Creative Bass eMag 14

Compiled and written by Bass Player and Music Educator George Urbaszek
www.creativebass.com and www.creativebasslessons.com

A deep Welcome to new subscribers to Bass Lessons Online from Sweden, Canada, The Netherlands and the USA!

Thanks to all the lovers of Walking Bass who purchased the eBook online. In case you have not got yours yet, here is the link to take you directly to the purchase page that includes about 10 pages you can freely view and use: Walking Bass eBook

The displayed pages are helpful for

Follow-up from “Fretting-Hand Fingering Advice” – eMag Number 13

Rob, the bass player who had the carpel tunnel operation, is well and truly into his series of Bass Lessons Online and tells me he has no problems whatsoever with his hands since picking up the bass again. That’s great news!

On a similar issue, recently a highly skilled professional guitar player colleague asked me for advice about some “hand problems” he had since starting to play bass. I asked him to demonstrate with “air bass” and, even in that simulated situation, I could see what he was doing wrong. Of course, he was trying to play bass like a guitarist! A few recommendations and all is good now.

What I am trying to tell you with this: Watch your technique! I often say that Technique provides the wings that enable us to fly.

How did you go with the transcription techniques and aural skills advice provided in the last few eMags? If you had problems with any of the issues, just review them. Even doing only five minutes work will get you further than none at all.

Practice Minutes
Here is a personal observation I made while a student of classical double bass

Fist of all I must tell you that I am a lazy person. As a matter of fact, I am so lazy that I don’t want to do things twice. The result is that I organize myself! I consider this to be the highest form of laziness.

Anyway, back to the (related) observation.
As a music student I sometimes was too lazy to rosin up my bow, tune my bass, and get some practice done … especially if I only had about 15 or 20 minutes “downtime”. So what did I do? Nothing really, just hung around and waited for the bus, a friend to show up, or whatever else was next on the agenda.

Until one day it dawned on me! If I were to do SOME practice in my “downtime” every time, the minutes would add up to hours, to weeks, to months. Yes, I even did the calculation that converting 15 minutes of daily downtime to uptime amounted to a staggering 91 hours of additional practice per year. Whoa! Ninety-one hours! I was in! And since then I have retained the same attitude. So that’s my Laziness Conversion story.

Today’s Lesson
Intelligent Listening – or “Listen to Learn!”

A great way to get to know everything about a piece of music, whether it is a recording or workshopping parts during a rehearsal, is to ISOLATE EVERYTHING. It is true that we have the ability the concentrate on about seven things at once (think of driving a car) but we must first practice musical concentration - or Intelligent Listening – so we can learn and utilise this knowledge.

The process is simple: Take a recording of a piece you have heard many times – this is the real test. Let’s assume the recording is comprised of vocals, guitar, keyboards, saxophone, bass and drums. Now listen to only one instrument at a time through the entire recording from beginning to end. Even if that instrument is not present for a while, keep listening with concentration on only that part. This might take some discipline, but the reward is enormous!

Here is a made-up example to guide you through the step-by-step process
1. Vocals – none at first (count the number of bars) – enters on the ninth bar, sings four lines, then the next four lines an octave higher before breaking into the chorus. Here, a second voice is added in the background singing part unison, part harmony. (It sounds like the same singer.) Then four bars without vocals before the next verse …. and so on
2. Guitar – comes in on the fifth bar with a riff, then drops out completely for the next four bars. Plays the same riff again for eight bars, then power chords for the next eight bars, getting louder and with distortion. In the chorus, the guitar plays similar-sounding power chords, however this time with eighth notes. Then the riff again – just like in the intro … and so on
3. Keyboards – Nothing at all until the lead-up to the chorus, gradually getting louder and more rhythmic. Sustained chords during the chorus. Drops out after the chorus … and so on
4. Saxophone – Starts immediately with a riff. Drops out on the vocal entry. Plays long sustained notes during the chorus, then the riff again, very prominently in the instrumental bridge after the chorus … and so on
5. Bass (finally, yes you should leave this until later sometimes) - Starts immediately with a riff for four bars, then the same riff an octave higher for the next four bars. Is very un-busy for twelve bars, then more melodic for the next four bars. Changes sound completely for the chorus (is this picked?) and plays mainly octaves. Plays the intro riff for the next four bars … and so on
6. Drums – Straight in, playing closed hi-hat and a bass drum figure for the first four bars. The snare drum is added for the next four bars. The next sixteen bars have a consistent groove comprised of essentially the same rhythms as bars 5 – 8, however with more hi-hat accents on upbeats. The chorus section is slammin’ with a more powerful sound, more volume, driving eighths on the hats and some accents on the crash cymbal. The next four bars is just like the intro … and so on

Now you have listened to the track six times, the next thing to do is to listen to two parts together, for example bass and drums, then add a third part on your next pass … and so on. You will now really begin to “see” how all parts interrelate (or not) and have a much better picture of the entire piece.

I have done this experiment with many students, usually with tracks they thought they knew well. And they were always surprised at how much more they found out through intelligent listening – listening to learn!

Even after just one such “experiment” I suggest you take the same concepts into your next band rehearsal. See what happens. Bass of Luck!

A PS on this topic: Unless you are listening to learn, just switch off and enjoy the music!

Links

There are so many ever-increasing resources on the net that I am sure you have come across some you would like to share. If you have discovered a useful bass-related website, please email the URL to me for inclusion in the next eMag. I am sure your colleagues will be grateful.

http://www.stick.com – Formerly known as the Chapman Stick, now simply The Stick, this site might just set you on a different path.

http://www.fretlessbass.com – If you are into fretless bass, this site is worth a look

http://www.bassplayersontheinternet.com – Just what is says – a HUGE resource listing many of the world’s finest bass players

Profile

Would you like to tell your international “invisible” study colleagues taking Bass Lessons Online something about yourself? This is the place to do it. The “club” is continually expanding, so email your profile to lessons@creativebass.com and include a photo of yourself in JPEG format.

Tell us something about your bass, amp, favorite lessons, hobbies etc.

That’s it for this edition of the online Creative Bass eMag.
Enjoy you bass playing!

George Urbaszek
Bass Player and Music Educator
Serving Bass Players Worldwide since 1996
CreativeBassLessons