Richard Bona Improvisation

[adri24an]

Hello everybody!

i have recently read a thread about transcription (http://www.talkbass.com/forum/archiv.../t-262242.html) and after reading what janek wrote about richard bona, i remembered a question that nobody has answered me yet... why richard always plays the SAME lick in every solo he plays??? and the most important thing... what does he plays in that lick?

if you have heard him soloing a couple of times i suppose that you know what i am talking about!

thanks!

[Tslicebass]

I am very interested in this as well...he abuses the heck out of the idea...i dont know if i would call it a "lick". It is more of a chromatic sort a run that he does constantly...I have attempted transcribing it a number of times but it is so subtlely different each time. I kind of have a grasp on it but cant really explain it very well yet...maybe somebody can help.

[adri24an]

i think that he didn't even change it! he just plays the lick fast as hell and around the neck depending on the tonality of the song.

it's like if i memorized a lick over the disminished half step-whole step scale for example, and in every chord i just reharmonizate it so i can play my lick:

i mean, if i read this:

D-7 | G7 | Cmaj7 | F7 | Bbmaj7

i will improvise feeling this:

G7b9 | G7b9 | Cmaj7 (F7b9) | F7b9 | ...

don't get me wrong, i admire him very much, but it's really strange that he limits himself that way don't you think?

[Lorenzini]

It's very strange. It's very strange because I've heard him play unique and new ideas before, playing with lots of melodicism. Then, he goes back to that LICK! It really bothers me. I will say that his BASS playing, not his soloing, is very very good and while he has the bridge "burp" like Jaco, it's not just a Jaco impersonation.

And then Richard has his AMAZING voice and beautiful guitar playing - and he can even accompany himself on bass playing chords and sound just as good. I mean, Pat Metheny hired him to do percussion, acoustic guitar & voice. Amazing.

I urge you all to check out a song called "Please Don't Stop" off his Tiki album. John Legend is on it. It's a really simple pop song really, but shows his ability to write and compose and if he wanted to, break off into the "mainstream"! I'd love to see that

[Tslicebass]

hey adrian
I will try to specifically transcribe it sometime asap so we can get to the bottom of it. I am in the middle of transcribing Hadrein Ferauds entire bass part...including solo...on Marie Ael right now so as soon as i finish that i will go back to the bona stuff and check it out

[adri24an]

Lorenzini, i totally agree with you!

Tslicebass, thank you very much! i'll wait impatiently!

[Lorenzini]

Here's proof to what I said earlier. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iimMKWF7SK0

Anyone who can sing alongside Bobby McFerrin and not sound like an inferior voice, but a totally comparable voice, not to mention he is holding the groove down the whole time, is amazing! I am a total Richard Bona fan. If he stopped playing that 1 lick, he would be a totally different player, imo.

[adri24an]

Originally Posted by Lorenzini

Here's proof to what I said earlier. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iimMKWF7SK0

Anyone who can sing alongside Bobby McFerrin and not sound like an inferior voice, but a totally comparable voice, not to mention he is holding the groove down the whole time, is amazing! I am a total Richard Bona fan. If he stopped playing that 1 lick, he would be a totally different player, imo.

absolutely awesome...

[Tslicebass]

OK Adrian... I think I got it
I am sitting here listening to Richard on the Larry Coryell Album "Spaces Revisited" and was transcribing the breaks from the tune "Hong Kong Breeze" If you have this album then you will be able to listen to the breaks that I analyzed and it might help because this could be kinda difficult to explain. He is on that lick in every solo break.
So the breaks are over like a D7#9 chord.
The lick usually starts on the fifth or root. As i suspected before it is not the same "lick" each time but there is one main theme that sticks out and is "outside" sounding. It is actually easier to think of it as a fingering pattern rather than to analyze it because it is chromatic idea that he uses regardless of whether or not the notes fit the chord.
So lets say we are in D and we start at D on the 7th fret of the G string. The go down to the flat 7th, then here is where one of the common licks starts. Fifth, flat Fifth, Fourth. Then the minor third. then the second followed by a tritone above the second which is the sharp fifth, then the root D at the fifth fret on the a string then the fifth above and then the flat ninth. then descend to the fourth then the flat second then the root.
So that is root (octave) flat 7th, 5th, flat 5th, 4th, minor 3rd, 2nd, #5, root (1), fifth, flat 9th, 4th, flat 2nd, root. All in one posistion. Got it.
Alright now... he also will do this
Starting on the 5th this time at A 2nd fret G string. He will descend diatonically 5th, 4th, flat 3rd, 2nd, root, flat 7th, 4th, 6th, flat 3rd, 7th, 2nd, 7th (note here is where the pattern ended above) but then continue downward root, 2nd, flat 7th, fifth (5th fret A string) 4th, root, nat. 3rd, flat 7th, 4th, 7th, root.
That is pretty much the idea. The essence of it is some sort of diatonic or blues type walk down from the root or fifth, then the tritone, perfect fourth or fifth from the next note and then the fifth/tritone part.
This is probably really confusing but it is actually a really simple pattern/idea/concept.
If you want i can put some of these into finale and save them as pdf files and email them to you so you could play along with the recording. I would need your email address though...so pm me if you are interested.

