Major-Minor

To really understand chords and chord symbols, it helps to look at the notes which make up each chord and try to spot how those notes move or resolve to the next chord. Go to a piano (or keyboard) and look at the chords you mention: F7 consists of F A C Eb Gdim G Bb Db This chord has similarities to Bbminor7 (Bb Db F Ab) 2 notes are common to both. (If there was also an F in this chord, you could call it Bbm6) (If it was called Gdim7, it would also have an Fb in it - easier to think of this as an E) Can you see how the notes of F7 move smoothly into the notes of Gdim ? The chord of Gdim then slides up a tone to the A dim (A diminished chord is very unstable so wants desperately to resolve to somewhere - and it doesn't much care where !) Look at the notes of Adim A C Eb Can you spot the similarity to F7 ? Add an F to this Adim chord and you have created F7. That's why the A dim resolves so smoothly into Bbm7. By the way: The "C Phrygian Dominant" is a modal SCALE not a CHORD, and, while it is important to understand how scales can relate to chords, I really don't think it is a good idea to think about Modes while trying to get to grips with the basic harmonic movement of a tune. Hope this helps The Major

Clarky I'm trying very hard to make my Bass Boot Camp Sessions (on this forum) as un-dry as I can ! But it's quite tricky to get the information across without getting bogged down. The problem with theory is that you sort of need to know it all before it makes proper sense. Also anyone writing a book has to assume the reader knows very little so every detail has to be explained in full, making it very dull for someone with a bit of knowledge. I'm hoping that by putting up mp3s of each example in my Sessions, those that don't want to plough through the explanations will have something to play along with. And I know full well that reading music is a problem for many players. Hopefully by listening to the mp3s and reading the part at the same time, some of you out there will find that reading is not as frightening as you may think. I'm trying to hone my skills with theoretical explanations. Do let me know if there is anything i can do to make things more easy to understand. The Major

[quote name='skampino' post='788963' date='Mar 28 2010, 10:46 PM']In my last band I worked alongside two guitarists. One undertook lessons for 2yrs and has a hell of a lot of technical knowledge and can can play any guitar solo you throw at him. The other guitarist has never had a lesson and learned everything by ear. We began writing our own material and this is where the first guitarist came unstuck. With all his knowledge he had little creativity, whereas the one who had taught himself could produce something with a 'hook'. He would often amaze me at how when listening to the music channel he would grab his guitar and pick out the actual guitar parts that were being played in songs he'd never heard before. The other guitarist couldn't do that. So, although there are lots of benefits in learning the technical side of music, playing by ear is a gift![/quote] Creativity is a state of mind. Think what your guitarist friend could do if he had both good aural skills AND theoretical knowledge! The Major

The Major's Bass Boot Camp - Session 19 12 Bar Blues - Bass Riffs and Lines There are 5 examples here, showing just a few of the very many types of lines and riffs you can play in a 12 bar blues sequence. Hopefully these ideas will help you on your way to creating your own blues related bass lines. MBBC19a [attachment=46058:MBBC19a.pdf] [attachment=46063:MBBC19a.mp3] Key of A One of the great features of any Blues is the ambiguous nature of the key - is it Major or is it Minor ? The melody line can often be peppered with minor 3rds (also known as the "blue note"), or minor 3rds bending up to the major 3rd. Sometimes the chords can be distinctly minor in flavour, or major, or a mix of both or neither. In this example, the first chorus (12 bars) is purely a bass-lead riff - but notice how I've avoided the 3rds of each chord so we really don't know at this stage whether it will be major or minor. (So for instance in bar 1, which has an A root, there is neither a C or a C# to delineate the nature of the chord). In chorus 2 (from bar 13) you will hear in the piano part (on beat 2) that we get both the C and C# (a 7th apart) giving us the unstable "is it major? is it minor? " feel, followed by a chord with neither notes - yet more questioning. Bar 24 - last bar of the 12 - usually this would be the Dominant chord of the home key - E7 in this case. Here I have stayed on the tonic (home) chord of A7. Chorus 3 (from bar 25) uses a type of harmony I love - the suspended 4th chord i.e. chords built in 4ths rather than the usual 3rds. So in bar 25, listen out in the piano part for A D G (root / 4th / 7th). 0 MBBC19b [attachment=46059:MBBC19b.pdf] [attachment=46064:MBBC19b.mp3] Key of A A good old fashioned 12/8 Blues / Gospel feel to this one. "Down Home blues" style. The 1st Chorus just uses the notes from the triads to create the bass line. However in Chorus 2, we get that clash of Major and Minor again. The chords in the piano and guitar are purely Major, but in the bass part we get both Major and Minor 3rds (C and C# for instance under the A major chord).Because the C is fleeting in nature, the dissonance is also fleeting, yet it lends a nice earthy feel to the line. If the C was a held note (i.e. long) it would sound distinctly wrong ! (or should that be "challenging" ?!). MBBC19c [attachment=46060:MBBC19c.pdf] [attachment=46065:MBBC19c.mp3] Key of E This is all playable in the 2nd position i.e. 1st figure on 2nd fret (4th finger plays on 4th fret) but you could use a mixture of other positions and avoid the open strings (except the E of course, if you are on a 4 string bass). Again we get the mix of major and minor tonalities. MBBC19d [attachment=46061:MBBC19d.pdf] [attachment=46066:MBBC19d.mp3] Key of C Loosely in the style of Stax records artists like Booker T and the MGs. MBBC19e [attachment=46062:MBBC19e.pdf] [attachment=46067:MBBC19e.mp3] Key of G I could have written this in 12/8 (because that is what it is) but I've chosen to use the standard abbreviation of dotted quaver/semiquaver instead. This rhythmic style is sometimes called a "Shuffle". The Major

