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Ask Me Anything! Joe Hubbard Bass


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Hey Guys!

Joe Hubbard here.  I wanted to start a new thread where people can ask me anything that's bass related.   I've been teaching for 38 years and have come up with many concepts which have been tested in many high-level professional scenarios- including studio work, tours and gigs while working with major artists and producers on both sides of the Atlantic.  All my concepts have been created with one goal- to be able to  function at high levels musically regardless of style.

I'll do my best to answer as many questions that I can...so fire away!

All the Bass!

Joe

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OK Joe - thanks for the offer. I loved your 'Basslines' book back in the day -such a reference point. I was really intrigued with your references at the back of book - for Slominsky, etc but I'd love to hear more about your Charlie Banacos interactions and what his take was on bass specifically? Did he treat it like any other instrument or did he have a view on its role?

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How should I play a song that is written in major but the story is really sad? Should I use the adjacent minor (like G to em) or try to avoid the major third? Probably one of the main things is to play very simple lines, were it solo or accompanying. I know there may not be one single answer but what would be Your approach, Sir?

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What is the best and most effective way to use lines that I have transcribed from jazz solos? 

I put them in all 12 keys and get them memorised that way, but trying to deliberately insert them into my playing over specific changes doesn’t always seem to feel that natural. They do seem to pop out about 3 months later in my playing...lol...

Do you have any methods or recommendations in this arena? Transcription has a lot of different bits of advice out there about it...

Thanks kindly. 

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On ‎07‎/‎07‎/‎2019 at 19:37, visog said:

OK Joe - thanks for the offer. I loved your 'Basslines' book back in the day -such a reference point. I was really intrigued with your references at the back of book - for Slominsky, etc but I'd love to hear more about your Charlie Banacos interactions and what his take was on bass specifically? Did he treat it like any other instrument or did he have a view on its role?

Hey Visog

How's it going?  With me, he treated it as any other instrument.  His concept was that it was the student's job to discover how his improvisation concepts laid on the instrument technically.  As far as role was concerned, as I've said many times times- we only do two things: 1). Play accompanying bass lines (regardless of style). 2). Ocassionally play a solo.  What many people still don't understand is that all muscal concepts (rhythm, melody and harmony) apply across the board to these two things.  The problem arises, when studentss are led to believe that everything is compartmentalised into styles.

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On ‎09‎/‎07‎/‎2019 at 19:22, itu said:

How should I play a song that is written in major but the story is really sad? Should I use the adjacent minor (like G to em) or try to avoid the major third? Probably one of the main things is to play very simple lines, were it solo or accompanying. I know there may not be one single answer but what would be Your approach, Sir?

Okay...the first thing to always put at the forefront are "playing the right notes" and "playing in context" as to not destroy the composers original intentions of the tune.  So, your question is a little broad...maybe you could provide a musical example.  If you were playing over a major 7th chord like lets say Continuum  by Jaco, the sound of that chord isn't sad, it's more bright in nature.  However, when you listen to that tune there's a somber feel to it.  One of the ways that Jaco brings that out is playing more lyrically (like  a singer) and using chord tensions (the notes notes above the chord) that include 9, #11 and 13 over that chord.

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On ‎12‎/‎07‎/‎2019 at 16:37, funkle said:

What is the best and most effective way to use lines that I have transcribed from jazz solos? 

I put them in all 12 keys and get them memorised that way, but trying to deliberately insert them into my playing over specific changes doesn’t always seem to feel that natural. They do seem to pop out about 3 months later in my playing...lol...

Do you have any methods or recommendations in this arena? Transcription has a lot of different bits of advice out there about it...

Thanks kindly. 

The best way is to isolate short 2 to 4 beat phrases; play them through all the cycles and transpose them over different chord types.  You could also isolate 2 and 4 bar II V I patterns and do the same thing.  With these experiment with mixing II V I vocabulary between Maj & Min tonalities.

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On 01/07/2019 at 10:55, Joe Hubbard Bass said:

Hey Guys!

Joe Hubbard here.  I wanted to start a new thread where people can ask me anything that's bass related.   I've been teaching for 38 years and have come up with many concepts which have been tested in many high-level professional scenarios- including studio work, tours and gigs while working with major artists and producers on both sides of the Atlantic.  All my concepts have been created with one goal- to be able to  function at high levels musically regardless of style.

