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greghagger

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Everything posted by greghagger

  1. greghagger
    definitely analysing which is a lot faster with an understanding of music theory. Also great for your playing 👍
  2. greghagger
    Nothing constructive in your comment and you sound very defensive. There is a wealth of information out there for you to take or leave. What you decide to do really doesn’t matter to me, it’s your choice. But perhaps if you did learn music theory, you’d be in a better position to discuss whether you need it or not. There’s nothing to gain by this line of communication so let’s leave it here.
  3. greghagger
    I agree with all of this. Knowledge of music theory certainly opens a lot of doors. I learnt bass initially with a cable wired into my record player! Records were just on the cusp of being replaced by cassette around then. No internet and we didn’t even have a TV 😂 I can only remember one bass magazine that had the odd bit of Tab in it.
  4. greghagger
    Very honest post Frank. I rebelled by picking up a bass as I was learning piano from my Dad at the age of 4 and then trumpet. Playing in a band was my two fingers up at the establishment. But once I realised around the age of 18 that I could actually play bass for a living if I soaked up everything about music, I embraced it all and went for it. Switching what I had already learnt about reading music and music theory from the other instruments was easy to transfer to bass. I thanked my Dad many times for teaching me music in those early years and enabling me to support myself and a family through playing bass. if I can learn music theory from 4 years of age, anyone can quite easily, especially with the amount of resources out there now like @itu pointed out.
  5. greghagger
    That was quite a long-winded way to say that you replied without watching the video. Of course we all have biases, mine is that I value music theory, yours is that you don’t. But surely presenting a question as the title of a video is acceptable even if I already know my answer? I thought that using ten famous bass players from a list that I didn’t pick and looking into their musical education was an objective way to sidestep my bias as much as possible. It surprised me that even more than I thought had studied music when I did this. Anyway, as I said before, I’m not looking to try to changed people’s mind but to present the facts and I reckon that over 40 years of studying many different styles of music and playing bass professionally for over 25 years puts me a good position to make this video.
  6. greghagger
    This particular line of discussion doesn’t seem to be going anywhere for either of us. Let’s move on…. What did you think of the video?
  7. greghagger
    Cool well if you’re going to put words in my mouth and are not up for a civil conversation then let’s move on 👍
  8. greghagger
    You’ve ignored my point that you have strong opinions about something that you by your own admission don’t know. Music theory is often misunderstood by those that don’t know it. Anyway I’m sure that if you viewed my video (with an open mind), you might be surprised at what you find and we might be having a different conversation. I’m not trying to change anyone’s views on this as I believe that we should all choose our own path with music but I thought it would be good to cut through some of the BS that I read online from people who misunderstand what music theory is.
  9. greghagger
    Ah, no I wouldn’t be that insulting! I was trying to distinguish between players who want to ‘have a tinkle’ or just want to have some fun and those that want to find out all they can and take it to the next level.
  10. greghagger
    It’s a lot easier than you think to learn theory as you go. You can still do this and remain an amateur 😀
  11. greghagger
    Music theory is a way to get a deeper understanding of how music works and is certainly excellent to know if you wish to communicate with others about music. You mention “a deep understanding of music theory” but I’m just talking about learning theory as you learn your instrument. I’m not talking about being a scholar here! You’ve picked just two examples of musicians taking about their own experiences with music. There is a vast wealth of music out there and why wouldn’t you want to really understand how it works? I’m not sure if you are just commenting without watching my video but you’ve definitely backed up what I said in my conclusion which is I’ve never met anyone who knows music theory to say not to learn it. The people who say not to learn theory don’t (by their own admission) know music theory. I find that interesting! Of course we all take our own path with music but to offer advice about something that we haven’t learnt about is surprising to me.
  12. greghagger
    Yes I’ve seen this too. Interesting perspective. Music theory is not actually connected to one style/era of music though. It allows you to explain what you are playing to others and very much applied to ‘modern’ music. Invaluable if you wish to become a musician rather just play songs on the bass.
  13. greghagger
    I've seen a lot of debates online about whether or not it is necessary to learn music theory and whether this will enhance or detract from your playing. It's always struck me that the arguments come from those who, by their own admission don't know music theory. So I thought it was time to talk through this debate and offer some of my experience to help you to get clarity on this subject. I've looked into the musical education of a select list of ten famous bass players to see what I can gleam from this information. I think that you might be surprised by what I found out! Check out the latest GBS YouTube video by clicking the image below.
