Chord Melodies on Bass

[HaVIC5]

So a big thing I've been getting into recently is chord melody concepts for solo bass guitar, which is something that - in my opinion at least - is something that not a lot of people have explored and something that has a lot of potential. Unfortunately, most people's impressions of what solo chord melody electric bass can do falls along these lines (no offense to the bass player that posted this)....

YouTube - ‪Autumn Leaves chord melody arr. for solo bass‬‏

My thought has always been that electric bass is first and foremost within the guitar family of instruments, and if guitarists can do complex, emotional and interesting things with solo chord guitar, why can't bass guitarists? Why does it always end up sounding like jamey aebersold jazz when people play that way? Sure, maybe we can only work with 3-4 note voicings before things get muddy as opposed to the lush 4-5 note voicings of guitar and the easier time guitar has with open string voicings, but overall, the mechanics of the two instruments are very similar.

So I started working very systematically on what chord voicings worked on bass and what voicings ended up not being practical or what didn't sound good in what register, and now have a pretty good sense of how to perform this way. It gives the right hand a real work out in terms of coordination between the thumb and other fingers, as well as the left hand, because a very certain body awareness is needed to contort to all sorts of weird shapes without hurting or stress the wrist, hand or forearm. It forces us out of (what I consider, anyway) the hackneyed and trite realm of solo tapping electric bass into something that I feel is a lot more nuanced and expressive (not to mention that it sounds better!) Basically, we're afforded the option of actually making music versus just showing off, which is awesome.

This is what I've done with it most recently, a version of Chopin's prelude no. 20.

YouTube - ‪Bass Solo - Variations on Chopin's Prelude Number 20 in C Minor‬‏

One guy that's doing wonderful, inspirational things with the concept is Andres Rotmistrovsky, a fellow Berklee alum. He really has taken it to a completely different level, far beyond what anybody else has done. That extra high C string on a 5 string seems to help and open a lot of doors to the concept. Check out a couple of his videos (below are just a few of his many), and his channel.

YouTube - ‪Nada - Bass & Voice - Eva Cortes & Andres Rot‬‏

YouTube - ‪Penny Lane - Chord Melody on Bass Guitar (by Andres Rotmistrovsky)‬‏

And just so I don't knock Autumn Leaves too much, here's Mike Dimin's version, and my own version of chord melodies to that tune.

YouTube - ‪Autumn Leaves: Solo Bass‬‏

YouTube - ‪Autumn Leaves Bass Chord Melody‬‏

Thoughts? Have any of you guys messed with chord voicings on bass? What do you think of people playing this way? Does it just tickle your bass senses, or can you hear actual music in this way of playing?

[VincentSalizeri]

I like solo bass chording. I'm not especially good at it, but that's what practice is for. Also, you would be interested in this guy: Pachelbel's Canon for Solo Bass, Zander Zon. It's piccolo bass tuning, but probably some of the best solo bass work I've ever heard.

[LM Bass]

I've been taking some lessons with Todd Johnson, and he's really great at this stuff!

[Beginner Bass]

Gary Willis's site has some voicings that I'm working on.

[Klonk]

Abe Laboriel did some nice bossa nova chord work in some of the YouTube videos from NAMM2011 as far as I can recall. Interesting stuff, this. Keep us posted

[mstott25]

When I hear chordal playing on bass, most of the time I think it sounds ayight. I think playing the same thing on a guitar or piano just sounds better, including all of the examples you left above.

The one guy who I think was head and shoulders above everybody else at this sort of thing was the late Dave Carpenter . His work with the Lounge Art Ensemble (w/Peter Erskine, Bob Sheppard) and the Brandon Fields trio on 6 string electric are truly the exception.

[robwren]

+ 1 to Todd Johnson's stuff. He's into this stuff deeper than any bass player I've heard. Here's a link to one of his tunes from about 5 - 6 years ago, and, FWIW, having the pleasure to hear him play regularly, I think he's gone way beyond this in the last several years...

http://youtu.be/RkbhTYSCTTY

He has a book/DVD set available which is a good intro to his chord/melody playing "Fishin' for Grips" on his site.

Todd Johnson Music

[BASSDROID]

I've been experimenting with this too. Here's my arrangement of I Cant Get Started (apologies for the poor video quality) YouTube - ‪I Can't Get Started - Andrew Lloyd playing a Carl Thompson bass‬‏

About a year ago, I aquired a 12 string bass with the intention of developing chord melodies utilizing harmonized tunings. Initial results have been promising, but have not yet been documented.

Jeff Berlin was my inspiration for trying this sort of thing.

[Mike Dimin]

I listen to many chord melody bass solos. I think too many practitioners are too involved with the techniques and not the flow of the music. I have difficulty listening to many of them for this reason. I would encourage all who are attempting this to really work on the lyricism and musicality of the piece.

haVIC5 - I will be giving private lessons in Philly on June 16th and clinics in DC and Virgina on June 17th and 18th, respectively. LMK if you want more info

Mike Dimin

[devine]

Wow, just found this thread!!! I've been listening to a lot of chord melody/solo arrangements over the last few months and it's really opened up a new side to my studying. I've been so inspired by it that i'm planning to record and release an EP made up entirely of solo arrangements of standards for the bass.

This morning I was trying to plan out an arrangement of 'Autumn Leaves' (this thread is like an Autumn leaves love fest lol!). Pretty much all of it's improvised although I did have an idea of the substitute chords I was going to try and throw in. I put a bit down on video but haven't recorded the entire arrangement... wanna keep it for the EP lol!

Anyhoooo, here it is, hope you like it...
YouTube - ‪Autumn Leaves - Solo Bass Improvisation - Scott Devine‬‏

One of my favorite guys for this stuff is Bill Frisell. Here's a clip of him playing 'The Days of Wine and Roses'... It's sooooooo good! this guy is as talented as they come! Check it out here... YouTube - ‪Bill Frisell - The days of wine and roses (2004)‬‏

HaVIC5... just a quick big up for you man, nice to see someone putting great tutorials out there!

Easy,

Scott.

Free Online Bass Lessons - Scott's Bass Lessons
SCOTT DEVINE-BASS PLAYER-COMPOSER-EDUCATOR

[andresrot]

Hey everyone, thanks for mentioning my playing on the forum!

I wanted to share with you all my first video lesson on chord melody. Over the song "Yesterday" by the Beatles How to play "Yesterday" on Solo Bass Guitar - YouTube

And I posted a long blog about it on my website at this link: On playing unaccompanied music for bass! « Andres Rotmistrovsky

Thanks to you all!!

Andres Rotmistrovsky

[Mike Dimin]

Originally Posted by andresrot

Hey everyone, thanks for mentioning my playing on the forum!

I wanted to share with you all my first video lesson on chord melody. Over the song "Yesterday" by the Beatles How to play "Yesterday" on Solo Bass Guitar - YouTube

And I posted a long blog about it on my website at this link: On playing unaccompanied music for bass! « Andres Rotmistrovsky

Thanks to you all!!

Andres Rotmistrovsky

Thanks for sharing. "yesterday" was one of the tunes I arranged from my book, "The Art of Solo Bass". Unfortunately, Mel Bay could not attain the rights to use it. If you would like to hear it, however, you can listen to it here. It is a chord melody arrangement, with a looping for a solo section.

Peace in the New Year
Mike

[Setebos]

Hey Havic,

Nice job. I always wanted to be able to play in this way!!!