JPS

That's a brilliant website. I've plundered that many times over the last couple of years.

Forget Me Nots by Patrice Rushen, not normally a slap fan but like this one.

+1 for Milestones (the track and Cannoball solo) and Kind Of Blue. Also a version of All Of Me by Lester Young which had Teddy Wilson on piano if I remember rightly.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Really helpful. It's quite liberating approaching the fretboard, and playing in general, from a different angle. Trying to incorporate all the different ideas and variations is keeping me entertained for hours! Another 10 years of this and I may even be almost competent. One thing that has struck me is that I had a lot of misconceptions about walking bass e.g. never play the same note twice on the trot, make sure you put loads of rhythmic variation in. Listening to some of the great players it's struck just how "simple" they keep it at times, which I assume makes it easier for the main soloists and the listener to get a grip on the main melody, harmony etc.

I'm trying to develop my ideas for playing jazz blues tunes - fairly basic at this point - and wondered if anyone could recommend some good examples of jazz blues tunes for me to study/listen to/murder! I've got a few in mind i.e. Billie's Bounce, Tenor Madness. Cheers JPS

Can anyone who has either taken the RGT bass exams, or taught them, give me a few pointers about the aural assessment part and what it basically consists of? I have never taken a music exam before and am a little unsure about this part of the exam. Cheers JPS.

Lack of motivation is a difficult one to address at times. I've been suffering from an almost total lack of motivation since I stopped gigging/left my last band. Even going to Bass Day 2011 didn't fire me up (quite the opposite if anything). I don't want to join another band/start gigging again, I don't write, I've very little interest in learning new techniques etc, however, I love the bass and have done for 30 years so am determined not to give up completely. My latest idea therefore is to put myself in for some bass exams i.e. RGT and see if this will revive my interest, plug a few gaps in my knowledge etc. Not for everyone I realise, just a diferent angle on playing/learning bass I suppose.

I really enjoyed the show yesterday, thought Mark King was quite witty and entertaining and the gear on show was lovely. However, it did occur to me that there must be some unwritten bye-laws applying to Bass Days which I'm not aware of 1. Play as loud as possible. 2. Play as fast as possbile. 3. Play as busily as possible. In fairness it wasn't just people playing slap either. I actually came away thinking that I'm quite happy with my less than virtuoso style of playing and my modest gear setup as well (just as well as I'm skint!).

I'm going on Saturday - looking forward to trying out lots of gear I will never be able to afford, as well as watching people half my age play ten times better than I ever will. Should be good.

Playing in an originals band is a great creative outlet and it's good to support original music. On the otherhand is it such a bad thing to simply entertain people on a Friday/Saturday night by playing covers? Some original bands I've met/watched seem to think that the ability to string C, F, G and Am together whilst rhyming moon with June renders them musically superior to anyone who has ever dared cover another band's song. There are plenty of lazy, crap covers bands around, but equally there are plenty of hopeless originals bands with hugely inflated egos. I'm sure that the reason most original music remains undiscovered is not because fat, middle-aged blokes like me spend their weekends playing Mustang Sally et al for a bit of beer money.

I wonder if they could find 10 bass solos governed by the idea that less is more.

Thanks for all the replies. I now feel motivated (and shamed enough!) to start practising scales again. After all if I can find the time to practise slap bass -which I've largely managed to ignore for 20+ years - I can find the time to play and truely learn some scales. Who knows it may even reignite a my dormant interest in jazz!

I have practised at least some of them quite extensively in the past, it's just that not playing in a "proper" band, or playing any music that requires improvisation/soloing, I find it increasingly difficult to motivate myself to play them. However, I suspect my playing is suffering because I don't and if I practised them in more musical ways I would reap the benefits when learning a James Jamerson number or whatever. Thanks again for the replies.

Thanks for the interesting answers guys, especially liked the idea of getting away from merely running the shapes and trying to play them and use them in a more musical fashion (I'm certainly guilty of merely running through the same shapes and patterns). Would you also include major and minor pentatonic and blues scales in lists of really useful scales (plus maybe mixolydian and dorian)? My next question is why do you practise scales? Is it for increased dexterity, greater knowledge of the fretboard, as a source of musical ideas for improvisation/solos etc? Is it essential to practise them i.e. if you don't improvise or solo etc?

I've just read an article in which the writer claims that a solid beginner should be able to comfortably play all major and harmonic/melodic scales across 2 octaves. This got me wondering which scales people most commonly practise and how they practise them etc. Obviously the type of music you play, your musical ambitions/goals etc will probably be the deciding factor. Just curious - especially as I'm far too lazy to practise any scales these days!

Not listening obviously, but Standing In The Shadows, the book about James Jamerson is brilliant. Some really great transcriptions and insights into his style and technique etc. Also includes a couple of CDs of his lines being played by a plethora of famous bass players. Kind of a homage to the great man all in all.

Sorry to hear your news mate. Don't forget that if 90% of people are arseholes, then the figure is probably about 98% for"musicians". Some of the most delusional, self-obsessed and unreliable people I've ever met.

To be fair it doesn't sound like there's much about the band you're enjoying so I reckon in your heart of hearts you know the answer already. Not always an easy decision though.

Great site Mike, nice range of transcriptions. Lovely collection of basses as well mate. Cheers.

Siddx I was just thinking the same. It is deeply impressive on a technical level, but often frighteningly dull on most others (and that's not just because I can't play it). Honest! Still there's room for all sorts of music (and opinion) and the bass would be pretty limited if we all played root and fifth below the seventh fret I guess. Ironically I can listen to Coltrane, or Sony Rollins et al for ages quite happily. The solos just seem, well better constructed, more interesting and engaging.

Job done! Thanks for the tips guys, obviously a Fender weak spot.

The rigours of the road man! Well, a lousy technique and being knocked over by the hoover (the bass not me) more likely.

The volume control on my Fender Precision has, erm, fallen off! Is there a simple and failsafe way to mend/replace it? I can place it back on, but it soon falls off again. Cheers

Hi Scott I'd like something, if possible, on how to use double-stops a la Chuck Rainey & co. Never been able to do it convincingly. Cheers.

Good luck mate. Is it rockschool or RGT (or maybe something different obviously)? Always fancied doing some bass grades, but never got round to it.