Stuart Clayton

Hi all, I'm pleased to announce that my company Bassline Publishing will be exhibiting at the London Bass Guitar Show in March. We were there last year in a smaller capacity, but will be taking a full stand this year, and will be releasing a couple of new books at the show. These will be the revamped edition of Ultimate Slap Bass, and The Level 42 Bass Book, which alongside The Mark King Bass Book replaces the series of Level 42 books we published for several years. As the author of the books that we've published I'll be on the stand on both days to answer any questions, and we'll also have solo bassist Zander Zon with us on the Sunday to play some pieces and sign copies of Zander Zon - Sonorous Bass Transcriptions, which has become one of our more popular books. Throughout both days we'll also be running a competition to win the 'Bassline Bundle' which is all ten of our books, shipped to a UK address. The winner will be announced on the Bassline website in the week following the show. We'll be on stand D6, next to the Mansons Guitar Shop stand, and opposite Rob Green's fantastic Status Graphite stand. I really enjoyed spending two days meeting fellow bassists last year, and it was great to put faces to some of the names that I've chatted with on BassChat. Looking forward to seeing you all there! Cheers Stuart

I play this track with my function band. I use a Bass Balls and an octave pedal to get a synth-like tone. Works well, we've had lots of people commenting on it. Stuart

Hi all, Some of you might like to know that the Bassline Publishing Christmas Sale is now on, and will run until the 31st December. All of our most popular titles are in the sale, including: The Jamiroquai Bass Book - was £19.99, now £17.99 The Mark King Bass Book - was £14.99, now £12.99 Funk and Disco Grooves - was £19.99, now £17.99 Solo Arrangements for Electric Bass - was £24.99, now £19.99 There are plenty of other deals to be had on the site. We're aiming to ship books on the same day that they are ordered in order to ensure delivery before Christmas. Best wishes Stuart Clayton

There's a transcription of the Diana Ross and the Supremes version on my website: http://stuartclayton.com/media/transcriptions/ It was transcribed by one of my BIMM students, and I checked it and typed it up. Stu

Hi all, I'm pleased to announce that my company Bassline Publishing has just released a new book: Zander Zon - Sonorous Bass Transcriptions. As the title would suggest, this is a transcription book containing all of the songs from solo piccolo bassist Zander Zon's first album, [i]Sonorous[/i]. Tracks are: [list] [*]Epic Love [*]Circle of Melodies [*]I, Resolute [*]Accelerate [*]She Dance [*]Tribal Chant [*]Hope [*]Looking Glass [*]Meditation in E [*]Sencilla [/list] I worked closely with Zander on the transcriptions and performance notes (which are very detailed) to ensure complete accuracy. The book also contains advice on solo bass playing, set up tips for playing piccolo bass, and how to work with altered tunings. You can read more about the book here: http://www.basslinepublishing.com/zander-zon-sonorous-bass-transcriptions.html If you have never checked out Zander's playing, I highly recommend it! He composes and performs solo bass music on piccolo bass using a variety of altered tunings, and is one of most musical solo bassists out there. Here's a link to his YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/Zander4724 The pieces are challenging to play, but lots of fun! Cheers Stuart

Hi guys, I thought you might like to check out a new video that I just made of one of my solo pieces, an arrangement of 'Shape of My Heart' by Sting. It was one of the pieces that I included in my Solo Arrangements for Electric Bass book, and I thought it would be fun to shoot a video of it. Here's the link: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTVwm7_4sbU[/media] It was also a chance to experiment with video editing, as I have been studying this with a view to recording some kind of instructional DVD at some point. The video was shot by a friend of mine on two DSLR cameras, then edited together by me in Final Cut Pro X. The audio was recorded into Logic as it was shot, and I added compression and a little reverb afterwards. Anyway, I hope you like it! Stu

Hi all, I'm pleased to announce that we have been able to secure copyright permissions to sell The Jamiroquai Bass Book worldwide. Any bassists who have been unable to buy this title previously, will now be able to do so. The Jamiroquai Bass Book features standard notation and TAB for the best tracks from the band's first two albums, which feature Stuart Zender on bass. Tracks featured in the book are: When You gonna Learn Too Young to Die Hooked Up If I Like It I Do It Music of the Mind Emergency on Planet Earth Whatever it is, I just Can't Stop Blow Your Mind Just Another Story Stillness in Time Light Years Manifest Destiny The Kids Mr Moon Scam Space Cowboy All tracks feature detailed performance notes. You can check the book out at www.basslinepublishing.com. Cheers Stuart

