I consider myself to be a pretty good bass player, but I'm definitely a beginner at every other instrument I mess with. I don't think I've got any concepts that will be "brand new" to anybody with serious experience on the bass either, but I think I've got a few pointers that could help people just starting out, or perhaps who have hit that first plateau.

If you've got any "tricks" or whatever on your instrument of choice, post em up. If you have questions about how to physically do something , post em up.

On bass, something I think a lot of beginners and even intermediate players ignore is proper left and right hand muting. Both are important for a clear sound and tonal variation.

Left hand muting is useful (generally) when playing a groove and one wants more control over tone, perhaps dynamically within the line, say for a deep shuffle, or something simple and funky. Rocco Prestia is the master of this... when fretting a note with the index or middle finger, the remaining fingers on the left hand can rest lightly on the same string you are fretting, not enough to kill the sound altogether, but enough to deaden some overtones and control the sustain of the note... for you synth programmers it's a realtime envelope control. Because you are deadening overtones, the fundamental note rings clearer and fits in the band context better.

What do you do when you need a note you can't reach with your index or middle finger? Well, it depends... the Rocco way is to move the whole hand. It's possible to develop enough pinky control to use it to mute when fretting with the ring finger, but I have short pinky fingers (they don't make it to the first knuckle on the ring finger) and while I have developed my stretching in order to use the pinky to fret notes, the muting thing isn't happening for me. I try to approximate muting on ring finger/pinky finger notes with my right hand touch, perhaps not digging in so much, and maybe not fretting too precisely either (although that can just lead to buzz and bad tone, so proceed with caution and don't develop bad habits). Another solution is to use those notes as the contrast in the line... let them jump out and sound different on purpose, and do it that way everytime for a sense of consistency. I find this can work great for shuffles especially...

Say you're pounding away at the root of the I chord in a Bb blues, in the typical "missing triplet" style. Keep it well muted as desribed above. On beat four of every second bar, you might try playing Bb up an octave (8va), Ab (the flat 7), and F in a triplet as the "answer" to the vocal line, or whatever. These notes will likely be unmuted as most folks will finger the high Bb and the F with the pinky. (maybe the ring finger if you have huge hands or are a technique stickler.) With proper touch, this flourish will jump out a bit volume wise and tonally because of the lack of muting, serving as a dynamic variation in the line and giving the whole band a greater sense of pocket. Of course, when on a different chord, alter the notes accordingly.

Right hand muting is most useful for me when playing more melodic lines that require deft left hand work. There are many ways to do this, I usually use my ring and pinky fingers on my right hand to mute the lower strings on the bass (pitchwise) when playing up on the G or D strings. Some people use their right hand thumb as a movable mute, resting it across the low strings they aren't playing... I can't do this, as I use my right hand thumb as an anchor to keep my hand steady, usually on one of my two pickups, but occasionally on the finger board or even just planted at a particular place on the body of the bass. Finally, as a tone device similar to my left hand muting techinque above, one can rest the side of the palm near the bridge of the bass and pluck with the thumb and index finger (or more if you can work it out) like a guitarist... this can free the left hand to do more intricate things in one position than is possible when using it to mute, but for me it limits my right hand pretty severely, so I only use it in certain situations.

An "old school" method of getting some of these sounds is to get a piece of foam and stick it under the strings close to the bridge, a la Carol Kaye. This is cool, but I like being able to get an open tone sometimes too, and it isn't practical to remove the foam while playing.

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

I know you often tout your own "mediocrity" on a variety of instruments, but I really would like it if all the musicians around here would post up some ideas... everybody's got a different perspective that could shed light on something for somebody else.

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

I think between listening to records&I believe in what sting said,you slow down any piece of Music&then you can get to the main parts&then do a sampling technique if you will with playing any instrument. it's like on a Keyboard or on a Piano learn the basic Rhythm Part&like if you play Guitar learn that Groove riff on the Bar chords. take a simple guide to Instrument playing.listening to records&Break down parts is key. with the Bass for me especially on Keyboards it's all about a Basic Drum Programmed track. leaving space&then adding where you feel you need to be. but sting's unplugged show back in the day showed me that you can slowly strip down any instrument&play off those parts&it will slowly guide you into where you want to be or need to be. Props as Always to you TommyWhy because you are a true Musical Clinic&I like how you break down technical terms&the many variations.same to you AFKAP on that as well&a few other cats who get to the Chrods&structures. Peace

mistermaxxx


my favs
R.Kelly Michael Jackson Bee Gees Steely dan ,Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder,Smokey Robinson Gladys Knight,Jackie wilson, Sam Cooke,
crusaders, Rick James, Shaq,EWF, Isley Brothers,Bobby Womack Tiger Woods Ba

I like the way you describe breaking down a song by parts and learning them individually. That is huge to me... I think a lot of guys (and I'm very guilty of this at times) will get a general feel for a part, and then approximate it. I'm not saying one has to play the entire song note for note, but check this out.

I've never played "Before I Let Go" with a drummer who knew the part, or at least who played it right. How fucked up is that? And I'm talking about world class drummers who have toured the earth.

that is a cool way at approaching each Instrument including the vocal run he did. or Billie Jean:now breaking down the Drums, to the Bass or the Synth parts&then the guitar riffs. breaking down parts helps you understand what builds a Band or Act to a certain formula that they live by. take Earth,wind&Fire for instance: there basic Rhythm Tracks never truly changed that much.there might be a Kalmiba solo here or there,Keyboard solo or Guitar solo or a Horn Solo,but the basic tracks never changed that much. you could follow that&Play behind that Bridge or stay on that Bottom through out. but you can do that with any artist. that is how I got hip to knowing a Artists work without even hearing the full song?? there is Signatures,Tones,&certain runs that you just know. that is what helped me a great deal&still does.from Motown grooves through Timberland Grooves you can pinpoint certain things. a crafty Musician can bridge those sounds&tones.

mistermaxxx


my favs
R.Kelly Michael Jackson Bee Gees Steely dan ,Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder,Smokey Robinson Gladys Knight,Jackie wilson, Sam Cooke,
crusaders, Rick James, Shaq,EWF, Isley Brothers,Bobby Womack Tiger Woods Ba

like getting how Verdine does those "shakes" on a high note almost always on the second beat of the chord, or how Larry likes to drive that root and the walk up to it to DEATH. Little signature things. A lot of cats ignore that stuff and do it their own way, which can be cool, but you have to know the situation you're in. I mean, I'm never' going to sound like Verdine no matter what, so putting in a shake in "That's the Way of the World" is a nod of respect in my eyes.

which allowed certain parts to come in&Out.Verdine never was about Clutter&that helps out so much. Maurice White had Verdine lean out on Bass which was so effective.Man don't ever downplay your abilitys because you might get to Verdine's Level if you keep at it&believe in yourself.Verdine believed in himself as a Bass Player,but it took him a while to be comfortable as a Songwriter,but dude can write.always room for Growth.

mistermaxxx


my favs
R.Kelly Michael Jackson Bee Gees Steely dan ,Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder,Smokey Robinson Gladys Knight,Jackie wilson, Sam Cooke,
crusaders, Rick James, Shaq,EWF, Isley Brothers,Bobby Womack Tiger Woods Ba

I don't doubt my abilities one bit... I know where I fit in, and fwiw, I can hang with damn near anybody, certain jazz circles excepted. From a pure playing standpoint I'm already at Verdine's level honestly. Definitely not from a writing standpoint, or an impact standpoint (obviously), but if he fell ill or was unable to perform (heaven forbid) I could fill his shoes just like Pino did for Entwistle.

