Mikey D

It's 30 minutes max on train isn't it!?

Some will say Wow! Some will say Why!? But this man can definately play. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeJt1cB7AA0"]Giant Steps[/url]

Excellent. I love this band.

[quote name='Alun' post='164758' date='Mar 27 2008, 09:29 PM']Thanks both Mikey, are you playing with Lewis down this way any time soon? If so, I shall try and get there. Cheers Alun[/quote] Not that I know of...I'll let you know though. I can't remember if I said, but I actually saw you last time iwas down as I was in tom cottle's car and you were with his drum teacher. I didn't realise it was you though.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='164565' date='Mar 27 2008, 03:56 PM']Cool - where was that, Mikey? We don't get much up here in Felixstowe/Suffolk more radical than Stacy Kent. I'm off to see John Scofield with horns on Saturday tho'(Jazz Cafe). Steve Swallow isn't with them this time, which is a great shame as he is one of my favourites but the event should be special enough anyway.[/quote] Birmingham Jam House. We are quite fortunate that we have a very active promoter for jazz in Birmingham (Tony Dudley Evans as part of Birmingham Jazz), I saw more jazz gigs in my first fortnight here that I had in my lifetime, a lot of them for free aswell! I'm really looking forward to seeing Dave Douglas in a couple of weeks, with James Genus on bass and the neil cowley trio is pretty soon aswell. Robert is playing london tonight or tomorrow, but it is sold out unfortunately. Scofield at the Barbican last year with MMW was one of the best gigs i had been to, was going to try and head down for the Jazz cafe one, but funds aren't allowing me to. Gotta save some money for Cheltenham jazz festival and a holiday in Oslo. It's a shame that Steve isn't coming with him, as I saw him with the Mike Gibbs jazz orchestra tour and he sounded excellent. I pestered my head of year for weeks to try and get a lesson with him, but nothing came of it!

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='164497' date='Mar 27 2008, 02:30 PM']Some nice new stuff on my cd player: Robert Glasper Trio - My Element Jason Robello - Next Time Around Iain Ballamy - More Jazz Taylor Eigsti - Lucky To Be Me Troy Miller - 40 Days I asked some jazz fans around me what they were into and these came up - all quality acts with first class work. Anybody else listening to any new jazz? Also downloaded Janek Gwizdala's 'Mystery To Me' off CD Baby - some nice creative stuff in there, particularly nice horn arrangements. Nice to hear a bass player's record that is defined by the music and not by the bass playing. S'cool.[/quote] Saw Robert Glasper's trio on tuesday..absolutely great. The Drummer (Chris Dave) is now officially my favourite drummer ever. Wasn't overwhelmed by the bassist Alan Hampton, but he held his own.

Still teachin'!

Ooooh, I'm going to be in Milton Keynes for the Sunday and Monday, will see if I can get a lift over from some unsuspecting friend. Looks like some nice gear to try and people to meet in person.

Nice to see you finally play Alun! I'm also with the funk and clayton on this one.

1. Electric Bass 2. Double Bass 3. Piano 4. Drums I had to take up double bass as part of my course and have actually beena self taught pianist for quite a few years. Piano has very helped my understanding of harmony and great for ear training and I use it for composition. Drums has helped my time and how to interact with a drummer, and how to explain what I want when playing with a new drummer. I also play a very little bit of guitar, but since i sold my 8 string guitar a few months ago I haven't touched one.

[quote name='Peaty' post='157271' date='Mar 14 2008, 10:41 AM']Fascinating stuff Mikey D if you are still reading this thread you mentioned back on page one that So should we think of it as a spiral of fifths or is the difference so small as to be undetectable to all but the most well trained ears? Pete[/quote] As has already been stated this is only in just temperment, not equal temperment. Don't worry about it.

Of course it was well intentioned, I see the forum as a place for learning and only answer if I know something about a subject (I wish only everyone did this), if they wanted to read more they can, they don't have to.

