TKenrick

The outcome for any of the approaches depends entirely on the musicality of the player. As others have already said in this thread, everything that we're discussing involves putting labels on things to explain why certain sounds are 'correct' and others aren't. Having lots of different 'harmonic perspectives' (for lack of a better term) doesn't necessarily mean that you'll fair any better at improvising than someone who just knows that they should play mode X over chord Y. What matters is the end result; the music. There are tons of great players who don't know much theory, and lots of terrible players who know a lot. Off topic, but I think that a chord scale/mode approach to improvising (both basslines and solos) leads me to play much less musically than focusing on chord tones (again, a different view of the same notes). Horses for courses, but I think it's worth pointing out for people who are investing lots of time slogging away with modes and not getting the results that they want.

What I should have said is that since those modes are all derived from the same parent scale then if you play them over a static Dm7 chord then you're still just spelling out the same intervals relative to the Dm7 chord. It doesn't matter if you're thinking of it as C ionian, D dorian, G mixolydian or any other mode of C major; the listener will still hear you outlining a D minor chord with a natural 9 and a major 6. As I said before, I agree that thinking about the scale from different perspectives will lead you to play different phrases and emphasise certain pitches over others and lots of famous players (Gary Willis, Evan Marien, Anthony Jackson and many others) openly admit that they 'convert' chord harmony to fit their preferred scale choices; most of us do this habitually when we default to playing the minor pentatonic scale over a major chord. The point is that you're still using the same pool of notes, so the overall sound won't vary that much... I also don't think that this line of thinking is particularly helpful in the early stages of learning modes and improvising. Anyway, apologies @stewblack for derailing the thread.

I should really rename this series 'Groove of the Year', but I've finally got another one of these together. A great synth bass groove from Don Blackman that provides a wonderful excuse for me to break out some pedals and a fretless... Full breakdown with transcription here: Groove of the Week #56: Don Blackman - 'Yabba Dabba Doo'

It's hard to separate players who are not to my taste from those who hold a higher standing than their playing deserves, but... The only ones who spring to mind are Steve Bailey and Cody Wright. Not sure how the former got to be chair of the bass dept at Berklee, while the latter seems to be the poor man's Bobby Vega.

I read this a couple of times and might be misinterpreting it, but... Since D dorian, C ionian and G mixolydian are all the same scale, how is this playing different modes over Dm7? Agreed, thinking about playing C major over Dm7 will probably result in targeting different notes compared to thinking about D dorian, but you'd still be choosing from the same 'pool' of pitches regardless of which of those perspectives you choose, so the resulting sound is still D dorian in every case.

New transcription, this time featuring Dee Murray doing a superb job with Elton: Elton John - 'Rocket Man' bass transcription PDF

Thanks @philparker, very happy to hear that you're finding this stuff useful 😀

For me it's always alternate picking whenever I'm playing a line that ascends across adjacent strings and raking whenever I descend. I know this wasn't part of your question, but the phrase 'speed-building exercises' always worries me. If there's a piece of music that you can't get up to speed then just practise the music, don't waste time practising exercises that divorce technique from musical content or focus on mindless technique for technique's sake.

Such a great bassline, and an absolute guilty pleasure of a song. Thank you!

It seems I've been slacking off on the chart front... NoTreble were kind enough to feature an updated version of my chart for ABBA - Dancing Queen (this is by far the most popular chart on the website and is now much more accurate than the first one I wrote for a gig a decade ago!). Cliff Williams' parts are always a masterclass in simplicity, and AC/DC- You Shook Me All Night Long is no exception; the first inversion in verse 2 always makes me smile. Here's a snippet from one of Marcus Miller's early sessions with Bernard Wright - I heard Thundercat mention that this was one of his favourite basslines and realised that I'd never heard it:

I started out on one finger per fret and later got introduced to the 1-2-4 system, for me it's now a case of always having both concepts in my head when I'm playing and 'dipping in' to each one depending on what I'm playing (a sort of left hand 'doublethink', if you will). I don't think you can survive with just one approach, both have their advantages and limitations. My default setting is now 1-2-4, even in higher positions, as my hand feels more relaxed and secure than rigidly adhering to one finger per fret. The problem stems from trying to decide if the bass guitar is a big guitar or a small double bass. It's both, depending on what you're playing and which part of the neck you happen to be in. Regardless of which system you use, the important thing is that you're able to hold your notes to their maximum duration without holding any excess tension in your fretting hand; the left hand thumb is a vital part of this that often gets overlooked. I would say no - I play lots of upright, but I am by no means a double bass player. I think it's important to still view them as separate instruments to some extent, especially given considering how much more physically demanding the upright is compared to the electric bass.

There's a big gulf between someone who can tell you what you're doing wrong and someone who is able to give you practical steps towards solving the problem(s), preferably in a way that's relevant to the music that you listen to and play. As others have already said, a lesson with someone who has lots of playing experience but also takes the time to listen to you and understand where you want to go is worth umpteen online courses or instructional books. I try to check in with a mentor whenever I can (typically one lesson every year), I think it's important to have a second pair of ears to critique your playing no matter how long you've been at it.

