My friend Luke Brouillette over at Luke Jazzin' posted a recent blog on the value of set lists. He avers (and I tend to agree) that set lists are an indispensable part of making a good performance great, and making any performance less of a chore for the performer.
One of the reasons that I agree is that having a set list is like knowing the changes to a song. You know where it starts, where it ends, when to sing, when to build for the bridge, when to solo. It's the framework or palimpsest upon which is writ the free, creative improvisation that makes your performance worth attending. It helps you control the vibe, guide the crowd reaction, and create not just a set of songs, but a musical experience.
Of course, that's the grand scheme of things. If you're not the session leader, however, forget it. Just follow along and hope for the best, particularly if they are not an avid set list user. In that case, all bets are off.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Round on the ends and high in the middle
After thoroughly enjoying my new Ampeg bass amp (the magnificent BA300 115), I am reminded of something essential:
It's NOT the lows or the highs, it's what you do with the middle that makes all the difference. Yeah, the highs and lows are important, but it's the middle that defines who you really are. And that's brought home in bass amps by the incredible phenomenon that is the "Ampeg sound." Anybody can effectively woof or tweet. But unless you've got the middle right, it's either just mud or screech.
That's a metaphor for life, I want to tell you. Like your second and third albums, the middle of anything (life, a string, a circle, the universe) really gets to the core of your being --- and it either works, or it doesn't.
That's why there's such a thing as a mid-life crisis (or Chrysler, as a friend of mine used to say). Because if you get to the middle, you've got to either get your shit together or quit. Otherwise, you're like a dull knife that just ain't cuttin' it; talking loud and saying nuthin'.
BTW, the new Ampeg is awesome - only 59 pounds and pure SVT sound. You can get Duck Dunn, Bootsy, James Jamerson, Gene Simmons, Geezer Butler or Victor Wooten all with the dial of a button or two.
It's NOT the lows or the highs, it's what you do with the middle that makes all the difference. Yeah, the highs and lows are important, but it's the middle that defines who you really are. And that's brought home in bass amps by the incredible phenomenon that is the "Ampeg sound." Anybody can effectively woof or tweet. But unless you've got the middle right, it's either just mud or screech.
That's a metaphor for life, I want to tell you. Like your second and third albums, the middle of anything (life, a string, a circle, the universe) really gets to the core of your being --- and it either works, or it doesn't.
That's why there's such a thing as a mid-life crisis (or Chrysler, as a friend of mine used to say). Because if you get to the middle, you've got to either get your shit together or quit. Otherwise, you're like a dull knife that just ain't cuttin' it; talking loud and saying nuthin'.
BTW, the new Ampeg is awesome - only 59 pounds and pure SVT sound. You can get Duck Dunn, Bootsy, James Jamerson, Gene Simmons, Geezer Butler or Victor Wooten all with the dial of a button or two.
Mute like the master
Other than his fantastic feel, technique and overall creativity (and super-dead flatwound La Bella strings), one of the key elements of James Jamerson's bass playing is the sound he got from his '62 Precision - in particular, the clarity and controlled separation of each note. One source of this sound characteristic is intrinsic in the unmodified, stock 1962 Precision bass - the bridge cover that contained a string mute.
At some point in the 60s too many players were removing these mute/covers, which resulted in Fender modifying their standard to exclude the cover - with the result being that each string continued to ring for a long time, and took the sound of the bass guitar even further from the upright doghouse bass.
Other than Fender basses with their bridge covers intact, I've only played one other bass that incorporated string muting - the 1980s Music Man Cutlass I (which was essentially a limited edition Sting Ray with a Modulus graphite neck --- man I wish I still had that bass). Amazingly enough, this great bass had individual sponges under each string that you could individually adjust for variable degrees of muting by string (using a screw mechanism much like a fine tuner).
So beyond the technical aspects of the playing itself, the James Jamerson feel and sound can be difficult to come by.
BUT ...
As a workaround, you can do what I've done, which simulates the original string muting of the '62 Fender and gives you a foundation sound to work with for 60s soul and R & B: cut a small strip from a kitchen sponge (about 1/2" wide - and obviously you'll want to choose a sponge with a color complementary to your bass) and slide it underneath the strings right next to the bridge. It will compress just enough to mute your strings, and you can easily slide it out when you want to return to a ringing tone.
There you go.
At some point in the 60s too many players were removing these mute/covers, which resulted in Fender modifying their standard to exclude the cover - with the result being that each string continued to ring for a long time, and took the sound of the bass guitar even further from the upright doghouse bass.
