Bass Lessons - Page 29

It’s been a long time since my last transcription because it’s summer here in South America, and I’ve been very busy working and playing. Recently I played with my latest project, , at the Lebu Jazz Festival. It’s a bass-drum duo with a lot of electronica. I also wrote “A Little Piece for Jaco,” for a review of Willcox basses,...

“Fire on the Bayou” might just be my favorite song out of New Orleans. There is a grit and attitude about it that can only be found in New Orleans. The lyrics paint a picture of the New Orleans that I remember seeing on my periphery as a little boy growing up there – observing my uncles and other older...

Harness the power of these creative time tested memory tools. They will enrich your bass playing and are useful for all walks of life. A mnemonic is any idea or device that aids in remembering something. Maybe you are familiar with “Large Elephants Jump Slowly And Sink Rapidly” – helping US students remember the seven articles of the United States...

Having trouble getting motivated to practice? Just not feeling it? Here are a few simple action items to help get you going. I have found them very useful for myself and my students. Famously, there are two kinds of motivation (or impulses that lead to motivation to act): extrinsic (from the outside) and intrinsic (from the inside). Extrinsic motivation is...

Mardi Gras Day, also known as “Fat Tuesday” is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday and is the last big blowout before Lent starts and fasting begins. Mardi Gras is actually a season in New Orleans, Carnival Season. Interesting factoid – the word “Carnival” loosely translates to “Farewell to the flesh”. An iconic song played during Carnival season is “Mardi...

Installment three in my series on my favorite practice “hacks” may almost seem too good to be true. However, this has nothing to do with wishful thinking, the law of attraction (I am more of a “law-of-action” kinda gal), or superstition. It has everything to do with brain science and the power of the mind! Get your handy infographic on...

This challenging bass lesson highlights Creative Chordal Connections, enabling you to understand complex jazz concepts while revealing how learning to play chords on the bass will help you to hear different chord qualities with greater clarity and ease. Follow along with the transcription and the video below.

Welcome to installment two in my series on my favorite and most efficient practice “hacks.” You have probably heard of this one – taking breaks. Here are some tips on making the best of these breaks! After about 20 to 25 minutes of focused, distraction-free practice (one “Pomodoro” if you are hip to the Pomodoro Technique), take a break. When...

In this lesson, I’ve taken a pretty classic and fairly easy to play bass part from Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon” and given you a few examples of how to use that as a springboard for creating other bass lines around that core groove. This can be really useful when playing under multiple soloists on the same tune. It’s not always enough...

Are you (like me) always on the hunt for the latest and most efficient practice “hacks”? Today I am starting a series here on Talking Technique introducing you to my personal favorites. Some of them are quite unexpected, and I encourage you to try them and see the results for yourself. Some go back to ancient wisdom, and science has...

It’s no secret at this point that Prince is, has been and always will be my favorite “B.A.S.E.” player – him and just about anyone who had the salt to hold the chair in his band. Yes, I’ve got my preferences out of that bunch as well, but we’ll rap about that later! In this episode I’m going show you...

Last July, I published a Talking Technique lesson called “Beautiful Practice“. It recently made a reader’s favorite list for 2016 here on No Treble thanks to your likes, shares, and comments. Thank you for that! The lesson brought together music theory, comprehensive fretboard knowledge, and lots of technique aspects. I thought we’d bring the lesson back with a twist, namely...