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='790810' date='Mar 30 2010, 05:12 PM']Thanks Major. I did have a look through part one and two before i started this thread but i was at work so it was just a glance. I will go back to them when i have the time. My comment about different scales for different music was probably not as clear as i thought it was but your comment above is sort of what im after. While im very loosely generalising, i find that certain styles of music tend to use certain chord progressions and scales. Reggae, blues, rock and roll spring to mind. To me these each have very distinctive styles of bass line. Again, thats a over generalisation. I know anything can be played but to me it seems certain progressions, or certain types of bass line help make the style of the song. what im looking for is a way of understanding whats going on in the different styles so i can improvise while keeping it authentic. I dont know the names of the different scales so cant use any as an example. Does this make sense? I know this wasn't what i first asked for but this is what i would like to work on. Thanks again. Ill definitely work through some of your studies.[/quote] Dave You are quite right - each genre of music will tend to have certain stylistic characteristics which one can define by chord types and chord progression types. You are unlikely to find, say, an A7b9 chord in a Reggae tune, while this will be common in a Big Band Swing chart or a Jazz-Funk tune. But when we look at the bass parts of different styles of music (particularly "popular" music), it's not so much SCALE related or CHORD related differences that we notice, but RHYTHMIC and GROOVE related. After all, most types of "popular music" have fairly simple harmonic bases, and, generalising, the bass parts tend to follow the chord sequences in a logical fashion, playing mostly chordal notes with a few non chordal passing notes thrown in. But its the rhythmic use of those notes that makes the styling clear. Generalising is a very dangerous thing to do ! So I don't think its helpful for me to say that, for instance, Jazz walking lines are always 4 to the bar or that Rock and Roll is always arpeggiated dominant 7ths. It's much better to understand the theoretical basis for ALL music. Standard Western Music Theory covers all the points you need to know to then be able to work out what is going on in any particular style / genre. In my Bass Boot Camp Sessions on this forum, I'm trying to gradually cover all the theory that one needs to know and understand to be a good (general) bass player, and at the same time helping players to get their reading and technical skills up to speed. A good knowledge and facility with all scales and arpeggios is a must for the aspiring bass player, as is a firm grasp on harmonic principles (chords and their usage). But my point here is that all these things are inter-related and cross-genre. For instance, you are as likely to find evidence of a harmonic minor scale in a piece by Mozart as you might in a Hip Hop track or a Tango or a Prog rock epic or an Algerian Rai opus. But the way that scale will be used will differ hugely in its stylistic context. I will put on my list for future Bass Camp Sessions something about this scales /chords relationship. I'm currently preparing some sessions on basic reading skills which will, naturally, also include basic scale work. The Major

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='789539' date='Mar 29 2010, 03:56 PM']I'm of the 'working it out by ear' variety. Nothing wrong with using books, and I do occasionally, but I find it's better to try and work it out myself and get a feel for it, only looking at a book if I'm really stuck.[/quote] Hi Sarah5string One of the problems with the "working it out by ear" method is that you don't get to learn much about how that part was put together in the first place ie the underlying chord sequence or rhythm groove that the original bass player was presented with. Don't get me wrong - I spent hours playing along to my favourite records (vinyl !!) when I was young. But it was only by getting hold of the sheet music that the theory behind the songs started to make sense. If you are happy just copying what others have already done - well that's fine - but if you have an enquiring mind and a desire to be creative, you need a little more in-depth knowledge. And yes - you can work stuff out for yourself - but it takes a great deal longer. The Major

[quote name='Bilbo' post='790780' date='Mar 30 2010, 04:37 PM']Its also helpful to think in terms of the gaps between the notes also. It is so easy to get into the stream of consciousness string of sixteenths idea. Yu can, if you have a good accompanist, leave lots of space to make you ideas stand out. Its not about being a saxophone player, its about being a bass player. Don't think of out playing everyone else; think of out musicking them [/quote] Well said Bilbo ! Never forget that silence is part of music as well. Good phrasing comes from what you leave out as much as from what you put in. The Major