[quote name='s_u_y_*' post='156255' date='Mar 12 2008, 06:40 PM'] I couldn't put it better myself. I just left it on for entertainment value. Also because the guy doing the bass lessons was left handed, but was playing a right handed bass in standard tuning, and I thought that was pretty cool. Also, I love the adverts for the bass lessons with the teacher doing some very tasteful tapping.[/quote] Wasn't Terry Gregory was it?

[quote name='P-T-P' post='156176' date='Mar 12 2008, 04:41 PM']Actually, you both missed it! I'll claim first use, think Mikey D mentioned it too.[/quote] Although I used it in differing grammatical situations 5 times...(I say, I, but I mean the wiki article I copied, I couldn't be bothered to explain it as I have a lot of practice to do. Probably 10 hours today... )

[quote name='Paul_C' post='155799' date='Mar 12 2008, 10:05 AM']another oddity for you.. a diminished 7th chord is written R b3 b5 bb7 (which is also a 6th)[/quote] But it comes from the diminished scale where the 6th is flattened and you can't have two sixths in a scale now can you!

[quote name='queenofthedepths' post='156068' date='Mar 12 2008, 03:23 PM']Ah, still more fascinating... must explain why fretless is so wonderful![/quote] Personally I find find all this side of music very interesting. There's a great pdf available on the net called the maths in music or something, extremely heavy reading and very long, but some good content. The difference between a good fretless and a great fretless player is someone who really does adjust their tones when playing in a certain key to make the intervals truer.

[quote name='queenofthedepths' post='156050' date='Mar 12 2008, 03:10 PM']If I've understood that article correctly, the 1st fret on a standard tuned G string is half a comma sharper than a G# and half a comma flatter than an Ab?[/quote] Just to clarify this bit: If you sat at a just tempered piano and played a low g#, then the next D, then the next highest A all the way through to the Ab up the keyboard, then you are a comma out. This is why we have equal temperment, to even out the differences over the octaves.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='156058' date='Mar 12 2008, 03:17 PM']Absolutely, and if you talk to string players they (and I) can tell the difference between flats and sharps in relation to the key. Eg the C# in A major has a different brighter quality to the more dark and sombre Db of B flat minor tiny differences and more about tonal qualities of keys than anything else. Thats why Ellington/Strayhorn tunes have their own qualities, lots of Db, rich, thick and luscious sounds for ballads.[/quote] Right on...

[quote name='queenofthedepths' post='156050' date='Mar 12 2008, 03:10 PM']That's fascinating, but I'm not quite sure I understand... are you saying that if Bach (for example; could be any pre-equal temperament musician) wrote an Ab, it would sound different to a G#? If so, how would one go about playing these different notes on a harpsichord? Or a flute or whatever... or even a fretted bass guitar? If I've understood that article correctly, the 1st fret on a standard tuned G string is half a comma sharper than a G# and half a comma flatter than an Ab? But I always thought we had equal temperament as standard ever since Pythagoras anyway [/quote] He wrote the "Well tempered" clavier, not the equal temperment clavier. This is why historians think that composers wrote in certain keys to get a certain mood etc. Harpsichord tuning is another kettle of fish. There are many ways to tune it. WHen you play in some keys, it sounds very pleasing, but in others it would sound intolerable due to the tuning of the instrument as a fixed pitch instrument won't be in tune with it self, unlike a violin where you can 'fret' where you want. Nope, thats why you get the Phythagorean comma when you go completely around the just tempered cycle of fifths, you don't end up on exactly the same note. Regarding the guitar etc, due to the nature of a standard fretted instrument, it is never dead on exactly in tune everywhere, its as near to it though. That's why people like buss feiten and others have other ways of tuning the guitar.