I'll do my best to answer as many questions that I can...so fire away!

All the Bass!

Joe

That’s really generous - I only wish I had the time to take advantage of such an offer 

clarification (I see an inference I did not intend), I wish I had more spare time than I do so I could practice things i will read in this post

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23 minutes ago, Joe Hubbard Bass said:

The best way is to isolate short 2 to 4 beat phrases; play them through all the cycles and transpose them over different chord types.  You could also isolate 2 and 4 bar II V I patterns and do the same thing.  With these experiment with mixing II V I vocabulary between Maj & Min tonalities.

This is great. I’m on it. 

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53 minutes ago, Joe Hubbard Bass said:

Okay...the first thing to always put at the forefront are "playing the right notes" and "playing in context" as to not destroy the composers original intentions of the tune.  So, your question is a little broad...maybe you could provide a musical example.

Yes, I think I'm in. Feel should be the first thing over single notes.

Many songs have somewhat twofold lyrics and there has been a place to play a certain song (local, not in English, but includes nice words to a friend) in a funeral. I think that omitting that major 3rd might be the simple way. Still I try to figure out other ways of interpreting words by supporting them through the bass line. Those 9, #11 and 13 are certainly something I need to study here.

Thank you Sir, this is very supportive.

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17 hours ago, itu said:

Yes, I think I'm in. Feel should be the first thing over single notes.

Many songs have somewhat twofold lyrics and there has been a place to play a certain song (local, not in English, but includes nice words to a friend) in a funeral. I think that omitting that major 3rd might be the simple way. Still I try to figure out other ways of interpreting words by supporting them through the bass line. Those 9, #11 and 13 are certainly something I need to study here.

Thank you Sir, this is very supportive.

Just to clarify- notes always come first in the learning process...NOT feel!  Most will try to argue that this is incorrect but they are wrong.  Feel and Groove is a by-product of you having a command and mastery of your intrument.  Think about what "feel" actually means.  It means that you are making what you play "feel good."  You cannot do this with any broad scope across stylistic boundries without first understanding the notes (and how they apply to the harmony) that are under your fingers and how they work across your bass in context.

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7 hours ago, Joe Hubbard Bass said:

Just to clarify- notes always come first in the learning process...NOT feel!

...Feel and Groove is a by-product of you having a command and mastery of your instrument. Think about what "feel" actually means. It means that you are making what you play "feel good."

Very good additions! Yes, the first thing is always to learn the song including melody, progressions etc. This particular song that I knew by heart, and the feeling in that situation made me feel pretty uncomfortable. How should I put myself in, while not exactly following the major scale. It is true that minor might have been lame but that Continuum type of thing might have been the right way.

I got lots of food for thought, now I need to digest this. Thank You for Your help and notes.

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4 hours ago, itu said:

How should I put myself in, while not exactly following the major scale?

Instead of scales, you need to be thinking chord tones as a primary way of playing over chord changes.  Lots of scales (including the major scale) have what are called "avoid notes."  These are notes you can't resolve your lines to.  However, if you first think about the chord tones, you can resolve your lines over any chord tone.  These are the basics from beginner to advanced.

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On 01/07/2019 at 10:55, Joe Hubbard Bass said:

All the Bass!

Wow, nice to see you here. Don't have a question (well probably have a few hundred...) but I really rate and appreciate your Youtube vids. Among the very best out there👍

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Hi Joe, I’ve learnt a ton of stuff from your books, they continue to help me a lot so thank you. I have a question - it’s about practice routines, motivation, energy levels and a busy work schedule. I have a full time job as well as a freelance career (not music), so my practice time is often very limited. Do you have any advice for maintaining a meaningful practice routine even when work is crazy and energy levels are low?

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6 hours ago, project_c said:

Do you have any advice for maintaining a meaningful practice routine

Good question, so +1

Also, a basic left-hand issue. Been playing years and way back had to work hard to get 4th digit to work as required and it's become better than my rather lazy 3rd. It tends to let 4th do it's work, or 3 &4 work as one digit. A practice routine to retrain my 3rd to pull it's fair share of weight?