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='789767' date='Mar 29 2010, 07:02 PM']In fact i wonder if there is a list or webpage that describes the different scales and in what music they are used.[/quote] Hi Dave I think maybe you have misunderstood what scales are all about ! Every type of music uses scales and all scales can be used in every type of music. Scales are a starting point for music learning and music creation. It's a very big subject - we can't begin to cover it in a few sentences. But by learning a few one octave scales - major and minor (harmonic/melodic/natural), you will have the basic foundations to go on and learn about key structure / triads / harmonic movement / modulation / modes / extended chord building etc etc Have a look at Session 1 and 1a in my Bass Boot Camp series (pinned on this Theory and Technique section). This might get you going ! If not, let me know what you are having problems with and i will structure some Sessions accordingly. I'm just about to start work on some Easy Reading sessions for those who find music reading a frightening prospect. The Major

Both Bilbo and Doddy have it absolutely right. Don't get bogged down in the detailed changes - think in long phrases over each main section. This is where it really helps to be playing with good supportive pianists or guitarists who can help to point you in the right direction ie emphasising the main sections and modulation points, while giving you space to solo. Its so much easier to be rhythmically and melodically creative if you don't have to constantly count the bars. Mind you, you should always know where you are in the sequence, but it certainly helps the old confidence if you can lean on the others a bit. This is where playing in a regular line up can pay dividends. You can tell them how you want them to accompany your solos and build up a great rapport. The Major

The standard way to write harmonics on "classical" double bass (other than the octave eg G on 3rd ledger line above the stave, which would be written with an " o " on it ) is to write the note of the string, let's say D for example, with the note under the finger position you want, let's say A over the F (3rd fret) as a diamond headed note placed on the same stem. This example would give you a high "A". Have a look at DB parts from works by Debussy and Ravel. They are peppered with harmonics. This method of writing harmonics has worked for over a hundred years, and is easily transferrable to BG. And it's usually written in bass clef making it easier to read. This also works for false harmonics - the lower note being the stopped note, the upper being the harmonic. Hope this helps. The Major

Doddy is absolutely right. You are much better off doing it yourself at the piano (or any instrument in fact). Relative pitch simply means you can recognise the various intervals like major 3rds or perfect fifths or whatever. Each interval has a distinct character that you can train your ear to recognise.Its just down to practice like everything else in music. There is no quick way. Just hard slog. Very few people have perfect pitch. Some of my BBC orchestra colleagues have it, and now after a long career hearing and reading music constantly I can often guess pitches or keys correctly. Having good relative pitch is essential if you want to improvise in a group setting. Knowing which direction the pianist or guitarist is going in is vital. But this comes from getting out there and doing it as much as you possibly can. It may be that the products you mention are worth getting and could actually help you, but I can't help feeling there is a lot of hype in the selling of these things. Much better to get a good teacher who can do the thing properly. When I was at music college many moons ago, we had Aural classes where the tutor would play a long melody that we had to write down just from hearing it twice with a given first note. I could usually do this fairly accurately, but alway struggled when we were expected to write down 2 or more contrapuntal lines. The Major

Hi Marvin I think the best advice is to do both. First read the part slowly in your own time, checking all the details as you go, go over any tricky bits a few times, trying different fingerings till you can settle on something. And then, when you think you have it all under control, play along with the track, checking your timing and feel. There is nothing wrong with play-alongs as long as you bear in mind that the players on the track can't hear you (obviously!!) and that therefore you can't interact with them (again, obviously!). Music performance is about the communal interaction of the players so there is always this element missing with play-alongs. The Major

[quote name='Oggy' post='788744' date='Mar 28 2010, 07:05 PM']Hi Major, I'd really appreciate a 'heads-up' when you get the Beginner Music Reading sessions running. I've ordered a couple of basic books from Amazon to get me started, looks like this week is the week to start the 'global language course'. I'm glad this thread has drawn in both readers and non-readers, the exchange of ideas and views is enlightening. I do know that I'll probably never stop doing the 'ear thing' even if I do manage to learn to read, I find that if I pick up any musical instrument I'll suck, blow, pluck and prod it until I get some sort of tune out of it - it's just what I do. Oggy [/quote] Hi Oggy I'm just finishing off a second Blues based session. I'll be doing the first Beginner Music reading sessions within the next couple of weeks. You should certainly never stop doing the "ear thing". As musicians we need our sight, hearing, and touch senses to be working in tandem at all times. Personally, I love nothing more than turning up at a gig where there is no "proper" written music, maybe just a few chord charts. In this situation I can bring all my experience and knowledge to the fore, and, as long as the other musos are similarly minded, I usually have a great time ! I think many less experienced forum members mis-understand the meaning of "sight reading". When you read music, you don't switch off your listening skills, you don't become an automaton, you don't ignore the other players and you don't become distanced from the creative spirit. When you first start learning to read, of course you have to discipline yourself to follow precisely, and abide by, the written note. That's how you learn to recognise the various patterns that you will see time and time again during your musical career. But, although we (the composers and arrangers) strive to write down as much detail as possible, it is always down to the musicality of the player to interpret those notes in a creative and sensitive way, so that the resulting performance can convey to the listener something of the writers ideas but also the performers emotions and feelings. I'm sure many of you basschatters will be familiar with computer music sequencing. You will therefore know how dull and mechanical it can sound when the computer plays the notes you sequence. If we, as players, approach the written note like a computer does, it will sound equally dull and mechanical. So the written notes are only a starting point, a way of conveying musical ideas from composer to player. We need to use our ears to know whether the way we are playing those written notes is suitable for a particular musical moment. We need to find ways to invest musicality in the lines, to make the dynamics work, and, most importantly, to make our notes fit with and compliment the other players. Reading music is not INSTEAD of doing the "ear thing" - it is in ADDITION and COMPLIMENTARY to it. The Major

