Mrbigstuff

[quote name='Eggy' timestamp='1330864016' post='1563887'] EZbass - interestingly they had a load of ear defenders in the corner of the masterclass area but did not offer them up Later [/quote] thats annoying to find out, Doug Wimbish sent me home ringing

i think the most interesting point is what constitutes for a "lot" when discussing practising (noodling does not count). For a professional or semi pro; IMO 5-8 hours a day is a lot, 3-4 hours is a good effort, 2-3 is ok and less than 2 is pretty crap. If all you do is learn songs then i guess your practice times is just how long it takes?

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1330808259' post='1563373'] I went last year... Dingwalls were in my highlights too along with GB, Overwater and Status. Was Nigel C there doing his usual 64th deadened note slap-a-thon? [/quote] I have no idea who that is But it was bloody kids playing high end basses loud and just slapping dead notes out of time!! TM Stevans and Doug Wimbish didn't help as they were just doing the same. (except in time obviously)

the best deal i noticed was a Yamaha TRB-5 with over 1k off the RRP!!!!!!! Watch out for the ridiculously priced cafe bit! Theres a tesco's on the way which i advise going to first

first one i've been to. Wow the noise! What an absolute pain in the arse. And the slap..... I mean why? just why!!!!??? I think Doug Wimbish was a bit too eccentric for me, but yolanda and Shuffler were awesome. Bass wise, Dingwall super P was amazing! loved the low B! Also the blue Ritter Roya at BassGear had bags of character.

[quote name='1SHOT1HIT' timestamp='1330701039' post='1561867'] I'll definitely keep you in mind-ish if I ever decide to part with it. [/quote] Me second

is the pj5 going to the bass show?

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1330385382' post='1556776'] Thing is, I am more comfortable with 4 strings and have not been in a band since 2007 (a metal band ) that required 5 strings. I have a fantastic 5 string but am not playing it as I just naturally pick up my 4s.Still wondering though if this is just taking the easy route snd I should invest my time re-learning the 5 stringer. Hence my OP [/quote] Interestingly i've started really learning my 5 string in depth. Before i just used it as an extra string to give me 4 more notes or make some passages of play easier. But now i use it like its an essential part of the bass as an instrument. When i go back to 4 string basses i do feel something is really missing and i try to play passages that don't work without the low B.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1330377723' post='1556578'] Glasper floats my boat but Cowley hasn't grabbed my ears yet. Might try again. [/quote] For me its not an album that i think, "wow thats new and exciting." It's just very pleasant and flows nicely. Good to listen to after chromazone

good year for jazz so far! Neil Cowley trio's album "The Face of Mount Molehill" is becoming a favourite of mine and also Robert Glasper today released "Black Radio." Spent more time listening than plain at the moment

[quote name='david_l_perry' timestamp='1330349411' post='1555963'] Hope you guys and gals don't forget to come and say Hi to us on the stands.... Myself (EAD) Alan (ACG) and John East (East electronics) are all on the same stand..... Come for a chat ! [/quote] will you be providing a bass to try out your cabs or will i have to bring my own?

sounds good, do you play fretless bass? i can imagine it sounded really good in that mix

http://www.suhrguitars.com/images/colorChart2/ check out shell pink antique.

holy crap its next week! where does the time go..... also does anyone know when it finishes? time wise

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1330171782' post='1553666'] The only way any of us will know if your approach works is if you post clips I reckon [/quote] ok i'll try and jam something out next week

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1330119835' post='1553176'] Please don't take it personally blackmn90, but I (perhaps naively) didn't realise that anyone actually had such a clinical approach towards music! I've always played because I really enjoy making music! It just seems a bit like indulging in conjugal activities with the missus by way of a textbook; " no, no, your ankle needs to be another 2 inches over my shoulder, you're doing it all wrong!" It just wouldn't be quite the same........... Just my 2p worth [/quote] I do still really enjoy music in what i expect a similar way to everyone else. I enjoy the feel of a hooks or riffs that stick in my head, i like the chilled feeling i get when listening to pop/ jazz ballads, and i love the hair on back moments like you get at the end of stairway to heaven when it really kicks in! But i then analyse what is it that they have done, dynamics, articulation, tone, production, choices of notes ect. This then gives me the opportunity to create something with a similar effect consistently. I've often been a band leader and i always bring my idea of using dynamics to really change the feel of a song. Subtle changes can make a big difference and make it much more exciting for the audience. It also means when performing, even if i have learnt 80 songs that month it is easier to remember the song 4 weeks ago because i can have a quick listen and say "ok thats A minor and i start on the 3rd and descend to the 6th and its a funk feel." Just works well for me and my terrible memory. Sorry if i've repeated myself, but i feel this explains my approach much better

Don't know if these have been posted yet but i saw Paul Turner today and he was playing a 5 string PJ made by this luthier. The build quality was excellent and it sounded as big and rich as a top original 60's fender! I honestly thought it was active and was amazed when he said it was passive. http://www.avbasses.com/

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1330027224' post='1551765'] But what would you play if someone said "play something"? [/quote] just tested this. Started with a chord progression and moved into creating a melody around it. After that i would usually look for strong rhythm and expand from there