Don't forget we've only had equal temperment from about mid 1830's, and it wasn't widely spread until early 1900's for tuning purposes. I'll let wikipedia do the explaing: "Intervals in different systems of tuning In equal temperament, there is no difference in tuning (and therefore in sound) between intervals that are enharmonically equivalent. For example, the notes F and E♯ represent exactly the same pitch, so the diatonic interval C–F (a perfect fourth) sounds exactly the same as its enharmonic equivalent – the chromatic interval C–E♯ (an augmented third). In systems other than equal temperament, however, there is often a difference in tuning between intervals that are enharmonically equivalent. In tuning systems that are based on a cycle of fifths, such as Pythagorean tuning and meantone temperament, these alternatives are labelled as diatonic or chromatic intervals. Under these systems the cycle of fifths is not circular in the sense that a pitch at one end of the cycle (e.g. G♯) is not tuned the same as the enharmonic equivalent at its other end (A♭); they are different by an amount known as a comma. This broken cycle causes intervals that cross the break to be written as augmented or diminished chromatic intervals. In meantone temperament, for instance, chromatic semitones (C–C♯) are smaller than diatonic semitones (C–D♭),[31] and with consonant intervals such as the major third the chromatic equivalent is generally less consonant. The exception to this classification is the tritone, of which both enharmonic forms (e.g. C-F♯ and C-G♭) are equally distant along the cycle of fifths, making them inversions of each other at the octave. Because of this the ambiguity cannot be resolved where octave equivalence is assumed, and the label diatonic or chromatic for either form of tritone is not useful in the context of tuning (the choice is arbitrary, and therefore unspecific). If the tritone is assumed diatonic, the classification of written intervals by this definition is not significantly different from the "drawn from the same diatonic scale" definition given above as long as the harmonic minor and ascending melodic minor scale variants are not included. Aside from tritones, all intervals that are either augmented or diminished are chromatic, and the rest are diatonic." So in the older days, E# and F weren't the same.

For Jazz, right next to the ride cymbal and staring at it for the majority of the gig (Of course I pay attention to everyone else, but the ride is the thing for me) For everything else, by the hi-hat so I can communicate easier with the drummer. I don't like standing in front of the drummer. Although, I tend to stand as close as I can to the kit and my amp as I like having the drums loud on stage.

To quote the original post: [quote name='bigd1' post='152209' date='Mar 6 2008, 10:03 AM']Just been re reading Janek's "Modern Bass Improvisations" in issue 35 of Bass Guitar Magazine. I say re read as I find what he has to say rather hard to accept. Firstly he claims to practice his exercises up to 10 hours a day ! Now we all know players who may play their given instrument all day or night, but to just be playing exercises for 10 hours, hmmmmmm yeah right. Second, he says start slowly about 50bpm, and then increase by 10bpm to improve speed. (no problem with that great advice) He then claims to go up to 400bpm playing through the first 3 Fragments. Now that means as the [b]1st & 2nd Fag[/b] is in quavers (eighth notes) at 400bpm he is saying he can play 1600 notes per minuet ! but then[b] Fag 3[/b] is semi quavers (sixteenth notes) making 3200npm. I'm would say this is not possible and even if it was, what would be the point. At that king of speed it would just sound like one long note or glissando. Some might say the point is the challenge of playing at 400bpm. I can sort of see that although, you may think I'm a bit old fashioned but, music is about just that making music, not how fast can I play it.[/quote] I have and do practice 10 hours a day, but for me it is what I'm studying and I want to be the best I can be so when I create music it is much easier to execute. Maybe some of us just have a desire to learn as much as possible and if we have the time why not use it. With regards to the BPM practice thing, when you practice something as fast as you can and accurately, it makes everything slower seem more effortless. Which I feel can only be a good thing. Especially if you want to be an improvising musician at the top of your game (Which Janek is no doubt near to or at), you want to get as many of the technical obstructions out of the way.

Steve and Yolanda in the Dolphin!? I'm there. Glad I cam back to MK this weekend. Something does happen in this city after all! Looking forward to seeing your set Kev.

If I had the money I would have done the todd one...but funds are limited. I am definately going to the garrison one though, as a student of electric bass I don't see how I couldn't.