Music is a language - perhaps the one true global language. But there is a multitude of musical dialects, some purely aural in nature and some with their own notation. However, the Western Music Notation System is the best understood and most widely used "dialect", in all parts of the Global music world. If you are happy in your own musical enclave, speaking your own musical dialect, with others who speak the same, then there is little I could say to persuade you to widen your knowledge of musical dialects. However, if you have a desire to move on from the limitations of your musical "tribe", learning the western notation language is an excellent starting point. Taking this language analogy further: If you went to live in, say, China, you might pick up a bit of the language by ear - by hearing, copying and imitating the sound of the words. (This is a bit like playing by ear). But if you wanted to fully integrate into the culture, you would need to be able to read and write the symbols that are so different to our own. This would take time and study and would not come easily. But it would open up so much more of the life and culture in your new country. So it is with music. Why would you want to limit yourself to only one musical dialect ? Are you frightened by what is out there in the big music world ? Just because you never see pop and rock musicians actually reading music, it doesn't follow that they can't ! You wouldn't expect to see a featured pop/rock muso reading music on a concert or tv programme, just as you wouldn't expect to see a concert pianist or opera singer reading from the music during a performance. Audiences expect these "star" classical performers to know their music inside out and from memory, but in the practise room of course they will have the music in front of them. That's how they learn their parts. I used to run a very successful 10 piece function band (till the late nights got too much for me - poor old bugger!). We had a huge repertoire, most of which was semi-learned, but having the parts in front of us meant there was always something to refer to if the memory was failing. This also meant we could have deps coming and going with no extra rehearsals. And when we did rehearse a new tune, a 3 minute number would take ... well .. 3 minutes to rehearse ! (Maybe 6 minutes if the singers kept going wrong !) Learning to read music proficiently takes time and effort but that effort will widen your musical world exponentially. By the way, I'm planning some Beginner Music Reading sessions for my Bass Camp series. Coming soon to basschat !! The Major

Thanks for your kind words guys ! I'm really enjoying doing these Bass Camp Sessions. It's so easy to take the things you do everyday in music for granted. Having to think how to explain something to those less experienced than myself actually throws up points i haven't thought about for years. Its quite cathartic. Whether i will ever actually get around to trying to find a publisher, well who knows ?! Its a tough old business out there at the moment, mainly caused by this (wonderful) thing called t'internet. The last few years I've been churning out tracks for both Retail and Library and up till now this has been quite lucrative. But there seems to be a general feeling that the bubble has burst in the commercial recorded music world. Everybody expects their music for free so no longer can musicians make a living this way. The future has to be in live playing - and even that world is difficult at present. I've been hugely lucky to have a full time BBC job as a staff musician - and I'm not retiring just yet ! Hopefully i can encourage some of you out there to take your music making more seriously. But I don't want to give the impression that it will be easy to make a living from it - quite the opposite. And only a few of the most able players will succeed in making a long term career. The Major

