neilp

I couldn't let one comment go by without replying. Why bother with an orchestra? Because it's fantastic fun, it'll teach you more in an hour than you'd learn by yourself in a month, and playing with a bunch of other people will remind you to be a musician. As a great conductor I work with says "always be beautiful, even when you're wrong"

Robert Plant, Grace Slick, Kate Bush, Elvis despite his tuning, Roy Orbison, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong

Something a little out of the ordinary for you. Horsham Symphony Orchestra with the amazing Gerard McChrystal on sax. Most fun I've had in years. Ravel's La Valse and Dave Heath's Celtic concerto among other things, and a brilliant bass section.

Eyebrow or just above when in playing position. As an aside, lots of people lean their bass into themselves quite a lot when playing. I've always found it better to lean it only just enough to keep it from falling forward, so there's almost no weight against your belly. Then you can move around, and even use the weight of the bass to help your left hand.

Elbow is normally the cause of these things, so yes, elbow up and check that the nut is just above eyebrow level

Amps cabs and compressors have NO effect on how the instrument responds to the player. They do have an effect on the sound of those responses

+1 for Jimmy Nail. I loved his "Love don't Live Here...", and there's one or two gems on Crocodile Shoes even...

The only thing I would say, and I hope this doesn't sound condescending, is that the fastest way to progress with ensemble playing is to never lose sight of the fact that it's music and needs expression. Always try to play with expression. Imagine all the audience can hear is you, even when you're sightreading and struggling!

Well done Steve! Are you still playing with the ensemble? That will improve your playing - particularly intonation - faster than anything else, and as you've found out it's great fun...

Keep us posted, this is great

I thought it was just me with The Flame Still Burns - a band I was in many years ago used to cover it!

Don't Give Up kills me every time. Kate Bush's vocal is just sublime
Can't Stay Away from You, Gloria Estefan. Don't laugh....
Will You, Hazel O'Connor
Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt

and many many more

Ok, that's not a show I know, but I'll ask around, see if I can get a steer. The notation is certainly not helpful!

It ought to be possible to find out what the composer intended, if it's a published show someone has played it before. What's the show?

Ravel was a law unto himself when it came to harmonics! I'm rehearsing "La Valse" at the moment. I still think some context would help - evena composer might give a clue?

The convention - as much as there is one with notation for harmonics! - would normally be that the normally shaped note indicates the finger position to find the harmonic and the diamond-shaped note indicates the pitch. I'm not sure how that would work in this case though! What show is it? Context might help to work it out...

Didn't mean to offend anyone! If anything I would think more of someone who wanted to tune the band as a whole, and I'm not suggesting we should do without tuners. I just think maybe we all rely on them too much. Even the very best orchestras often tune up between movements.

Regarding the perfect pitch thing, I can transpose in my head, but It takes a LOT of concentration!

Do you not tune to the other musicians in your band then? As a matter of fact I do have perfect pitch, but I still always check tuning with guitar, keyboard etc. If you can't get the rest of your band to shut up and tune up, not much of a band IMHO

Like

Can you guys really not tune a bass?

We could have a joint thread about the Beatles and McCartney's bass playing....

Not really a fan of Neil Young, but his moments really are special, to be fair

Thanks for that! Been firmly telling myself it doesn't matter, and failing.

If this is modern bass amplification though, I'm a fan! The 112 is smaller and lighter than my Laney 60W practice amp, and it sounds OSSUM. Loud enough for a pub gig by itself, and the 115 is another 200W and just gives punch, clarity and headroom to burn! Fab!

[attachment=214221:IMG_20160308_225456.jpg]Here you go. Dull to look at, but even just the 112 sounds great, and when you add the 115....

Please don't listen to the guff about "heft" and "umph"!

Had a hankering for a GK rig for a while, and this pair seemed like a good start! Arrived today so I haven't even opened the box yet... Sadly this means the Dynacord has to go

Kudos to Mr Murray, that song is one of my favourite basslines in all rock music - along with The Lemon Song. Very clever playing. I've never managed to persuade a band to work it up, but I'd love to!

Am I allowed two "Ones"? The SB1000 and the Wal will never leave. I have the Cort as a backup fretless, and I'm developing a foolish hankering for a Tbird... No, doesn't make sense to me either!

I'm in Crawley. Happy to help with electrics or setup work. Basic setup work on double basses too