JordanRLS Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Hey all, For college, I am soon going to be doing an extended project. Which is basically an opportunity to research and present (either in an essay, a practical application, presentation or basically anything else) about anything you are interested in. So, I am thinking of conducting my project on something to do with Bass, and was wondering if any of you had any ideas to get my mind working? I was thinking that some possibilities could be 'the evolution of bass playing in funk,' or 'how bass design has changed over time,' you get the general idea... Any ideas would be very helpful! Also, any links to books, articles, websites etc which may help would also be gratefully received (I need to suggest 3 books I may use before I can begin the project.) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Why don't you come up with some more ideas and Basschat can give you pointers. You've got two good ones already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JordanRLS Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 [quote name='steve-soar' post='1276263' date='Jun 20 2011, 07:51 PM']Why don't you come up with some more ideas and Basschat can give you pointers. You've got two good ones already. [/quote] Fair enough . I think I quite like the idea of researching the development of funk bass playing, although I would need to find some books and research material for it to be a viable project title. Google isn't too helpful right now! So, if anybody knows of books or resources which could be of help, please feel free to share Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 My advice would be to go with an idea you have the most passion for, knowledge gain be gained afterwards. What does your gut say? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 The Funk thing goes back 50 years, and knowing the timeline from start to finish still has musicologists in argument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JordanRLS Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 [quote name='steve-soar' post='1276278' date='Jun 20 2011, 07:57 PM']My advice would be to go with an idea you have the most passion for, knowledge gain be gained afterwards. What does your gut say?[/quote] Thanks for the advice, I enjoy playing bass, and the style I most enjoy to play is funk, so it certainly feels like a good idea. On the other hand, I could go down the route of a specific genre of music in general, which could be a bit more broad, although I don't exactly listen to main stream music so the research material may be just as limited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 I wish I was doing this, sounds well exciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brown"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brown[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Meters"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Meters[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Stubblefield"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Stubblefield[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Palmer"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Palmer[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JordanRLS Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 Thank you very much, you've been more than helpful! All of those links are great and have certainly given me solid starting points. I'm thinking I will focus my project on the bass playing in funk, as it allows me to go into greater detail rather than keeping it generally about a genre. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Nothing like a bit of background, as for bass in funk, why not go from the American origins to the disco period, then to the brit-funk and electro bands of the 80's. put in a bit of post Thatcherite angst, back to Faith No More, Chilis and then put in a bit about Nu Metal bands and how f*** bass in rock is now a dying fish in am evapourating lake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 (edited) standing in the shadow of james jamerson, larry grahams slap book, any stanley clarke book, any book to do with bootsy, the new jamiroquai book, funk bass bible ect. Theres loads!!!! Just find out the bassists that are in the really funky tracks and research them. Totally forgot the bernard edwards book by stuart clayton Edited June 20, 2011 by blackmn90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 23 Skidoo, Heaven 17, A Certain Ratio are your antagonistic funk influenced post punk bands, all anti Margaret Thatcher who as you know was prime minister at the time. Anything else I can help with give me a shout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Even though I don't like the damn things I would say that because of it's dominance of the market you could do worse than the book "The Fender Bass - an Illustrated History". It's going for a tenner on Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 (edited) [quote name='JordanRLS' post='1276248' date='Jun 20 2011, 07:39 PM']Hey all, For college, I am soon going to be doing an extended project. Which is basically an opportunity to research and present (either in an essay, a practical application, presentation or basically anything else) about anything you are interested in. So, I am thinking of conducting my project on something to do with Bass, and was wondering if any of you had any ideas to get my mind working? I was thinking that some possibilities could be 'the evolution of bass playing in funk,' or 'how bass design has changed over time,' you get the general idea... Any ideas would be