Search Results for: ask damian

Q: Preston Dickens writes: “I’m a self-taught woodshedder and am about to start playing with a live band at a church. Having never played with a live drummer, what advice can you offer?” A: We come from the same school, actually! I spent my youth in the shed by myself working everything out and feeling like I had to just...

Q: I would love to know what you do when you can’t hear yourself on stage or at rehearsals and when you can’t change it. A: That’s just a tough situation, really. It does happen fairly frequently, though. Honestly, that’s when knowing your fretboard and having a strong relationship with your instrument comes in handy, as well as knowing the...

Q: Have you ever felt, for any reason, like NOT doing a gig and if so, for what reasons? A: Of course!! More important than the reasons why (there have been SO many), though are the ways in which it is possible to alter ones perspective so that it is not as dreadful. I have been lucky enough to have...

Q: How do you prepare for a gig when you have a short amount of time to learn tunes? A: For me, it is more important that I have the tune internalized and have the vibe inside. The second thing is any hits that I’ll need to be aware of. If I can feel the tune, I can use my...

Q: What would you recommend to someone just starting out on bass? A: These are the things you will regret NOT doing if you stick with any instrument, so be ahead of the curve and do the work now, instead of later or never! 1. Learn to read music (not tab, but actual notation!) Read EVERY DAY, even if only...

Q: Would you describe what you strive for when setting up your bass? A: I actually just covered this in Bass Guitar Magazine (UK) recently. Here is my blurb from the magazine… The overall playability of my instrument is everything to me. If I have to fight the feel of my bass, I’ll have a harder time “letting go” and...

Q: What is considered a “good” practice session?? Say, if I take an hour to practice, what should I be working on… doing warm-ups, running through set lists of songs I know, learning new material, listening and trying to imitate players I like, etc. Just trying to be as productive as possible with my time. A: In my opinion, ANY...

Q: When you are presented with an opportunity to play with people you look up to, what is your approach? To you try and blow everyone away? A: Great question! The first thing I would say is to be yourself! Don’t try and play like this guy or that guy you’ve seen them with, don’t try and do anything that...

Q: So as I walked around the house, my wife asked me, “What are you doing, space cadet?” I guess I had a fairly blank look on my face and was walking around the house in circles. I replied, “Playing Bass… in my head.” She then said, “huh… you should write about that for the No Treble guys!” And I...

Q: out of curiosity, what do you use when transcribing? Software or pencil & paper? I’m delving into this area more and grew up with the pencil & paper way, but am becoming more intrigued by all of the software “gadgets” out there. A: A little bit of all of those things, really. Here are my tips and practices for...

Q: How do you discern whether you’re playing “appropriately” or over-playing? A: This is completely subjective and depends on: style of music you’re playing bandleaders interpretation of appropriate taste other things too, but that’s a good start! For the purposes of this article, I’ll assume we’re not talking fusion or jazz here. One simple thing to keep in mind is...

Q: How do you go about promoting your CD? A: I’ve been giving this a lot of thought lately as I’m preparing to release my 2nd release (coming out mid-late January 2010!). With my first CD, I definitely went about it from the ground up. I: Contacted the editors of bass magazines and asked to whom I could send one...