TKenrick

[quote name='JTUK' post='746838' date='Feb 16 2010, 08:16 AM']Marcus Miler as a sideman does it .. Off the top of my head, his live work with Miles Davis and studio stuff with Luther Vandross are places to start. Basically gets aways from the solo pyro player as that came later The Vandross stuff pretty well spawned a Marcus Miller style used by loads of artists...and other seesion guys like Tom Barney built a career aping his Grooves..IMV[/quote] This one gets my vote...

[quote name='jakesbass' post='746027' date='Feb 15 2010, 04:02 PM']"The value of music is to be able to play one note at the right time in the right way."[/quote] Couldn't agree with this more. Great post Jake, thanks for sharing. Tom

In my experience, the use of the 1fpf system (particularly in the form of those '1234' exercises) in the lower register of the bass stems from guitar techniques/exercises. Due to the smaller scale length of the guitar, 1fpf can be used all over the neck without causing any physical problems, and is undoubtedly a highly efficient and logical system in many playing situations. Unfortunately this doesn't really work on bass due to the increased scale length. Although my hands are large enough to accommodate the use of 1fpf from the first fret, I find that the potential benefits are outweighed by increased fatigue, unnatural stretching and the risk of injury. Try this: - Let your left hand/arm relax completely. Notice how the fingers of your left hand naturally curve over towards the palm and there's a gap between fingers and thumb that's conveniently about the same width of the neck of a bass. - Without changing this natural hand position, bring your left hand up to the bass so that your first finger is at the first fret. Notice that the natural hand span in this position is 3 frets. - Keep your left hand completely relaxed and bring it up the neck to roughly the 7th/8th fret. Notice how the natural hand span here is 4 frets (this may vary according to hand size - some may have a 4-fret span at the 5th fret, others at the 10th) I use this method to help decide the point at which I (or those that I teach) should use 1fpf, as it allows me to see where on the instrument it will work from a [i][/i]physical[i][/i] perspective. I can't recommend the Simandl books enough. Working with the first Simandl book did more for my tone and articulation than anything else I've ever practiced, and I believe that the 1-2-4 fingering system presented in the book is the best way of navigating the bass in the lower register. I do still use 1fpf exercises, but only in the upper register of the bass where it makes physical sense. There's a book called 'Bass Fitness' by Josquin Des Pres that has lots of great exercises that help finger independence, but unfortunately all of the exercises are presented starting from the first fret... I give these exercises to students, but starting at the 12th fret so they can get the benefit without putting their hands in unnatural and potentially damaging positions. Apologies for the long-winded reply, hopefully this is helpful! Tom

[quote name='TommyK' post='741086' date='Feb 10 2010, 02:54 PM']Is it possible to do it on a fretted?[/quote] Sliding harmonics on a fretted bass are absolutely possible - I first saw it on a Stu Hamm instructional video years ago. Not the easiest thing to explain through text, but here goes... 1. Play a harmonic on the G string (I find the 4th and 5th frets work best for sliding harmonics, but that might just be my bass) 2. While the harmonic is still ringing, press your finger down directly onto the fret wire - the harmonic should still be ringing out. 3. Slide in the desired direction while still maintaining the pressure with your fretting hand I'm aware this isn't ideal, I'll try and make a video at some point to try and give a clearer explanation/demonstration. Tom

Cachao's son Orlando Lopez is also worth a listen, there's a great album of his called 'Cachaito' that's worth checking out. Although not quite in the same vein as the other players mentioned, I'd recommend checking out Anthony Jackson on Michel Camilo's stuff if you haven't already, particularly the albums 'One More Once' and 'Rendezvous'.

[quote name='Faithless' post='725342' date='Jan 26 2010, 04:09 PM']Hope, you'll sort it.. I'm also spending not more than an hour a day, but, what gets in my way, is finding a [b]proper material[/b] to transcribe.. I thought, it'd be best to start at some plain blues solos, but, all that swing movement, it's just pain in the arse at the beginning to write it properly .. Do you rememember any of your first solos/themes, that you transcribed?[/quote] I spent a lot of time doing transcriptions of things that I thought I [i]should[/i] be transcribing, rather than things I really [i]wanted[/i] to transcribe. I found the way round this was to make a list of musicians whose playing I really admire and who I want to sound like. This provides me with a decent amount of material to get through, and means that I'm always working on material that appeals to me and that I'll (hopefully) incorporate into my playing. There are other times, particularly when I'm working on standards, when I'll transcribe a couple of choruses of a solo to see how certain players approach different changes - working on Maiden Voyage has been really good for finding out how to deal with sus9 chords. As for the first things I transcribed, I spent a lot of time only transcribing bass players. Although this is something that I needed to do as a bass player, it wasn't helping things when it came to improvising/soloing, as I don't want to sound like a bass player when I solo. I think the first non-bass transcriptions I did were Miles' solo on 'So What' and Paul Desmond's solo on 'Take Five', which aren't too taxing.

[quote name='Faithless' post='724559' date='Jan 25 2010, 09:03 PM']How much practice time do you dedicate to transcription process in your everyday routine?[/quote] It really depends on what I'm transcribing and what other things need to be practiced. Normally I'd spend about an hour a day on transcription, which works out at about a quarter of my total practice time. At the moment I'm having a bunch of problems with the tendons in my left arm so I can't really do much practice, which means I'm spending more like 2 or 3 hours a day transcribing. On the original subject of the thread, currently transcribing: Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage (tenor solo done, working on Freddie Hubbard's trumpet solo) Tool - Various bits and pieces (The Pot, Vicarious, Forty Six & 2)

Great comms, speedy postage and well packaged items, couldn't really ask for anything more! Highly recommended, would definitely do business again. Tom

[quote name='Faithless' post='719583' date='Jan 20 2010, 09:26 PM']I would never ever go to such a gig, no matter, what money..[/quote] Call me a sell-out, but I'd kill for a decent (I mean 'high profile') pop tour like that, even if it is mimed. I've been to auditions that have been a similarly stitched-up, and it sucks, especially when you don't get gigs because of the way you look...