very helpful! Also, any links to books, articles, websites etc which may help would also be gratefully received (I need to suggest 3 books I may use before I can begin the project.) Thanks![/quote] Hi Jordan, in my college I'm one of the supervisors of the EDEXCEL dissertation version of these projects - is that the one you will be doing? I'm not familiar with the requirements for the other exam boards. If you are doing the EDEXCEL dissertation, then, as you clarify your topic, you will want to turn it from a topic area or descriptive question into a normative question. For example, the answer to 'How has bass design changed over time?' might be merely descriptive but you'll be expected to argue a position or point of view and not merely be descriptive. So, a question like 'Was the development of the electric bass guitar the most important technological innovation in modern popular music?' enables you to describe but also requires some analysis and development of an argument which concludes whether the electric bass guitar was or was not the most important technological innovation in modern popular music. I hope that makes sense and is helpful. Edited June 20, 2011 by EssentialTension Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 [quote name='EssentialTension' post='1276379' date='Jun 20 2011, 09:12 PM']Hi Jordan, in my college I'm one of the supervisors of the EDEXCEL dissertation version of these projects - is that the one you will be doing? I'm not familiar with the requirements for the other exam boards. If you are doing the EDEXCEL dissertation, then, as you clarify your topic, you will want to turn it from a topic area or descriptive question into a normative question. For example, the answer to 'How has bass design changed over time?' might be merely descriptive but you'll be expected to argue a position or point of view and not merely be descriptive. So, a question like 'Was the development of the electric bass guitar the most important technological innovation in modern popular music?' enables you to describe but also requires some analysis and development of an argument which concludes whether the electric bass guitar was or was not the most important technological innovation in modern popular music. I hope that makes sense and is helpful.[/quote] No offence meant to you personally, but this is exactly why i hate essays/assignments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 [quote name='blackmn90' post='1276397' date='Jun 20 2011, 09:21 PM']No offence meant to you personally, but this is exactly why i hate essays/assignments.[/quote] What is it you hate? Is it that I supervise them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 [quote name='EssentialTension' post='1276405' date='Jun 20 2011, 08:30 PM']What is it you hate? Is it that I supervise them? [/quote] haha no if you supervised them i would have offered you some basses to sooth the deal into giving me A*s ;-) I just find it very restrictive on the imagination when you have to write something just to get marks (to the brief) rather than writing something that would be genuinely interesting. Something like How has Bass developed in the funk genre would be very useful and exciting for any young bass player to research. When it becomes you must analyse something of your choice but make sure you do an introduction, SWOT analysis, conclusion, and bibliography, referencing and everything like that people choose what will get them good marks and be quick and easy to do. Maybe something like how does todays pop basslines compare to the pop basslines in the 60's and 70's would be ok but im sure how does green apples compare to red apples would get you more marks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JordanRLS Posted June 20, 2011 Author Share Posted June 20, 2011 [quote name='blackmn90' post='1276312' date='Jun 20 2011, 08:16 PM']standing in the shadow of james jamerson, larry grahams slap book, any stanley clarke book, any book to do with bootsy, the new jamiroquai book, funk bass bible ect. Theres loads!!!! Just find out the bassists that are in the really funky tracks and research them. Totally forgot the bernard edwards book by stuart clayton[/quote] Thanks a lot, I'll be sure to check these out. [quote name='steve-soar' post='1276317' date='Jun 20 2011, 08:20 PM']23 Skidoo, Heaven 17, A Certain Ratio are your antagonistic funk influenced post punk bands, all anti Margaret Thatcher who as you know was prime minister at the time. Anything else I can help with give me a shout.[/quote] Thank you for all of your help! [quote name='Big_Stu' post='1276348' date='Jun 20 2011, 08:43 PM']Even though I don't like the damn things I would say that because of it's dominance of the market you could do worse than the book "The Fender Bass - an Illustrated History". It's going for a tenner on Amazon.[/quote] Nice one, I'll have a look thanks! [quote name='EssentialTension' post='1276379' date='Jun 20 2011, 09:12 PM']Hi Jordan, in my college I'm one of the supervisors of the EDEXCEL dissertation version of these projects - is that the one you will be doing? I'm not familiar with the requirements for the other exam boards. If you are doing the EDEXCEL dissertation, then, as you clarify your topic, you will want to turn it from a topic area or descriptive question into a normative question. For example, the answer to 'How has bass design changed over time?' might be merely descriptive but you'll be expected to argue a position or point of view and not merely be descriptive. So, a question like 'Was the development of the electric bass guitar the most important technological innovation in modern popular music?' enables you to describe but also requires some analysis and development of an argument which concludes whether the electric bass guitar was or was not the most important technological innovation in modern popular music. I hope that makes sense and is helpful.