The Major's Bass Boot Camp - Session 18 The Development of the "12 Bar Blues" in the Jazz Genre (I'll be doing a more "Rhythm and Blues" and "Rock" oriented Session on Blues riffs and Lines sometime soon.) (SEE SESSION 19 "12 BAR BLUES - BASS RIFFS AND LINES") With this set of examples, I hope to show you how the basic blues sequence (as used in Urban Blues and 50's Rock and Roll) developed into the more complex "jazz" blues sequence which you will encounter on virtually every jazz gig. When the band can't settle on a tune to play next, the usual cry is "… well I suppose we could always play a Blues ! ". There are lots of jazz tunes that have been written for this 12 bar sequence and usually the frontline players can agree on one they all know. As a bass player, all you really need to know is the key. And this is usually in horn-friendly keys like F or Bb. Rock oriented guitarists usually want a Blues in E or A, but that would put the transposing instruments into awkward keys like F# or B. So I've chosen the key of F for this Session. I've restricted all the bass parts to notes within the 1st two positions. MBBC18a [attachment=45609:MBBC18a.pdf] [attachment=45613:MBBC18a.mp3] So, here we have the basic blues chord sequence as used in 50's Rock and Roll. In the first "chorus" (in jazz, this term means one full sequence - in this case 12 bars), I've just used Major triads (no dominant 7ths). As you can see, there are only 3 chords (hence the phrase "Three Chord Trick") - F, Bb and C - the Major triads that are built on the 1st, 4th and 5th notes of the F major scale. In the 2nd chorus, I've added the 6th note of the F scale to the bass line, so in bar 13, you can see a D on the 4th beat. This note has a benign effect on the harmony. It is, after all, the relative minor root of F major (D minor). Similarly in bar 17 there is a G in the Bb major bass line, G being the 6th note of the Bb major scale. In Chorus 3 (from bar 25), you will see and hear "Dominant 7th" chords. Notice how the nature of the sound changes. Now much more unstable and edgy. So in the bass line we get the root, 3rd, 5th, 6th and now also the flattened (dominant) 7th. This is the archetypal Rock and Roll bass line. Chorus 4 (from bar 37) - here I've written some variations on this bass line, still using the same notes, just in a different order. MBBC18b [attachment=45610:MBBC18b.pdf] [attachment=45614:MBBC18b.mp3] Now we start to get into the variations on the sequence that have become standard in the jazz genre. Each of the 4 chorus's in this example demonstrate a development away from the original 3 chord blues sequence. So in Chorus 1 (which is still just Dominant 7 chords) we get the following alterations (substitutions): Bar 2 now becomes Bb7 (chord Ⅳ - also called the subdominant) Bar 8 now becomes D7 (a dom 7 chord built on the 6th degree of the F scale - the submediant) Bar 9 becomes G7 (a dom 7 chord built on the 2nd degree - the supertonic) Bar 10 becomes C7 (chord Ⅴ - the dominant) Can you spot the cycle of 5ths from bars 8 to 10 ? D7 G7 C7 Now for the last 2 bars of the sequence we get another cycle of 5ths : A7 D7 G7 C7 (F7) Chorus 2. Here I have added some " Ⅱ Ⅴ Ⅰ " sequences. Look at bar 16 for example: Where before we just had an F7 chord leading into Bb7 in the next bar, we now have 2 chords - Cm7 and F7. So by inserting the Cm7 we get Ⅱ Ⅴ Ⅰ in the key of Bb. Confused ? This is one of the most crucial points to get your head around. Although we say a piece is in such and such a key, actually most music is constantly changing key within its internal structure. Wherever you get a dominant 7 chord, effectively you are moving into the key of which that chord is "dominant" even if only fleetingly. Bar 16 is a good example of this: Think for the moment of bar 17 as being in the key of Bb. The 2nd and 5th degrees in Bb major are C and F, and because of the key signature of Bb (2 flats - Bb and Eb) if we build a 4 note chord on C we get C Eb G Bb (Cm7). On F we get F A C Eb (F7). So these 2 chords - Cm7 and F7 lead us into the "new" key of Bb. Of course, when we get to the Bb, we have put that flattened 7th (Ab) into this chord making it into Bb7, so this chord in turn becomes a dominant chord in the key of Eb major. So the instability continues, and rather than moving to Eb major, we return to our home key of F major. We get the same Ⅱ Ⅴ Ⅰ effect at bar 20 (Am7 D7) bars 21 and 22 (Gm7 C7) and again at 23 (Am7 D7) and 24 (Gm7 C7). The other substitution in Chorus 2 is in bar 18. Here the bass note is crucial. The original chord was Bb7 (Bb D F Ab). Now we have B diminished (Bdim) - B D F Ab You will see that 3 notes are common to both chords - D F Ab - only the Bb bass note changes to B natural. Chorus 3.(from bar 25). Here I have changed all the Minor 7th chords to♭5s (flat 5s) so in bar 28, the Cm7 is now changed to Cm7♭5. In bar 32, you will see that the bass line reflects this change: For the 2 beats of the Am7♭5 I have written A (the root) and E♭(the flattened 5th). And in bar 33, all the notes of Gm7♭5 are present in the bass line : G (root) F (minor 7th) Db (♭5) and Bb (minor 3rd). Chorus 4 (from bar 37): More substitutions: B diminished (B dim) in bar 38. And a descending line of Dominant 7th chords in bars 43 and 44: F7 E7 Eb7 D7. MBBC18c [attachment=45611:MBBC18c.pdf] [attachment=45615:MBBC18c.mp3] In this example, I've introduced passing notes into the bass line i.e. non-chordal notes and I've used even more substitutions. Look at the 2 chords in bar 1: F7 = F (root) A (major 3rd) C (5th) Eb (7th) B7♭5 = B (root)D# (major 3rd) F (flat 5) A (7th) Now let's look at the notes of B7♭5 in a different order: F (flat 5) A (7th) B (root) D# (major 3rd) and let's think or the D# as it's enharmonic Eb: F (flat 5) A (7th) B (root) Eb (major 3rd) Now look again at the notes of F7: F (root) A (major 3rd) C (5th) Eb (7th) You'll see that there is only 1 note that is different : the C of F7 is replaced by a B in B7♭5 So this helps to explain (I hope !) how the note B on the 4th beat of bar 1 fits in so nicely, with it's fall of a semitone to the Bb of the next bar. And if we make that 1st chord into F7♭5 (F A Cb Eb), the notes of the 2 chords are identical ( if we think of the Cb as a B ). So the only difference is the note in the bass part - F or B. Another example of this occurs in bar 13 - last 2 beats - C7♭5 and Gb7♭5 - both chords are the same notes just different root notes. Just while I'm on this subject (although not specifically blues related), it's also worth noting another pair of chord types that share the same notes but with a different root: A minor 6 (Am6) = A (root) C (minor 3rd) E (5th) F# (6th) F# minor 7♭5 (F#m7b5) = F# (root) A (minor3rd) C (flat 5) E (7th) MBBC18d [attachment=45612:MBBC18d.pdf] [attachment=45616:MBBC18d.mp3] In this example, I've used the "dotted quaver/semi-quaver" method of writing swing parts. By now, you should have a good grasp of the basic blues sequence and a reasonable understanding of some of the possible substitutions. (There are many more standard subs, far too many to include in this session). So here is an example of the kind of bass part I might improvise on a typical jazz gig when the bandleader says "Blues in F". I've purposely not put chords on the part. In a real playing situation, you are expected to know the sequence and be able to use your ears to hear the substitutions going on in the piano or guitar and fit in accordingly. This is never an exact science ! Its quite alright to just stick to your own ideas chord wise. It can end up with some interesting dissonances going on which is what makes jazz such an interesting and exciting art form. Also, bear in mind that in order to make things clear, all the mp3 examples here have a somewhat sterile sound with all the parts being "correct". On a real gig, there would be far more fireworks going on ! The Major