I can tell by your chord structure break downs&the way you break down breaks&Changes that you could handle yourself. you are a true student&very detailed Cat. no doubt about what you can do. Peace

mistermaxxx


my favs
R.Kelly Michael Jackson Bee Gees Steely dan ,Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder,Smokey Robinson Gladys Knight,Jackie wilson, Sam Cooke,
crusaders, Rick James, Shaq,EWF, Isley Brothers,Bobby Womack Tiger Woods Ba

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

I generally use my index and middle fingers on my right hand in alternation for plucking. On rare occasions (like trying to mimic Willie Weeks' solo on "Everything is Everything", or on a "trash can" ending to a song, I'll bring in the ring finger and flail away with it for greater note density.

When I pluck the string, I pull through and let the next string down (pitch wise) stop my finger. My technique is for sound as opposed to speed... when playing fast I won't pull through as completely. I'm really using the very tips of my fingers, so that they release the string pretty easily, and as a result, I usually need to keep my fingernails pretty short so that they don't alter my sound. I like to try to put my index finger on the downbeat, and the middle finger on the upbeat, and keep it consistent, although with certain syncopations and string combinations it may be easier to reverse this convention, or to ignore it altogether and just find a pattern that works... it's definitely a case by case basis. I do notice that on a shuffle feel my middle finger takes the downbeat and my index finger takes the "let" of the 1 trip let 2 trip let etc.. The "trip" is left blank of course unless there is a fill.

While there are many components to tone, and creating the proper sound, the right hand has one of the most important roles here... and that is where on the instrument are you plucking? Pickup blend is important here as well, and judicious use of pickup blend/volumes and right hand placement (physically) are a huge part of this. Assuming you are using a jazz bass or a similar two pickup setup, the rules go like this:

Jaco sound is the bridge pickup, and plucking close to the bridge.... of course, Jaco used lots of variation in his hand placement (listen to Continuum for a master class on moving the right hand around within a single song for tonal variation) but ths sound we always associate with Jaco is that bridge pickup/bridge plucking combination.

A pseudo "P Bass" sound comes from the neck pickup, and plucking in that vicinity. For the full on P bass sound, use a P bass, but in a pinch this will do (who brings multiple axes to the gig anyway? guitarists, not bassists).

Both pickups on full gets that "Marcus Miller" more modern sound, and you can get shades of the previous two tones with hand placement.

I usually don't like the way it sounds when I put the bass on one pickup and pluck over the other, but YMMV. I do like experimenting with pickup blend though, like 75% bridge 25% neck, vice versa, etc. Also try other places for your right hand aside from over the pickups... right at the end of the fingerboard (or even partway down the fingerboard) is almost a synth-like sound, but lacks punch... good in certain situations.

I'll mention in passing some techniques that I don't really use, but am aware of...

The Jamerson:

James Jamerson only used one finger to pluck with, his middle, resting the index finger on the "bell" of his early 60s PBass. (Acutally, I may have the fingers reversed, but I know it's just one). A lot of times he would "rake" that finger across the strings to get those quick arpeggios that we are used to hearing. He also set up his action extremely high, as he came to the electric bass from the upright bass. Use this technique with caution, as it can be hard on your hands and very frustrating. Doing this will give you new appreciation for his genius though. All that said, I do use the "rake" sometimes, usually if I'm trying to sound like Jamerson, lol.

The Chuck Rainey:

Chuck pretty much just uses one finger, but he sets his action up extremely low, and plucks both ways, that is up and downstrokes from one finger, I believe the index. His middle finger in recent years he has worked in to do triplets with (up down middle, or something like that), but the bulk of his recorded work is all one finger. Jamerson called his style "sissy stuff" but it was all in good fun. I suspect that Stanley Clarke does this, but with both fingers for that blistering stuff he does, I know of at least one cat in Atlanta (Darrel Freeman, the baddest bassist you haven't heard of) who can do this with extreme accuracy. Again, I don't really use this technique, as I found out about it long after my habits were established, but I like to mess with it sometimes. For consistency in tone, you need slightly longer fingernails (so the fingernail hits the string on both the up and down stroke.)

Using a pick:

I will very occasionally use a pick when the song demands pick tone. I find it's helpful to sling the bass lower (for me, I wear the bass pretty high up... it isn't very rock n roll, but it makes it easier on my left hand.) especially if you need to pound out a lot of notes. I basically suck at picking though (which is why I can't play guitar very well) so I'll let someone else give pointers here.

I'll do a separate post on slapping.

So there are two schools of thought on slapping, one is arm parallel to the strings, the other is arm perpendicular to the strings. I started out in the perpendicular school, and switched probably 9 years into playing, which really fucked me up. My advice when starting is to know which one will work for you, and stick to it. In broad terms, arm perpendicular is the "rock" style, and arm parallel is the "funk" style... part of this has to do with where you sling the bass. For me , I started out playing with my bass body slightly below the belt buckle, and it gradually moved up until now it's mostly over the belt buckle. I also went through a phase where I didn't slap at all for several years... when I started wanting to slap again, I needed to switch styles based on the fact that I wore my instrument differently, and going perpendicular meant contorting myself. The primary difference for me has been how I do my muting while slapping, and the types of lines that I tend to play now. I think that parallel arm works better for the diverse slapping techniques that are out there, but as always YMMV. Conversely, the "Flea" school of rapid fire octaves and such may be a bit easier in perpendicular position.

In either case, the basic idea is to loosen the wrist, and let the thumb almost become a projectile, in the same way that a drummer almost wants to throw the stick at the drum instead of driving it into the drum. Letting your thumb bounce off the string is important in letting the tone develop. Practice doing this on every string with a metronome, strive for rhythmic perfection and striking only one string at a time. Popping is a bit different for parallel vs. perpendicular... with perp. you will hook your finger under the string and it will be perp. to the string as well, so you are using the tip, similar to plucking technique except you are under the string. With parallel, you sort of use the side of the tip ofyour finger, like from the tip to the first joint. Now after you thump with your thumb, pop the octave of that note... keep the thumps in time with the metronome and try to get the pops exactly in between so that you have a steady flow of notes. When you have this basic concept, and it feels good, start mixing it up. A very good book for developing this style is called "Slap It", it's orange colored and pretty thin. It comes with an audio CD (my version came with a tear out piece of vinyl) and has lots and lots of example parts. This is the basis of the Larry Graham/Louis Johnson stuff that we all know and love.

