Constructive Criticism Wanted

Makoa Johnson · #1 09-18-2010, 11:25 PM

Hello fellow bassists,

I'm a self taught bassist looking for some outside opinions and constructive criticism on my playing.

Anything you tell me I'll take openly and anything you can say about technique, tone, style or really anything would really help me a lot.

I will post two examples, one with my band LifeClock, and one solo. Please take the time to watch both before jumping to conclusions.

LifeClock:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Fe3osnPgg&fmt=18

Solo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycok4cQu6dE&fmt=18

Thank you so much for your time and any response you can give.

Yours,
MJ

JimmyM · #2 09-19-2010, 01:14 AM

enjoyed your band clip. you do pretty good for a self-taught guy. but...

you never use your little finger, which greatly cuts down on your range, causing you to use awkward fingerings. honestly, if i were you, i'd start taking lessons from a good jazz guy who can straighten out your technique and give you some good musical knowledge to go along with your natural ability. you have an ear, and you have some skills, and you have stage presence and a very good band. but between getting your left hand technique down better and building up your musical skill set, a teacher would be very valuable for someone like you, especially if you're serious about getting into music.

bassteban · #3 09-19-2010, 01:19 AM

listen to Jimmy

**peledog** · #4 09-19-2010, 01:33 AM

Good finger positioning makes for greater endurance as well. (always warm up before a show too)

The less you have to move (your fingers), the longer you can play.

taphappy · #5 09-19-2010, 02:50 AM

Pinky!

Well done on the solo, very expressive. Jimmy's got it straight and simple. A jazz teacher would be gold for you at this point in your playing. Do some research, ask around the old salty local jazz musicians who play for a living, and see who they consider the best. Usually one will stand out.

BananaKing · #6 09-19-2010, 10:31 AM

That pinky was driving me nuts........ every time I looked at the video, I thought of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfrhCvDLlCg (at 2:48)

However, you sound good, so keep it up!

Makoa Johnson · #7 09-19-2010, 01:10 PM

Thanks for your feedback so far guys...really helpful.

As for the obvious pinky issue, when I play I don't notice it, but when ever I see myself play it just sticks out like a sore thumb...or a sore pinky as it is!

And great clip BananaKing, that was quite funny, "Men smear...and get the g*ddam pinky down!" classic!

Thanks again,
MJ

gribuski · #8 09-19-2010, 01:54 PM

I noticed that you had to change positions a lot. You could save yourself a lot of effort by staying in the 10-12 fret range, but play on the E and A strings more, rather than moving you hand down to play at 5-7.

Generally, I agree with what's been said so far.

Nice work!

steveksux · #9 09-19-2010, 06:18 PM

Start trying to go 1 finger per fret. Force pinky usage in short intervals, then go back when it gets tired. You want to build it in and up gradually so you don't get tendonitis.

Also work on pressing lightly on the frets. That' greatly reduces strain on the pinky, it is the weakest.

Work on alternating ring and pinky fingers, dexterity will be lacking there way more than any other combination of fingers.

Again, either rest completely, or go back to comfortable 3 finger playing when you start getting tensed up from using the pinky, don't overdo it at first.

And agree with everything else everyone said, lessons are great, and the video looks professionally done. Very nice job on the solo as well, you've got great instincts, very musical. Just get some time in with a teacher to smooth out the rough spots in technique and you'd be fine...

Randy

Lesfunk · #10 09-19-2010, 06:22 PM

Jimmy M

ozacrot · #11 09-20-2010, 10:12 AM

I'm not very well suited to make any statements of recommendation regarding technique (except the obvious pinky usage thing) - I would only say that Jimmy is definitely a dude with some qualified opinions on the matter.

The solo video was pretty good at illustrating that you definitely have an ear. As for the video - nice work, it looks pretty professional. I would recommend varying your rhythmic phrases somewhat to call out the individual parts of the song. Right now there's a lot of straight-8th chugging, which is definitely useful in some places. However, the rest of the band isn't doing a whole lot of that, and a little more space in the bass part could do wonders for the groove of the song (here I use "groove" somewhat generically - I promise I don't mean "funky.") I would see if there's a way to slip in a reference to somebody else's part - be it matching a guitar line, repeating someone's riff in a different section, or playing a countermelody to the vocal part. It's clear you've got a musical sense to what you're doing - I think the most useful thing for you would be to keep challenging yourself and your expectations for where the bass part can go. Just IMO.

bassbrad · #12 09-20-2010, 12:03 PM

Nice work and everything Jimmy sez.

Makoa Johnson · #13 09-20-2010, 08:17 PM

Thank you so much.

All the input is very encouraging, motivating and helpful.

Thanks so much again,

MJ