TKenrick

In addition to @itu's wise words I'd emphasise the importance of studying triads and their inversions in as much depth as you can stomach before moving on to 'bigger' chords. Also take a look at spread voicings of triads (e.g. root - 5th -10th) as these tend to speak better on the bass in some situations compared to close-voiced triads. Another area to check out is the concept of voice leading - essentially finding the path of least resistance through a set of chord changes using inversions. Piano players and guitarists are worth studying for this more than bass players.

This is a goldmine, thank you!

I've been very slack on the transcription front for the last year or so, hoping to make up for it in 2022... Here's an old Vulfpeck tune with a nice little solo from Monsieur Dart: Vulfpeck - 'Adrienne & Adrianne' bass transcription

Thanks, Pete (the cheque's in the post 😉) @la bam learning to read on the bass is hard, which is why 95% of players avoid it at all costs. I definitely felt frustrated when I switched from TAB to notation but 10 minutes a day can work wonders and in 6 months your bass playing will be in a totally different place. I haven't checked out Jeff's books yet, but given his prowess on the instrument I'm sure they're a great way to get yourself in shape.

The content of the music informs the technique you use to play it; sometimes it's 1234 in 1st position, sometimes it's Simandl above the 12th fret. Whatever makes the music sound best.

You can hit the key softly enough and bury it in the mix to such a degree that I can't really be certain what the note is 😉 the ghost notes are a best guess.

If only this was the sort of Christmas tune that I got to play at gigs, it's always bloody Slade or Wizzard...

I was taking a student though this chart last week and realised that it was woefully inaccurate; here's another stab at Donny's excellent Fender Rhodes part: Donny Hathaway - 'This Christmas'

There are a few books that are good for getting the essence of walking bass within a limited time frame, and any one of these should provide you with enough to 'fake it' in the short term. You'll need to read notation for all of these, if you're thinking about pursuing jazz then it's best to put TAB in the bin anyway: Ed Friedland's Building Walking Bass Lines Gary Willis Fingerboard Harmony Joe Hubbard Walking Bass Lines Out of the above, Joe's is probably the most immediate if you're looking to get things together overnight. One on the most important things that doesn't get emphasised enough is the feel of walking bass rather than the content of the line; you can get away with a lot if your sense of time and swing are strong. When you're practising walking lines put the metronome on beats 2 and 4 and try to feel a constant 8th-note triplet subdivision even when you're playing quarter notes. These will help you to get the rhythmic feel of things.

Peter bought a Boss phaser from me, great comms and swift payment, a joy to work with!

I've been tidying up some charts following the discovery of some very embarrassing errors. These have all been made more accurate and had layouts improved for people trying to turn pages on a gig: ABBA - Waterloo ABBA - Honey, Honey ABBA - Mamma Mia Killers - Mr Brightside From now until 1st December you can also get my Better Bass Practice ebook at 30% off

There are a few areas to visit on the journey to better note choices; this is all with the caveat that note choice is also a somewhat personal choice and some things that are theoretically 'correct' might not sound good to you (the opposite might also be true...) I'd approach things in this order: 1. Get familiar with basic intervals up to an octave (you need to know these in three ways: how they sound, how they look on the fretboard, and how they're spelled). If you have a good understanding of the sound you're after then you're more than halfway there 2. Understand how the most common triads (major, minor, diminished, augmented and suspended) and 7th chords (major 7, minor 7, dominant 7 and half-diminished) are constructed. This instantly gives you access to a whole host of note choices that aren't the root. Scales are ok, but focusing on chord tones will allow you to outline the harmony much more accurately. 3. Steal as much as possible from your favourite players. Whenever you hear something you like, try to work out what chord is being played by other instruments - this gives you an understanding of the context(s) that you can use the thing you've stolen. This won't happen overnight, and will require a lot of persistent effort (at least, it does for me and everyone I teach!). If it were easy then everyone would be Pino. FWIW I would say that ears trump theory knowledge almost every time, but ears take much longer to train and theory provides useful labels for sounds that make communicating with other musicians much easier.

Triggered. One finger per fret is a guitar technique as the spacing is much smaller (25.5 inches vs 34 inches). The argument for 1-2-4 in lower registers is ergonomic. I have large hands and long fingers, but if I put my fretting hand in a relaxed state then it spans 3 frets rather than 4 until I reach roughly the 7th fret; to that end, I'm going to use the left hand technique that minimises unnecessary tension in my fretting hand wherever possible. I'd rather make playing as effortless as possible rather than trying to stretch my tendons out... I spent the first 6 or so years wasting my time playing 1234 permutation exercises in the lowest register of the bass and all it did was give me physical problems that went away when I discovered Simandl and switched to 1-2-4. I've had students with similar shoulder/wrist issues that have been cleared up by following the same path. My gripe is not against using 1fpf; what I was attempting to convey is that I think it's limiting to approach the bass with only one fretting hand concept. I think that most of the music that we encounter requires some 1-2-4, some 1fpf and some extension fingering (where fingers are spread with a gap of two or more frets).

