Understanding the 70's bass style

[Enmesarra]

I'm really in love with the disco/funk/acid jazz style from mainly the 70's and Jamiroquai. I have been developing my playing style towards that way since day 1, the bass-lines and atmosphere of those years. But I don't feel as confident as I would like to be, or as close, too. I want to feel %100 comfortable while grooving (I CAN groove, but it doesn't feel exactly like the 70's style most of the time).

Watch this video if you still haven't, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFcpBB4Yy_M

At 2:50, that's the feel I want to go for. So, what would you guys recommend for me; I'm open to all suggestions, such as recommending bands/songs, or practice books, any other methods.. Everything is welcome.

[m0nst3r]

All I can tell you is to listen to as much of that stuff as you can, particularly anything that Larry Graham and Louis Johnson play on. When it comes to 70's funk, those guys are money.

[faulknersj]

I had the exact same fascination with bass lines from the 70's! Here is what I did. I joined a 70's funk cover band which forced me to learn a ton of songs from that era. I am at a point now where I can comfortably compose my own 70's style lines. Learn songs by Jamiroqui, Earth Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Chic, The Bee Gee's, Heatwave,Kool and the Gang, 70's Michael Jackson, etc. Learn some James Jamerson lines too. Try to learn them note for note. Realize that a ton of these lines contain chromatic sections! For me, after learning to play so many tunes from this era, the scales, and feel the players used to make these lines all started feeling extremely familiar. Funny thing is, I now actaully make my living playing in this band! U got to learn how to play it to learn how to play it!

[Bigjohn]

That drummer is SICK!

Originally Posted by Enmesarra

I'm really in love with the disco/funk/acid jazz style from mainly the 70's and Jamiroquai. I have been developing my playing style towards that way since day 1, the bass-lines and atmosphere of those years. But I don't feel as confident as I would like to be, or as close, too. I want to feel %100 comfortable while grooving (I CAN groove, but it doesn't feel exactly like the 70's style most of the time).

Watch this video if you still haven't, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFcpBB4Yy_M

At 2:50, that's the feel I want to go for. So, what would you guys recommend for me; I'm open to all suggestions, such as recommending bands/songs, or practice books, any other methods.. Everything is welcome.

[bassbrad]

Listen to everything you can and play along with the recordings. Most of the players you will hear from that era had some schooling or training (often coming from other instruments) as well as a lot of experience in many styles and many gigs under their belts.

[heavyfunkmachin]

you can allways watch lots of cheesy porn!!!

[dvh]

Check out "Headhunters" (1973) and "Thrust" (1974) by Herbie Hancock - some awesome funk with Paul Jackson on bass.

[IvanMike]

yeah, learn what they are playing, use slowdown software if you have to, or have your teacher write some stuff out for you as well. Then analyze what they are playing and why, what chord tones, what passing tones, signature licks, etc.

Wearing funky clothes while you do this also helps.

ps stewart zender was great on the early jamiroquai stuff, played it at a party and folk swore it was from the 70s!

[Enmesarra]

Originally Posted by IvanMike

ps stewart zender was great on the early jamiroquai stuff, played it at a party and folk swore it was from the 70s!

Yeah, and I guess that Stuart's success in doing this was one of the main reasons why Jamiroquai got soo serious! His style led people to let the urge to dance out just like the 70s, and I don't mean dancing to meaningless modern disco musics, I mean the old style.

Thanks for the advice guys, that's what I have been doing for some time, listening and studying to their basslines (especially Jamiroquai, James Taylor Quartet, Incognito, Herbie Hancock, Kool And The Gang, etc..), but I get kinda lost sometimes. They just seem to doodle around the blues & dorian scales and use lots of 8th intervals with frequent muting, combined with some blue notes to make it "walk". It seems so simple yet it's hard to completely understand.

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by IvanMike

... use slowdown software if you have to, or have your teacher write some stuff out for you as well. Then analyze what they are playing and why, what chord tones, what passing tones, signature licks, etc.

+1

Also, you might want to check out some of the following links:
~Funk, Slap, Groove, R&B
Links to over 20 funk,groove and R&B bassists

TB's Funk 101 list of funk tunes
Funk 102
TB's Old School Funk tunes suggestions
R&B set list tunes
50 songs to learn R&B on

Muted Grooves by Joaquin des Pres
Classic Funk and R&B by Joaquin des Pres

1 Bass Grooves by TB member Jon Liebman
2 Funk Bass
3 Funk/Fusion Bass
4 R&B/Funk book
5 "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" James Jamerson book/CD
6 Funk Bass Bible

New funk groups
Modern Funk bassists
Funk Masters w/James Brown Rhythm Section Book
Who played bass with Aretha Franklin?

