phil625sxc

[quote name='urb' timestamp='1328736230' post='1532026']
This thread is great and I hope it gives others looking to make a change have the courage of their convictions to go for it.

It really is a case of throwing yourself out there and going for it - you can practice until you're blue in the face but eventually you have to get out and do it for real - then you're actually playing jazz...
[/quote]

+10000 !

I started playing jazz about 4 years ago after years of wanting to but never thinking I was good enough - in my own mind I'm still nowhere near good enough, but I can now do jazz gigs and am learning every time I do one, after being thrown in at the deep end depping for a friend's quartet a while back.
I still see myself as more of a jazz imposter than a jazz player, but iI'm getting there !!

ps. open invitation to anyone who wants to sit in for few numbers on the jam night to gain some experience playing standards - it's a really laid back, no pressure, friendly type of night with a decent house band so perfect for this...just let me know.

[quote name='Linus27' timestamp='1328714150' post='1531548']

May I ask, how did you get started? What was the first thing you did to move over into the Jazz scene and away from rock etc? Did you just join a band, start a band or spend a long time studying songs? Again some direction or tips would be appreciated.
[/quote]

If you're ever anywhere near Stoke Newington on a Monday night I play in the house band for a really laid back, friendly and informal jazz jam night, you'd be welcome to come and sit in for a few numbers if you fancy that for a bit of experience ??

my 23 year old !!

1989 thumb 6 which weighs a ton and doesn't balance too well but sounds and plays like a dream.. :-)

thanks Tom - doubt i'll get to that level but will definitely give it a go !
thanks for the manuscript site as well. :-)

haha, ok thanks - i think I'll be really struggling even with the bass !

cheers for all the good advice on this one guys, as it happens so far I've hardly had any spare time to put any of it into practise but I'm determined to give my reading a push this year and get to a better level.

Will let you know how I get on !

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1327596942' post='1514007']
Who are you calling a bloke/bird?
[/quote]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmQvxfo75K0

[quote name='Low End Bee' timestamp='1327592611' post='1513911']
Interesting and thought provoking is definitely not trolling.
[/quote]

very true, but i don't think that applies to this post - I was initially wrong about the meaning behind the OP as someone has clarified it as "good music doesn't have to be difficult to play" which IMO is not an interesting or thought provoking statement...

[quote name='Low End Bee' timestamp='1327592132' post='1513900']
I do admire Nigel's ability to provoke debate and get people going on here.
[/quote]

trolling ??

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1327590552' post='1513865']
. And I'd add that on bass guitar in particular - more often than not - technically difficult music sounds bloody awful.
[/quote]

again, very subjective - it's all down to personal preference, and what you consider technically difficult...

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1327590552' post='1513865']

No. He's suggesting that difficulty of performance is no indication of how good a piece of music is. And I'd add that on bass guitar in particular - more often than not - technically difficult music sounds bloody awful.
[/quote]

ok sorry I misunderstood the post - I thought it was saying one was "better" than the other...it's a funny statement to make though as:
a. it's pretty obvious
b. it's very subjective

go on then, I'll bite.... ;-)

On first reading the OP seemed to be a reverse musical snobbery kind of question, the kind that are mostly posted by players whose own techniques are not that hot...but I may have it wrong.

Are you implying that music that is easy to play is superior or preferable to that which is technically demanding ?

Apologies if I have the wrong end of the stick

thanks Tom - it's not something I've done much of at all so will give it a go. Maybe a silly question but when transcribing is it done with your bass in hand or all mentally ?

great, got it - thanks for clarifying that

sorry, not sure I follow - by the end of the note do you mean the length of the note ?

ok i'll see what i can dig out tonight for you - in the meantime there's some on spotify if you have that ?

if you can get hold of some playalongs to practise with first that will help - I have some of the ones you're doing if you need them - just let me know.
Also, just concentrate on keeping it simple as per Jake's advice above - most importantly outline the changes and don't get lost on the sheet - if you're not familiar with the tune then follow it closely as you're probably the only player in the band who can't afford to lose their place in the tune !
Again, if you're not familiar with the tune make sure you know the tempo it's counted in at - saves you playing at half or double the tempo of the rest of them !! (i've done this with tunes counted in by singers at double tempo....)
it's normal play a two feel under the head then start walking under the solos - listen to what the drummer is doing.
Swing, and enjoy !! :-)

Good luck,

Phil

been having a go at a couple of standards using garageband and a playalong track, with an aim to working out how to solo over them...so there's plenty of mistakes in there !! and they drag on a bit, sorry...

