TKenrick

This one is pretty good, I get through about 3 bars on each page before my eyes start bleeding: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Odd-Time-Reading-Text-Instruments/dp/0769233724/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427223785&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=louis+bellson+odd+meter"]Louis Bellson Odd Time Reading[/url] Other than that, lots of musical theatre stuff has plenty of odd time sections ( West Side Story, Rent, Company, Wicked...), there was a thread here a while back with lots of pads for musicals doing the rounds...

I found that the best approach when I learned to read was to tackle rhythm and pitch separately before putting the pieces together with 'real' music. There are a couple of well known rhythm reading books available, my preference is for [url="https://tomkenrick.wordpress.com/2014/11/17/unorthodox-instructionals-part-3-getting-even-with-drummers/"]Louis Bellson's Modern Reading in 4/4 time[/url] As far as pitch goes, I'd add a +1 to Bilbo's suggestion of [url="https://tomkenrick.wordpress.com/2014/09/18/unorthodox-instructionals-part-2-franz-simandls-new-method-for-the-double-bass/"]Simandl[/url] as it provides a progressive approach to reading within a key that starts in the lower areas of the fretboard and builds to include the entire length of the neck. Gary Willis has a [url="http://www.garywillis.com/pages/lessons/read.html"]great pitch reading exercise on his site[/url] which I found really useful in teaching myself to always look ahead when reading.

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1426521753' post='2718788'] Yes, I know what you're going to say..... but the band insists on doing this - nothing to do with me. [/quote] My suggestion? Leave the band.

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1424703198' post='2699343'] Edit: I just tried it and found that an alternating down/up felt best for me, where the accents alternate down/up: down-up-down / up-down-up / etc. [/quote] Same here - I find strict alternation (down-up-down, up-down-up) is the best way to play it. As far as keeping it constant goes... Practice slowly ([i]really[/i] slowly) and keep an eye on your picking hand to make sure that it's actually alternating all the time. I remember having to shout 'down, up, down, up' at my hand when I first starting working on picking in order to make it stick - sounds silly but it worked!. I wouldn't be overly concerned about what thickness or size of plectrum you use, the main thing is that you spend some time letting your picking hand get used to a new way of playing.

On listening to it, my ears hear the key change at the first chord of the bridge. You could, however, view the bridge section in terms of the key of E major - the D chord would be labelled 'b7 major' (rather than #6) which is a really common non-diatonic chord that crops up in a bunch of pop, rock and soul tunes. All of the bridge chords can be analysed in terms of either E major or A major, so for me the debate as to exactly where the key change happens is an aural one.

[quote name='Sumbabba' timestamp='1422543358' post='2673909'] What I was looking for was a book or app that has transcribing exercises that start simple and get progressively more difficult. I have a great app for ear training (i.e. identifying intervals and chords etc) but I can't find anything for transcribing.[/quote] I wouldn't worry too much about selecting things that are simple and avoiding difficult stuff because you're 'not there yet'. The main thing is that you spend some regular time transcribing music that really interests you - don't limit yourself to bass, any instrument is fair game and there's lots to be learned from playing horn lines/piano parts/vocal melodies on a bass. You'll progress at a greater rate if you challenge yourself. The main thing that I struggled with when I first started transcribing was getting the rhythms right - the answer to this is (sadly) to work on your sight reading. Your ability to write music directly relates to your reading skills, and having a firm grasp of how written rhythms sound will greatly speed up the transcription process.

[quote name='Aguycalledphil' timestamp='1422227118' post='2670196'] Is it vital to be able to master one finger per fret? Are there any famous bass players that are unable to do one finger per fret? [/quote] As the above posts have said, I'd avoid one finger per fret in the lower areas of the fretboard (anything below the 7th fret, depending on your hand size). I use 1 2 4 for most of my playing and find it way more secure and less stressful on the hands than one finger per fret. I doubt that there are any famous bass players that are unable to do one finger per fret, but I'm sure there are plenty that choose not to. One finger per fret makes plenty of sense in the higher register of the bass, but 1 2 4 is much more 'finger friendly' for most bass lines. I wrote a blog post about 1 2 4 vs one finger per fret methods which you can read [url="https://tomkenrick.wordpress.com/2014/09/18/unorthodox-instructionals-part-2-franz-simandls-new-method-for-the-double-bass/"]here[/url] In terms of instructional books, I found studying double bass method books on electric bass gave me a firm grounding in the 1 2 4 technique (there are links to books in the blog post above). In my opinion I'd avoid books like Bass Fitness, purely because the exercises in there have no real musical value (I worked through the book from cover to cover many years ago). You're better off spending your time playing exercises that work on patterns that you'd actually use in a 'real life' playing situations such as scales, arpeggios and bass lines. Learn to play music by practising musical ideas and you'll progress much faster.

Thanks for posting this, Ben. Nice to have more Hadrien stuff on here, transcribing his stuff is definitely not for the faint hearted!