I would offer a contrary opinion; use 1-2-4 in the lower positions of the bass for the majority of the time and 'dip in' to one finger per fret when the music requires it. I find that 1-2-4 allows me to keep my fretting hand much more relaxed than 1fpf. As others have already said, it's vital that your fretting hand thumb is an active participant in the music - it has to pivot and move to help you get around the bass rather than being static (or worse, clamped over the top of the neck).

This. All day long. Your ears need to run the show. Practise playing a major scale really slowly (40bpm, two clicks per note) with a drone and learn how it sounds and feels to create each interval in tune (or, if you're anything like me, slightly out and then in...). Muscle memory will follow.

Much as I hate being self-serving... my website exists for this very purpose: https://freebasstranscriptions.com/transcriptions/ I struggled to find suitable songs to teach to younger students without resorting to TAB, so I started writing things out for them. There's very little in the way of books for sale in notation only-format, because it massively reduces the commercial appeal.

New video/blog post. We're going on a deep dive into triads, as this is a fundamental area that I find almost all of my students are lacking in: Detailed notation/explanation in the blog post here: https://freebasstranscriptions.com/five-must-know-triad-types/

Guilty! I bought the bass in January 2011 from Bass Direct (I haven't checked the neck pocket for an inscription...). I remember playing another Nordy that didn't feel as good, and I still haven't found any other 5-string with a neck that's anywhere near as comfortable. The bridge pickup became faulty a few years ago, Nordstrand were amazingly helpful; they rewired the pickups and sent me a new set of Big Splits to try for free. Great company to deal with and it's a shame that Carey doesn't seem to be making these basses any more. @NJE Thank you for the kind words, glad to hear that people like the stuff I hurl at the internet!

A friend is after a bassist for a covers band and I can't commit to it, please find details below and get in touch with Michael if you're interested: We are a female fronted covers band, with two guitarists who share both the rhythm and lead work. We had a drummer and a bass player during the early stages of starting but they have since decided that they cannot commit. However, the three of us have ploughed on with getting our set list and repertoire of songs together by rehearsing to drum and bass backing tracks. Whilst the backing tracks have served their purpose until now, we really want to bring a bass player into our rehearsals and a drummer in around a month or so to complete the line-up and start booking ourselves gigs around London and the home counties. One of our guitarists has the contacts to get great shows and great venues booked and we are excited to get to this stage by the time summer is out. Our songs so far contain all the classics that people expect from a covers band called SpandX (Bon Jovi, GNR, Poison etc) through to modern day pop and rock, albeit with a slightly more rocky and live edge to it to keep the set energised. The whole aim of this is to have fun, make people dance and rock out! We are all really committed and rehearse weekly on Saturdays in Paddington at Westbourne Rehearsal Studios. Below is an insight into some of the songs we have added to our repertoire: · Love Runs Out – OneRepublic · Stop & Stare – OneRepublic · Livin On A Prayer – Bon Jovi · You Give Love A Bad Name – Bon Jovi · Nothin But A Good Time – Poison · Since You Been Gone – Kelly Clarkson · The Middle – Jimmy Eat World · Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous – Good Charlotte · Sweet Child – GNR · Don’t Stop Believin – Journey · Misery Business – Paramore · Edge Of Glory – Lady Gaga · Physical – Dua Lipa There are more to list, but we can discuss this with anyone who is keen to explore the opportunity with us. If you are interested, you must have your own gear that can be used to gig – modelling unit/amp etc. Both guitarists use professional level amp modellers that go direct to the PA to keep the sound consistent. We also would appreciate someone that can bring their flair to the setlist and contribute to the arrangement of our covers as well as tracks to add. If you are interested, please contact Michael on 07714385122 to discuss things further.

I forgot there's a studio version - I actually meant this live one from 'Flood'. For me this is the most joyous expression of funk bass that I've ever heard:

For me it's all about making sure that my fretting hand thumb isn't in contact with the back of the neck, as this limits the range of movement you get - I feel like it's a whole arm thing rather than a case of wiggling the fingers. I learned a lot from slowing down Paul Jackson's part on 'Hang Up Your Hangups'. When you hear a shake at full speed it sounds like there's lots of pitch variation, almost like a trill, but slowing down PJ made me realise that most of the time there are very few slides between the two pitches. I'll see if I can find some audio to back this up...