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Archive for June 2012 - Page 2

Progressions: A Guide to Making Practice Productive and Fun
Ask Damian Erskine

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....

Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay: Bass & Vocal Arrangement
Bass Videos

Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay: Bass & Vocal Arrangement

There’s tap, there’s solo bass arrangements, and then there’s this. Bassist Wes Sperry arranged Otis Redding’s classic “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” for bass and vocals fitting to the original. He even has the whistling part in there! It isn’t how many notes you can play. It is just finding the right ones.

Rush’s “Clockwork Angels” Novelization Sneak Preview Released
News

Rush’s “Clockwork Angels” Novelization Sneak Preview Released

Hot on the heels of the release of Clockwork Angels, Rush’s 20th studio album, comes the first glimpse at the album’s companion novel, Clockwork Angels: The Novel. Author Kevin J. Anderson, who is collaborating with Rush drummer Neil Peart, posted news on his blog that a sneak peek booklet for the book has been released as a free download. The...

Reader Spotlight: Robert Asencio
Reader Spotlight

Reader Spotlight: Robert Asencio

Meet Robert Asencio, a bassist from NJ who has overcome a lot through his music. We love his description of his day gig: “playing bass 24/7”. Nice. Robert is our player in the spotlight for the week of June 26, 2012. Bio: “All is possible through faith in the Lord & hard work.” These words have come to symbolize my...

Tab Toolkit: A Look at the Notation and Tab App for iOS
Apps

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...

Evan Marien and Dana Hawkins: “Hiii”, Live
Bass Videos

Evan Marien and Dana Hawkins: “Hiii”, Live

I’ve always enjoyed Evan Marien’s “Hiii”, a track from his Here We Are EP, though I wondered how it could be pulled off live. I can now cross that off the list. Here’s Evan with drummer Dana Hawkins (who is awesome, btw), performing the tune live at Matt Garrison’s Shapeshifter Lab in New York.

Casey Abrams Releases Self-Titled Debut
New Albums

Casey Abrams Releases Self-Titled Debut

Bassist/vocalist Casey Abrams has released his self-titled debut on Concord Records. Abrams caught national attention on the tenth season of American Idol after performing some rousing renditions of pop tunes while accompanying himself on bass. Through that experience, he hooked up with fellow bassist and Idol judge Randy Jackson, who produced the album. The album is laden with upright bass...

Eastwood Introduces 34? Scale Airline Map Bass
Basses

Eastwood Introduces 34? Scale Airline Map Bass

Eastwood Guitars has had a busy summer. Rounding out their new retro releases is a 34? scale version of their Airline Map bass. A tribute to the 1962 National Newport Guitar, the new full-scale bass comes in Seafoam Green and is equipped with D’Addario Chrome flats. Similar to their 30? scale version, the bass features a tone chambered mahogany body,...

Improvising and Groove: Substituting Pentatonic Scales on a Minor 7 Progression
Bass Lessons

Improvising and Groove: Substituting Pentatonic Scales on a Minor 7 Progression

My most recent lessons have focused on the use of the pentatonic scales as it relates to improvising and learning the fretboard (see my lessons on improvising over a minor key progression and breaking down the pentatonic scale for more background). Today we’ll continue this topic with the exploration of improvising over a D minor 7 chord using the pentatonic...

Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes: Isolated Bass & Vocals
Bass Videos

Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes: Isolated Bass & Vocals

Our Facebook friend Leon Wilson shared this alternate track with us, featuring the isolated bass work of Bakithi Kumalo on Paul Simon’s hit, “Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes”. Yep, this is all that’s needed. Bakithi holds down so much at once, yet without sounding like he’s doing too much. Genius at work.

Weekly Top 10: Bass on a Budget, New Bass Gear, the Best How To’s and the Top Videos Featuring the Low End
Weekly Top 10

Weekly Top 10: Bass on a Budget, New Bass Gear, the Best How To’s and the Top Videos Featuring the Low End

Our weekly top ten focuses on the best of the best in bass. Here’s the awesomeness for the week of June 17-23, 2012. 1. Bass on a Budget: 12 Basses Under $500 Bass on a Budget: 12 Basses Under $500. We cover a lot of basses… some of them quite expensive. So here are 12 basses introduced this year with...

Documentary on The Who’s “Quadrophenia” Coming to Theaters
News

Documentary on The Who’s “Quadrophenia” Coming to Theaters

A new film documenting The Who’s iconic Rock Opera Quadrophenia will be showing at select movie theaters across the U.S. for one night on July 24th. The Who: Quadrophenia – Can You See the Real Me? takes its name from the 1973 album’s second track, “The Real Me,” which of course features some top-notch playing by bassist John Entwistle. Loaded...