[Pat Farrell]

Thanks for that post brother. I've been investigating those b9 shapes that show up so often in hadrien and bonas playing and your post really helped.

Thanks again. Peace.

PWF

[Mr.Typhus]

Originally Posted by Tslicebass

OK Adrian... I think I got it
I am sitting here listening to Richard on the Larry Coryell Album "Spaces Revisited" and was transcribing the breaks from the tune "Hong Kong Breeze" If you have this album then you will be able to listen to the breaks that I analyzed and it might help because this could be kinda difficult to explain. He is on that lick in every solo break.
So the breaks are over like a D7#9 chord.
The lick usually starts on the fifth or root. As i suspected before it is not the same "lick" each time but there is one main theme that sticks out and is "outside" sounding. It is actually easier to think of it as a fingering pattern rather than to analyze it because it is chromatic idea that he uses regardless of whether or not the notes fit the chord.
So lets say we are in D and we start at D on the 7th fret of the G string. The go down to the flat 7th, then here is where one of the common licks starts. Fifth, flat Fifth, Fourth. Then the minor third. then the second followed by a tritone above the second which is the sharp fifth, then the root D at the fifth fret on the a string then the fifth above and then the flat ninth. then descend to the fourth then the flat second then the root.
So that is root (octave) flat 7th, 5th, flat 5th, 4th, minor 3rd, 2nd, #5, root (1), fifth, flat 9th, 4th, flat 2nd, root. All in one posistion. Got it.
Alright now... he also will do this
Starting on the 5th this time at A 2nd fret G string. He will descend diatonically 5th, 4th, flat 3rd, 2nd, root, flat 7th, 4th, 6th, flat 3rd, 7th, 2nd, 7th (note here is where the pattern ended above) but then continue downward root, 2nd, flat 7th, fifth (5th fret A string) 4th, root, nat. 3rd, flat 7th, 4th, 7th, root.
That is pretty much the idea. The essence of it is some sort of diatonic or blues type walk down from the root or fifth, then the tritone, perfect fourth or fifth from the next note and then the fifth/tritone part.
This is probably really confusing but it is actually a really simple pattern/idea/concept.
If you want i can put some of these into finale and save them as pdf files and email them to you so you could play along with the recording. I would need your email address though...so pm me if you are interested.

Thank you so much! this was great info!
If you have time could you send PDF of those to my e-mail, I would really appreciate it!
Jesse.malaska@metropolia.fi

[adri24an]

Originally Posted by Mr.Typhus

Thank you so much! this was great info!
If you have time could you send PDF of those to my e-mail, I would really appreciate it!
Jesse.malaska@metropolia.fi

here it is:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2771254/Bona...g%20Breeze.pdf

[cnltb]

Originally Posted by adri24an

Hello everybody!

i have recently read a thread about transcription (http://www.talkbass.com/forum/archiv.../t-262242.html) and after reading what janek wrote about richard bona, i remembered a question that nobody has answered me yet... why richard always plays the SAME lick in every solo he plays??? and the most important thing... what does he plays in that lick?

if you have heard him soloing a couple of times i suppose that you know what i am talking about!

thanks!

Maybe it's the Jaco Pastorius influence that gives him that lick based style of soloing as opposed to one based more on melody and improvisation?

[MikeBass]

Originally Posted by adri24an

here it is:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2771254/Bona...g%20Breeze.pdf

Great job!!
Thanks!!!