Miles Davis' solo on 'Four' Willie Weeks' part on Donny Hathaway's 'Love, Love, Love' Me'shell Ndegeocello - Peace Beyond Passion (Trying to do the bulk of the album, currently working on 'Stay') Laurence Cottle - I'm Further plus the usual RHCP/Coldplay/Fall Out Boy junk that I use for teaching as the kids are into it.

Here's my best attempt to capture Willie Weeks' part on Donny Hathaway's 'Love, Love, Love'. Normally I try and find chords from external sources or avoid transcribing the harmony due to laziness, but this time I thought I'd give it a shot - corrections are always welcome! Tom [attachment=40541:Love_Love_Love.pdf]

Bobby Vega is probably my favourite pick player. Not that much of him on youtube but he's one of the few guys that can really groove with a pick...

Cheers guys, Cimple are just up the road from me so will probably take it there.

Had a quick search of the forums but couldn't find anything on this... Earlier this year I bought a [url="http://www.ciao.co.uk/Novation_Bass_Station__47924"] Novation Bass Station [/url] off ebay. It has a few wobbly knobs and could generally do with a service - can anyone recommend a synth repair guy, preferably in the london area?

Owing to the purchase of a rather shiny flatscreen I'm looking to get rid of a 28" Hitachi TV, good condition, full working order. Pickup from Chiswick, W4 (just of the M4 junction 2) I'm keen to shift it asap as it's taking up space in my practice room! Pics/more info available on request

Hearing and Writing Music is a great book that I've been working from for a while now. It's a very clear and structured approach to ear training and transcription: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hearing-Writing-Music-Professional-Training/dp/0962949671/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258912429&sr=8-1"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hearing-Writing-Mu...2429&sr=8-1[/url] As far as advice on transcription goes, here's my two cents: 1. Start out with something simple (I think the first tune I ever wrote down was a stereophonics song) 2. Regardless of what you're transcribing, work with short sections (1 or 2 bars at a time) 3. Make sure you can accurately sing back the line you're trying to write down and recognise the intervals rather than using your bass and 'hunting' for the right notes 4. Notation software is a massive help when it comes to putting the dots onto a page. This doesn't mean you have to spend lots of money on Sibelius, IIRC there's a trial version of Finale that's free to download. If you have a MIDI keyboard this will also help to speed up the process of inputting notes. 5. Take regular breaks to prevent your ears/brain getting fatigued and making silly mistakes 6. Don't just transcribe bass players. 7. If your ears/voice can't catch a fast lick then windows media player/quicktime both enable you to slow things down without changing the pitch 8. A decent set of headphones can help things considerably, particularly when working on bass lines. I can't emphasise just how important no.3 is - I find that singing is the key to improving my transcription skills. Of course, all of this is just my opinion based on personal experience. I'm fairly sure there's something on Lucas Pickford's site with some advice on transcription, and he's probably much more informative than I am. hope this helps, Tom

A few that I find useful: [url="http://www.bassbooks.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=245"]http://www.bassbooks.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=245[/url] [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Standing-Shadows-Motown-Legendary-Jamerson/dp/0881888826/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256035502&sr=8-5"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Standing-Shadows-M...5502&sr=8-5[/url] [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sittin-Rocco-Prestia-Tower-Like/dp/1575605953/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256035534&sr=1-1"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sittin-Rocco-Prest...5534&sr=1-1[/url] I'm a big advocate of transcription as a means of really getting deep into a genre, so I'd suggest getting hold of something like this and stealing as many licks as possible: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Time-Greatest-Hits-Brown-James/dp/B000001DUP/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1256035594&sr=8-1"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Time-Greatest-...5594&sr=8-1[/url]

It's been a while since I've posted anything up here, this is the first of several Me'Shell tunes I've been working on - the rest will be put up in due course. The intro/chorus line is played on a synth on the record, so getting the phrasing and articulation together on an electric bass might take a bit of experimentation (it did for me anyway). Chords are by ear, please feel free to correct! Tom [attachment=33782:Shoot_n_...t_n_High.pdf]

There's an organisation called BAPAM (www.bapam.org.uk) that specialises in treating musicians/performers, they were a great help to me when I had problems with my shoulder. As for technique, I'd definitely recommend going an seeing an experienced teacher to make sure you're doing the right things - maybe have a look in the teaching section of the forum and see if there's anyone in your area that's recommended. Best of luck with it, I know how frustrating it can be when all you want to do is practice and your body refuses to cooperate!

I don't know if you'll find it any less dreary, but Mick Goodrick's book 'The Advancing Guitarist' is probably the most comprehensive book on the subject that I've found. Yes, it's aimed at guitarists, but 90% of the concepts can be applied to the bass. An hour a day should get you up to speed in no time!

www.sheetmusicdirect.com seems to have quite a few songs available to download, although i couldn't get the preview to work so I don't know if you get notation as well as tab on the sheet music, but I guess you would. If you'll excuse the self promotion, I have a few transcriptions available for free on my blog page (the link is in my sig). Not exactly thousands, but there should be some there that'll offer some reading practice.