Other than Fender basses with their bridge covers intact, I've only played one other bass that incorporated string muting - the 1980s Music Man Cutlass I (which was essentially a limited edition Sting Ray with a Modulus graphite neck --- man I wish I still had that bass). Amazingly enough, this great bass had individual sponges under each string that you could individually adjust for variable degrees of muting by string (using a screw mechanism much like a fine tuner).
So beyond the technical aspects of the playing itself, the James Jamerson feel and sound can be difficult to come by.
BUT ...
As a workaround, you can do what I've done, which simulates the original string muting of the '62 Fender and gives you a foundation sound to work with for 60s soul and R & B: cut a small strip from a kitchen sponge (about 1/2" wide - and obviously you'll want to choose a sponge with a color complementary to your bass) and slide it underneath the strings right next to the bridge. It will compress just enough to mute your strings, and you can easily slide it out when you want to return to a ringing tone.
There you go.
Bass Fitness (by Josquin des Pres)
Some things are so simple (or obvious) that you take them for granted. Like failing to take advantage of best practices in one industry that could help in a different business.
I always swore by technique and hand-strength building tomes when playing the piano (like Czerny's Art of Finger Dexterity, Hanon's The Virtuoso Pianist and others, including one of my favorites from 1912, Macdonald Smith's From Brain to Keyboard).
But outside of the scales and arpeggios I practiced from my Simandl and of course the fabulous and absolutely irreplaceable Ray Brown's Bass Method, I never really thought about hand strength, finger dexterity and the like as it pertained to bass playing.
Until I ran across this book, actually quite accidentally. And discovered that my fingers really needed a workout, but could only make it (at first) through the first dozen exercises.
I've noticed my playing improve dramatically since using these exercises at least three times a week. Definitely recommended.
I always swore by technique and hand-strength building tomes when playing the piano (like Czerny's Art of Finger Dexterity, Hanon's The Virtuoso Pianist and others, including one of my favorites from 1912, Macdonald Smith's From Brain to Keyboard).
But outside of the scales and arpeggios I practiced from my Simandl and of course the fabulous and absolutely irreplaceable Ray Brown's Bass Method, I never really thought about hand strength, finger dexterity and the like as it pertained to bass playing.
Until I ran across this book, actually quite accidentally. And discovered that my fingers really needed a workout, but could only make it (at first) through the first dozen exercises.
I've noticed my playing improve dramatically since using these exercises at least three times a week. Definitely recommended.
Finding the groove
I didn’t start out playing bass. When I was 8 years old I was introduced to the world of music through violin lessons and elementary school orchestra. At 9, I started playing clarinet in the school band, took piano lessons and began years of self-study on the guitar.
But my true musical experience didn’t really kick in until I switched at age 11 from the violin to the big double bass (it was a full-size, blond Kay). After only about a year, I was good enough to be considered for the high school jazz ensemble - where it was determined that my sound just wasn’t LOUD enough, so the band director lent me his electric bass (it was a blond hollow-body, maybe a Guild or Gibson).
The first electric bass player I really heard was Paul McCartney. That led me toJames Jamerson , Carol Kaye, Jack Bruce, Donald Dunn, George Porter Jr., William Collins, Larry Graham , Chris Squire, John Entwhistle , Jack Casady , Geddy Lee , Geezer Butler , Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke , Louis Johnson. Cats I’m still digging like they were new - like Johnny Flippen, Victor Wooten , Marcus Miller, Victor Bailey, Billy Sheehan. Add to that Paul Chambers, Charles Mingus , Ron Carter and Ray Brown on acoustic bass. The rest, as they say, is history.
But my true musical experience didn’t really kick in until I switched at age 11 from the violin to the big double bass (it was a full-size, blond Kay). After only about a year, I was good enough to be considered for the high school jazz ensemble - where it was determined that my sound just wasn’t LOUD enough, so the band director lent me his electric bass (it was a blond hollow-body, maybe a Guild or Gibson).
The first electric bass player I really heard was Paul McCartney. That led me to
The bass is the groove
Being a bass player (or bassist if you prefer) is a unique role in any musical ensemble. Typically not the front-man or star of the show, you aren't as likely to get the chicks, or press, or critical adulation. At the same time, however, you are ultimately responsible for the harmonic structure, the foundation and the groove. Because while the drummer may keep the groove, what you play creates it - and can just as easily destroy it.
You've got to be "in tune" (and by this I don't just mean A440) to be a better than average bass player. In the process of getting in tune, I think bass players on their way to any kind of greatness develop a level of introspection and balance that is rare among those other players who usually get (and always want to take) longer solos.
Maybe you learn something about music, the world, people in the process. You definitely learn something about yourself.
My hope is that this site can grow beyond my personal insights and experience as a bass player to help those just starting out appreciate and understand what it means to "be the groove."
Cheers.
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