It's a real privilege to be asking your advice Joe ;)

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On ‎19‎/‎07‎/‎2019 at 15:19, project_c said:

Hi Joe, I’ve learnt a ton of stuff from your books, they continue to help me a lot so thank you. I have a question - it’s about practice routines, motivation, energy levels and a busy work schedule. I have a full time job as well as a freelance career (not music), so my practice time is often very limited. Do you have any advice for maintaining a meaningful practice routine even when work is crazy and energy levels are low?

It's really down to just a few things.  1).  You have to have enough reasons to want to improve.  2).  You have to create enough time in each day that is your music time.

Personal motivation will be different from person to person, but a good thing to do is write down all the reasons why you want to become a better musician and why it's important to you.  By visually seeing all the reasons this is so omportant to you will help you to prioritise your schedule.

In a 24-hour period, there are 1440 minutes.  All you need is 100 minutes for 6-days a week to see incredible improvement.  You then want to understand the commitment needed to to become proficient.  It takes a while.  People far over estimate what they can accomplish within a year and far under estimate what they can achieve in 6-years.  100 inutes a day for 6-days is 10 hours per week.  There are 168  hours in a week and everybody has the same 168.  The average person watches anywhere between 4 to 6 hours of TV and social media...sometimes more.  It's all down to priorities and ultimately what's important  to you.

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On ‎19‎/‎07‎/‎2019 at 21:26, Soledad said:

Good question, so +1

Also, a basic left-hand issue. Been playing years and way back had to work hard to get 4th digit to work as required and it's become better than my rather lazy 3rd. It tends to let 4th do it's work, or 3 &4 work as one digit. A practice routine to retrain my 3rd to pull it's fair share of weight?

It's a real privilege to be asking your advice Joe ;)

The answer lies in using two left-hand stances: the one finger per fret or 4-finger stance and the 3-finger stance, where the 3rd and 4th work as one.  Check out this week's lesson on my YouTube Channel, where I break this down:

I go into great detail with thesse left-hand positions in my Bass Foundation Course: https://www.joehubbardbass.com/foundation/

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

I would like to hear your suggestions for training during one week. Sometimes there are moments to play hours, sometimes just minutes. How do you handle your week or a month and keep up your playing abilities? What is the material that suits your personal progression?

A friend of mine - a drummer - said that if he plays at least 5 minutes a day, he can keep some touch to his playing. It certainly is far better than one hour once a week. So warming up, rehearsal, cooling down, or what and how?

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  • 4 weeks later...

This is what I do for a living so I pretty much practice every day.  How much varies, but it's usually betweeen 3 to 4 hours per day- sometimes more.  What I work on is usually dependent on my on going studies with Charlie Banacos.  Although Charlie is no longer with us, his top student - Garry Dial - of 38 years who works on behalf on the Banacos family continues to carry on Charlie's legacy.  I studied with Charlie for 10 years and in that time had 150 lessons with him.  I haven't counted, but I've been with Garry for the last 8 years and have probably had roughly well over a hundred lessons with him as well.  These are all Charlie's original lessons in his own hand.  They are very involved and it takes a lot of time to work these concepts into your vocabulary.  At the moment I'm working on a bunch of John Coltrane improvisational concepts which are mind bending to say the least.  My formula is simple: Listen, practice, play!  I never warm up- I just sit down and do the work.  Often to find out what I need to work on, I'll practice improvising over a tune (with no backing tracks) and after about 12 choruses, I can find various things that bug me about the way I played. It's sort of a reverse-engineering process but it works for me. 

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Hi Joe,

I struggle to play slap and have it sound half-decent. I can alternate octave slap/pops all day but struggle to be fluent playing more complex patterns with any force. It's not really a speed issue, more one of getting a pleasant sound! I've tried playing lines I know well by slapping rather than fingerstyle but they just come out as terribly stilted.

Have you got a favourite exercise for developing a more fluent slap technique taht isn't playing 'Higher Ground' endlessly?

Thanks!

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  • 1 month later...
On ‎17‎/‎09‎/‎2019 at 16:37, wishface said:

Hi, what would you recommend for shoring up right hand two finger plucking technique and is there a particular picking style you regard as optimal?

Thanks for your time

Yes there is.  This lesson will help.  Pay close attention to the detail covered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXr75R2egt0

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