin Townsend - Ziltoid The Omniscient ( Townsend) Bumblefoot - Normal ( Joe Nerve, I think?) Gwilym Simcock Big Band - Radio 3 session (Laurence Cottle) and I've just started listening to the new Chris Cornell album, no idea who played bass on it. Cheers, Alun

He still lives in Wales for part of the year and a drummer I know gave me his email address but I've been too much of a coward to contact him

The little yellow Danelectro (Tuna Melt I think?) is very good but I don't think it's true bypass. It is tiny though and sounds very nice on bass. Cheers, Alun

Elixir Nanowebs on everything ( 45-105 with a 32 C string and taperwound 130 low B string) except LaBella Beatle Bass flatwounds on my Alden violin bass copy and a mix of Ashbory and Mike Tavener strings on my Ashbory ( I would have Elixirs on everything if they did flatwounds and rubber strings but they don't) Cheers Alun

Have you tried the PD7 at low drive levels in overdrive mode? I've also got some nice clanky Rickenbacker tones by putting it in clean mode but using the Attack switch. Cheers, Alun