AM1

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='475551' date='Apr 29 2009, 10:28 PM']Absolutely totally agree with you about Dunaway, AM; he is as you say an under-rated bassist! Also agree with you that that sort of melodic lead playing is a bit of a dying art.. He contributed so much to Alice Cooper I think; song-wise, playing wise and arrangement wise... Fantastic! Got to say I've never seen any books either. He does have a website so you might be able to email him and ask him? Nik[/quote] Hey Nik, long time no speak! I didn't know you were a fellow Dunaway afficionado! I emailed him a while ago but it was to ask stuff about his project band, have you heard any of that stuff? Anyway, Prakash is also a good melodic bass player. I was going to paste a link to a great bass cover of MarloweDK playing Cold Ethyl but those fascists at YouTube have removed it. That bassline is delicious! Anyway, yes, I have just wasted the entire evening on Dunaway basslines instead of doing my proper homework which was bass exercises and theory. If there was any tribute band I would consider joining, it would be an AC band, in fact that would be cool!

Aloha For some time I have been trying to find books of Dennis Dunaway's early bass playing with Alice Cooper but I can't find anything. Some of it I can play by ear, but not all. It would be great to find some sheet music of the Dennis Dunaway era - an under-rated player! I love that melodic lead bass style, sadly it's a dying art....

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='474745' date='Apr 29 2009, 04:37 AM']For what songs? Most of their older stuff (first three albums) the bass is pretty prominent in the mix, you could probably pick them out by ear fairly easily. That's what I did in my teens, like everybody else. [/quote] Yes those albums primarily. As for ear playing, for sure yes - however, I've yet to see a completely accurate rendition, with all the correct notation and phrasing replicating the originals, which is why I'd like a look over the notation.

I'm looking for some accurate Jamiroquai Transcription, hope someone can help!

[quote name='51m0n' post='474045' date='Apr 28 2009, 10:48 AM']My experience, perception and enjoyment of music can be split absolutely at the point I started playing bass.[/quote] Same here!! I know exactly what you mean!! Although I've always liked the bass, it didn't "speak" to me before, if you know what I mean, then the way I listened to music changed. Listening/analysing music is under-rated as a learning tool.

[quote name='Golchen' post='473579' date='Apr 27 2009, 06:24 PM']Thanks for the advice everyone. I really don't know how you guys work out basslines from recordings, I have a real job picking out the bass, let alone trying to play it. I really struggle with what's going on. Maybe it's because I've spent decades not really listening to bass??[/quote] Hi Everyone listens to music differently. Picking out the bass is something that can be cultivated with a bit of work. If you listen to music through low-level computer speakers, it is often difficult to pick out the bass. If you don't have decent bass speakers, the job of isolating the bass is impeded. A decent pair of bass headphones or a sub-woofer will help! Just have a look on fleabay. Cheers AM

[quote name='Paul_C' post='473388' date='Apr 27 2009, 02:28 PM']I've got a copy of that somewhere I could stand to part with for a small sum [/quote] You have PM

[quote name='al embic' post='473326' date='Apr 27 2009, 12:57 PM']just been looking at this bit of kit....some great functions.the musicman and ricki syms sound great...but i know i would never use this to it's full potential. what i'm wondering is why roland don't do a stomp style box with these syms onboard....[/quote] Have a look at the older VBass which is a floor-based box.