Nowadays, there are some more techniques to go in the pile, pioneers by guys like Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten. Most important of these is the thumb upstroke. What these guys do instead of bouncing the thumb off the string is stroke across the string more like a guitarist playing with a pick, and then comeback with the nail side of the thumb to get two strokes of the same string in one motion. Adding a pop after the upstroke with the thumb gets you three strokes in one, and they might even add a second pop with the midddle finger for four strokes. Practice this all on one note, or across an octave, or any other interval (or combination of intervals) for a beginner course in this technique. Combining this with left hand hammerons (fretting a note with out a right hand attack) and pulloffs (releasing a fretted note while holding a lower (pitchwise) fret on the same string) makes for a hefty rhythmic bag of tricks to pull from. The key with making this stuff sound right imho is A) restraint... Marcus is great at this, he'll throw in a flurry of notes here and there as an accent. and B) staying in the pocket. As much as I am not a fan of the bass heroics of Victor (wrt playing in a band context), there is no denying his extreme level of skill... he may play too many notes (for me) but I dare you to find one that's out of place.

I am not the strongest slapper out there, so I'm leaving a lot unsaid here, and I encourage people to check out some books /videos for more instructions in this area.

>In either case, the basic idea is to loosen the wrist, and
>let the thumb almost become a projectile, in the same way that
>a drummer almost wants to throw the stick at the drum instead
>of driving it into the drum. Letting your thumb bounce off the
>string is important in letting the tone develop. Practice
>doing this on every string with a metronome, strive for
>rhythmic perfection and striking only one string at a time.

this is interesting; i've been slapping for a minute this way, but lately i've been seeing more players do it slightly differently. rather than using the thumb as a projectile, it's almost like a guitar pick, similar to wooten's double thumbing technique. only on downstrokes, the thumb continues through the stroke, stops, and rests on the adjacent string. it's sort of like traditional playing with the index and middle finger stop and rest on the string below. wooten does it, and i saw larry graham do it on that instructional video that was floating around. i can re-up it if anyone's interested.

the advantage of that technique is that it tends to mute the other strings when slapping. whenever i slap, the impact of my thumb on the strings and neck always causes the other strings to ring out. it's real annoying. and simultaneously muting the strings while popping can be difficult.

and that downward pluck thumbing style you are talkng about is useful too, but it gets a different sound. It's probably best to have a variety of different methods at your disposal depending on the tone you are looking for. But good looks on that.

Bass tone has suffered greatly in the 80's and 90's....it wasnt until Stu Zender in Jamiroquai, Me'Shell Ndgeocello and Flea in the early '90's, that proper bass tone was again heard in the mainstream...

Ex: Hidden Beach Unwrapped version of Crush on You: the bass sound almost made me hurl. It was so unfunky, so unbass-y....

Usually the culprits are strings and amps...

Nowadays, most cats are using very "steely" sounding strings...Go pick up a new Ibanez bass...hear that sound? It sounds like a thick guitar string....extremely bright and rattly....

Most bassist just turn up the bottom on their amps and call it a day...

then they prolly run it through a bunch of compressors and limiters and shit....

What you end up getting is all frequency and no body. it may vibrate your speakers, but the sound of the bass isnt articulated. This is something that frustrates me with Pino Palladino's tone...you can feel him on records but you cant really HEAR him. I would have loved to hear "Playa Playa" with a tone that cut through the mix like say Barry "Sonjohn" Johnson's on Don Blackman's "Holding You, Loving You"...

The bass(both electric and acoustic)has a voice....and that voice has been lost in popular music due to technology.

A P-Bass has its unique voice(think Jamerson)and a J-Bass has its unique voice(think Jaco or Larry Graham)....

Listen to a Jaco tune and then listen to a Marcus Miller tune....there's a difference....warmth is missing....

Digital recording takes knocks for this but what I found when I started my "project" is that with the proper strings and not obstructing the bass voice, you can have beautiful tone very easily...

While I'm pretty much lost on where to set levels and peaks and whatnot(my engineering skills are laughable)...I can say this....

treat your bass sound to a great pair of strings...I personally swear by GHS Bass Boomers(Medium Light Gauge), but LaBellas are cool, Flea uses Ernie Balls, D'Addario Slowounds do the job, too. Fenders are okay...Rotosounds are ill but they will eat your fretboard...

What I found is even with my string of choice, you have to break it in....at first it has that kind of "steely" sound but once you break them in....straight growl....

there is tons of advice for doing this...once technique I heard was using Vaseline....I've been too chicken shit to try any, tho....

Dont be afraid to go straight to the board...dont be afraid of mid-range either...work with your amp...dont be as bright as the guitar, but dont be as muddy as the bass keys, either...find your space in the mix so you can be heard.

Stop trying to compete with/or sound like sub bass and keyboard bass...

If youre worried abt noise, see TommyWhy's post on muting(I'm sure he will come in and supplement my crude thoughts)...stop putting your signal through so much....

Let your bass be free, dont process the life out of it...



The avatar: Get well, Angie...

**********************
Quote of a lifetime:
"...music is not just a hobby or what I do...it's what I live...music is the voice of my god, my vehicle for spiritual enlightenement..."
-OKP Illogicz

>Bass tone has suffered greatly in the 80's and 90's....it
>wasnt until Stu Zender in Jamiroquai, Me'Shell Ndgeocello and
>Flea in the early '90's, that proper bass tone was again heard
>in the mainstream...

This is interesting... I'm not sure I agree completely, but I know what you are getting at. I think Zender's tone is fantastic, especially considering he plays (or played, I don't know if he still is wit them) Warwick. To me they are great playing basses with horrible tone. He might not have used Warwick on those records though, you never know. Flea's tone on Blood Sugar... was huge. I'm not a fan of his sound before and after that record... I hate those modulus Flea basses. Meshell's tone on Peace Beyond Passion and there after is ultimate. Her pseudo Jaco sound on Plantation Lullabies I liked at the time, but it sounds thin to me now.

>Usually the culprits are strings and amps...
>
>Nowadays, most cats are using very "steely" sounding
>strings...Go pick up a new Ibanez bass...hear that sound? It
>sounds like a thick guitar string....extremely bright and
>rattly....
>
>Most bassist just turn up the bottom on their amps and call it
>a day...
>
>then they prolly run it through a bunch of compressors and
>limiters and shit....

This is a huge consideration. Over Eq'ing ones sound = tonal death. I almost always run my amp flat, usually tailoring the eq to the room (if it's boomy, turn the bass down, if it's dead, add some treble, etc). I like minimal compression if any. I definitely shouldn't be able to hear any compression.