[url="http://soundcloud.com/phil625sxc/sets/playalong-1"]http://soundcloud.co...ets/playalong-1[/url]

ps. how do you embed soundcloud tracks into a post ??

yep I agree - I'm not too bad moving postion when reading with frets, but pretty hopeless on fretless ! any tips for this while we're here ?? apart from just doing it lots I guess...

this is the 1st page of the chart I referred to earlier that made me start thinking about this and post the question...[attachment=97491:Mueve Los Huesos.pdf]

[quote name='Faithless' timestamp='1326730439' post='1501151']
how about you get a little 'stand-up' section written in Treble Clef, which implies the top of the bass range?
[/quote]

then I wouldn't be able to play it as I can't read treble clef anyway ! :-) but really, how likely is this scenario ? And I can confidently say that in my future bass playing I'm 99% sure I'll never be asked to sight read a chart which has a section written in treble - (some of the cello scores I'm using fpr reading practice do however)
Again, thanks for the advice but I'm familiar with the notes on the majority of the neck, and my question was about reading methods.
Best,

Phil

[quote name='Faithless' timestamp='1326625242' post='1499568']
I know what you're saying, though, can you do that Joe Hubbard's exercise? I know he had pupils playing both 6 months and 16 years, and none of them could do it properly at first time. It's all about knowing your axe.
[/quote]

I probably couldn't to be honest, not all the way across the bass but, that doesn't really bother me - I'm probably never going to play the 2nd octave B on the 24th fret of the B string in my entire life !! :-)
That's not to say it's not a great thing to be able to do, but it's not really relevant to my question - I know the notes in the areas I play on the neck ok-ish, probably not as much as I should on the C string but mostly I'm ok.
What I was asking for was advice on improving my sight reading, as I have limited free time to practise - maybe I didn't phrase the question properly - thanks for your replies anyway though ! :-)
Best,

Phil

Thanks guys, some good advice there, much appreciated.
Bilbo and Jake, thanks that's the answer I was looking for, I thought that reading through as much different material as possible would be a worthwhile exercise so thanks for the confirmation, I'll give your method with the Real Book a go Jake as I have one in bass clef.
Liamis, thanks for the reply but I think my question was really about how to improve sight reading - I can read to a certain level ok-ish, and can work out difficult charts if I spend time on them but I want to improve my sight reading..point in question that made me ask this really was, in my last rehearsal with the big band we had the chart for Mueva Los Huesos - Gordon Goodwin put in front if us, if anyone knows that tune - it's not too difficult and after taking it home and going through it for an hour I can just about play it fine, at tempo - but trying to sight read it I had no chance ! Whereas those pesky horn players just breezed straight though it, and I would love to get to somewhere near to that level... :-)
I only have the full band score but can attach it if anyone wants ?
Also, I've been going through some scores and recording myself, which I find puts a bit more pressure on to get it right first time and really concentrate on reading it correctly.

Thanks again guys.

Phil

thanks Dan, that's good advice - I've been dowloading as much as I can, lots of cello scores including some duets which should be fun to work through (apart from when they move out of bass clef !) and I guess it's just a case of doing as much different stuff as pos.
I find if I play through a part even a few times some of it goes into memory, which is fine, but I want to get to the stage where I can play through charts of a reasonable standard first time !
All the best,

Phil

Hi all

Reading - i've been meaning to learn for ages but until the last couple of years I've not had any need to and so it has been hard to get the motivation.
I'm now at a stage where I'm not too bad, and my new year's reolution is to try and have a crack at doing it properly, try and do a bit every day if I can, even 30 mins or so and see if i can get to a decent standard by the end of this year...
so...I just want to get opinions on whether either of these 2 methods is better than the other:

A. Read straight through as many different pieces as possible without stopping, to a click, regardless of mistakes
B. Work on particular charts until they can be played flawlessly.

If I had unlimited time then obviously both of these would be ideal, but I just wondered if anyone had views on whether one is better ?

Thanks,

Phil

very nice !!

thanks for posting :-)