Hi, I wrote the book that the other poster is referring to and I thought I would clarify the intention of the book for you. The book does NOT teach scale patterns. It teaches an approach to learning scales in a highly musical way, all over the fingerboard, with no reliance on patterns whatsoever. Chord tones, arpeggios etc are all cited as being hugely important throughout the book. What you are saying is true, but in my opinion is simply a different approach to learning the same thing. Stuart [quote name='bassman7755' post='1359548' date='Sep 2 2011, 09:40 AM']OK at the risk of being contraversial - if you need a book to show you scales then IMO your doing it wrong. To play any scale in any key you just need to know 3 things: 1) where the notes are so you can locate the scale roots 2) the interval sequence relative to the root note 3) how those intervals translate to the fingerboard Take C major for example ... Locate (one of) the root note, lets take the one on the A string 3rd fret. The intervals are 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th all natural (i.e. non-flattened) since its the plain major scale on the fingerboard those intervals are: [note that "up" a string means up in pitch i.e. to a thinner string] up 2 frets on the same string (2nd) up 1 string and down one fret (3rd) up 1 string same fret (4th) up 1 string up 2 frets (5th) up 2 strings down 1 fret (6th) up 2 strings up 1 fret (7th) and then up 2 strings up 2 frets takes you the next C root The interval knowledge gained by doing it this way also opens up arpeggioes, inversions, chord fragments etc it gets your brain to relate intervals sounds to the physical movement and forces you to learn note positions on the fingerboard. The knowledge of intervals in the scale will help you understand chord structures in songs. This method also requires vastly less rote memorisation than learning shapes on the fingerboard and ensures that your brain and ear develop at the same speed as your fingers.[/quote]

[quote name='Fiorenza2' post='1351876' date='Aug 25 2011, 11:16 PM']Hi Stuart, When the Jamiroquai book gets back in stock, I'll most definitely be getting it. I've just got one quick question, is the "Space Cowboy" transcription the "Stoned Again Mix", which Stu Zen played or the album version, which was done by a bloke called 'Mr. X'? Either version is great, and I personally prefer the Mr. X version a bit more. Cheers, Phil[/quote] Hi Phil, It should be arriving today (Friday) - well, I've waited 2 days for the courier anyway... The book contains the Mr.X album version. Best wishes Stuart

Hi all, I've had many emails from customers wanting to order certain books which are currently out of stock. They ARE being reprinted, but there has been an unforeseen delay at the printers. By the middle of next week we'll have the following titles back in stock: The Jamiroquai Bass Book The Bass Player's Guide to Scales and Modes Ultimate Slap Bass Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards Funk & Disco Grooves Best wishes, Stuart

Hi all, We've got an exciting new book coming within the next few weeks: Zander Zon - Sonorous Bass Transcriptions. As I'm sure you all know Zander Zon is a solo piccolo bass guitarist who has built up an incredible following on YouTube thanks to some excellent videos of his original compositions and solo bass cover tunes. You can check out his YouTube channel here: [url="http://www.youtube.com/user/Zander4724#p/c/8/zm1AP3haqRQ"]http://www.youtube.com/user/Zander4724#p/c/8/zm1AP3haqRQ[/url] Zander is a gifted bassist and fantastic composer and it's been a real pleasure to work with him on this transcription book. It's been some of the hardest music I've ever had to notate, but it's been a lot of fun too. Zander is currently proof-reading the transcriptions, and we're aiming for a September/October release. You can check out the cover art and sample pages here: [url="http://www.basslinepublishing.com/zander-zon-sonorous-bass-transcriptions.html/"]http://www.basslinepublishing.com/zander-z...criptions.html/[/url] If you're interested in the book, keep your eyes on the site for updates, and sign up to the email newsletter to be informed as soon it's available! Best wishes Stuart Clayton

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='1307671' date='Jul 18 2011, 12:09 PM']Hey Stuart! When will the John Entwistle book be back? Also, rather tempted to get the solo arrangements one just so i can get the Space dyed vest one on your site [/quote] Hey, Entwistle book is back now - looks like it had accidentally been listed as out of stock for some reason. Space Dye Vest is not in the Solos book - what I posted on the site is all I ever did of it. I wasn't able to secure copyright to include it so it never got finished. It's on my list of things to finish off though! Stuart

[quote name='RhysP' post='1307414' date='Jul 18 2011, 08:10 AM']Best to order it direct from Stuarts website: [url="http://www.basslinepublishing.com/"]http://www.basslinepublishing.com/[/url][/quote] Thanks for the nice words about the book guys. You won't be able to get this book on Amazon. Amazon will list anything with a barcode and claim they can get it from you, but at the end of the day, they have to order it from me! As they take all of the profit out of any sales made through them, I chose not to supply them. The book is only available via www.basslinepublishing.com. I am currently working on the e-book version, which you will be able to get on iBooks, kindle etc in the near future. There is an e-book version on Kindle at the moment, but it is not quite perfect and I will be replacing it this week. Stuart