>The bass(both electric and acoustic)has a voice....and that
>voice has been lost in popular music due to technology.
>
>A P-Bass has its unique voice(think Jamerson)and a J-Bass has
>its unique voice(think Jaco or Larry Graham)....
>
>Listen to a Jaco tune and then listen to a Marcus Miller
>tune....there's a difference....warmth is missing....

I was with you until you got here.. I love Marcus' tone. I do agree that his recordings don't sound as good, but I think that's because of the surrounding instruments more than Marcus' tone.

>Digital recording takes knocks for this but what I found when
>I started my "project" is that with the proper strings and not
>obstructing the bass voice, you can have beautiful tone very
>easily...

Right on.

>While I'm pretty much lost on where to set levels and peaks
>and whatnot(my engineering skills are laughable)...I can say
>this....

This is pretty simple in digital recording... your loudest note should be just under digital clipping. Use a brick wall limiter if you must, but tone will be more pure if you undershoot by a bit and don't do any limiting.

>treat your bass sound to a great pair of strings...I
>personally swear by GHS Bass Boomers(Medium Light Gauge), but
>LaBellas are cool, Flea uses Ernie Balls, D'Addario Slowounds
>do the job, too. Fenders are okay...Rotosounds are ill but
>they will eat your fretboard...

Jaco advocated Rotosounds... honestly I think more tone is in your hands than in the strings... I'll use whatever strings are at hand.

>Dont be afraid to go straight to the board...dont be afraid of
>mid-range either...work with your amp...dont be as bright as
>the guitar, but dont be as muddy as the bass keys,
>either...find your space in the mix so you can be heard.

Judicious cutting of ugly frequencies is better than boosting the bottom and top and calling it a day... above all don't obscure the tone (like you said).

>Stop trying to compete with/or sound like sub bass and
>keyboard bass...

Very good point... they are different sounds/instruments... when you want bass guitar, make it sound like a bass guitar!

>stop
>putting your signal through so much....
>
>Let your bass be free, dont process the life out of it...

Amen.

>>Bass tone has suffered greatly in the 80's and 90's....it
>>wasnt until Stu Zender in Jamiroquai, Me'Shell Ndgeocello
>and
>>Flea in the early '90's, that proper bass tone was again
>heard
>>in the mainstream...
>
>This is interesting... I'm not sure I agree completely, but I
>know what you are getting at.

Listen to what they did to Verdine on the early 80's EWF records....Can you even hear Louis Johnson on Thriller?....and Michael Manring's records empty the contents of my stomach....

I think Zender's tone is
>fantastic, especially considering he plays (or played, I don't
>know if he still is wit them) Warwick. To me they are great
>playing basses with horrible tone. He might not have used
>Warwick on those records though, you never know.

I kinda like the Warwicks I tried....and you're right, alot of bassist use Fenders in the studio but have endorsement deals with another manufacturer (eg,Meshell and Flea for Modulus)....Its very possible that Zender played Fender on those records.....

Flea's tone
>on Blood Sugar... was huge. I'm not a fan of his sound before
>and after that record... I hate those modulus Flea basses.

Me, too....I can tell when he is using the Flea Bass and it sounds awful....His tone got better with each record and peaked with Blood Sugar...the end of Funky Monks is downright criminal...

>Meshell's tone on Peace Beyond Passion and there after is
>ultimate. Her pseudo Jaco sound on Plantation Lullabies I
>liked at the time, but it sounds thin to me now.

I was refreshed to hear the J sound again...you think she sounded like Jaco on PL????? I'd say more Larry Graham...Jaco was more graceful and elongagted...Me'shell was into that brutal staccato funk playing on PL....

>>Listen to a Jaco tune and then listen to a Marcus Miller
>>tune....there's a difference....warmth is missing....
>
>I was with you until you got here.. I love Marcus' tone. I do
>agree that his recordings don't sound as good, but I think
>that's because of the surrounding instruments more than
>Marcus' tone.

Man, his tone used to be BEAUTIFUL, peaking with the early 80's Luther records...His GRP Records period was nice, too....but once the mid-80's hit, his tone took a dive...while not as thin as his "jazz" bassist counterparts, his sound is cold and sharp as opposed to his Luther sound that was warm enough to bake bread in....We'll agree to disagree on that one. I cant sit through Slang....

>This is pretty simple in digital recording... your loudest
>note should be just under digital clipping.

I learned not to break the red very early, but nuances and too much vs not enough, Im still working on....


>Jaco advocated Rotosounds... honestly I think more tone is in
>your hands than in the strings... I'll use whatever strings
>are at hand.

I wont use a "guitar-ish" sounding bass string...They sound very wack to me....

but youre right....a world of intonation is at your hands....using tips, pads, picks, nails, etc....playing light or digging in, playing at the pick up or by the bridge definitely makes a difference....

>Listen to what they did to Verdine on the early 80's EWF
>records....Can you even hear Louis Johnson on Thriller?....and
>Michael Manring's records empty the contents of my
>stomach....

All good points. I just think there are examples of cool bass tone from that time period though... Sting for one, or Tina Weymouth. Manring isn't my cup of tea anyway, so I don't really check for him. I definitely agree that a lot of the sonic experiments of the 80s came at the expense of good tone, but I think that goes across the board, not just to bass... early digital guitar processors were god-awful. And drum sounds were often terrible too.

>I kinda like the Warwicks I tried...

Well, I'm sure that some of the Warwicks out there sound cool, probably the top of the line joints, but most of the ones I've played had horrible, thin tone.

>>Meshell's tone on Peace Beyond Passion and there after is
>>ultimate. Her pseudo Jaco sound on Plantation Lullabies I
>>liked at the time, but it sounds thin to me now.
>
>I was refreshed to hear the J sound again...you think she
>sounded like Jaco on PL????? I'd say more Larry Graham...Jaco
>was more graceful and elongagted...Me'shell was into that
>brutal staccato funk playing on PL...

I just meant tone-wise... that bridge pickup thing is all over it... but I think she may have been using one of those Les Paul basses on that record, which just don't sound very good.

>Man, his tone used to be BEAUTIFUL, peaking with the early
>80's Luther records...His GRP Records period was nice,
>too....but once the mid-80's hit, his tone took a dive...while
>not as thin as his "jazz" bassist counterparts, his sound is
>cold and sharp as opposed to his Luther sound that was warm
>enough to bake bread in....We'll agree to disagree on that
>one. I cant sit through Slang....

Well, I don't really get into bass albums not made by Jaco or Stanley for the most part. The sound I've heard from Marcus has been mostly from the Luther records, TuTu, Double Vision, and live stuff or guest spots on other albums. I do know what you mean though... while his playing on an album like David Sanborn's "Upfront" is killing, the tone is a bit cold and sterile. But the majority of the stuff I've heard from him has sounded lush... although he does boost those highs quite a bit (and pretty much eliminate 800 hz) he puts some more bottom in too to flesh it out.

