Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Huw Foster

Member
  • Posts

    708
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Huw Foster

  1. The Songs That Taught Me Bass Ep4: Take The Power Back Slap bass! Drop D! Awesome pentatonic riffs! This song opened up multiple possibilities for 13-year-old Huw. What was the first bit of slap bass (or thumpin’ & pluckin’) that you learned? PDF, track, full playthrough and isolated bass available on Patreon. 0:00 Introduction 1:11 What did I learn from this? 3:27 Intro riff 7:14 Verse 10:07 Chorus 12:04 Breakdown 12:56 Guitar solo (bass fills) 17:54 Bridge 19:25 Outro pt 1 21:46 Outro pt 2 24:36 Final thoughts & signal chain
  2. Quick Lick 12 - II-V-Fun Because jazz harmony doesn’t need to be boring? I don’t know. Coming up with titles is hard. Anyway, enjoy this G minor neo-soul groove with a 16th note II-V-I lick. PDFs & track available on Patreon. 0:00 Demo & Intro 1:04 Context & Theory 6:00 Breakdown 12:24 Technique 13:51 Applying elsewhere 14:57 Outro
  3. Jamiroquai - 'Time Won't Wait' Original bass: Derrick McIntyre (RIP)
  4. Soundgarden - 'My Wave' Original bass: Ben Shepherd
  5. Patrice Rushen - 'Let The Music Take Me' Original bass: "Ready" Freddie Washington (who else?)
  6. Earth, Wind & Fire - 'September' Original bass: Verdine White Never thought about doing a playalong of this until I found the stems. Verdine's tone and playing is awesome, of course.
  7. Now with a playalong! https://www.huwfoster.co.uk/sophie-ellis-bextor-murder-on-the-dancefloor-bass-playalong/
  8. Updated this one to include tab! Red Hot Chili Peppers - Subway To Venus (tab & notation)
  9. The Songs That Taught Me Bass Ep3: One Armed Scissor Transcription of the whole song (tab & notation) available here. Track, full playthrough and isolated bass available on Patreon. 0:00 Demo 1:18 Intro 2:13 Key takeaways 5:08 Other references (and how to bamboozle Robbie Williams) 6:55 Verse 1 8:15 Chorus 10:10 Interlude & Verse 2 13:18 Bridge 16:06 Outro
  10. Band In A Box? Big difference in price though.
  11. Chaka Khan - 'I Feel For You' (tab & notation)
  12. Having said all of that, you want to get to a point when you're not counting, so your memory approach is the best way to go about it. It does help to contextualise them in the first place though!
  13. There are loads of tricks for sure. For example, the difference between 3/4 (waltz) and 6/8. 3/4 will have a strong first beat, with the second and third beats usually having a similar accent to one another. It also doesn't occur much in modern pop/rock etc, so it's more likely to be 6/8... If it has a triplet feel but you can count a strong 1, 2, then it's most likely 6/8. You could count this as one-two-three two-two-three to make sure. Notable examples include: Manic Depression - Jimi Hendrix, Untitled - D'Angelo, At Last - Etta James. Some time signatures you can extrapolate from 6/8. If it sounds like it has a beat missing (one-two-three one-two) it's probably 5/8. (Take Five - Dave Brubeck) If it sounds like a bar of 4 with a bit missing, it's probably 7/8. Typically a 4 and a 3, but not always. If it sounds like two bars of 4 with a beat missing in one of them, it's 7/4. (Money - Pink Floyd) Of course these are generalisations, but they tend to get you near enough to the answer!
  14. Agree with all that's been said so far - definitely try to find the size and weight that suits you. Also, another general pointer: although there are many ways to hold the pick, try to have only the very tip pointing out. That way, it'll feel more like an extension of your hand and less of an ungainly tool.
  15. The Songs That Taught Me Bass Ep2: Hey Joe Transcription, backing track and isolated bass available on Patreon. 0:00 Demo 1:37 Story 3:14 Context 4:38 Main bassline 9:05 Unison riff 11:48 Intro riff 13:30 Outro
  16. Knower - ‘Do Hot Girls Like Chords?’ (tab & notation) Original bass: Sam Wilkes Transcriptions archive
  17. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - 'Murder on the Dancefloor' NOTATION / TAB Original bass: Guy Pratt Transcriptions archive
  18. Seems like pretty typical disco octaves at that tempo! I'd play with index finger plucking the low notes, and middle finger plucking the highs. You'll be fine if you slow it down first, then work your way up, encouraging muscle memory and anticipation from the plucking hand.
  19. Hi, Don't know if you're still looking for an answer to this (over 4 years later), but I wanted to know this as well. I found a TalkBass thread on this exact subject: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/how-does-sam-wilkes-get-his-sound.1521212/ They refer to one of the videos where all the gear and equipment was listed, including strings. In this case it was DR High Beams. His sound often has the tone of played-in rounds, so this makes sense.
  20. The Songs That Taught Me Bass Ep1: Sunshine of Your Love I’ve been planning on doing something like this for a while. Essentially, I’ll be going through some of the songs I learnt, in a rough chronological order. I’ll also talk about the concepts and techniques I would have picked up from them. Enjoy this breakdown of Jack Bruce’s bassline on ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ by Cream. Officially, the first song I learnt on 4 strings, thanks to my Dad playing it a lot around the time I got a bass. Transcription, backing track and isolated bass available on Patreon. 0:00 Demo 1:10 Intro 2:44 Why learn this first? 3:14 Intro riff 4:55 Verse 6:53 Chorus 8:15 Summary 9:02 Outro
  21. Muse - 'Bliss' NOTATION / TAB Original bass: Chris Wolstenholme Transcribed this one for a student. I'd forgotten how fun some of the basslines are on those first few Muse albums. Took me right back to being 13 and just starting out! Transcriptions archive
  22. Shalamar - 'Friends' (tab & notation) Original bass: Leon Sylvers III Transcriptions archive
  23. George Duke - 'Overture' (tab & notation) Original bass: Louis "Thunder Thumbs" Johnson Transcriptions archive
  24. Having said I can't offer any advice, one thing that might help is avoiding open strings where possible. That way, everything is easier to navigate at first. Then when you're feeling more confident with where the notes are, open strings can come back into play.
  25. Hi, I often have the same problem in the opposite direction when I detune from E standard - my ears and my hands have a hard time syncing up at first. However, I think it does gradually start to make sense after a few minutes / hours. Sorry that I can't offer any real advice or hints, but seeing as you're dealing with the same intervals, it shouldn't be too much of a problem given some time!
×
×
  • Create New...