Amafi

Awesome that! JD I'm a massive fan of your bass playing. I'm from the North East and have seen a few vids if your stuff. Very impressive. Hope to come and see you guys live soon. All the best.

Really enjoyed that, I know you from another more local forum (BGGGP) Great stuff, lad. Fantastic tone.

[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1319456056' post='1414208'] MB1. Having noticed your avatar" if all else fails mickey love ! you could always become a Fireman!" [/quote] Yeah, if Pauline lets me..

@Bassman7755 Thankyou, that is a very intelligent approach to music generally. It makes a lot of sense. A friend of mine played bass who had [i]no[/i] music theory whatsoever, he played some of the best bass lines I have ever heard in my life. Unfortunately, he doesn't play anymore but is now a very well respected artist. (paintings etc) As you say, he just had the ear for it.

[quote name='louisthebass' timestamp='1319446807' post='1414040'] I know I've plugged this book many times on this forum (& I'm not getting paid for it - honest!!) but the Stuart Clayton book on scales & modes might be what you're looking for. The first half of the book might be just what you're looking for as it does venture later on into more Jazz oriented scales & arpeggios, but if you don't need that part of it, then it's achieved what you required in the first place.[/quote] I'm waiting for the postie to drop this book off today hopefully, I have high expectations I'm hoping it will get me out the same predicament as the OP.

I know exactly what you mean! To be honest I think we have all been there at one point or another I get a kick up the arse by 'depping' for local bands who advertise on a local musicians forum. No committment to continue with the band, but it gives you something to practice for. Other than that, with regards to practising, I think it's more a case of self discipline and a desire to improve. Don't think anyone can instill those in you though. Best of luck though, I hope you find some inspiration soon.

Cheers all, every bit of advice is useful to me. I have ordered Stuart Clayton's book on scales and modes as it's been mentioned on here a few times now. I'm gonna see where I get with that. All the best.

Thanks Bilbo, very helpful info. Another piece in the puzzle @Peteb Sound advice mate, thanks. I've been studying basslines note for note for years for the exact reason you mention, but it is only recently I have thought of them as playing in modes. I was always trying to find what 'name' and type of scale they were playing. Maybe that's why it's taken me so long to progress. I will be going back to the drawing board with a new perspective now though. Cheers all

@Doddy. Yes mate, that's it, I know the [i]patterns[/i] of the Major and minor scales. I would easily be able to work out what notes are in them (although I'm not sure whether to call some of the notes sharps or flats), but I just don't know where or when to use them or when I could use a particular mode. I am aware that the Ionian, Lydian and Myxolydian are Major modes too, and therefore assume they can be played over Major chords, but I wouldn't know which mode to use over a particular key. I would guess it depends on the rest of the chords in the song. You are making sense to me about using the root notes, as I would normally begin each chord change on the root, and I kind of understand what you mean about how I could not just use any note of the Myxolydian but needed to land the root of the scale on the changes, switching to the Myxolydian of that key. Did I understand that correctly? Thanks.

Thanks for replies everyone. Seems I asked the right place. @ Bilbo. I interpreted your reply as most blues being played in a Myxolydian (Dominant?) scale, therefore if I was to jam to a blues tune in A, then I should/could be playing an A Myxolydian scale over the whole thing? (A, D, E) Forgive my ignorance, I forgot to mention I was an idiot in my initial post, lol. As to other members recommending a teacher, I think you are right. I have a thousand questions and this post could get quite long.. If there are any [i]extremely[/i] patient teachers in the North East (Northumberland) area, please contact me if you think you can help.

Hi folks, I've been playing quite a while and I think I'm on the verge of a personal breakthrough with regards to my music theory but I still can't quite find that missing piece of the puzzle. I'm totally self taught and have played for quite a few local bands who seem to think I'm a decent bassist!! Thing is, I don't really know what I'm doing.. I'm a fraud! I know my major scale in every position and in every key, I know the modes and I know both my Major and minor Pentatonics in every key. Most songs I play are 12 bar but I still don't know whether I should play Major or minor Pentatonics as they both seem to fit. What I would really like to know is what scale/mode to play and when, especially for fills, and how do you know what scale/mode to use? Say I was to get a song from a friend, how would I know how to jam over it? A recent video said that you should find each chord that the guitarist is playing, overlap them in the same fretboard position, and the notes from the chords will define the scale to play. Is this correct? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks

I think Fender rely on their name more than the recent quality of their guitars. Even though I own a Fender myself now, (Marcus Miller sig bass) which is decent enough, I had to exchange 2 others before I got it. You [i]can[/i] get some cracking tones out of the Fenders but I think it needs a bit of work - I'm still learning as the bass is relatively new, but I'm sure it's in there somewhere. In all honesty, had I not part ex-d another guitar to buy the Fender, I would have went with something else.. Unfortunately the only guitars around the same price range were Fenders, so that's why I ended up with it.

Well, I took it back..again and decided to bite the bullet.. I forked out for a Marcus Miller signature bass. Not that I'm an avid fan or anything, but if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me Still haven't told the missus I used the credit card tho.. If I don't post again..I'm dead. Amafi

I may just fork out a little extra and go for a better model. I loved the feel and sound of the MIM Jazz, but am seriously put off now. Back to the shop i suppose Thanks again for opinions so far, helped me a lot.. I'll let you know what I get if you really want to know Amafi

[quote name='rjb' post='487784' date='May 14 2009, 12:33 PM']Have you tried different strings? As for the bridge, that's easily swapped for a Badass.[/quote] No, the guitar is straight from the shop. About 3 hours old! I noticed a slight bend in the neck while in the shop, but thought it wouldn't be a problem once I set it up. The previous one (1 Week old) set up easily, except it had a different (aforementioned) problem. The guitar cost £529 and to be honest, I expected better. I realise that the parts can be swapped, but the guitar still has the tag on it! Guess I'll have to get back in touch with the shop. They are gonna be sick of the sight of me hehe. Thanks for replies Amafi

Hi all, Iv'e just been to collect my replacement Fender Jazz 70's stylee Standard Bass from the store. (Mexican) The original NEW Fender had problems with the saddles lowering by themselves causing the bass to go out of tune. This one is completely different..I got it home and began to set it up and it just [i]wrong.[/i] The neck is straight as a die, yet still get fretbuzz even though the saddles are really high, which of course makes the action at the higher end terrible. The saddles also seem to splay out a bit, making me think it's poorly made. I have been playing for 20+ years and have set up a few basses in my time but even the previous one was completely different. Has anyone had problems with inferior quality in this range? Or am I just unlucky~? Amafi

Hey, I have this solo tabbed for a friend of mine, but I can send you it no probs if you still need it It is NOT from any crappy bass tablature on the Interwebs and is the solo which is on the Steal my Kisses single. Like SIbob says tho, that clever bugger Juan Nelson never plays it the same way twice..but it's still a cool solo and sounds great live. I'll leave the rest of the song to you, but if you want to check something against 'my' version then just reply here or email me. Amafi

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='475472' date='Apr 29 2009, 09:02 PM']Hi Amafi - I'm in Newcastle and have woked on a few Hohners in my time. I should be able to help even if it involves fitting a non-standard part that will fulfill the function. Feel free to PM me if you wish to take up the offer. And of course welcome to the forum![/quote] Thankyou, Doc Already sent you a pm.. What a great start to the forum