If you can already read treble clef well then the main thing is learning where the notes of the bass clef are on the fretboard - I find that most people struggle with reading because they don't know where the notes are on their instrument. These are some of my favourites for teaching students to read: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Simplified-Sight-Reading-Bass-Josquin-Pres/dp/0793565189/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417614416&sr=8-1&keywords=simplified+sight-reading+for+bass"]Simplified Sight Reading For Bass[/url] [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Method-Double-Bass-Book/dp/0825801524/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417614445&sr=8-1&keywords=simandl+bass"]Simandl's New Method For Double Bass, Volume 1[/url] (still works a treat on electric bass) [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Musicians-Institute-Music-Reading-Complete/dp/0793581974/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417614474&sr=8-1&keywords=music+reading+for+bass"]MI Music Reading for Bass[/url] [url="http://www.anthonyvitti.com/fingerfunk1.html"]Anthony Vitti's Fingerfunk workbook [/url] [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Reading-Text-All-Instruments/dp/0769233775/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417614524&sr=8-1&keywords=louis+bellson"]Modern Reading in 4/4 time [/url](rhythm reading only, but a bloody good workout!) If you want some nice melodic stuff then get hold of some cello music: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dotzauer-Studies-Cello-Nos-1-34/dp/B007HWJIIO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417614554&sr=8-2&keywords=dotzauer+cello"]Dotzauer[/url] [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bach-Suites-Cello-Barenreiter-BA320/dp/B0076IUJ2I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417614582&sr=8-1&keywords=bach+cello+suites+sheet+music"]Bach Cello Suites[/url] I also run a site that has 100+ free bass clef transcriptions if you need more sight reading material (link is below). Tom

I find the exact location of harmonics varies from bass to bass - it's worth spending some time trying to find the 'sweet spots' on the bass you're using (this is really important if you're doing artificial harmonics as well). On some of mine the 4th fret harmonics aren't directly above the fret. In terms of right hand technique, try and get the string string underneath your fingernail, this will help to bring them out more. If you're using a jazz bass then bridge pickup all the way. Using a compressor helps things but is by no means essential. Good luck, Portrait of Tracy is a beast of a tune - I can never get that last chord to ring out the way Jaco does!

I keep my bass in standard tuning and use an octave pedal in order to try and get close to the synth sound of the original (I can't be bothered to take my synth to gigs for 1 tune...). Chaka Khan's 'Ain't Nobody' is another function tune that gets called a lot and (to my ears, at least) works better with the octave pedal treatment.

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1416400713' post='2609756'] How about giving every visitor 4 x 5 minute slapping coupons. These can either be redeemed for 5 minutes of slapping a bass... Or 5 minutes slapping someone who is slapping the bass. That would sort it out in no time! [/quote] Great idea... But can we make it a 1 x 10 second coupon?

You can loop in Quicktime by dragging the little markers next to the playhead (I'm sure that there's a technical name for them...). [attachment=171916:Screen shot 2014-09-17 at 13.16.50.png] [attachment=171917:Screen shot 2014-09-17 at 13.17.18.png] Once you've found the right in and out points then press command + T (plays only the marked section) then command + L (turns looping on/off) Hope this helps!

Such a monster bass part. There's a transcription [url="http://www.redtenbachersfunkestra.com/pdf/Jamiroquai-Don%27tGiveHate.pdf"]right here[/url] (not one of mine, sadly).

I use quicktime 7 for all my transcription work - it's free and you can loop sections, slow things down by up to 50% and change the pitch.

He's one of my favourite players, amazing sense of groove and one of the few guys who can really play funk with a pick. It's a shame he doesn't get more exposure, although I think he's at the Warwick bass camp this week. Bobby plays on this: http://youtu.be/VnU2DN9Y0hY He also played in Tower of Power for a while when Rocco was getting a new liver.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1409084644' post='2536246'] I've read that KOL dont use a click track or any metering at all which gives it 'that feeling', it also makes doing covers a bit of a feel thing ime. Some nice transcriptions there too, I will be back [/quote] Thanks! I've been pretty slack in keeping the site updated but I have a few new transcriptions that will be ready to upload soon.

It seems I only ever get to gig this tune a couple of times a year - would much rather play it than 'Sex On Fire'... And yeah, the BVs sound pretty awful unless everyone gets on board!

Here's a little instrumental ballad that I wrote earlier in the year: [media]http://youtu.be/dRK0YPK2yMM[/media]

I grew up playing exclusively from TAB and didn't really go anywhere near notation until I got to music college (let's call it a 'rude awakening'!). I found it amazingly difficult to start with but I stuck at it, and after a few months it started to make sense. I now can't go anywhere near TAB - I find it deeply confusing and it slows me down considerably. My main objection to TAB is that it allows people to play without understanding what they're doing, particularly when it comes to fretboard knowledge. Although you can still play from notation without an understanding of the theoretical concepts used in the music, you HAVE to know what note you're playing and where it lies on your instrument. Another problem is that TAB represents someone else's opinion of how something is played, whereas notation gives you the freedom to choose how to play a line depending on your personal preferences. Then there's the lack of rhythmic information.... I find reading to be an immensely useful skill, not just for doing gigs (about 30% of the gigs that I do involve notation) but as a tool for accessing music quickly and as a means of communicating easily with other players.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1403079063' post='2479432'] After every gig I find myself thinking 'I am never going to take any solos ever again'. And then I get the chance and it's 'I can do this, I know I can do this.....'. And then,After every gig I find myself thinking 'I am never going to take any solos ever again'. And then I get the chance and it's 'I can do this, I know I can do this.....'. And then, After every gig I find myself thinking 'I am never going to take any solos ever again'. And then I get the chance and it's 'I can do this, I know I can do this.....'. And then, After every gig I find myself thinking 'I am never going to take any solos ever again'. And then I get the chance and it's 'I can do this, I know I can do this.....'. And then, [/quote] I feel exactly the same!