Doddy

[quote name='lwtait' post='276491' date='Sep 3 2008, 07:32 PM']a basic theorey is enough, it annoys me when people say you should be able to name a note anywhere on a fretboard as soon as you point to it - why? what does it matter if it takes a couple of seconds to work out the notes? even for jazz playing you learn the shapes not the notes, if i was playing Amaj7 i'd know the what to play, know the 7th etc. without actually knowing the notes when im playing them. i mean i don't think "if im in Amaj7 the 7th is an Ab, and in the A major scale is an A, a B etc." when i play, i know the shapes. rant over.[/quote] If you are sight reading a chart on a gig and it takes you a couple of seconds to work the notes out,you will get fired.It's as simple as that. The problem-I think-for just learning fingerboard shapes,is that you can easily become reliant on these patterns,whereas knowing the notes in the chords will open up the entire fingerboard you.

It's a shame you didn't post this yesterday. I could have let you use my back-up Hartke rig which is just sitting at home while I'm gigging away all weekend. And its only in Stoke so not that far away. Hope you manage to get something sorted out.

I really like 'Relaxing with the Miles Davis Quintet' with Paul Chambers on Bass and 'Four and More' with Ron Carter. 'Tutu' with Marcus Miller is great,as is 'On the Corner' with Michael Henderson. Miles made so much good music that any album would be worth checking out.

Tony Grey

Sound Control in Stoke has recently re-opened as Academy of Sound.

If you do put a fanned fret neck on your bass,you will also need a new nut and bridge,otherwise the intonation will be all wrong.

I love Michael Manring-great player and a really nice guy. Check out the 'Yo Miles' albums to hear him play some 'regular' bass-seriously groovy. As far as looping goes,I believe that he uses a Lexicon JamMan.

He was only 52. I heard it was cancer.

I just found out that Guitar Player Hiram Bullock sadly died on July 25th What a great guitar player-he played with everyone from Miles,Jaco and Marcus,to Billy Joel and Kenny Loggins.

I've not tried the GBE750,but have been using the Neo Pak 350 for the last six months. I find the tone to be very clean and uncoloured,and very responsive.I'm guessing the 750 will be similar. I personally prefered the Genz Benz over the Mark Bass heads in a back to back comparison-both were great though. You should totally give the GBE750 a try,but also check out the Shuttle.

Correct me if I'm wrong,but I believe that the chrome pick-up covers were actually a way to help stop feedback,as it prevented the soundwaves from the speaker from going back into the pick-up. The bridge cover contained a foam mute. I personally keep the pick-up cover on my Jazz Basses,but not the bridge cover.

Jeff Berlin did not suggest that groove isn't important. In fact,he clearly states that it is! What he does say,is that teachers should teach musical information and not just tell their students that they should just play the groove,as that is the obvious role of the instrument.("Telling a musician to groove is like telling a swimmer not to drown") Of course groove is important,but you don't need a teacher to teach you this.What a teacher should be teaching is information such as reading,harmony,notes and rhythm. That is basically what Jeff is saying.

[quote name='silddx' post='246918' date='Jul 24 2008, 02:50 PM']I can speak, write, spell, proof read and edit to a fairly high degree of complexity that is grammatically correct and expresses what I want it to, but don't ask me to explain what a split infinitive is.[/quote] Being as though you can write,spell,and proof read,means you have a degree of knowledge as regards to the language that you are using. But how many musicians cannot 'spell' the notes in a chord,or 'proof read' a chart? Being able to 'speak' alone is not always enough.

Isn't it funny,that you never hear a player who has studied theory say that it has hindered them in anyway? If you can groove,knowing what you are doing can only help. The people who dismiss the technicalities are the same people(generally)are the same ones who slap root-minor 7-octave patterns over a major 7 chord-they learn the pattern and don't know how to alter it for the relative chord. I have never heard anyone complain that they know how to do something!

Jeff Berlin talks alot a sense,he just seems quite aggressive in his manner.It doesn't make him wrong though. Nowhere in either of Berlin's statements does he mention or critisize Victor Wooten or Steve Bailey personally. It was a general statement about his views on education. There was no need for Victor or Steve to put these quotes on their websites.All it has done is start another 'Jeff Berlin is a douche' argument,which,as anyone who has spoken to him and heard him play knows,is not true.You may not like his music,but you cannot deny that the guy is a great player.

You're right about reading not being good on stage for a rock/metal band-but it is a far more useful way of practicing without looking at the neck than wearing a blindfold. Playing blindfolded means you can play blindfolded-that is all. I just think that there are better ways of learning to not stare at the fingerboard,which will give better results,and having a chart in front of you-while practicing-is the best.

I don't think that it's really all that beneficial to practice blindfolded. I agree that it is much better to look at the audience during a gig,but during practice this becomes irrelevant. Everyone looks at the fingerboard when playing-it's only natural,especially if you have to make large jumps up the neck. If you just practice as normal,you will find that when you do gig,you will be comfortable with the songs and won't look at the neck much anyway-especially as you are doing backing vocals. Having said that,the best way-i think-for learning to not stare at the fingerboard,is to read.That way you are focused on the notes on the page,and have very little time to look at the neck,other than an occasional reference glance.

I think the problem with slapping these days,is that the majority of people only ever play octave patterns as fast as possible. I mean,it's only a technique,and shouldn't affect your note choices or groove,but for some reason many players get stuck in certain patterns(mostly root,octave,minor 7th hammer-on). Unfortunately alot players don't seem to understand that thumping is just another way of sounding a note and not a style of music.

I'm not a huge fan of BGM-I feel that it features too many players from 'minor league'(for want of a better phrase) rock/indie bands for my liking,and has a very strange review policy(i.e letting Stuart Clayton review a GB bass-unbiased? Hardly!) It is also often full of mistakes. I think that Bass Player is a far superior magazine.The interviews are generally better and cover a more diverse range of styles,the gear reviews are better,and the lessons are more in depth(although Janek's column in BGM is great). They also feature more Upright players,which can only be a good thing. And for what it's worth,Bass Player were putting Tab in their Transcriptions when I started reading it in '96.

Its alright. I found it to be a little pretentious(sic) at times,but it's got some interesting ideas in it. It's totally worth reading though-especially if you're a fan of Victor.

'Whatever and ever,Amen' is a great album.Sledge plays some really sweet stuff. A totally underrated player.

I'd just start phoning around and talking to as many landlords/bookers as possible. As soon as you have done one or two pub gigs, it will become easier to get more. Also,I have never been asked for a CD or bio when booking pub gigs.

Phillip Bynoe from Steve Vai's band was using something similar to that in the early '90's. Only his was a Yamaha keyboard attatched to a Steinberger bass,which he called his 'Keybass'.

I've been using a Bergantino HS410 for a while now,and find the sound to be very clean and clear over the full range of the bass-"hi-fi" if you will.They really are beautiful sounding cabs. I'm powering the cab with a Genz Benz Neo-Pak,and find that the two really do complement each other.

Wayman's a great player-both on bass and on the court.The guy has got some serious chops. His music is sometimes a little too 'smooth',but alot of his stuff is really great. In fact,Marcus played a solo on Wayman's first album(Power Forward)