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Columns: How Tos, Advice & Lessons for Bass Players

Why Memorize Music?
The Lowdown with Dr. D

Why Memorize Music?

Some musical situations all but require the use of printed music. For example, larger ensembles, such as a Jazz Big Band or a Symphony Orchestra, universally use printed music. This is primarily due to the complexity of the compositions/arrangements, the short rehearsal time for each work, the sometimes-enormous length of the works, etc. However, in smaller groups (i.e. jazz combos...

The Lightbulb Moment: Studio Tones
The Lightbulb Moment

The Lightbulb Moment: Studio Tones

For most musicians, walking into a professional recording studio is like setting foot in Disneyland. There are so many colors, so many shiny microphones, so many synthesizers! You want to touch everything, including those knobs on the console that are so perfectly aligned. The faint scent of aged wood, treated walls, and ghostly vibrations transport you to a world of...

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Reading Complex Rhythms
Ask Damian Erskine

Reading Complex Rhythms

Q: I’ve only been playing bass about 1.5 years – still a newbie trying to learn the tricks of the trade. I mostly learn a song and play basic, but as of late, I’ve been learning to read. I’m not fluent in reading, but that’s not my problem. My problem is trying to play the rhythm of the notation. I...

Jam Session Etiquette
Ask Damian Erskine

Jam Session Etiquette

Q: I have never been to a random, strangers-in-the-night jazz jam as a bass player and a lot of jams tend to have their set bass player (ahem – often the organizer of said jam – ahem). What’s the etiquette if you just want to walk a few tunes with everybody? A: First of all, I love your, “random, strangers-in-the-night”...

Working with Printed Transcriptions
The Lowdown with Dr. D

Working with Printed Transcriptions

Studying transcriptions of masterful performances can provide a wealth of learning material for a musician. Musically speaking, we will gain the most by completing our own transcriptions, entirely by ear, of course. However, there is still a great deal to be gained by working from published transcriptions by other musicians, provided we approach them in the right way. Certainly there...

Bass Players To Know: Edgar Meyer
Bass Players To Know

Bass Players To Know: Edgar Meyer

There’s nothing like being in a symphony hall and experiencing the sound of a double bass. The tone of the instrument is enhanced by the beauty of the room and the reverence for hundreds of years of Western musical culture. The low, resonant notes fill the space like fresh coffee being poured into your favorite mug; they are rich and...

How To Come Up With New Groove Ideas
Ask Damian Erskine

How To Come Up With New Groove Ideas

Q: Do you have any tips for how to come up with new groove ideas? A: I spent quite a few years doing what I call “fishing”. What I mean by that is, aimlessly using different notes and rhythms hoping to stumble upon something interesting (This is especially true with my soloing back in the day, but that’s another column)....

Custom Shop: Roks Instruments
Custom Shop

Custom Shop: Roks Instruments

Earlier this year we featured the Roks Instruments Futura bass as a bass of the week. It garnered so much interest that we decided to get the inside scoop on the company with luthier Axel Roks. Based in the Netherlands, Roks describes his basses as “tools for musicians created in the twilight zone between craftsmanship and artistry.” One look at...

Making Practice Meaningful
Ask Damian Erskine

Making Practice Meaningful

Q: I have a shelf full of instructional books, methods, transcriptions, etc., but I feel like they don’t actually help at all. I just play through things and while I feel like I practiced, I don’t really see how any of that stuff is helping. Any thoughts? A: I know exactly how you feel. It took me a long time...

Keeping Time in Jazz
The Lowdown with Dr. D

Keeping Time in Jazz

I love a good bass solo as much, or probably more, than the next person. In the band, however, our most important job is to “keeping time.” Below are a few things we can do in the practice room to help improve our “time” before we get to the gig. Pick a tune you know well, i.e. by memory, and...

The Lightbulb Moment: Major? Minor? Why Bother?
The Lightbulb Moment

The Lightbulb Moment: Major? Minor? Why Bother?

Being a bass player is awesome. Not only do you get to hang in the back and groove, but you get to skate by on all of that “theory” stuff that guitar players have to deal with. You know… like chords and whatnot. We only have to play one note at a time! That’s like… way easier. I wouldn’t want...

How to Reharmonize a Song
Ask Damian Erskine

How to Reharmonize a Song

Q: I’ve heard jazz musicians talk about “reharms”, which are just reharmonization of a song (or so I’m told). Can you explain how to “reharmonize” a song? A: There was a time where I was also mystified by whatever the process of reharmonizing a tune might be. I figured that it must require some deep, deep level of understanding of...