[quote name='frank' post='784262' date='Mar 24 2010, 01:24 AM']Hello again Major Ive sold off all my gear so at the minute im down to a Bass an Amp and a cab,with the lack of distractions its helped me to get stuck into learning to read ,ear training and learning songs. Im spending a lot less time here on Basschat (even though its a fantastic site full of great info from people like yourself i spend hours here instead of practicing) Anyway i played the example on bass cause its all i have at the minute but in the next few weeks ill get a keyboard and get stuck in properly and probably have more questions, Ive downloaded some of your lessons they have been highly recommended so that should help too. Looking at some fake book tunes that are easy enough for me to look at, what you say is true (not that i doubted you) Thanks for the Help Frank[/quote] Frank Well done for starting down the road of learning theory and reading. Believe me its a never ending path. You can never know it all ! (I've clocked up over 50 years of "musical education" so far !) But the confidence you will gain in your musical endeavours should not be under-estimated. Keep at it ! I'm only too happy to help if i can - as are several other musically erudite bass players on this site. The Major

[quote name='frank' post='782964' date='Mar 23 2010, 12:04 AM']Thanks Major This makes sense ,even when i play your melody with the Caug C6 C7 or Cmaj7 it works with only the Gsharp and Bflat notes clashing a little bit here and there (to my ear anyway played on bass) So the chord is something that dosent clash with the melody, it may or may not have the melody note in it it maybe a chord the composer feels provides a certain mood or it maybe the only chord the composer knows. I should go dig out my fake book and have a look at the melodys and chords that go with them Cheers Frank [/quote] Frank: This brings up another point: VOICING As you tried my little melody example on the bass, you are going to get a much more unsatisfactory effect from these notes as they are too low in pitch to make real sense, even at the highest pitch possible on bass. The voicing of a chord will have a huge effect. (There is no "correct" voicing - it all depends on how you want the music to sound.) If you want clarity in your harmony, its often best to spread the chordal notes, particularly at the lower registers. This is something of a generalisation, but: If you look at your fake book melodies you will notice that the longer(held) notes in any tune are mostly chordal notes but there are likely to be many "passing" notes between these held notes, which, if you were to pause on them, would have a distinct clash effect. But as they are fleeting in nature, there will be no discernible dissonance. The Major

[quote name='frank' post='781306' date='Mar 21 2010, 12:54 AM']For example if i play "A" as the melody note over a C maj chord does this mean that the chord should be changed to C6 or maybe C13 i suppose depending on what the 7th is What happens when theres more than one melody note, are melody notes always from within the arpeggio or scale of the chord[/quote] If the melody note is A over a C major triad, then for that fleeting moment the harmony is C6. But that doesn't mean you have to change the accompanying chord to C6. Perhaps you need to understand that within any piece of music the harmonic structure is very much more complex than the chords being strummed by the guitar or played on the piano. But if we tried to include every harmonic nuance in our rhythm section parts, we could end up with a very complicated and mostly unnecessary sequence. As a general rule we try to abbreviate the accompanying chords to something that works without too many obvious clashes with the melody. As most pop and rock songs are composed by someone singing along while strumming a guitar, the chances are that he/she will find melody notes that fit comfortably against the relatively simple chords he/she happens to know. Someone like say George Gershwin, who composed at the piano and had a fairly advanced harmonic knowledge, would include melody notes that needed a more complex harmonic accompaniment because he understood the effect they would create. Melody notes don't have to be in the accompanying chords. But it depends on where in the melody they come. Let's take this 2 bar example: A melody of G G# A Bb B Bb A Ab G - all quavers (8ths) starting on the first beat of bar 1, the last G being a semibreve taking up bar 2. Put a chord of C major against this melody. On beat 1 we get a straight C chord (melody G over CEG) The G# is a passing note - fleeting enough not to be too harsh against the CEG triad but effectively creating C augmented. Beat 2 is an A melody note creating C6. The next note Bb is again a passing note (briefly we get a C7 harmony) Beat 3 - B natural creates a Cmaj7 harmony Then we get the same harmonic progression in reverse. But throughout this melodic fragment, a strummed C major chord will sound perfectly correct. Try it ! Hope this helps ! The Major