  14. greghagger
    Thanks so much, great shares. I may well make a lesson on one/all of these. I also really loved Nathan East when I first started playing in the late 80’s when it seemed he was playing on everything. Probably was! Cheers
  15. greghagger
    Last week I decided to delve more deeply into the Southern Rock scene. As well as liking the modern Southern Rock bands, I've always loved the solid grooves from bands like ZZ Top, and Lynryd Skynyrd and I wanted to have a closer look at the bass players who were active in that scene during the 1970's and 80's. What I found was really interesting and a lot of the bass line were different to what I was expecting. These bassists were playing much more than the classic 8th note grooves that are maybe more commonly associated with Southern Rock. This is a fun lesson that you don't want to miss and even better if you want to get more familiar with the bass players who established this style of Southern Rock. Find out more in my latest YouTube lesson. Enjoy!
  16. greghagger
    Looks awesome! Glad to have been of sone help with the review. I’m loving the pedal. Used it for quite a few different situations now. I usually pick a sound I like and stick to it but this pedal has a few great options that I’m finding I’m using.
  17. greghagger
    Great to see your pedalboard, even nicer to see the metal and black design to the whole board 👌😀
  18. greghagger
    After note choices, the single most important factor to help you develop your own personal playing style is how you articulate your notes. Articulation simply put is the attack and length of your notes. If you listen to some of your favourite bass players closely you'll notice that each one has a unique way of articulating their bass lines. This characterises their own style, often defining that player. Some players clip their notes short, some play longer notes with less attack and others have unique ways of plucking the strings. Bernard Edwards from Chic played with what has become knows as the 'clucking' technique where he used his fingers like a pick. You don't have to use this chucking technique but what is important to take away from players like Bernard Edwards is the shortened, more funky notes that they produced. In my latest YouTube lesson I discuss articulation in more detail and use the Sister Sledge tune, 'Lost In Music' to help illustrate the important of articulation. Check out the lesson and you can also get a free copy of the Lost In Music bass line under the video.
  19. greghagger
    Moondance by Van Morrison is such a classic that you're bound to get asked to play it at some point. I must have played it 100's of times live and I haven't played the same bass line once! The original bass line is one long improvisation and for this reason you don't really need to try and learn it note for note. I did transcribe the whole bass line this week though so I could analyse it and I learnt some interesting things about it that I hadn't noticed before. This week I've made more of a 'bass line deconstruction video' for Moondance because this way I can show you how to go away and improvise your own bass line which will fit with the song and which frees you up to be more creative. There are some key musical ideas and scales that the bass player, John Klingberg utilises and once you know these, you can use them yourself to pick out notes that will sound great when playing Moondance. Find out more in my latest YouTube video and download free free PDF transcription.
  20. greghagger
    Arpeggios contain the building blocks for bass players. We can use the chord tones (the notes of the arpeggio) to create walking bass lines. These chord tones outline the chord and that's our job as bass players for the rest of the band particularly when playing Jazz. There are five essential 7th arpeggios that you need to know if you want to play Jazz bass. Once you known their fretboard shapes, you can transfer them to start on any root note. The names of these 7th arpeggios like, 'maj7' or 'dominant 7' can cause confusion so I've made a lesson to clear this up and to lay out all the five arpeggios. Find out more in my latest Youtube lesson. There is a free downloadable PDF cheatsheet with all five 7th arpeggios on it. Link under video. https://youtu.be/NpzqREyp0MI
  21. greghagger
    If you've ever played a Jazz tune at a jam or a gig then you're probably aware of what a '2-feel' is. If not, and you want to play Jazz bass then you have to know how to play a 2-feel and more importantly, how to make it swing. This is one of the most overlooked areas of Jazz bass playing, often overshadowed by a focus on learning walking bass. But when you hear the masters bassists like Ron Carter or Ray Brown play Jazz bass, you'll notice them playing 2-feels that compliment the band and that really swing hard! The 2-feel comprises of two notes per bar instead of the usual four notes that you find in walking bass lines and is often used at the beginning and end of Jazz tunes. If you're a budding Jazz bass player then you have to master the 2-feel and I've laid it all out in my latest YouTube video. Find out my 5 tips to make your 2-feel swing and also a step-by-step guide on how to lock in with the rest of the rhythm section by clicking below.
  22. greghagger
    I too was subjected to the ‘wooden box on top of the piano’! I do put my good sense of time down to those days though.
  23. greghagger
    Yes, that has always confused me about Jeff’s view on the metronome. He says bass players should learn like all other musicians using tried and tested methods but says not to use the metronome. Doesn’t seem to add up.
  24. greghagger
    I do still like the sound of the traditional ones too. We used to have a really old wooden one on top of the piano in the 80’s! 😀
  25. greghagger
    There are lots of free apps for devices that are pretty good. Some of the free apps even have drum sounds too.
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