Matt Garrison has a new signature Fodera that has been released at NAMM, and while it is not exactly an affordable, (MSRP is $5800+) every-man instrument, it does have some cool features for people who can swing that kind of cash for an instrument. Meaning..not me.
In this video, Matt and the guys from Fodera talk about the bass and explain all the features.
You do need to register at Matt's site to view the videos, but it is free.
http://www.garrisonjazz.com/index.php?action=login&class=6814
23.1.12
Line6 StageScape M20d
I don't know...does my mixer REALLY need a touch screen and a visual interface?
So now I have to worry that my mixer has crashed, or needs an OS update?
I dunno about this. I guess listening to it would be the final verdict.
So now I have to worry that my mixer has crashed, or needs an OS update?
I dunno about this. I guess listening to it would be the final verdict.
16.1.12
Marcus Miller Is In The Studio
Here he is listening back to a new track with some very maceo-like horn playing and Marcus being Marcus all underneath that groove. Nasty.
21.12.11
Sonny Rollins F Minor Lick from Strode Rode
I have posted a line Sonny played on this tune before, (off of Saxophone Colossus), it was a very juicy lick from the bridge of Strode Rode, and here is another equally juicy lick from the beginning of his solo.
The band drops out and it is just bass and Sonny playing over the chords, and it is basically just F minor, but not natural minor, (with an Eb) but melodic minor, with an E natural.
Here is the lick as Sonny plays it
And here it is written out, first at a slower tempo and then at a faster more Sonny-like tempo.
There are a ton of things to learn from this lick:
The band drops out and it is just bass and Sonny playing over the chords, and it is basically just F minor, but not natural minor, (with an Eb) but melodic minor, with an E natural.
Here is the lick as Sonny plays it
And here it is written out, first at a slower tempo and then at a faster more Sonny-like tempo.
Slow Speed
bass lick tempo 100 4/4 |Fmin r8 e8 f ab g f e g |f e f c ab f b ab |bb ab g f e f g e |f2 r2
Insanely Fast
bass lick tempo 220 4/4 |Fmin r8 e8 f ab g f e g |f e f c ab f b ab |bb ab g f e f g e |f2 r2
There are a ton of things to learn from this lick:
- What chord tones does he use? (hint - all of them)
- How does he make those chord tones fall on strong beats?
- Why does the lick sound so strong and resolve so well?
- What non-chord tones does he use, and where do those get placed?
6.12.11
Another 30% Off Everything
Yet another sale for the Festivus season has been announced, so go air your grievances, and remember that books are way better than a big steel pole any day. Just use the code "WINTERSAVE305" and get 30% off, so any ebook is only $6.99 and any paperback is only $13.99.
27.11.11
25% ain't enough? How about 30% off everything then.
The folks at Lulu are have further embraced the true spirit of the holidays by doing more shopping promotions. This time it is 30% off anything, for only the one day though, tomorrows infamous cyber monday.
Use the code "CyberMonday" before midnight tomorrow and get 30% of anything. That is cheeeeeep.
Also stay tuned for more postings on intervals and scale fragments coming soon.
UPDATE - today is the day, 30% off everything, and that is just ridiculous. The triad ebooks are only 6.99, and no shipping, instant download. Cheeeeeeep! The print books are only 13.99, crazy cheap too.
23.11.11
25% Off All Of It
Happy multi-denominational winter holiday observance!
Yea. It has come to that time of the year where we give each other stuff for all kinds of different reasons.
In honor of this magical time of the year, starting today every book is available for 25% off. Even though some of you, and you know who you are, probably have been very, very naughty.
So, that means the new prices for all the books are:
So even if you are one of those naughty types, you deserve to treat yourself to some bass presents and save some cash for all the other things that made you so naughty in the first place this year. Then you can make all those empty promises about being better next year.
All you have to do is go to lulu.com and use the coupon Code: BUYMYBOOK305 when you check out. The max savings is $50.00 but that amount actually covers every Basso book there is. You can use it for ANY book on lulu.com as well.
So happy winter solstice or whatever tree celebration you pray to or sacrifice this December and thanks for checking out the blog.
22.11.11
A Regularly Scheduled Interval
I have mentioned the completely awesome book called Forward Motion before and if you do not have it in your library and yet you are interested in improvisation at all, well, there is a big gap in your library, that's all I am saying. Its a book that has so much info in it that it will keep you busy for a long time and your girlfriend/boyfriend/xbox/playstation/dog/cat/gopher will feel hurt and neglected.
Here is a very small nugget pulled from one of the ways Mr. Galper talks about how to practice intervals, scales and arpeggios in the book. I am going to show you some examples using the interval of a third and the C Major scale so, buckle up.
Remember from earlier posts, that the word diatonic is just a fancy music school term for "only using notes in that key", thats all. So when I say "diatonic" and C major it just means that we are ONLY going to use the notes from that scale, and thusly, being C major, there will be no sharps or flats, just C D E F G A B C.