I love the Evah Pirazzi's (orch guage) I have on both my basses. Great for jazz but also superb with the bow. I can't recommend these highly enough. The Major

One of the reasons I have organised my Boot Camp sessions with both pdf's and mp3s is so that you can read and hear the notes at the same time, and then try playing along with the track. I'm hoping that those of you who need help with reading and theory will get stuck into this stuff. Its only by constant practice that your reading skills will improve. No-one learns it in a day - but its well worth the effort long term. At the moment I'm preparing a session on "The Blues". If you can read the notes (even if only slowly), it will make the theory so much easier to grasp. Sorry to be brutal, but if you can't even attempt a Blues in E, then "competent" is not a word that describes your playing ! I only say this as I want to encourage people to develop their talents to the full. Effort and hard work IN = competence and satisfaction OUT. The Major

[quote name='billphreets' post='771357' date='Mar 11 2010, 10:32 AM']invaluable AS always major.. once again a big big thankyou.. however , slight problem.. i cant seem to download 17e.pdf....... all i got was a board message stating: Sorry, some required files are missing, if you intended to view a topic, it's possible that it's been moved or deleted. Please go back and try again. ??[/quote] No idea how that happened ! Anyway it seems to be fixed now. The Major

The Major's Bass Boot Camp - Session 17 Substitutions and Stylistic Variation All the examples in this session are variations on the old standard "Georgia On My Mind". I suggest you listen to all the mp3s first to get an idea of what this session is all about. This term - Substitution - is mostly to be found in the world of jazz and jazz oriented arranging. My first properly paid commission as a serious arranger was to arrange several "popular songs" for String Quartet (2 violins / viola / cello). I learnt a great deal about substitutions doing this. In order to make the arrangements interesting to play and listen to, I had to create harmonic movement by changing and adding to the original chords. Jazzers use substitutions in their improvising, to create fresh ideas and excitement. MBBC17a [attachment=44614:MBBC17a.pdf] [attachment=44620:MBBC17a.mp3] This is the tune with it's original basic chords. Actually I've played this number so many times over the years and in so many different ways, that I'm no longer absolutely sure of the original song. So please bear with me if you know it better than me ! But the main point here is to show how we can take this piece and alter it to create new versions, to pump new life into an old workhorse, to take it places the composer never imagined ! Here I've kept the bass part very simple - just following the chords with a nice minim movement. It's all playable in the first position on BG (half position on DB). MBBC17b [attachment=44615:MBBC17b.pdf] [attachment=44622:MBBC17b.mp3] I've slowed the tempo a little and written "Slow with a lilt" at the top. Also notice the sign which shows 2 quavers = quaver triplets. This just means that the feel of the whole piece is slow swing - i.e. each beat is divisible by 3. OK, this is where the fun starts ! So what is a "Substitution" ? It should really be called a "chord substitution" and it's exactly as the term says - a new chord is used as a substitute for an existing chord. Sometimes these substitute chords are well away from the original - like putting a B7 where previously there was an F7 - the root in this example is a tritone from it's original, just about as far away as you can get. However both these chords share 2 notes - A and Eb (D#). But a substitute chord can also be created by simply adding one new note, or altering one existing note (usually the 5th or 9th). In bar 1, the original chord was F - just a 3 note triad - FAC. The melody is A C. In this version (MBBC17b) I have added one new note to the chord - D - making the chord into an F6. A simple addition - but one which makes a big difference to the nature of the chord. It becomes thicker in texture and more interesting while still retaining it's stability. In bar 2 we get one of the most common forms of substitution in the jazz cannon - " the Ⅱ - Ⅴ - Ⅰ ", in this case Em7b5 - A7b9 - Dm7. To explain in more detail: Think of bar 3 as a new key centre - D minor. The second degree of D minor is E. If we build a 4 note chord on E using the notes from the D harmonic minor scale, we get EGBbD. This is Em7b5. If we build a 5 note chord on the fifth note of the D minor scale in the same way, we get AC#EGBb. This is A7b9. (Are you still with me ?!) So where we originally had just an A7 chord in bar 2, now we have 2 chords leading nicely into the Dm7. This creates a pleasing harmonic movement. In bars 5, 6 and 7 you will see some extra chords with additional notes: Bar 5 has E7augmented (E7aug) on beat 3. The augmented note (sharpened fifth)here is C natural which drops to B in the next chord (E7) creating a nice little inner movement, the tune and the bass line both being E. Similarly in bar 6, I've added a chord on