Having tried floating thumb and not got on with it (Willis is the only one who seems to make a good sound with it, and he's a mutant...) I'm a firm believer in the 'moveable anchor' option described by @louisthebass above, where the thumb doesn't move past the A string - on a 5-string I do a similar thing, but the thumb doesn't move past the E-string and the ring finger helps out by muting the A string a la Jaco. Not wanting to open up an off-topic can of worms, but from watching the Gordon Goodwin video above I'd actually say don't worry about your right hand too much, it looks/sounds fine... one thing to look into is the left hand and avoiding using one finger per fret in the lower register of the bass if at all possible - in the busier walking sections of the video it seems like trying a slightly different, more double bass-orientated approach might make the left hand feel more relaxed and secure. I'd been playing for years before one of my teachers at music college put me onto the Simandl double bass method book on electric bass (also known as the '1-2-4' system for the left hand) and it made a huge difference in terms of being able to get around the fretboard in a relaxed way.

I did a transcription of this a while back using the original recording and having listened to that isolated track I severely doubt it's JPJ - either that or my ears really aren't all that good 😂 apart from the actual note choices, the tone/attack seems to be quite far from what's on the record.

To include the ledger lines from open E to middle C in one hit: Every Good Band Deserves Fans And Cocaine* *can be easily substituted for Chocolate depending on the age/sensitivity of the student

I'd second @louisthebass suggestion of Joe Hubbard's beginners' course - I haven't taken it personally, but I studied with him for a year or so and learned way more than I did in my entire music degree. He taught Pino, Paul Turner, Dave Swift (I think...) and hundreds of others and his materials and concepts are top-notch. Sure, it's not free, but in my experience you definitely get what you pay for. I think you also value what you've paid for more than anything you get for free - I have hard drives full of video lessons and books that I've 'acquired' over the years, but I always come back to books that I've actually bought or notes from lessons that I've taken. The Friedland book is also a great shout. From the little I've seen of Yousician, I'd avoid it like the plague; it's aimed squarely at children and the lessons videos I've seen have some very questionable advice on bass technique.

It's definitely funny the first 400 times you hear it though, right?? 'Bet you wish you'd taken up the flute!' is another staple that makes my blood boil (have you ever heard a flute? Hands down the worst sounding instrument available)

It definitely helped me get my act together having arrived at music college with zero reading ability! One day I'll get past page 1 of the odd-time book...

I'm possibly at the point where I'd happily play nothing but Valerie for an hour straight. You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone, as they say.

I was thinking along the same lines, but more a question of 'Which books have you actually made it through?' Mine would be: Simandl - Method for Double Bass Book 1 (I found this hugely beneficial to my electric bass playing) Louis Bellson - Modern Reading in 4/4 Time Anthony Vitti - Fingerfunk Workbook

I'm happy to admit to being exactly the same - I realise much to my embarrassment that there are quite a few books on my shelves that I've bought and never opened. It also seems to be the books that I feel are the 'best' are just the ones that I've persevered with over the years - I don't know if they really are better, or that I've got more out of them because I've put more in...

Welcome to the dark side! If you're enjoying playing Vulfpeck stuff, then it might be worth exploring more funk/disco/jazz-funk bands. Some bands/tracks off the top of my head are: • Jamiroquai - Don't Give Hate a Chance, Runaway, Whatever It Is I Just Can't Stop, Alright, Manifest Destiny • Incognito - Colibri, Magnetic Ocean (and lots of others that I can't recall...) • Chic/Sister Sledge - basically anything with Bernard Edwards on it. • Tower of Power - What Is Hip?, Only So Much Oil In The Ground, You've Got to Funkifize • Stevie Wonder - Master Blaster, Sir Duke, Do I Do

Leland Sklar showing how to get away with lots of 'dusty end' action in a singer-songwriter setting: James Taylor - 'You've Got a Friend' Bass Transcription

I should have said 'solfege' rather than 'sight singing' - the idea is you get a simple piece of music, use an instrument to get the first pitch then sing through the rest of it; this means that you have to be able to work out all the interval sounds in your head to sing them accurately.

The best way to progress with ear training and transcription is to start singing everything you're trying to play - start with a bassline or melody that you know really well, but have never played, and break it down note-by-note. Sing each pitch and find it on your bass. Learning the correct names for all the intervals can come later, but the thing that takes the most time is building a link between your ears and your fingers. Sight singing is also an excellent way to develop your ears, as you really can't sing anything accurately unless you're hearing it in your head first. For learning intervals, the most effective thing that I've found is training yourself is an app called Functional Ear Trainer - this teaches you to hear how each degree of the scale sounds in context. As someone who does a lot of transcription, it's worth noting that many of things that make the process easier and more enjoyable have nothing to do with ear training - working on your reading is the quickest way to speed up the process of writing things down.