Now, if you take C Major notes, and you play a third off each note of the scale respectively, you get something like this:
You probably have played that one, or heard something similar, it is a very common way to get the major scale under your fingers.
But there are always a couple of other ways to play the same set of intervals and when you start combining these different permutations, things start sounding less see-I-know-how-to-play-my-scales-y and more like phrases and licks that you can use during a solo.
Here is another way to get through the major scale in thirds, where instead of going up a third, you descend a third, so the first pair of notes is E down to C:
Now you can alternate each group of thirds, with the first group descending:
And you can alternate with the second third descending:
Now how to turn these into licks?
Well since all of these notes are within a key, anytime you have a chord that works in C Major, so a C Major 7, or C Major #11, or even a Dmin, or Emin, or G7, or A min, you can use combinations of these same intervals.
Here is how that would work over a C Major chord, it is nothing but a combination of those intervals from above, but the rhythm is now 16ths and the patterns are moved around a little octave-wise.
That is just one piddly example, there are a million ways you can do this, for example:
This is another one of those lick-factory ideas where you can get a million different chunks of solos out of stuff like this. As per usual, you have to make this sound like it is not just scalar patterns but is actually a melody of some kind.
Of course, this works with minor scales too, and you can do all the intervals within any kind of scale - thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, and sevenths. Even bigger intervals if you wanted to, especially if you have an extended range bass, like ninths and tenths. Big stretches though.
So there ya go, something to chew on. Go nuts.
Here is a very small nugget pulled from one of the ways Mr. Galper talks about how to practice intervals, scales and arpeggios in the book. I am going to show you some examples using the interval of a third and the C Major scale so, buckle up.
Remember from earlier posts, that the word diatonic is just a fancy music school term for "only using notes in that key", thats all. So when I say "diatonic" and C major it just means that we are ONLY going to use the notes from that scale, and thusly, being C major, there will be no sharps or flats, just C D E F G A B C.
Now, if you take C Major notes, and you play a third off each note of the scale respectively, you get something like this:
Ascending Scale in Ascending Diatonic Thirds
bass lick tempo 90 2/4 |Cmaj c8 e Dmin d f |Emin e g Fmaj f a | GMaj g b Amin a c | Bdim b d c4
You probably have played that one, or heard something similar, it is a very common way to get the major scale under your fingers.
But there are always a couple of other ways to play the same set of intervals and when you start combining these different permutations, things start sounding less see-I-know-how-to-play-my-scales-y and more like phrases and licks that you can use during a solo.
Here is another way to get through the major scale in thirds, where instead of going up a third, you descend a third, so the first pair of notes is E down to C:
Ascending Scale in Descending Diatonic Thirds
bass lick tempo 90 2/4 | Cmaj e8 c Dmin f d | Emin g e Fmaj a f | GMaj b g Amin c a | Bdim d b c4
Now you can alternate each group of thirds, with the first group descending:
Ascending Scale - First Third Descending
bass lick tempo 90 2/4 | Cmaj e8 c Dmin d f | Emin g e Fmaj f a | GMaj b g Amin a c | Bdim d b c4
And you can alternate with the second third descending:
Ascending Scale - Second Third Descending
bass lick tempo 90 2/4 | Cmaj c8 e Dmin f d |Emin e g Fmaj a f | GMaj g b Amin c a | Bdim b d c4
Now how to turn these into licks?
Well since all of these notes are within a key, anytime you have a chord that works in C Major, so a C Major 7, or C Major #11, or even a Dmin, or Emin, or G7, or A min, you can use combinations of these same intervals.
Here is how that would work over a C Major chord, it is nothing but a combination of those intervals from above, but the rhythm is now 16ths and the patterns are moved around a little octave-wise.
Third Based Lick
bass lick tempo 120 2/4 | Cmaj e16 c f d g e b g | c a d b c+4
That is just one piddly example, there are a million ways you can do this, for example:
- Don't play the thirds in scale order, do them in another order, like go something like C, G, D,A,E,B F, C which is going up in 5ths. So C E, B G, F D, A C etc.
- Repeat one or two patterns before going to the next one
- Change the rhythm
- Mix up other intervals, don't just do it in thirds, do the first one as a third, the next one as a fourth or a sixth and then mix up the directions ascending and descending.
This is another one of those lick-factory ideas where you can get a million different chunks of solos out of stuff like this. As per usual, you have to make this sound like it is not just scalar patterns but is actually a melody of some kind.
Of course, this works with minor scales too, and you can do all the intervals within any kind of scale - thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths, and sevenths. Even bigger intervals if you wanted to, especially if you have an extended range bass, like ninths and tenths. Big stretches though.
So there ya go, something to chew on. Go nuts.
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