Thread: Playing Jazz
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Old 06-29-2009, 03:05 AM
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Ken Smith Ken Smith is offline
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Join Date: 01-18-2007
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Well, juts on case, let me add something else for you to make sure ALL 24 hours of this day you plan will have something worthwhile to work on.

First a short story and a theory to get there. One of my first private bass teachers ever was (and still is) the great Reggie Workman. If you don't know who he is, google him and YouTube him.

I would watch him play in a club with a Guitar duo at first and later in a Piano Duo at a few different clubs around NYC and notice that once in awhile he would do some kind of fast descending lick up in thumb position using 3 or 4 strings coming across with a lot of notes there. Each note was clear and a good note as well. He was playing his 4/4 (or bigger) Ferdinand Seitz Bass, a big beautiful dark colored old German bass with a sound to match. I have played this bass myself a few times but that was back around 1970 or so.

So, for jazz and for practice what's the best way to build up technique to play like that across the Strings in thumb position? Well, without going out and buying a bunch of books by all the new guys on how to re-invent the wheel, just take a book you already have. Take your Simandl Book I and play the first few pages of the positions, maybe up to IVth BUT at an Octave higher using T as the open string and 1-2-3 in place of 1-2-4.

Try that just as it's written but up an octave and report back to me after your done a few of these jazz gigs and had a chance to solo up in TP with a few upper descending lines. Practice this with Bow and with Pizz. Why with Pizz? Because that's how you will be playing in Jazz. Why with Bow? Because you can hold the notes longer and build up your finger strength in those positions and well as work on your intonation. Bow first, Pizz second. Back and forth.. Have fun, take two Aspirins and call me in the morning..