>I wont use a "guitar-ish" sounding bass string...They sound
>very wack to me....
>
>but youre right....a world of intonation is at your
>hands....using tips, pads, picks, nails, etc....playing light
>or digging in, playing at the pick up or by the bridge
>definitely makes a difference....

I'm a bit old-school in approach in that my favorite strings are dead ones... I like the snap and response from fresh strings, but I usually don't feel like they sound like me until they are a couple of months old. I don't change strings unless I break one.

>Nowadays, most cats are using very "steely" sounding
>strings...Go pick up a new Ibanez bass...hear that sound? It
>sounds like a thick guitar string....extremely bright and
>rattly....

you're right, i can't stand this either. however, for rock, metal, punk, or where a treble heavy bass tones is prefered, the ibanez sound is cool. korn's bassist is the best i've heard at using that sound to his advantage. but for soul and funk, it's god awful.

>A P-Bass has its unique voice(think Jamerson)and a J-Bass has
>its unique voice(think Jaco or Larry Graham)....
>
>Listen to a Jaco tune and then listen to a Marcus Miller
>tune....there's a difference....warmth is missing....

i always liked miller's sound... i've never been that crazy about jaco's. i always found it rather dry. i dunno. i guess it's kind of like the sampled snare vs. 808 snare debate.

>treat your bass sound to a great pair of strings...I
>personally swear by GHS Bass Boomers(Medium Light Gauge), but
>LaBellas are cool, Flea uses Ernie Balls, D'Addario Slowounds
>do the job, too. Fenders are okay...Rotosounds are ill but
>they will eat your fretboard...

lol, i can't stand boomers...they don't have much life to them. the best strings i've ever bought were DR's (miller's fave, ha), and surprisingly ken smith strings.

>there is tons of advice for doing this...once technique I
>heard was using Vaseline....I've been too chicken shit to try
>any, tho....

might try this.

>Stop trying to compete with/or sound like sub bass and
>keyboard bass...

so how do you deal with this? usually, i just cave in and play whatever the keyboard bass is doing.

Use them sparingly... basically, just do the left hand muting part I described in the first post without fully fretting the note in the first place, creating a percussive thud or thump or maybe a click depending on which string you are playing on. Can be a good way to fill a bit more space without altering the line, or a way to keep an unruly drummer in line, lol.

The basics:

Each finger (generally) gets in own fret. If you're in first position (index finger at the first fret), your middle finger plays the 2nd fret, ring plays the 3rd, and pinky plays the 4th. 2nd postion means index is on 2nd fret, middle on 3rd, ring on 4th, pinky on 5th. and so forth. Ideally, you want the finger pretty much right on the fret, or just slightly behind it (like fraction of a fraction of an inch behind). This way if you ever play fretless your intonation will be pretty good.

This can be tricky on folks with small hands (especially in lower positions), and I advocate pivoting off the thumb a bit to make reaching the right fret a bit easier. Above all, if you experience pain, STOP. You are probably holding too much tension in your wrist and fingers, try to relax. The strange catch 22 about this is, you need to hold down the string with a certain amount of force to get good tone... I try to think of it as being the weight of my arm holding down the string, not the strength of my fingers (although that is a part of it).

A key aspect is economy of motion. Don't move your fingers that aren't fretting a note off the strings, or at least not far off.... I went through a phase where people couldn't see my hand move at all, but heard a great variety of notes. The closer you are to the note already, the easier it is to get it to come out at the right time.

It's good to practice independence of the ring and pinky fingers, try setting a metronome and playing 8th notes to it (two notes for every click) downbeat on ring finger note (anywhere on the neck) and upbeat on pinky note (one fret higher). Keep your index, middle and ring fingers down on the string, and just move the pinky. Also try the same exercise with the downbeat on the pinky note. Also try putting the pinky on another string (and keep it down) and alternate between a ring finger note and a middle finger note, this time only moving the ring finger.

A few more ideas... examine some more "guitar" oriented techniques like bending, vibrato, trills (rapid hammerons and pulloffs between two notes with only an initial attack from the right hand), what I call a "shake", where you fret a note, and slide the fretting finger around to adjacent frets quickly while letting the string ring, I mentioned in my above convo with mistermaxxx how Verdine White uses this technique to great effect.

One that I used to death when I first discovered it, and am now trying to incorporate more artistically is the grace note from below. Grace notes are nothing new, but the way I approach them on bass is a bit different (not that I invented it, someone else surely did, but I never read about anybody else doing it this way). If I'm going to play a D on the A string, I might attack the note as a C and hammeron quickly to the D so that the note is heard as a D with a little "dip" leading up to it. You can do this from above as well, but it sounds more obvious, and the note you fret will be heard as a part of the line. This is good when playing a line that may have originally been done on a synth, as synth sounds tend to have some sort of complex attack that may include pitch modulation (usually it's a filter opening). Alternating between a straight attacked note and a grace note like this in the right place can be the difference between a line that's just there and a line that comes to life.

for beginners, one of the hardest things is building the muscles in your left hand...

unlike guitarists....a bassist's left hand needs to stretch....

First postition on th ebass is the hardest to play becuase it requires stretch or spread from the left hand...

Pivoting, or using your thumb as a pivot on the neck, as Tommy mentioned is very important....it allows you to reach a note without having to move your hand out of position...

Staying in position is KEY to hitting notes....

in each postion, you have 16 notes under your fingers, and you should be able to hit them all....

One exercise I learned is called "The Crawl"....

with your left hand in first position, play the 1st and 4th note starting with the E string, you'd be playing F G#

move to the A string and play the 1st and 4th notes there(A# C#)

repeat this on the D and G strings...

repeat in reverse(play G# B on the G string) and move to the D string and so on on the A and E strings

Do your best to play these eight notes smoothly, on time, and clearly...

It may be difficult at first, but keep practicing, this is a good exercise for players at any level...it promotes flexibilty and strength in the left hand....

The avatar: Get well, Angie...

**********************
Quote of a lifetime:
"...music is not just a hobby or what I do...it's what I live...music is the voice of my god, my vehicle for spiritual enlightenement..."
-OKP Illogicz

>Each finger (generally) gets in own fret. If you're in first
>position (index finger at the first fret), your middle finger
>plays the 2nd fret, ring plays the 3rd, and pinky plays the
>4th. 2nd postion means index is on 2nd fret, middle on 3rd,
>ring on 4th, pinky on 5th. and so forth. Ideally, you want the
>finger pretty much right on the fret, or just slightly behind
>it (like fraction of a fraction of an inch behind). This way
>if you ever play fretless your intonation will be pretty
>good.

when i started out, i basically played 1st position to stretch out my fingers. it's great when you're playing modes or whatever, but generally speaking we play pentatonics. when playing pentatonics, i've found it best to use just two fingers: index and pinky. that's it. the other two fingers come into play with fill in notes, but that's generally rare. so lately, i've been trying to minimize and eliminate the use of my ring finger when playing pentatonics. using fewer fingers makes fretting with economy that much easier for me.

