Bass Solo accompaniment

[BassBus]

I think that puts the point very clearly bilbo. We are, after all, creating something when we play, particularly in jazz, so just talking is not always going to bring out the best. Sometimes you just have to let it go, within reason, and see what comes up.

[quote name='Spoombung' post='533505' date='Jul 6 2009, 07:52 AM']Oh, you can't always rely on a listening. Talking first means you set some preferences (like [i]please[/i] keep playing when I play my bass solo)[/quote]

In my earlier post I related my experience of sitting down and talking to the drummer which achieved precisely nothing. That brings me back to listening and bilbo makes a good point about stifling the creativity of others by stating what I want.

Edited July 6, 2009 by BassBus

[Major-Minor]

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='533612' date='Jul 6 2009, 11:01 AM']Re: acoustic playing. I agree that, in practice, it helps but, if this is the case, you need to have some conversations about why that is. You should be able to sound musical and sensitive plugged into a 1000 watt Marshall - its about playing with musicians not players.[/quote]
Thanks for your reply Bilbo - as always very erudite. And I agree with all you say.
The point I was making re: acoustic playing is simply that the DB has a beautiful rich mellow acoustic tone which comes into it's own in the right setting ie while playing with other acoustic instruments in a sympathetic acoustic space. As soon as we amplify it, the sound changes. Certain aspects of the sound are brought out which work fine with other amplified instruments. I love using an amp in the right context.
On a bepop / straightahead type gig, the amped sound will fit nicely.
In the Gypsy Jazz / Hot Club combo I play in, the guitarist sometimes brings a little amp, and I always groan when I see him plugging in. The group sound changes, the dynamic changes, and the overall tone quality seems to lose something.

A few years ago, we did an orchestral concert that included a short item by the orch's jazz group. I amped the bass very subtly for this number but the amp was sort of hidden behind me. One of the other orch bass players came up to me and said how impressed he was with the big tone I was getting from my DB. I didn't tell him that it was amplified !

The Major

[Spoombung]

[quote name='BassBus' post='533632' date='Jul 6 2009, 11:24 AM']In my earlier post I related my experience of sitting down and talking to the drummer which achieved precisely nothing. That brings me back to listening and bilbo makes a good point about stifling the creativity of others by stating what I want.[/quote]

Well, I take your point of course, but I think asking a drummer to keep the beat and not take a nap while the solo is in progress (for instance) is hardly 'stifling' the poor guy's creativity - I mean it's quite handy to know another musician's likes and dislikes before you begin playing with them - that's if you accept you're in a dynamic relationship with them (for a short while) and that expressing a simple opinion about a minor matter won't make them sulk and protest about their creativity being compromised.

[Major-Minor]

[quote name='endorka' post='533587' date='Jul 6 2009, 10:25 AM']Flute, piano, double bass, drums. You can hear the man himself playing it here;

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dVtLVSzESU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dVtLVSzESU[/url]

Jennifer[/quote]
Thanks Jennifer. I had a look at that. Nice stuff - great for the more formal type concerts. Presuming Baroque and Blue is just one piece in a suite, did you perform the whole thing ?

The Major

[BassBus]

[quote name='Spoombung' post='533693' date='Jul 6 2009, 12:37 PM']Well, I take your point of course, but I think asking a drummer to keep the beat and not take a nap while the solo is in progress (for instance) is hardly 'stifling' the poor guy's creativity - I mean it's quite handy to know another musician's likes and dislikes before you begin playing with them - that's if you accept you're in a dynamic relationship with them (for a short while) and that expressing a simple opinion about a minor matter won't make them sulk and protest about their creativity being compromised.[/quote]
Nicely put, sir.

[endorka]

[quote name='Major-Minor' post='533696' date='Jul 6 2009, 12:43 PM']Thanks Jennifer. I had a look at that. Nice stuff - great for the more formal type concerts. Presuming Baroque and Blue is just one piece in a suite, did you perform the whole thing ?[/quote]

We performed just Baroque & Blue, but played through a few other parts in the suite as well. If memory serves me well, they are considerably more difficult to play well than one might initially think! I'd definitely like to revisit this one day, as you say, I think it would work really work in the right context.

Jennifer

[Faithless]

I didn't want to make another thread, as I've done so not that long ago, so..


Question for you, jazzers, maybe silly-one, but, anyway..


How do you practice [i]those [/i]jazz standarts?

I mean, with all rock/pop/funk stuff everything's clear - here's the exact tune, you nail it, and that's the trick..

But, jazzy standarts - there are A LOT of versions of an each tune, right.. Different bands and stuff..

So, how do you 'choose' the best one (tune), and, even more important, [i]where [/i]do you look for 'em to practice to?

I have a bunch of standarts (notations), that I'd like to practice to (blues mainly), but I don't know, where to look tunes for..


Other thing is, I wouldn't like to play on a tune, where bassline [i]already [/i]is - how do you solve that?

I mean, jazzy lines are improvised, so, when you don't want to meet an existing bassline in a recording, maybe you use [i]basseless [/i]versions of jazzy tunes?



Yours faithfully,
Faith..

Edited July 13, 2009 by Faithless

[Bilbo]

Firstly, you don't necessarily have to practice along with anything. Your long established practice of playing along with the original won't work particularly well when you get into jazz which is, after all, an improvised music. If the players on the recordings you like played the same tune again, THEY would play it different so why wouldn't you.

Here are some options:

Play the chords into a tape/PC and play along with it.

Use something like Band In A Box to programme in a sequence and style that suits the tune you want to practice.

Find a guitarist or piano player that also wants to learn these tunes and play along with them.

Use some Jamey Aebersold PlayAlongs and turn the volume on your stereo hard left so isolating the piano and eliminating the bass. This is probably your best bet in terms of working to a familiar pattern.

Hardest of all is playing and practicing the tune on your own, in isolation to the chords, trying to imply the harmony with your lines only. By far the best method but very hard for a beginner.

Get a teacher who can point you in the right direction. It doesn't have to be a bass teacher, jsut someone who can play jazz.

[Faithless]

Classic, as always, Bilbo, cheers!

Yup, I've got B-I-B, I'll try to get somethin' outta it.

I've got one serie of Abersold playalongs, but it's Bob Cranshaw on bass, so it's not the best variant for a beginner..

Edited July 13, 2009 by Faithless