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LBM for Bass
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nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 6:43 pm    Post subject: LBM for Bass Reply with quote

Hi Mark,

Could you comment on what the goals of the first-year bass class is? What sort of material is included? Is there a sylabus? How much focus is on rhythm vis-a-vis jazz language vis-a-vis building walking lines? thanks
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corky4strings



Joined: 21 May 2008
Posts: 109
Location: plain, pa.

PostPosted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

len did you ever start the bass lessons yet?
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corky




let your fingers do the walking i do
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nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 1:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Corky, I'm starting them in January.
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corky4strings



Joined: 21 May 2008
Posts: 109
Location: plain, pa.

PostPosted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 7:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i re starting them as soon a disability starts sending my checks. i did the first 10-11 lessons your gonna enjoy them. mark does a great job with the lessons. enjoy
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corky




let your fingers do the walking i do
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nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm sure he does. I've been taking guitar lessons with Mark for five or six years. His lessons are excellent and blow away other learning products out there.
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corky4strings



Joined: 21 May 2008
Posts: 109
Location: plain, pa.

PostPosted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 12:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

10-4 on that. have a good time walkin.
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corky




let your fingers do the walking i do
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Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 10:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm walkin' yes indeed, I'm talkin'...

I'm on my third bass lesson. Each one so far has a cool walking blues bass along with one jazz head. Also some of those familiar II-V's from the Swing Blues LBM applied to bass. It's challenging fro ma technique point of view and, more importantly, loads of fun.
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nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 4:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Larry_DC wrote:

Quote:
Each one so far has a cool walking blues bass along with one jazz head.


Larry, Does working out the head translate to guitar easily (can you kill two birds with one stone)?
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Mark
VM Coach


Joined: 26 Feb 2007
Posts: 479
Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 7:01 pm    Post subject: Re: LBM for Bass Reply with quote

Len wrote:
Could you comment on what the goals of the first-year bass class is? What sort of material is included? Is there a syllabus? How much focus is on rhythm vis-a-vis jazz language vis-a-vis building walking lines? thanks


Bass Guys,

First of all, apologies for somehow missing this thread. Wink However, I'd be happy to give you some background on The Jazz Bassist, why I authored it, the goals, content, and why I believe that it's a "best-kept-secret" in the bass education field.

As you may already know, my bass history dates back almost 40 years, and although I enjoy all styles of music on bass, jazz on that instrument has always had a special appeal to me due to the creativity involved. I mean, in what other genre of music do you truly get to improvise on bass almost 100% of the time? The role in the rhythm section is as elastic as that of the piano and drums, yet you still have the responsibility of holding things down rhythmically and harmonically, just as if you were in a blues or rock band. In other genres the bassist rarely is involved playing the melody, but in jazz it's perfectly acceptable and appreciated by the band and the audience if you can do it, and while bass solos are dreaded about as much as drum solos overall, in jazz they are not only welcomed but expected.

Long story short is that although I considered other course possibilities many years ago, a quick survey on the educational front showed that there were many books and methods devoted to contemporary bass (rock, blues fusion, funk, etc), but almost nothing on the market language-based for jazz. So that was my impetus and inspiration for creating The Jazz Bassist.

You asked about goals? Each of the 24 lesson chapters focuses on walking, with one of the main targets being able to improvise a walk "on-the-fly" in an ensemble situation. For blues I use the "Classic Walks" series in the key of C. Part of each bass blues tune assignment is to manipulate the walking concepts into keys of F, Bb, Eb, G, etc. For the 16-32 bar tunes spanning swing and bebop standards, each has a walk dedicated to that progression. I should also mention that my walks are heavily influenced by upright bass legends such as Ray Brown, Ron Carter, Sam Jones, Scott LaFaro and others, all through many years of transcribing and studying their recordings. My dad loved bass and helped me initially when I was still a teenager, and I often joke that as a guitarist playing bass "I learned to walk before I could run." Laughing

Each lesson features the head (a la Jaco) translated to bass clef and fingered accordingly, plus extensive jazz language and powerful model solos throughout, even more on the latter than the Swing Blues guitar course, because I knew there wouldn't be a sequel to the bass wing. There's also a certain "method-to-the-madness" in the manner in which the material is presented. First three lessons center on swing blues, next three on 16 and 32 bar classics, and then it moves back and forth in pairs between the two, so you never lose touch with the blues throughout the series. There are also a pair of latin/jazz-based lessons towards the end of the course.

That's about it, guys. Anyone who's taken the course knows that there is really nothing like it on the market. Not even close. Eventually I need to aggressively promote it in dedicated bass circles. All in due time. In the meantime, don't keep it a secret. Tell everyone you know! Wink

- Mark
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"Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple" - Mingus
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Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 7:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nylenny wrote:
Larry, Does working out the head translate to guitar easily (can you kill two birds with one stone)?


Well, so far the heads have been ones I've already learned on guitar, so for me it's been a question of translating them to bass. To date it's been easy. The hard part is my looking at the G string on the bass and relating the positions to the high E on guitar (is that a C or an A?) <LOL>

Having transcribed bass parts using the C clef has made it much easier to read the lesson notations. I'm sure you'll notice the same thing.
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corky4strings



Joined: 21 May 2008
Posts: 109
Location: plain, pa.

PostPosted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

larry are you using your finger to do the walkin or a pick. just wondering sence you also play guitar . keep walkin Very Happy
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corky




let your fingers do the walking i do
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Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Corky - I'm using the alternating index and middle finger approach. I had a long talk with Mark about proper RH technique, after which I began to practice rest strokes. For walking bass with chord punches I tend to use the thumb and two fingers. I'm having a little trouble getting that nice deep tone unless I bend my fingers a little bit and pluck with an upward motion.
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corky4strings



Joined: 21 May 2008
Posts: 109
Location: plain, pa.

PostPosted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

if you use more of the side of your index and middle fingers like a stand up player you will get that deeper tone. then it depends on were your positioned when playing. if you pick in front of the front pick up you will get a lower tone. if you pick near the bridge you will get a more treble tone. when i play or practice i usually alway pick in front of the neck pick up. unless if there's a part in a song were i need to play near the bridge.
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corky




let your fingers do the walking i do
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nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 8:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I use a classical guitar style rest stroke, which works fine for me and gives a decent tone. I am using this technique because I play classical guitar, so there is no technique adjustment when I switch back and forth.

Because there are so many descriptions of how to play a proper guitar rest stroke, I won't belabor the issue, but here are the highlights: a) I keep the knuckles of my right hand paralell to the strings, b) the motion comes from the large knuckle joint; and c) I am a little more relaxed about alternating when playing bass (than I am on classical guitar) -- so I often will repeat a finger when changing to a lower string or striving for a consistent tone.
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Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 8:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks guys, I'll give it a try.
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