[/quote] Thank you for the information! I think we are doing the project under the AQA exam board, so I believe we have the chance to present our findings however we want, weather it be an essay, a practical application, design, model or piece of music etc. Certainly gave me something to think about though, thanks. Just looking for anything regarding the actual [i]history[/i] of funk bass playing really, info seems to be a bit thin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 [quote name='JordanRLS' post='1276422' date='Jun 20 2011, 08:47 PM']Just looking for anything regarding the actual [i]history[/i] of funk bass playing really, info seems to be a bit thin![/quote] im afraid i have to disagree. Funk bass playing essentially came from jazz walking lines and african influenced rhythms. If you analyse James Jamersons playing the notes hes playing are often root, third and fifths of the chord with chromatic runs. This is how a lot, not all, walking basslines were played pre 1950. But the other aspect of these young funkateers is they were using a lot of 16ths and syncopated rhythms. Although this was used in melody lines and big bands the bass rarely played like this. After that lots of funk players were using 16ths and syncopation (Bootsy Collins to name just one). Also there were new techniques; slap (larry graham), harmonics (Jaco Pastorius), two hand tapping (Victor Bailey). Also you can talk about how the introduction of the electric bass made it easier to use these techniques and play these lines. There are also different types of funk; Motown, Stax soul, Jazz funk, Acid Jazz, 70's disco that can be researched. To get the information the best way is by analysing tone, and whats being played on the record. Unfortunately its taken me a few years which i suspect you dont have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 [quote name='blackmn90' post='1276415' date='Jun 20 2011, 09:41 PM']haha no if you supervised them i would have offered you some basses to sooth the deal into giving me A*s ;-)[/quote] Fortunately they are double marked internally and then checked by the exam board externally . [quote name='blackmn90' post='1276415' date='Jun 20 2011, 09:41 PM']I just find it very restrictive on the imagination when you have to write something just to get marks (to the brief) rather than writing something that would be genuinely interesting.[/quote] Actually what we're looking for is imagination and something genuinly interesting rather than just another copied from somewhere else description with no thought given to it. [quote name='blackmn90' post='1276415' date='Jun 20 2011, 09:41 PM']Something like How has Bass developed in the funk genre would be very useful and exciting for any young bass player to research.[/quote] I agree, but better still would be to go further than merely describing the development and to say something imaginative about it's importance - otherwise why bother even describing it? [quote name='blackmnit 90' post='1276415' date='Jun 20 2011, 09:41 PM']When it becomes you must analyse something of your choice but make sure you do an introduction, SWOT analysis, conclusion, and bibliography, referencing and everything like that people choose what will get them good marks and be quick and easy to do.[/quote] I've no idea what SWOT analysis is so I can't comment on that but my students certainly don't 'choose what will get them good marks and be quick and easy to do' because if it was quick and easy to do it would be unlikely to get good marks. [quote name='blackmn90' post='1276415' date='Jun 20 2011, 09:41 PM']Maybe something like how does todays pop basslines compare to the pop basslines in the 60's and 70's would be ok but im sure how does green apples compare to red apples would get you more marks. [/quote] The comparison of pop basslines today versus '60s could work well but you'd need to clarify the purpose of the comparison, for example, 'After five decades, is the influence of James Jamerson still important in contemporary popular music?'. I'm sure that the apple comparison, as it stands, would get very few marks although it too might be developed into something slightly more interesting and imaginative: Red apple or green apple - which is to be preferred as one of your five-a-day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted June 20, 2011 Share Posted June 20, 2011 i cant work out how to do the quote thing you did but: When i did my A levels way back when, it was easier to get higher marks when you write under the sub headings the marker has on his mark sheet and keep within those categories rather than expanding on the subject and analysing into more detail than was necessary, also word counts are a pain in the arse in that sense. Secondly if you did research into a topic as big as funk bass and wrote a detailed description of what happened people would read it. Books on history have been selling for hundreds of years. If i had the time i would probably do one, unfortunately i am soon to write an electric bass book for beginners as part of my dissertation so thats going to take up lots of time Oh and SWOT is Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats... A more alliterate pros and cons apologies to the OP for taking this off topic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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