How do you get better on bass?

[Richard Prowse]

I've just returned my 78 Jazz Bass from tenor to standard tuning. I have a hipshot bass extender and I am really enjoying those low notes. When I put my bass in tenor tuning years ago, I took about 4-6 months to relearn the neck in this tuning. I built up a collection of solo pieces too. This never effected my double bass (which is in standard tuning), but I became more familiar with tenor bass guitar notes than standard tuning notes. Now I need to do some practice to readjust the way I see the notes on the bass guitar... won't take long as I'm not afraid of putting in the hours. It made me think though, as a teacher, we're all constantly trying to get better. Maybe we could share ideas on how we strive to improve our 'chops'.
Don't get me wrong, I can go out and do a gig on the standard tuned bass guitar (as I will tonight), but I like to get really inside the instrument.
I'll start my new practice by running major scales all over the instrument... moving to new keys a fourth away. I'll also check out triads. On my DB the most important scales I practise (besides, obviously, arpeggios) are major, jazz minor (for augmented sounds) and diminished. Bach cello suites definitely make me feel like I'm getting better on the big fiddle.
Let's talk about getting better!

[Richard Prowse]

No.1: play in tune, play in time.

[Mike Jenkins]

I play every day and sing what I play. I also play in the dark every now and then to force myself to trust my feel and not look at the fretboard durring difficult parts of songs. I feel this helps me "get into" the instrument.

[Richard Prowse]

Originally Posted by Mike Jenkins

I play every day and sing what I play. I also play in the dark every now and then to force myself to trust my feel and not look at the fretboard durring difficult parts of songs. I feel this helps me "get into" the instrument.

Do you sing it and then play it, or play it and then sing it? I think I'd go with sing - play. To get the full benefit you'd need to develop good singing ideas?

[Ken Smith]

Years ago this question was asked about Golf by an avid Golfer trying to improve his game. The answer he got was, "Go to sleep and Dream about it"..lol

Ok ok.. Serious.. First off.. Have you been classically trained or just wingin' it?

What level player are you?

Are you trying to figure this out on your own?

Are you willing to seek professional help? (not mental unless you need that too..lol)

What kind of music do you play mostly or want to play?

Do you believe that you must first learn the Bass and then play the music you like or do both at the same time without all the hard boring work?

For you Richard I would prescribe two main things.

1) Go read the entire thread "Down Here" (Bull Pit) and see if there is any helpful hints within and please stay awake until you have read and understood everything.

2) Put on as many records/CDs of the type of Music you like and learn all the Bass Parts until you can't tell your playing/sound from the guy on the recording.

And that's an Order!!!

[Richard Prowse]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Years ago this question was asked about Golf by an avid Golfer trying to improve his game. The answer he got was, "Go to sleep and Dream about it"..lol

Ok ok.. Serious.. First off.. Have you been classically trained or just wingin' it?

What level player are you?

Are you trying to figure this out on your own?

Are you willing to seek professional help? (not mental unless you need that too..lol)

What kind of music do you play mostly or want to play?

Do you believe that you must first learn the Bass and then play the music you like or do both at the same time without all the hard boring work?

For you Richard I would prescribe two main things.

1) Go read the entire thread "Down Here" (Bull Pit) and see if there is any helpful hints within and please stay awake until you have read and understood everything.

2) Put on as many records/CDs of the type of Music you like and learn all the Bass Parts until you can't tell your playing/sound from the guy on the recording.

And that's an Order!!!

I hope the golfer never plays in the rain... you know... wet dream!
lol

Hey Ken, I actually read the "Down Here" thread for the first time yesterday. Well, it was Saturday and I was feeling lazy. I think I understood most of it. I saw it as a commentary on improvisation.
Let me explain:
Okay, it's good to study other peoples' playing (as you suggest above) and make it your own. I've had students who can play most of Jaco's stuff note for note, and play most of it very well. Unfortunately Jaco beat them to it by quite a few years, lol! Admittedly, they've imitated a master, but what do Jaco's note choices actually mean to a guy from Tauranga (Down Under) who has a whole different set of experiences to call on? I've met many excellent classical musicians who say thet can't improvise. Why? They know the scales and can understand harmony. They've played the melodies of the masters for years! Why do they have nothing personal that they need to say? How sad their lives must be! If you have time (maybe, a lot) reread my comments on Miles Davis in the down here thread. For years I wondered why everyone raved about Miles. The penny dropped the other day when I was playing 'Kind of Blue' to some aspiring jazz students. Listen to 'Milestones' and then 'Kind of Blue'... in that order. I don't believe that that Coltrane & Cannonball really play that differently (from earlier stuff I've heard of them) to cater for the modal thing. But, snap!, Miles' playing crystallises! You know he's been heading that way for quite a while. Well, he was never the best bebop player, the style didn't sit that comfortable with him. My point is that Miles is so great because he comes in from a different and personal angle. Unfortunately I was not born with Miles' genius and (sometimes... well often) I write crap. But doesn't a good improviser go off at tangents (in a controlled way, of course!) and doesn't he strive, at least sometimes, to have an original thought and then try to justify it? How do you teach how an improviser thinks? You can teach the theory, but where does the 'moment' that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck come from? Ken, in the end we all die. Why not loosen up and be a free spirit (within reason, of course... don't take this advice to work), step out of the 'this is safe' thing, play some wrong notes, oh... and keep an eye on the 'Down Here (NZ)' thread.