Buzz
Basso Ridiculoso Releases The Book of Triads
The Book of Triads, a new instructional e-book on triad exercises, is available for download for use with a Kindle, iOS device and desktop. The book contains 80 exercises covering all the diatonic triads available in the key of C. Each is written for two octaves in musical notation as well as tablature. “Triads get overlooked sometimes, especially in this...
Jane’s Addiction Releases “The Great Escape Artist”
After nearly two years of writing and with the help of three bassists, Jane’s Addiction have released The Great Escape Artist. The new record is their fourth studio album and their first since their 2008 reunion. After the departure of Eric Avery in 2010, Jane’s Addiction began writing the album, enlisting the help of former Guns ‘N Roses bassist Duff...
Practical Scalar Practice
Q: I’ve been reading a lot of posts online and doing searches about which scales work over what chords. I’ve found a lot of good information, but I’m not really sure how to actually practice and internalize the information once I have it. Any advice? A: This is something that I’ve been working on with my students at PSU (Portland...
Casiopea vs. The Square: Eccentric Games
We’re firm believers that two basses are better than one. Here’s a cool example from the DVD Casiopea vs. The Square, where the two Japanese fusion bands perform alongside each other. This song, “Eccentric Games,” features an awesome bass battle between Casiopea’s Yoshihiro Naruse and The Square’s Mitsuru Sutoh.
Meshell Ndegeocello Announces Tour Dates
Meshell Ndegeocello has announced a string of tour dates to support her upcoming ninth album Weather, which is set for a November 8th release. The bassist/singer/songwriter will stop off for a few shows on the East Coast next month before covering the West Coast and Midwest in January. The album, which she describes as “strkingly organic” and “song-based,” is yet...
Reader Spotlight: Lane Baldwin
Meet Lane Baldwin, aka Lane on Bass, a bassist of 42 years and our player in the spotlight for October 18, 2011. Bio: Bassist for 42 years, pro for 29. Endorsements include Spector basses, DNA amplification, DR Strings, LM Products (straps), Peterson Tuners, Shubb Capos, Manhasset Stands. Musical Ambassador for Washington, DC. Current main gig: Ryan Pelton and the Difference...
Top 10: The Best Bass Videos (September 2011)
From a wacky snowboard bass, to the return of BassGirl and lots of solo bass performances, here are the top 10 bass videos in September 2011, based on views by No Treble readers. 1. BassGirl: Amerika Annie sent us this new video of BassGirl, who we’ve featured before to rave reviews. Annie says, “[Here’s BassGirl’s cover of Jaco Pastorius’s] “Amerika”....
Question of the Week: What’s the most recent, most killer album in your collection?
Our question of the week: What’s the most recent, most killer album in your collection? Give us the details. Answer below in the comments, or on our Facebook page.
Esperanza Spalding and Gretchen Parlato: Useless Landscape (Inutil Paisagem)
Today is Esperanza Spalding‘s birthday. What better way to help celebrate than with another awesome video by the bassist? Here, Esperanza performs a beautiful duet with Gretchen Parlato on the Antonio Carlos Jobim tune, “Useless Landscape (Inutil Paisagem)” Happy birthday, Esperanza!
Disco Bass Play-Along
Hal Leonard’s Bass Play-Along Series has a new disco-era addition with the release of Disco – Bass Play-Along Volume 32. The 72-page book offers eight disco classics by A Taste of Honey, Chic, Rick James and more. Music is presented in tab notation, with an accompanying CD packaged with the book, providing the audio for the bass lines as well...
Megadeth Offers New Tune from Upcoming Album
In advance of their November 1st release of Th1rt3en, Megadeth is giving away “Whose Life (Is This Anyway)”, a track from the album. Th1rt3en is the first album since 2001 to feature original bassist David Ellefson, and offers new versions of several previously released tracks. The track is being offered on Megadeth’s Facebook page.
iRiffPort: A Look at the Digital Instrument Interface for iOS
So far, I’ve focused in on mostly iOS apps in this space, but this time around, I’m going to focus in on hardware that works with many of these apps. I recently tried out the new iRiffPort by PocketLabWorks, which is a digital instrument interface in conjunction with the PocketGK app. For starters, PocketLabWorks got things right by making it...