[quote name='deepbass5' post='1285441' date='Jun 28 2011, 05:10 PM']Phew ! But Life's too short. I enjoyed playing this at a wedding, but there were four of us. Even working just the bass part out took me long enough, ended up righting it all out so i could argue with confidence with our guitarist, but you don't have that problem. Well done, no Click track i notice. How often do you reckon on running it through so not to forget it, if you intend to perform it in the future, guess it will need some maintaining. [/quote] Glad you liked it! You're quite right, pieces like this need a certain amount of maintenance. I have about 1 hour's worth of solo bass material, and would love to play it all live. Problem is, as it's all mentally difficult, it requires a lot of daily practise and maintenance, which I just don't have time to do! Which is why it doesn't happen! Am practising up my arrangement of Sting's 'Shape of My Heart' at the moment, which I hope to video in the next couple of weeks. Stu

Thanks guys, really glad you have enjoyed this! Remember, in order to play this all you need is lots of time to practice! Feel free to message me here if you want any help with it. I'm more than happy to talk you through any parts. Stuart

[quote name='Kev' post='1281825' date='Jun 25 2011, 08:28 AM']When is it shipping mate? Ordered mine on tuesday but no signs of it from postie yet.[/quote] Hi Kev, My apologies for that. The printer promised the delivery last Monday, which is when we sent out the emailer. Then, only one box turned up and we were told the rest would arrive on Thursday. I waited all day on Thursday and Friday for them but the courier screwed up and so they're coming on Monday now. All orders will be shipped on Monday. Apologies once again for the delay. Stuart

Hi all, Some of you have spotted this (and ordered) already, but I thought I should post and let you all know that the Jamiroquai Bass Book is now available. You can pick up your copy by visiting www.basslinepublishing.com. Some of the other books that were out of stock are back as well. Cheers Stuart

I sure do. Just picked up a great book called 'Jazzology' which has some great phrases/etudes in it for jazz players. Working on those at the moment and they're good fun. Stuart [quote name='philwood' post='1273764' date='Jun 18 2011, 02:08 PM']Just wondering how many people on here dedicate any time at all to learning phrases? I've found it a great tool especially in improvisation, so i dedicate part of my practice time now to learning say 1 phrase a week in all keys, alongside scales, arpeggios etc. Im tending to pick phrases that I like at the mo. Just thought i'd throw it in here as I rarely hear of people practicing phrases and having just started to do this myself I'd definitely recommend it[/quote]

[quote name='wrinkleygit' post='1265852' date='Jun 12 2011, 11:21 AM']is it nearly ready yet, is it,,, is it stuart, is it nearly ready yet,, is it ?????????????????????????????????????????/[/quote] Hi guys, Thanks for all the interest in this book! Yes, it is indeed very nearly ready. It's finished and is currently with the printers. I am expecting a proof copy early next week and once that is approved, I will begin taking pre-orders - keep an eye on the site (or email newsletter if you subscribe) for updates. I estimate that it should begin shipping the week after (20th June-ish). It's been a fun book to transcribe and write, so I really hope you all like it! Stuart

[quote name='AndyBob09' post='1249365' date='May 29 2011, 04:25 PM']Hey Stuart, I'm assuming that this will be TAB + dots? Is there any way of of obtaining just dots if this is the case? Cheers[/quote] Hey, Dot and TAB, yes. I'd rather not include the TAB, but if I didn't I wouldn't sell many... No dots only version I'm afraid. Stuart

[quote name='crez5150' post='1246039' date='May 26 2011, 06:40 PM']Just so I know.... I there an issue if I buy the book and scan the pages to PDF for my iPad ?[/quote] No-one can stop you doing that! An in answer to Didle's question, yes it will have the spine. No-one has ever mentioned this being an issue before, although I see what you mean. I'll give it some thought. Stuart

[quote name='Eight' post='1246008' date='May 26 2011, 06:21 PM']I understand... but if people want to pirate your book then they will. It's pretty trivial to scan books, magazines, comics etc. these days - happens all the time and there's lots of software/stands etc. to help with the job. Even the cameras on mobiles are good enough to take a picture of the pages, and from there you're a few clicks away from a PDF. But your concerns are completely understandable - a lot of people are in the same boat. The question being asked is when do the digital sales offset the risk; distribution through Kindle/iBooks helps a bit if you can do that. Anyway... I'll be buying it regardless and very much looking forward to the announcement saying we can all get our wallets out.[/quote] I know it's easy enough to do - I actually have done this with many of my bass books, so that I can have them as PDF's and use them when teaching etc. It's the way things are headed for sure! Stu

[quote name='algmusic' post='1245866' date='May 26 2011, 04:40 PM']I'm sure they are gonna have to look into that in the future, as I know people who are starting to use their Ipad's on gigs instead of paper.. I'm very tempted myself Good luck on the book.. looks great[/quote] Absolutely. The issue really is that digital books are pretty easy to copy between users, and given that most young kids want everything for free, I'd be very worried that my books would quickly end up on torrent sites. Once that happens, you're screwed as an author really. Obviously as we know, the same applies to music and films. Stuart