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1330023358' post='1551679'] What do you say when someone says to you "Say something!" ? [/quote] i would say "why?" And thanks old slapper. Unfortunately I'm just stubborn and far too opinionated for my own good

Damn hippies

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1330016956' post='1551534'] I think you're right. It's not the only way though. I would guess you are quite young too? [/quote] 21 so not really what i would call young [quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1330016999' post='1551535'] Interesting approach. I'd rather listen to the music and feel it. The whole reason for having a solid theoretical knowledge is that it should be internalised so that you can just play without thinking about it,yet it is always there in your subconcious and helping to make life easier for you. [/quote] The trouble is Doddy is a lot of the music i get in a studio environment is very undeveloped. But in the jam situation a lot of what i play is what i have been practising in a similar unconscious method to what you describe. Which is why i practise a lot so that i have many choices wherever i am on the bass

[quote name='thunderbird13' timestamp='1330016345' post='1551514'] This willl probably get lost in the "Silddx Onslaught" but it is an interesting point which has caused me much frustration - what is it a really good player can play something stupidly simple like 8th notes on the 5th fret but it sounds so much better than me playing exactly the same thing. I looked at technique ( which contributes t it ) but TBH my technique is quite othodox. Then it hit me someone like Steve ( who I've also had lessons with ) is playing from inside him , not in some mystical sense but its just more confident and self assured than someone like me. Just as in the same way as me speaking in front of a crowd is going to sound better if I sound conficent rather than speak in a thin wobbly voice [/quote] actually i didn't consider confidence, good point. I think this changes a lot of things. But it is easier to be confident when you know you have the knowhow on how to make sure you can cover up mistakes or turn mistakes into something new. I believe having really strong theory can help in those situations as you know musically when its a good time to come back in and how you can make it sound cool.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1330015709' post='1551504'] Interesting. How do you approach writing bass lines or music? If your bandleader came to a rehearsal with a new song, how would you create a bass line for it? [/quote] It really depends on the music. I normally start by listening to a drum loop or pattern then get some rhythmic ideas form that. If thats not available then i will create something that will fit the genre the band leader is aiming to create. For example a lot of female songwriters i work with write a ballad with just piano and vocals. Then they say "i want it funkier." So i add rhythms i find interesting (i believe these are a combination of ideas my brain has retained from listening/ playing to music and things in everyday life). Harmonically usually from chord tones and scale. I get idea's on how to use them effectively be analysing the content that other players have played and just play what fits the chords and melody. I guess i take a very scientific view to music and I'm the same way in life in general.

[quote name='Wil' timestamp='1330014014' post='1551461'] It's all about emotion. Music done right moves people, and technical correctness doesnt necessarily equal a moving performance, it's all down to the note choice and feel of the musician playing the part and how they react to what they hear. You can approach music from a purely technical aspect, sure, but if you don't feel emotionally affected by what you play first and foremost then I doubt your audience will either. [/quote] [quote name='silddx' timestamp='1330014345' post='1551466'] How do you know what you are saying through your music then? How do you enjoy music? Do you get any emotional reaction to music, or do you simply analyse it? How do you discern whether a performance is good or bad or meaningful? [/quote] In answer to both. When i watch a performance i am watching the body language and listening for articulation and dynamics. The combination of these 3 things is what i think expresses musicality and what i see as the difference between a good performer and someone who's not quite there yet. I work on all 3 of these so i can put across what i guess can be described as a simulation of emotion. Say i'm playing a song that was written about pain; despite the fact i am loving the performance i can still get the idea of pain across using the combination of the 3 things suggested before. Same if i'm really not enjoying the gig i will play and have the body language to suggest i am. It's all fake but importantly its consistent.

[quote name='Wil' timestamp='1330008166' post='1551327'] Who says playing with soul negates any theoretical or technical knowledge? [/quote] thats just the impression i got from siddx's points [quote name='silddx' timestamp='1330008435' post='1551333'] I think you labour under the misapprehension that Beyonce's songs come from jams or something. They are very carefully crafted and refined before anyone gets near a studio. Also, I don't want to be a session musician, I like being in bands. The bands I'm in are quite demanding, especially the sitarist. I have to compose and improvise meaningful guitar pieces, in complex time signatures like 13/4, often requiring me to stick strictly to something like phrygian with no non-diatonic passing notes or chords, often with many structural rules and requirements she imposes from Indian classical music, as the piece progresses. But I approach it from what I feel in my heart, not from theory, I don't know much theory, or the notes on the fingerboard. It's not easy, but it is immensly rewarding and humbling when the magic happens on stage, or in the studio. [/quote] i only chose beyonce because its a big name and they would be a lot of pressure to get it right. And there are still records by artists such as beyonce that are written by musicians jamming stuff out. I play for a new indie label and to start off we played what was written but we then found if we jam a song with the band and then the mc or vocalist can freestyle over the top and get some ideas. Interestingly i watch a documentary on Guy Chambers and Mark Ronson collaborating to write an artist a new song. They did via jamming. Also bruno mars was in a group of musicians that wrote Cee Lo Greens album. At the end of the day all that matters is that you get the results for what you need. I'm just saying imo one day that will let you down if you didn't have some theory. Which you seem to have anyway...... I stand by my belief that "music from the heart is hippy bollocks" and your not going to change that. End of