>One that I used to death when I first discovered it, and am
>now trying to incorporate more artistically is the grace note
>from below. This is good when playing a line that may
>have originally been done on a synth, as synth sounds tend to
>have some sort of complex attack that may include pitch
>modulation (usually it's a filter opening). Alternating
>between a straight attacked note and a grace note like this in
>the right place can be the difference between a line that's
>just there and a line that comes to life.

kev brown is the master of this. if anyone's looking to see what he's talking about listen to "hennessey pt.2" by kev brown. it's a simple, dumb bassline, but those gracenotes make that shit sing.

it's ironic, but these days i find myself studying keyboard generated lines more than bassist generated ones. a couple years ago i would have thought that was blasphemy.

If I hear one more drummer or bass player play funk with an 8th note triplet feel, I'm going to strangle them....

I went into a Guitar Center in Chicago and there was a brother(young cat but still older than me)running of some funk licks on bass...

but he was playing everything with a 8th note triplet feel....and it was driving me nuts....especally since I had just come from a George Duke concert and his rhythm section did the same thing...

I wadnt trying to front him off at all....but I just asked him point blank...."Do you play all of your funk lines with that 8th note triple feel?...."

He looked kind caught off guard and said "Yeah, I do..."

I said, "It just seemd to me that everyone plays funk now with a triplet feel instead of with a striaght 8th feel like the original funk cats did..."

Dude sat there with this comtemplative look on his face....

I said, "Sounds real good, man..." and stepped...

I dont know who sent out the memo to older musicians that funk and hip-hop is to be played with that triplet feel....

There are two sub genres of Black music that used that rhythmic feel regularly.....New Jack Swing and Go-Go....

which is fitting because Teddy Riley, who created New Jack Swing, often used Go-Go rhythms in his earlier work...

so when I hear these cats go into this "funk" mode using triplets it sounds like New Jack to me....

The funk "feel" is built around straight eighths, often with emphasis on the one....

this is why alot of funk drummers tend to go "four on the floor"(see James Brown, Prince, Slave)....

Rhythmically, what makes funk so compelling is not the downbeat but tha ANTICIPATION of the downbeat....this is where syncopation comes in...

so a funk player may not always play ON that beat, he/she will be playing with that beat in mind...the beat is always implied...

"1, 2, 3, 4...."

that style of eighths gave birth to disco, a sterilized from of funk...

so when rhythm sections stop playing with the straight eighths and go into triplet feel, it fucks shit up....

Now you CAN be funky using a triplet feel, but the way to do that to go HARD on the ONE...that's how they do it in Go-Go....

So when Stanley Clarke threatens to get "funky" on you....watch the triplet feel come out....


The avatar: Get well, Angie...

**********************
Quote of a lifetime:
"...music is not just a hobby or what I do...it's what I live...music is the voice of my god, my vehicle for spiritual enlightenement..."
-OKP Illogicz

Pretty much all funk has straight 8ths, I'm wondering if you are talking about swung 16ths (actually, since you mention NJS, I know you are).

To me this is one of the subtleties of playing that LOTS of cats miss... knowing how much swing to use for that song. To me it's not one or the other, it's a spectrum. Totally straight 16ths is like a Tower of Power feel, and certain Funkadelic stuff, although they almost always had a slight swing to them. One of my favorite moments of P-Funk recorded history is where they switch it up as a band for two bars in "Rumpofsteelskin"... they start the song out in typical almost straight 16th P-Funk fashion. I think the third time or so the vocals are singing "It's Motor Booty when they shake... their... rump" or whatever they say at the beginning everybody swings HARD... and then they switch back.

But a lot of other funk swings too, in various ways. The Meters swing so hard that sometimes they sound like a beater car with a flat tire. (Part of that is the tension of being ahead of/behind the beat or on all sides if your name is Zigaboo, but another part is swing).

Listen to the JBs on a track like "Escapism"... they are swinging hard.

I think to do it properly nowadays you need to be able to play straight, swung, and all the gradations in between, as well as be able to be behind, ahead of, or dead on the beat by various amounts.

I do agree with your point that many people seem to be able to do one type of feel well, and not much else.

Now of course, you should have a good knowledge of chords as a bass player, but you don't usually play a chord (not all at once). There are times when it is good to be able to grab a chord though, whether playing in a trio and needing to fill more space while the guitarist is soloing, or to show the keyboardist what quality the chord has, or whatever.

Probably the two most important chords to be able to grab on the bass are the major and minor tenth. Assuming a four string bass, the only way to get one of these is to put the root on the E string, and the tenth (a third plus an octave) on the G string. The minor tenth is the same fret as the root, and the major tenth is a fret up. These chords are valuable because they don't clutter the sound too much, and they can support multiple chord types. If the chord is minor , half-diminshed or diminished, use a minor tenth. If the chord is major, dominant, or augmented use a major tenth. If the chord is a sus4, you can sometimes get away with a minor tenth, but it's better to use an 11th, in which the note on the G string is one fret higher than the major tenth, or two frets higher than the root on the E string.

Now that you know how to play a major tenth, you can play the bassline to "Watermelon Man", so have at it.

On the D string one can add a minor or major seventh to further flesh out the chord, but approach this with caution... it is very easy for bass chords to get muddy and step all over everybody, so only do this stuff high up the neck (less muddy up there) and when you have enough sonic space to do it.

Getting into different chord voicings can be fun as well, or voicing a different part of the chord than the root... like if the chord is C major, you could play a minor tenth rooted on E at the 12th fret to imply the 1st inversion. Up in the higher register you can start experimenting with adding color tones like the 9th and 13th, but again, proceed with caution in a band situation, these are the realm of the chordal instruments... don't step on toes: be complimentary.

I don't want this to be a bass only post.... I want to learn some stuff too!

as long as you are on time
the note never matters

>I don't want this to be a bass only post.... I want to learn
>some stuff too!

I agree with the subject...

>as long as you are on time
>the note never matters

but not the body. bump that... play the right note and be on time. But don't overthink it. I was going to make a separate post on general conceptual approach, leaving this post more for physical technique ideas.

someone like Jimi Hendrix had such an instinct that even when he played the wrong note he could bend and twist it into the right tone, but most of us mere mortals can't do that

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

if you play a wrong note, the next note had better put it in context in a way so that it doesn't sound wrong. It's a good skill to have when soloing, but in general ensemble playing, the idea is to nail the part.