beat 2, Gm7b5. The flat 5 note in Gm7 is a Db so we get that nice inside line of D Db C through these 3 chords. The same routine happens in bar 7, again adding an Am7b5 to the second beat with the resultant E Eb D line. Look at bar 9: Here I have made the F chord into a 6 / 9, thereby adding D and G to the FAC triad. On beat 3 of this bar, the chord is now Fmaj9 (FACEG) so the D note of the first 2 beats moves up to the E of the 2nd 2 beats - another lovely inner line. Bar 10 is like bar 2 (Em7b5 A7b9) but now the chord change happens on beat 4 rather than beat 3. Bar 11 - here I've been a bit more adventurous and added a new and rather fancy chord to the 4th beat - an F#7#9. The melody note (A natural) is the #9 in the chord, clashing with the A# of the basic F#7 (F#A#C#E). (If we were to be technically correct, the A natural would be written as a G double sharp, but that seems a step too far for most jazzers ! ) I hope you like this substitution. I was pleased with it myself ! Bar 12 - I've substituted a Bb13 for the original Bbm6. Again, this brings a new flavour to this moment. See if you can spot all the other substitutions from here to the end of the piece - there are several. Try to work out which notes create the important inner lines. Have fun ! MBBC17c [attachment=44616:MBBC17c.pdf] [attachment=44623:MBBC17c.mp3] For this, I've reverted to the original chords, but now I've changed the feel, the groove, the style. Whereas before we had a lilting swingy feel, now we have straight 8's in a mildly latin groove with a hint of funk 16's towards the end. MBBC17d [attachment=44617:MBBC17d.pdf] [attachment=44624:MBBC17d.mp3] This uses pretty much the same substitutions as MBBC17b but now I've taken the tempo up and gone back to the swing feel. You will see that I've used the method of writing swing quavers by indicating "swing" at the start and putting a line and a dot on the first 2 and last 2 quaver notes of bar 1. Then I've put "sim." in bar 2 meaning that from now on you play in a "similar" fashion when you see quavers i.e. swingy. In bars 9 and 10, and later in bars 17 to 24, I've written a "block" style, i.e. the whole rhythm section plays the same figures but sticking to their normal harmonic function i.e. the bass plays mainly root notes, the piano plays chords and the guitar sticks to melody notes. The last 4 bars demonstrate a common ending style in jazzy mode. This descending bass line is complemented by suitable notes above, usually keeping the melody on the tonic note. Have a close look at the chord symbols and work out what notes I have used here. MBBC17e [attachment=44633:MBBC17e.pdf] [attachment=44627:MBBC17e.mp3] One great arranging trick is to change the time signature. So this time I've put the tune into 3/4 in what we call a "jazz waltz" feel. Sometimes the "3 in a bar" slips into a "2 in a bar" feel, directly against the 3 feel going on elsewhere in the rhythm section. But also note, the overall feel is still swingy, so effectively the time sig should be 9/8 or 3 sets of triplet quavers. Nobody ever writes this style in 9/8 though, as it would look more complicated than it needs to be. Just writing "jazz waltz" at the start tells the players how to interpret the notes. Note the radical use of substitutions at bars 26 to 32. I love this type of harmony ! More block writing at bar 33 with changed chords. More "out" subs in bars 43 and 45, then a descending bass line down to bar 49 where I use one my favourite tricks - taking the dotted crotchet of the 3/4 as the new crotchet metre in 4/4. So to clarify this last point: Look at the bars 45 to 48. The dotted crotchets (2 in a bar feel) then become the pulse in the new 4/4 (crotchet) tempo. There is a great deal more to learn about Substitutions. We have only just scratched the surface in this session. In the next session we will look at the 12 bar blues and some of the commonly used substitutions and stylistic variations in this ubiquitous musical template. The Major

"Scarborough Fair" is the best suggestion i have. The Major

[quote name='51m0n' post='766683' date='Mar 7 2010, 09:06 AM']Loving this stuff MM! Can you put a few in that focus a bit more on the theory side, please? I know you've made a deliberate change to focus on the reading thing, but there are areas of jazz based theory that make my head spin (not being a jazz player at all). Substitutions particularly leave me mystified (why they work, where you can/should/would use them etc), and since you've just started to dip into walking bass as a string to the bassists bow, I'd really appreciate a bit more detail around this area if you feel like it, with some of your fantastic examples - I'd especially like to have an example with a substitution compared to the same chord seqence but without, if you see what I mean. Anyway, thanks for all the effort you've put in![/quote] Funnily enough, this is exactly what I'm working on for the next session ! I've taken the old standard "Georgia On My mind" and after doing a basic version, I've then done a series of alternative styles with substitutions. I've yet to do the theoretical writing but it's going to be ready very soon. The Major