ambient

[quote name='ians' timestamp='1475751628' post='3148420'] Ok lets say you decide to have a go at bass and you learn to play simple two time from say C to G country style which simple as it is one would more than likely 'understand'....is that not playing an instrument irrespective of how you went about learning the piece. [/quote] I would say you were playing whatever you were playing on the instrument. I wouldn't class it as being able to play an instrument. You'd be a bit stuck if they decided to play D to A instead I guess. There was a guy posted earlier about him being somewhere and the bassist had learned a blues in E, but the band played in A, so he was stuck. I recently started playing for a jazz band. I got asked my a keyboard player friend. The guy they originally had for the first 2 rehearsals had said he was better than he actually was. He'd just learned the first four songs off the set list. He couldn't play from a lead sheet, he had to go away learn the song. The 2 rehearsals were spent with my friend showing him what notes to play. My friend is a retired music teacher, so luckily he's quite a patient guy, though his patience was wearing a little thin toward the end.

[quote name='ians' timestamp='1475749671' post='3148394'] Hello. Its funny I rarely ever get rattled by much but your post has hit the button. What a load of nonsense. So when I and thousands of other competent musicians sit down and have a go at a bit of Chopin at the keyboard or whatever were just.... "COPYING"..... something that has no worth????. Thanks. I'd forgotten what its like to let of a bit of steam...feels good, but no hard feelings yes. [/quote] You have totally misunderstood what I said. Sorry, I maybe didn't explain it, though the first part of what you've quoted says 'without understanding what they're actually playing'. A competent musician would know what they're playing. I was referring to my previous posting, where I said that there are many people who don't actually learn to play their instrument, they use youtube videos, and TAB, and just learn where to put their fingers, they just copy what they're seeing and hearing, without having any knowledge of what they're actually playing, and how it works with what the rest of the band is playing. You've also misquoted me, where do I say that it had no worth ?

This coming Sunday . Free admission, beautiful and innovative music, nice surroundings, a cafe bar with a good selection of food and beverages. What more could you want ?

[quote name='josie' timestamp='1475710163' post='3148216'] I saw a really nice example of moving on from this a couple of weeks ago at Aynsley Lister's guitar tuition weekend. There was a beginner bass player there who had been taught how to play a simple bass pattern in a standard I-IV-V progression - so he played something acceptable in the first jam session - but had no idea what he was doing or how to do anything else. Aynsley's bass player, Steve Amadeo, did a brilliant job of explaining that and developing it, and by the end of the weekend he was moving around the fretboard and throwing in little variations and well on the road to learning more. There is a big step up though from playing a song you've practiced, to getting up at an open jam session and being thrown in with musicians you've never met before who insist on playing a song you don't know and maybe don't even know what key they're playing in and being able to wing it. [/quote] There's a guy that I'm teaching at the moment. He'd been having erm....'lessons', off a guy for about 6 months. In that time, all he'd been shown was how to play bass lines for songs using TAB that the guy used to take along. He knew absolutely nothing else. I set off teaching him the notes on the fretboard, I got him playing root notes to blues songs right from the first lesson. Just blues in A, C and E, along to recordings that I did for him in Logic Pro. Pretty boring maybe, but he loved it, he was playing music, creating his own bass lines, and was learning the notes on the fretboard, if only 3 at a time. I've been teaching him now for about 8 weeks, he's learned more in those 8 weeks, than in the previous 6 months. He's now this week started having 2 lessons per week, he's enjoying his learning and playing so much.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1475705668' post='3148191'] I doubt you'll get much support from those of us that work hard on covers. In many cases if you don't have sone advanced training or knowledge of theory learning some covers would be very difficult. Anyway, IMO the comparison to paint buy numbers is nonsense.But I do understand for some it's all about sitting in the bedroom alone. Blue [/quote] By painting by numbers, I mean someone learning a song/cover without really having any understanding of what they're actually playing. Getting a piece of TAB off a website, sitting down and watching someone play it on Youtube, or listening to it on Spotify and just copying it, isn't playing a musical instrument, at least to me. It's like painting all the number 2s red, all the 5s brown and ending up with the Mona Lisa or something.

A mixture of whole notes, half notes with quarter notes and the occasional 8th note fill would work best, pretty much what the bass on the track is doing. It's all about the vocal really on a track like this, staying out of the way, yet he's quiet melodic too, on his EUB.

