teen town weather report

[firebass]

I know that some players play that G using the open string rather than the 5th fret of the D string... especially when playing it uptempo.

I've always had problems pulling off that first 7 note phrase cleanly at tempo when fretting and plucking all the notes.

[onlyclave]

Originally Posted by firebass

I know that some players play that G using the open string rather than the 5th fret of the D string... especially when playing it uptempo.

I've always had problems pulling off that first 7 note phrase cleanly at tempo when fretting and plucking all the notes.

Someone mentioned they saw Victor Wooten play with a different fingering. I wonder what it was?

I typically play the octave C's with my 1st and 4th fingers, Bb with my 2nd, open G string and take that moment to "flip" my hand as I think of it and and play the last low C with my 4th finger as it sets up my 1st and 2nd fingers on the next Eb-E G A G... part of the phrase.

I've tried all sorts of fingerings over the years to find a good balance of clean/musical/connected and that's what worked best for me.

What do you guys do?

[Steelpulz]

Here is one of my youtube favorites demoing (slowly) Marcus' version of Teentown. It is very helpful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlGekg8Mc6c

[Scot]

Originally Posted by Steelpulz

Here is one of my youtube favorites demoing (slowly) Marcus' version of Teentown. It is very helpful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlGekg8Mc6c

That's pretty much the way I finger it as well. That's a good example of how to use both 1,2,3,4 AND 1,2,4 so take note all you strict one-finger-per-fret guys.

OK, now I'm back on the search to find a gig where I can actually play Teen Town...

Oh, yeah...you guys that are proclaiming that Teen Town is one of Jaco's easier lines to play are killing me. Are you sure you're really nailing those: ee-and-ah, ee-and-ah, ee-and-ah's?

[Brad Maestas]

Simply getting it under your fingers and truly mastering it are two very different things. I'm referring to the OP's usage of "learn/master" above. As radmin said, the tempo's the thing. I don't know what's supposedly so easy about it. Some of you are nonchalantly brushing it off as a beginner's piece. "Meh, no prob!"

I beg to differ. I suppose the fingerings pretty much stay "in the box" as opposed to, say, the crazy reach needed to execute the artificial harmonic in "Portrait of Tracy". But it's still a Jaco part and I find it no easier, as a whole, than any of his other parts.

It took me a few weeks with a transcription to get it under my fingers and memorize it. I continued to work on it for several months to perfect it and I never felt truly satisfied and certainly would never say that I had "mastered" it. I reckon that could take a lifetime. I am a perfectionist so my standards are very high. Perhaps those stating that it's not so hard have lower standards?

No one plays the song anymore (most don't even know it exists) so I never play it out. Sadly it seems to have been relegated to the 'ol bag of tricks one uses at the store, during soundcheck, or to impress someone. Hardly is it ever performed with any reverence to the composer. That said, it's a fun piece that everyone should work on at some point.

There's a funny story that bassist Jonathan Maron (of Groove Collective) told me a few years ago. He said that for many, many years he was the only person in the band that DIDN'T know Teen Town! Everyone else in the band could just burn it and they gave him much grief over it. Then finally some time after Y2K he eventually did learn it. However after he learned it, nobody quotes it or fools with it anymore so he never plays it either!
That's not to say it's not worth working on!

[JimK]

Originally Posted by Steelpulz

Here is one of my youtube favorites demoing (slowly) Marcus' version of Teentown. It is very helpful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlGekg8Mc6c

IMO, when playing slap/pop, use the Open "G"...fingerstyle? Use the fretted "G". Just one man's opinion.
Pretty sure there are videos of Jaco playing this...

[DaneB]

Originally Posted by onlyclave

Someone mentioned they saw Victor Wooten play with a different fingering. I wonder what it was?

Well I watched that video of Victor Wootens, some bass lesson or something. I'm trying to look for the bit where he plays it, but I'm having no luck.

[lbanks]

Originally Posted by VintageBT6Lover

Simply getting it under your fingers and truly mastering it are two very different things. I'm referring to the OP's usage of "learn/master" above. As radmin said, the tempo's the thing. I don't know what's supposedly so easy about it. Some of you are nonchalantly brushing it off as a beginner's piece. "Meh, no prob!"

No, it wasn't easy. When I say it took me two weeks, that's when I played for a living and was practicing, with or without band, from 9am until I picked up my wife at work. It was a lot of work. Just like 'Lopsy Lu', 'Spain' and 'Giant Steps' was. Didn't have tabs back then, either. Had to learn by ear, mostly. I had a 'fake book' for Giant Steps, but it was no help. And I had to walk thirty miles to the gigs, carrying my equipment on my back , uphill, both ways! And we played for a nickel, split 6-ways! And by gum, we were glad to have it, too! (spit s in spittoon and rocks in chair.)Sorry, sorry!

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by VintageBT6Lover

There's a funny story that bassist Jonathan Maron (of Groove Collective) told me a few years ago. He said that for many, many years he was the only person in the band that DIDN'T know Teen Town!

I can't tell you how many times in my cocksure youth I was playing a jazz gig where someone called "Donna Lee" and I'd be thinking "Excellent, I've shedded Jaco's version, I can double the melody!"

...and then a microsecond later: "Oh, wait...crap, I have no idea what the changes to that tune are!"

[brianh]

Teen Town is maybe one of Jaco's "easier" tunes, but it's deceptively hard to get it clean and articulate it like he did. Thats the bitch about it. I always found the first bar to be the hardest though. But really I don't look at it like a melody but more of a busy groove line and if you take that approach, making it groove is also a challenge.

There's probably tons of transcriptions out there on the internet for free. Use someone else's transcription for this and then use the time you would have spent transcribing someing nobody else has or at least a little less common..

Also, for whatever it's worth I did a version on Teen Town on upright bass. It's online at www.myspace.com/brianholtzmusic.

[onlyclave]

Originally Posted by brianh

Also, for whatever it's worth I did a version on Teen Town on upright bass. It's online at www.myspace.com/brianholtzmusic.

That's pretty tasty. Nice work.

[jazzymike]

Originally Posted by onlyclave

I typically play the octave C's with my 1st and 4th fingers, Bb with my 2nd, open G string and take that moment to "flip" my hand as I think of it and and play the last low C with my 4th finger as it sets up my 1st and 2nd fingers on the next Eb-E G A G... part of the phrase.

I've tried all sorts of fingerings over the years to find a good balance of clean/musical/connected and that's what worked best for me.

What do you guys do?

I couldn't stretch my 2nd to Bb without compromising tone on the last C.. but I'll give it a try.
Maybe I'm lazy but I use the ridge between the first and second joint of my 1st-Finger to play the Bb.

But to the 2nd figure:
I always wondered - does (present tense ) he play 2 open Gs when playing

D#E - G - A - G

Personally I find it easier to play the figure on the D and A string, but judging by the youtube videos he basically stays in 1st position through the entire first passage.

[XavierG]

Here you go fellas.....

This is how I helped my students learn and it works!!!
Use it if it helps you...

Click THIS to see the fretboard fingering video.