The late, great, James Jamerson
Jamerson w/Marvin on Youtube

TB slap bass references/links
Over 60 slap/funk lessons by MarlowDK
Video lessons w/Dmanlamius

Playing behind/ahead of the beat
Getting a "synth" bass tone/sound
1 Get that dead flatwound string sound
2


Books/Videos from
F. R. Prestia/Tower of Power
Anthony Vitti
Alex Sklarevski
Bill Dickens
Tony Oppenheim
Larry Graham

[JTE]

Dat ain't no funk- He NEVER slaps an' he never pops a single string...

Great stuff, thanks for the link. The way to learn it is to sit down and study it. First learn a bunch of the lines, but also sit down and closely examine the interplay between what Paul's playing there and what Mike's playing. Note what one does when the other changes something, note where they DON'T play, and note how the each part of the drum kit interacts with the bass line.

So dig into only the high-hat and the bass. Then the snare and the bass. Then the kick and the bass, etc.

John

[otis_thick]

The style is bassed on being part of the drum and percussion section as much as playing the notes.

EX. Pluck, thump, finger or pick while muting the notes at first, a percussive along with the drummer (like what a conga bongo player would play) remember syncopation... counterpoint...disect the count...EVENLY...after you start getting a good pattern going....start letting the notes ring out...start regulating the length of the notes...some short long and ghosts etc.

[Spin Doctor]

I'm into that era too. I'm starting out by learning all the bass lines on the CD "James Brown - 20 all time greatest hits", one at a time. If you can get that first, the rest can and will follow. But I think you should start at the beginning and for me this is it. By starting with one simple goal, it will keep you from getting overwhelmed.

[faulknersj]

That is a cool approach man...starting with the master himself...James Brown. Those lines are a great lesson in the feel of funk...the space...the cincopation...etc..
Nice post man!

[otis_thick]

Originally Posted by heavyfunkmachin

you can allways watch lots of cheesy porn!!!

Cheesy 70's porn used a lot of wha wha guitar...believe me....I know!

[Funkturnal]

Originally Posted by Enmesarra

Watch this video if you still haven't, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFcpBB4Yy_M

At 2:50, that's the feel I want to go for. So, what would you guys recommend for me; I'm open to all suggestions, such as recommending bands/songs, or practice books, any other methods.. Everything is welcome.

That's a sick jam! The 2:50 part..."Harmony-wise" it looks and sounds like he's playing in E7. There are a lot of "tricks" to get that funky sound like leading into the root (in this case, E) from a flat 7 (which is D). So the groove starts out with D,E and then D,E an octave higher. Other things I can hear him doing are leading into the major 3rd (in this case G#) from a note below (G). Or going from b7 to the 5th below, and back to the root (D,B,E). Or chromatic runs from the maj3 to 5th (G#,A,A#,B).

I jam out in this kind of style a lot myself, and even though I was talking "theory" earlier, I never think in those terms. (It's probably the wrong way to discuss this, but I don't know how else to break it down in words.) I've gotten to the point where I know what the strong notes are, and how to use the "weaker" notes as passing tones.

Once you are comfortable with a basic pallette of patterns, the key is to make it rhythmically interesting. And getting comfortable throwing in octaves at key rhythmical points will add a lot to that vibe.

I'd recommend transcribing a lot of funky tunes (as opposed to the "improv" in this video) as that will give you more structure. The Stuart Zender stuff is good to learn. There's also some good Jaco stuff to play like the Chicken, or "Come on Come Over" (I'm sure you can find transcriptions of these). Jaco used a lot of this "vocabulary" on these kinds of jams.

Have fun and good luck!

[dougjwray]

More on the Paul Jackson/Mike Clark clip:
Pay attention to Jackson's note lengths-- they're short, and it makes his playing percussive. And, it sounds like he's digging in with a heavy attack... and with low action, to boot. This creates an element of "dirt" -- fret noise, etc. -- which adds to the funkiness of the style.

[ryco]

Complete Funk Bass Book by Mike Hiland (Mel Bay)

http://www.melbay.com/product.asp?ProductID=94882BCD

for both finger style and a little slap. Cheap!

[faulknersj]

That is a great point regarding his tone (sounds like a passive bridge pickup on a jazz style bass) and the percussive nature of his style. That growly burpy tone is the funk.

[dvh]

...with the alternative being a P with flats...