mingus

[fr0me0]

Hi. In my jazzband we are playing Fables of Faubas. I'm doing alright with the tune (I've just got chords no actual notes) but it sounds way too much like myself playing it and not anything like Mingus.

I've heard the recording once and how he gets that sound is really eluding me.

I'm not really talking tone wise. I'm talking more pitch wise. The chords are there for me but there are a ton of ways to play them. He gets a really dark almost dirty kind of sound. I was wondering if anyone knew what intervals he liked to play or what pitches he liked to drop a half step. etc

Unfortunatly I'm not going to get to hear the recording very much and from what I've heard so far I'm having trouble getting my fingers to emulate it.

Any suggestions would be appreciate it.

[Zachmozach]

transcribe his basslines and play along with it. If you want to know about a player then you have to study and you gotta know what they played to study it. No other way around it that I can see.

[Marcus Johnson]

No offense intended, frOmeO, but.... are you playing double bass? I only ask because I don't see it on your profile, and your main influences are Steve Harris and Geezer Butler (nothing wrong with that). Forgive me if I'm making false assumptions. I have attempted to fake double bass on bass guitar in the past, with various results.

Even given the possibility that you are playing double bass, the likelihood of copping Mr. Mingus' vibe after one listen is pretty unlikely. He was working with gut strings, fingers like kielbasas, forearms like hams, tons of musical genius and pissed-off-at-the world attitude, and most importantly, the name Charles Mingus.

As a starter; you might find that you get a darker sound by doing a big old two-finger pull on the strings, maybe a bit further up than you normally would. Turn down the amp and see how much volume you can pull out of the bass itself.

Bless you for wanting to emulate Charles Mingus' sound. It's one of the greatest sounds ever. IMHO.

[D McCartney]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Bless you for wanting to emulate Charles Mingus' sound. It's one of the greatest sounds ever. IMHO.

+1

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by fr0me0

Hi. In my jazzband we are playing Fables of Faubas. I'm doing alright with the tune (I've just got chords no actual notes) but it sounds way too much like myself playing it and not anything like Mingus.

I've heard the recording once and how he gets that sound is really eluding me.

I'm not really talking tone wise. I'm talking more pitch wise. The chords are there for me but there are a ton of ways to play them. He gets a really dark almost dirty kind of sound. I was wondering if anyone knew what intervals he liked to play or what pitches he liked to drop a half step. etc

Unfortunatly I'm not going to get to hear the recording very much and from what I've heard so far I'm having trouble getting my fingers to emulate it.

Any suggestions would be appreciate it.

I presume you are talking about note choice and that is, as people have said, a worthy quest and one that comes from a lot of transcribing, no doubt - but can I throw something else in the mix...?

So - when I hear Mingus, I hear incredibly strong rhythmic playing, the feel, the confidence etc. - and I remember seeing charts of "Fables of Faubus" at Jazz Summerschool and my feeling was that it was all about the rhythm - so if I remember correctly, there are sections in 11 and the way it changes time feels, is crucial to the piece?

[fr0me0]

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

Even given the possibility that you are playing double bass, the likelihood of copping Mr. Mingus' vibe after one listen is pretty unlikely. He was working with gut strings, fingers like kielbasas, forearms like hams, tons of musical genius and pissed-off-at-the world attitude, and most importantly, the name Charles Mingus.

As a starter; you might find that you get a darker sound by doing a big old two-finger pull on the strings, maybe a bit further up than you normally would. Turn down the amp and see how much volume you can pull out of the bass itself.

Bless you for wanting to emulate Charles Mingus' sound. It's one of the greatest sounds ever. IMHO.

I actually do have an electric upright I'm just a little behind on updating my profile. I realise I'm not going to be able to get an exact sound or anything but I'm looking to make a good faithed effort at doing it justice. I'm not looking to get flown to new york or a record deal or hailed a virtuoso Im just hopeing when people leave they think I did a nice job.

I'm not looking for more tonal suggestions at this point like Bruce mentioned I'm looking for note choice. I only think I'm going to get a chance to hear it maybe once or twice before we play it. I've made an effort to try and find it without any luck so far. I've also tried to download it without any luck.

[fr0me0]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

So - when I hear Mingus, I hear incredibly strong rhythmic playing, the feel, the confidence etc. - and I remember seeing charts of "Fables of Faubus" at Jazz Summerschool and my feeling was that it was all about the rhythm - so if I remember correctly, there are sections in 11 and the way it changes time feels, is crucial to the piece?

yes its heavily based on rhythm. it slows to a crawl alot. has sever double time parts and parts where it says to play and afro-cuban feel.

Whats troubling me (besides trying to keep up in the double part areas haha) Is the fact that his playing seems to sound a little darker than the chords presented to me. I've tried diminishing certain notes and playign different intervals with moderate succsess but was wondering if anyone might have any suggestions to help me out.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Mingius does like chromatic - semi-tone - passing notes in his compositions - if you're new to Jazz this may be something you haven't come across a lot - but is fairly common in Blues-based Jazz....?

[Scott McC]

Its true about Mingus and the chromatic business. Jazz bass playing is chromatic in nature, but Mingus was really, really chromatic. Also, he was pretty wild. Mingus put everything into each quarter note, like a force of nature. Try really feeling the quarters and take some risks. Good luck with the chart!

[fr0me0]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Mingius does like chromatic - semi-tone - passing notes in his compositions - if you're new to Jazz this may be something you haven't come across a lot - but is fairly common in Blues-based Jazz....?

Yeah I have noticed this in certain charts that were written out for me. Thanks for the advice I'll work on throwing in alot of semitones and see how it sounds.