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='473150' date='Apr 27 2009, 09:39 AM']I realise that I’ve spent the last four years learning songs on bass and if you came to any of the gigs I’ve done, you’d be forgiven for thinking I can play bass but after last night, I realise I can’t. I’m a guitarist who can play some songs quite well on bass. Any tips on how to become a proper bass player?[/quote] It's an epiphany moment when your past musical history becomes displaced by an improvisation experience. I found it very, very disconcerting, but I had wasted much more than four years. I have commented here before that anyone can become a bassline jukebox, but becoming a bass player is a different proposition. That statement was not well received - but unless you have experienced that epiphany moment, on any instrument, my statement has very little context. I came to the bass, having already had that epiphany moment, which is the key element directing my bass learning style. But instead of viewing the experience negatively, it is actually a huge positive. There are many musicians who get through decades of time playing other people's music/basslines or writing their own in a band context and either come to this realisation about "becoming a player" very late, or never at all, which is a great shame. Improvisation is a vastly under-rated skill. To be a "technician" and be able to replicate another player's style or repertoire is an admirable pursuit, as is crafting up creative basslines which complement the overall music. But for me, true musicality lies in the ability to improvise. To improvise effectively, either the cultivation of a very good musical ear has taken place or there is some fundamental understanding of the underpinning rudimentary theory of music. The development of both, is a dynamite combination. There's a few things you can do to get you started and then just go to as many blues jams as you can. Once you can improvise, it will also help in the creative process of writing basslines. I only write basic skeleton basslines for my own band but then I tend to improvise around them, you can get away with a lot doing this as long as you land on the correct notes when chords change and stick to keeping a basic groove during verses and adding bass fills in appropriate places with the drums. Getting a few licks and fills is definitely a good start but even more fundamentally, learn modes and arpeggios. There are certain arpeggios that will always work in the blues context and then it is a case of moving these with chord changes and basing licks and fills around them. Listen to some rock n roll, the same chord progressions are often used in blues as are similar arpeggiated "melody" lines on the bass. Also, learning intervals on the fretboard will work wonders, as will 12 bar blues jamming at home. Even using basic major triads will work as a start point, i.e. 1st, 3rd, 5th and then moving them around in line with chord changes. Harmony is key - multi-instrumentation is very useful for developing harmony. Playing an instrument of harmony (or chords on the bass, which is not ideal) massively develops the ear as well as developing an innate mastery of harmony which is very difficult to attain on a mainly single polyphonic instrument, without extensive study. The more arpeggios you learn and study, the more you will start to hear and recognise them in many different styles of music, particularly basslines. The Beatles and Queen are obvious examples. Once you can get these fundamentals nailed, you can go to blues jams and confidently be able to lay down a groove. You can start simple and build in complexity once you have a few basic ideas to work with. Once you can construct basslines on the fly at the blues jams, keyboard players will love you because this frees up their left hand to play complex chords. You can get away with wrong notes as long as you can resolve the dischord fairly quickly! Also, there's an amazing amount of leverage in learning pentatonic scales in all positions, using open strings between fretted notes, pedal tones and passing notes and chord suspensions. Check out Chris Wolstenhulme from Muse on the track Hysteria for a great example of use of pedal tones with a melody sequenced around them. But above all, don't get disheartened, there's a really valuable learning opportunity here if you ignore your fear and see this as a great opportunity to improve your musicianship. If you chuck over your email address I will send some stuff which you might find useful. There's a balance though between going mad on theory elements and using your ears. Cheers AM

Aloha I'm looking for books with scales and arpeggios, particularly arpeggios, not just major and melodic minor but a wide variety and extended arpeggios in different positions on the neck. I could work them out but A) I'm lazy and B ) hopefully a decent book will have fingerings. Any suggestions welcome.

[quote name='pete.young' post='471309' date='Apr 24 2009, 09:44 AM']I've just put a new set of DR Sunbeams on my GL2500 and they were absolutely fine. Not shrink wrapped either. It's easier to automate the production lines but I don't believe it makes the slightest difference to whether strings arrive dead or not. The only DOA strings I had were Elites, and they were shrink-wrapped. YMMV[/quote] Hi, yes I decided to go back to Hi-Beams anyway because those D'Addarios died unbelievably quickly. It's just such a pity about the exchange rate now because Hi-Beam prices are stupid....but I really love the sound and they feel to great play on. I just put on set of 45-105 a few days ago and they sound like sexual chocolate! EDIT - I meant to add, just for reference, my new Hi-Beams were not shrink wrapped and are nicely zingy! Soooo zingy. But they're over £20.

[quote name='ARGH' post='470176' date='Apr 22 2009, 11:10 PM']WATCH the best at it...you can get a ton of knowledge from watching the best.. Start with Larry Graham.......and Louis Johnson....[/quote] Thanks. Youtube should be called YouTutor

[quote name='YouMa' post='470112' date='Apr 22 2009, 10:15 PM']Good phrasing is very important [/quote] Haha. You're learning. Thanks for the suggestions, some useful info.

OK. I see the error of my ways. A few months ago I wasn't interested in learning to play slap, now I'm REALLY interested! From a funk point of view. Any learning resource suggestions would be much appreciated!