It's interesting to see that people class being able to copy or learn to play a bass line, as being able to play. Whilst I totally understand that for many it's all about the playing with others, and doing gigs. To me it's kind of like buying a painting by numbers set, and saying you can paint.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1475624443' post='3147528'] +1 for the above, put more succinctly than I would have done. The stuff about chord tones is the one, especially in the more 'jazz' styles. What to do..? Get some tracks that you like, in the style you're working on, and listen to them, then transcribe them. The way the bass is adding to the overall music should become evident, over time. Practise scales etc if you want, but I wouldn't advise trying to apply scales to music in such a mathematical way; that's not what it's about. Listening, feeling the root and the melody, helping it all along both rhythmically and harmonically... Leave shapes alone, too. Your ears, in time, will guide your fingers, not the shapes. Just my tuppence-worth; hope it helps. [/quote] Excellent advice. Especially regarding shapes. I said on another thread the other day, I think it may have been asking about playing a 5 string bass. Anyway, too many players rely on shapes, play notes, not shapes.

Personally, at least to start with I'd do as you suggest regarding starting on the root note of each chord. Then add other chord tones to make the line more interesting. It's simple, and you won't go far wrong using chord tones. For example, if you had this chord progression to play over - Dm7/G7/C. Then your note choices would be from D F A C/G B D F/C E G B.

Kalium ?

Book in advance and you'll be surprised how cheap train travel can be. I went to Edinburgh last year for £35 return.

Why would you need any part of the kit mic'd in a pub ?

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1475496718' post='3146341'] It's just that anyone I know who plays a 5 most of the time doesn't have a problem switching back & forth between the two. I know most of us may have had a problem for the first few sessions with an extra string but I really can't see that it would require lots of dedicated practice time to overcome. Bit like riding a bike isn't it? [/quote] I did a gig recently on a borrowed 4 string bass, after 15 years of playing 6 string basses. It's not so much muscle memory, as knowing the notes on the fretboard, and more importantly, playing notes rather than bass lines and patterns. I encourage my students to learn to play notes, rather than patterns.

Where are you playing ?

I can see their point. If it gets damaged in transit, then who pays ? Plus my idea of great condition is often different to other people's.

I know a few left handed people who play right-handed.

No. You never know when they last washed their hands.

Mono Vertigo.

[quote name='JoeEvans' timestamp='1475397412' post='3145540'] My theory is that too much technical ability doesn't make for a good bass player. People who can play lots of notes very quickly on a bass tend to do so at every opportunity, which isn't especially effective or enjoyable. You can play this bassline with one finger on each hand but it sticks in your head forever. [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaRXtLX4sMk[/media] [/quote] Anthony Jackson, Matt Garrison, Michael Manring, Janek Gwizdala, Lawrence Cottle, instantly spring to mind as being players with amazing technical ability, who use it only when needed. Personally, I'd rather have the ability and use it when required, than not have it. I've personally always strived to be the best player and musician that I can be. Consequently I studied with some great players and teachers.I'd practice for hours and hours, maybe 30 or 40 hours a week. Then went to uni and did a music degree. In life I'd rather set my goals high, I may not ever reach them, but I'd achieve more than if I just settled on being average. That's just me though.

I don't understand what learning material you'd want to be honest. I'd recommend just practicing 2 octave scales across the bass, ascending and descending, saying the notes to yourself as you play. Maybe harmonise the scales, so play the arpeggios ascending and descending. Use the notes on the B string. Really get to know your way around the bass. I play the low E, F, F#, G and G# starting at the 5th fret on the B string. I only use them on the E string if I'm down that way. So maybe just think about positions. Just play the bass as much as possible. Don't just use the B string as a thumb rest, that's just totally dumb, in my opinion .

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1475333875' post='3145141'] Just had a listen - On that intro bar, the pick up with Bass, Guitar and Drums starts on the 'and' or 'up' of three. So a count of 1.2.3 should work. If everyone was to come in on four, they will be a 8th/half a beat out. Even without listening to the above track, the Drum chart you posted is pretty much the same as the one I posted - Starts on the 'and of three', unless we taking at cross purposes? If so, ignore my drivel. [/quote] Same as my chart then, with the anacrusis of three 8th notes.

Just go along. I'm sure they'll all be thinking the same thing. How's your sight reading ?

I had to play this at uni. Here's the chart I was given. There's an anacrusis with three 8th notes to start with.[attachment=229054:Photo on 01-10-2016 at 13.42.jpg][attachment=229055:Photo on 01-10-2016 at 13.42 #2.jpg]

Not something I'd like at all tbh, but it got a good review on the radio the other day.

Andrew Gouche http://www.andrewgouche.com