.

no joke, dude... i only became really serious about technique relatively recently. i've never considered myself a musician per se... for me, playing was mostly a tool that was useful to the extent that it served as an aid to my songwriting.

but now i feel that if you're gonna pick up an instrument, you might as well have as much control over it as you do your God-given appendages, y'know?

i'll chip in tomorrow with what few guitar tips i might have.

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I eagerly await your guitar tips, I need some pointers, as I just picked up a hollow-body electric and am inspired to practice guitar now.

mobile mute, that's what I do esp. when playing with the Jaco-esque tone and can sit it on the pickup bar.

When I work on stuff that involves more string jumping I have to anchor the thumb, though.

This is good though, I'm trying to learn the pinky damping technique, as I bet combining that with some thumb-muting should cover most of the needed bases. I'm pretty young on bass and trying to go at it with even practice on style, chops, and form.

<---Okay Jima (© Bridgetown)

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That ain't no beginner stuff.

The guys that do the thumb muting lay it across the strings, not placing it on a string and the pickup. Then when you move your hand to different strings the mute moves with you, and you never plant it down. I can't do it that way, I think I do what you are talking about... but I usually anchor on the top of the pickup, and sometimes rest it on the B string if I'm going onto the upper strings.

From what I've seen of your musical process, you're definitely on ther right track.

That'll force me to keep focusing on finger precision (on trombone there's no need for finger precision so it's a new thing for me) instead of counting so much on damping if I catch an adjacent string in a moment of excitement.

Heh...I've actually thrown an extra variable in there by going fretless. I think that's more trombone mentality, the liberation of pitch, for better or worse; it's crazy fun though and I'm sure gettin those stretches going!


Do any players out there really spend much time on fretless? Most of what I've seen, it's only when a really specialized sound is sought as opposed to a main axe.

<---Okay Jima (© Bridgetown)

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Because he preferred the sound of roundwounds on a fretless bass and they tend to chew up the neck. He only played fretless on gigs. There are definitely folks out there who focus on it, probably mainly guys that play jazz. I pull it out every now and then, and my intonation suffers a bit as a result, but if I play for a few days, it gets pretty good.

I can only *smh* @ that, I can already see marks on the boards, marks that'll turn into grooves before too long if the things get practiced on much.


I do have flats on mine, which is just a lil Fender, but these D'Addario heavy gauge joints were surprisingly bright and metallic for a month or two.


I'm actually interested in classical applications as well as the more normal fare, and that's one reason I copped fretless to practice on and study the capabilities of.

Yo this is a great post though holmes, we need to archive!

<---Okay Jima (© Bridgetown)

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I must admit I put rounds on my fretless, because I like the sound too, or maybe I'm just a Jaco wannabe. But it's got a pretty hard fingerboard, so it's not a worry of mine.

throughout all this talk of technique, I think having one's hands be relaxed is probably the most important thing of all. This is how you prevent fatigue and injury, so don't play tight! Get a good strap, keep your wrists as straight as you can, find the right instrument height with strap for your arms and body (everybody is put together a little bit differently). Good breathing and stance helps too, you shouldn't be sore after playing a set or two.

I have found recently that even a moderate amount of exercise impacts my ability to play well for longer periods of time, so if you don't work out, consider starting some sort of regimen not just for your playing but your general health too.

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My biggest problem wrt posture is I tend to slouch anyway, and having a piece of wood strapped to your neck for four hours can make that worse, so I try to be conscious of that and keep my back straight... sometimes it means adjusting where the strap rests on my shoulder.

I'd say as a general rule feet shoulder width apart or so, but it's probably a little different for every individual.

"dance" while you drum, especially if its funky. im no pro but when i was just starting out my friend who's been drumming for 10+ years gave me props cuz i was really grooving while i was drumming. while doing so, hold the sticks firm and get your whole body into it. firm posture = better time keeping and more consistant dynamics of the drums.

also know that different parts of the snare, hats, crashes, make different sounds. just like how some producers dont like using one snare, hit different parts of the snare. dead center give you a deep snare. the top makes it more tight. hitting the bottom along with the rim gives it a real pop.

and the last one is to think of the hihat as another rhythm instrument that accompanies the kit. good hihat can do wonders for your sound.

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#Aztec4Life

i could never really coordinate myself when i played drums until i really started grooving... it's kinda like being in a mecha robot in that the instrument is just an extension of your own movements.

it's interesting, because the drum beat is the aural translation of you dancing!

how do you hold your sticks?

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i try "underhand" to mimic jazz folks but im more comfortable "overhand"

____________________________________________________________________

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Tony Gwynn (RIP)

#Aztec4Life

advocate holding the sticks very loosely, barely gripping them at all. This way you take maximum advantage of the stick's rebound off the drum or cymbal (which you then control with your middle, ring, and pinky fingers) for the next strike.

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for control, most def. you gotta switch it up. i notice i lock the groove better when im grasping the sticks firmly. when i hold them loosely i concentrate on control more.

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Marshall Faulk
Tony Gwynn (RIP)

#Aztec4Life

I will take notes here and apply them the best I can... thanks

@TheBlackZappa

You're more of a thumper than I am, surely there is something I glossed over in the slapping section you could bring out more clearly.

I'd have to see and show someone how to do something...

@TheBlackZappa

Do not use your pinky as an anchor. It will slow you down.

over the years most of how I learn an instrument is by watching others play....

I notice that when most guys solo, they dont use their pinky...but I saw somw footage of Balckbyrd McKnight and he was using his pinky....WELL(c) Eddie Murphy...

what sayeth ye abt the use of the pinky in guitar soloing?

The avatar: Get well, Angie...

**********************
Quote of a lifetime:
"...music is not just a hobby or what I do...it's what I live...music is the voice of my god, my vehicle for spiritual enlightenement..."
-OKP Illogicz

If you do exercises for it, it will become a very useful tool. The issue is many guys who taught themselves don't practice to exercise the pinky (because its boring as hell).

Alternate Picking is a good technique you should learn.
Must cats only down pick

>If you do exercises for it, it will become a very useful
>tool. The issue is many guys who taught themselves don't
>practice to exercise the pinky (because its boring as hell).

I guess from a technical standpoint it's bad for both.

I've never been tempted to rest my pinky on the pickguard when I'm using a pick, but I harly ever use a pick anymore. And as much as I know I'm not supposed to rest my pinky when I fingerpick, but it's definitely second nature now. I can't even conceive of using my pinky to fingerpick, really, so I don't feel too bad about it for the most part. The only time I pick it up really is when I use more of a frailing/clawhammer style - hitting the strings on the downpick using my fingernails instead of just on the up-pick with my fingertip.

but never when i'm using a pick, mainly because i tend to move my hand at the wrist with each stroke anyway

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was one of the simplest.

Chording a cowboy G: use your pinky to fret the high G (top string, third fret), your ring finger for the low G (bottom string, thrid fret), and your middle finger for the B (second string, second fret).

