Progressions: A Guide to Making Practice Productive and Fun
Q: I’m just now three weeks in to my bass lessons so I apologize for the “newb” question. Where can I go to find songs in a specific chord progression that I can play along with? For instance, I’ve learned 12 bar blues in G Major. Now I’m doing web searches to find tunes I can apply what I’ve learned....
Tab Toolkit: A Look at the Notation and Tab App for iOS
Seeing as I’ve always had a somewhat “snobbish” aversion to Tab, I had avoided most every app in the store that provided it. So I’m happy to report I overcame that for a minute to try out Tab Toolkit, and I’m glad I did. Tab Toolkit is a pretty wonderful app, beautifully executed and immensely useful. The app comes pre-loaded...
Exploring Polyrhythms: A Practice Guide
Q: What is a “polyrhythm”, and how can I use them? A: Technically speaking, a polyrhythm is exactly what it says… more than one rhythm happening at the same time. This could be a Cascara rhythm combined with a Clave, or even just a swing pattern on the ride along with the hi-hat on 2 and 4. I find African,...
Chord Substitutions, Tritones and Bass
Q: When is it ok to use chord substitutions on standards? Also, can you explain tritone substitutions? A: The use of chord substitutions is fun to practice but must be used with caution on the gig. Our role as a bass player is to support the harmonic foundation for the rest of the band, as well as lock the rhythms...
Bass Sight: A Look at the Notation and Fretboard Training App for iOS
Bass Sight is a nice addition to the handful of apps that already exist to help those who wish to learn how to read music notation and/or better know their fretboard. Combining both training for reading notation and learning the fretboard, the app offers up a layout which is simple and to the point. The app presents a fretboard diagram...
Expanding Your Voice on Bass: Inflections and Articulations
Q: I notice bassists adding what I would call a “slur”, but I think the correct term would be trill at the end of lines and phrases. I really dig the effect, but my hands and mind are not naturally inclined to do this. What would you recommend to help me work on this? A: As with any technique, the...
Choosing the Right Tone for the Song: On Stage and In Studio
Q: How do you decide what tone to use for different songs? A: This is a great question. And it is one that is very subjective. This will be different for everyone, but I’m happy to share my personal take on it. This is also something that may be very different live than it is in the studio. Quite often,...
Notion: A Look at the Music Notation Software for iPad
As you may recall, I reviewed Symphony Pro late last year and hailed it as a good start and the best we have available to us for notating music on the iPad. I believe that Notion may have just raised the bar. I found that the actual act of notation on Notion was far more intuitive and a bit quicker...
Performing Live: Adapting to Your Environment
Q: I had a gig last night at a church and the room resonated right on F#. The designer of the church could not have designed it any better to mess up anybody playing F#. When I would hit an F#, it would instantly double or almost triple my output. Very crazy. I tried to remember to play it lighter...
Exploring Turnarounds
Q: I really enjoy and find great value in your columns on No Treble. In your last column, you discussed the modal and chordal approaches and mentioned this: “Don’t forget to also practice and transcribe things, which will make you a stronger bassist (walking, common endings and turnarounds, time, various time-feels, and so on.)” Could you expound further on what...
Audio MIDI Connect: A Look at the Instrument to MIDI Converter for iOS
If you’re like me, the existence of an app like Audio MIDI Connect is a dream come true. This app allows you to take your instrument signal and convert it to Midi and send it over Wifi! The implications are pretty cool, because this means that your instrument of choice can be a midi controller for recording, transcribing and triggering,...
Playing Chords: A Guide for Bassists
Q: I recently bought a 6-string bass and started working on playing chords. How should I voice more complex chords (e.g. Gm13) using few (3 to 4) notes, while maintaining the quality of the chord? A: It is important to note a few things when doing this. Much of this is learned by doing it wrong and having someone correct...