This fingering
a) leaves your index finger free for hammer-ons, especially on the B string (first fret - C)
b) the B isn't that important, so you can pull that off for easy access to G/C chords and alla that
c) it makes it much, much, much easier to switch back and forth from G to other chords, especially considering the two cowboy chords you're likely to go to the most from G are C and D, and the most likely barre is an F.

Also, don't cheat and use your thumb to fret that low E string.

i never use that particular fingering if i intend to do any kind of hammering at all, but i'll try that out

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I started with index/middle/ring, and I couldn't switch chords for shit. Ring/middle/pinky works so much better

Use shell chords, where the left hand is just playing the root and 7th or 9th. This will give you a much jazzier, funkier sound. Including the 3rd and 5th will give it a more melodic, thicker feel.

On the left hand, play a 7th, 9th, and third close together to get a dissonant, funky sound. Prince used a lot of these type of voicings on his Moog in the 80's.

Don't move you're hands much when voicing chords, instead find the closest inversion. This means instead of forming the chords root, 3rd, 5th all the time. They may instead go, 5th, root, 3rd, or 3rd, 5th, root. Using a lot of inversions and not moving your hand much will give your playing a much smoother feel.

Don't use the pedal much. A lot of folks use the pedal a lot when they start out, leave that shit alone to make the piano more funky.

Play the left and right hand like the kick and snare sometimes. For some more funky styles, I won't play them together, but instead use them to thicken the beat.

I hope some of this makes sense.

a lot of it was just i already do, but mainly because i'm lazy! (eg grabbing the closest inversions on the right and shells on the left - but mainly roots and 7ths; i'm gonna have to try out that 9th stuff)

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Lead playing is very simple: Question & Answer The Root note is the answer, and everything else is the question.

as long as i've been playing bass, i have to admit, i'm still clueless to this. it gets more complicated with active EQ's, mid boost, mid sweeps, 8-band equalizers, etc. it's crazy. basses have more eq knobs than amps these days.

so does anyone have any recommendations?

and what does "set everything flat" mean?

which means, don't use any EQ... learn what the "natural" sound of your bass is.. set all eq knobs at zero on the amp, if you have an active bass, set EQ knobs at the center detent (no boost or cut). Some active basses are boost only, (no center detent) in which case, leave the knobs all the way down. Passive basses turn the tone all the way up. Learn how to get different tones with the pickup blend and with your hands.

Then start to judiciously use small EQ adjustments... a low midrange cut around 220-800 can make a bass sound less muddy, but take out too much and you lose "punch". A low end boost around 40-120 can provide some mass to the sound, but too much will be boomy and indistinct, not to mention overloading the amp. High end is best left alone unless you know what you are doing, but experiment with it... I tend to boost a bit as my strings age, or cut a bit if they are brand new, but that's just me. You might play around to find where your fret noise is, but it's better to fix that with your hands (technique) than with eq.

Bend with two or three fingers (mute nearby strings), and turn at the wrist.

Explode into hammer ons.

its been upsettin me that i lack musical talent at my age (19), so i just bought a bass guitar and i'm going to pick it up at home next week so i can bring it back up to school with me.. i have no knowledge on how to play whatsoever, but hopefully, after a few months (i guess?), i'll know what the fuck you mofos are talking about.

a lot of beginners, myself included, do a vibrato by keeping their arm and wrist still, and moving the string back and forth with just their finger. i learned this from a guitarist, and applied it to bass.

but this leads to a dramatic, but jarring, sound b/c stretching the string like that sounds more like very fast 1/4 step bends, rather than an even vibrato.

a more pleasing, but subtle, way to do it on bass is by keeping your finger still, but rapidly moving your forearm back and forth behind the fret. it's similar to the motion that cellists use. basically, you're moving your index finger by fractions of an inch *along* the length of the string.

i think guitarists can get away with simply rotating their index finger behind the fret, b/c the strings are so much finer and delicate. (watch hendrix, santana, bb king, etc. play and you'll see what i'm talking about) this is one of those areas where bassists have to modify guitar techniques because bass strings are so much thicker.

--ooOoo--

http://www.soundclick.com/themn
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http://www.soundclick.com/thepanthersonic

"nobody can exactly re-create - not even with two piano players-what Prince did all by his little self" (c) Stevie Nicks

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The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

I love lesson posts like these. There's always a chance of some edumacation.

Peace

--------
If Bebop ruled this world, every
traffic light would be fitted with
blue colours to remind people to slow
down and take it coool © Soweto Kinch


http://www.drummerworld.com/drummerchoice.html

Don't be afraid to strike out on journeys to the far end of the slide! All those notes, even in the upper range, are perfectly viable out there; they may sound a little funky at first but as you use them more they'll get more focused and natural sounding.

Robin Eubanks has been seen in the 4th-6th position area in all registers of the horn, and of course he has a famously fat and juicy sound on the joint.


Exercise to start with:

Good old Bb major scale, starting on middle Bb:
Bb - 1
C - 3
D - 4
Eb - 4.5ish
F - 6
G - 6
A - 6
Bb - 6.5ish

You can incorporate lip slurs into this as well for double the fun



There's a lot of players out there who do the Carl Fontana thing, light and quick in positions 1-3, but that only gives players an octave and a half, tops, of chromatic freedom and REALLY limits the leaping options. If the comfort zone is extended out, then some of the alternate positions stop feeling so "alternate" and can be put to use for that midrange mobility!

<---Okay Jima (© Bridgetown)

http://www.myspace.com/musicphilosophy
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Really, it sounds obvious, but I've seen so many guys get so worked up in fills that the groove is lost. If you're starting out, find that inner time-keeping method and stick with it. A lot of teachers recommend singing along with what you're playing, which is what I do. I also knew a guy who visualized train tracks moving in front of him--as long as the train was moving the right speed, he knew the beat was there. Whatever it takes--hold that beat.

these days people think that fill-heavy, no-time-keeping style is GOOD drumming, because it draws so much attention to itself

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http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/287/6/c/the_wire_lineup__huge_download_by_dennisculver-d30s7vl.jpg
The man who thinks at 50 the same way he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life - Muhammed Ali

through the whole song in order to keep the time/groove.

That's also a common misconception, I think.

but that's more in line with Tommy's proposed 'concepts' post, I guess... I certainly have nothing to offer on kit drum technique.

Whichis equally applicable to all instruments. Sometimes the funkiest fills are simply dropping beats OUT, not trying to cram in as many notes as possible. My favorite drummer, Gene Lake, is a master of this--as is Billy Martin from MMW, Porcaro, etc. If you've got Dennis Chambers-type technique, that's fine, but a lot of cats seem to forget how difficult it is to make 32nd/64th-note fills come out on the one, and RIGHT on the one. And it's worth remembering that sometimes rhythm sections are better FELT than HEARD.

Just a rant.

lol