Need a solo bass piece to play for juries at the end of the semester.

Cloverfield · #1 10-05-2008, 08:25 PM

I'm taking applied lessons on bass at my school as my primary instrument (I'm a music major), and I need to have a solo piece
picked out by Friday the 17th of this month.

Here's my dilemma: I want to pick a song that won't be incredibly easy for me (i.e. something I could easily sightread right now and/or learn in one night), but at the same time I don't want to pick a song that will bust my balls like a Victor Wooten tune or something.

I'm definitely open to classical pieces..just so long as they're not incredibly lengthy.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

EliasR · #2 10-05-2008, 08:43 PM

Donna Lee
Anthropology
Teen Town
Ornithology
Portrait of Tracy
Prelude from Cello Suite #1

MirageBass · #3 10-05-2008, 09:51 PM

Look at some Stu Hamm stuff, like the star spangled banner.

Connor · #4 10-05-2008, 10:30 PM

i would discourage teen town or portrait of tracy due to their overplayed-ness in tryouts (just something i heard from a couple people in the same shoes)

Largedon · #5 10-06-2008, 08:49 AM

How about "The Fish" by Chris Squire. Haven't heard many do that one. I agree with Connor and try to avoid the more cliche ones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSt2usXDC2c
Here's a link to a live version of it, not the best audio quality.

Cloverfield · #6 10-06-2008, 05:56 PM

Thanks for all the good suggestions.
To be honest, those Jaco songs are largely out of my skill range.
I might be able to pull off something by Stu Hamm with a lot of practice.

Are there any other suggestions you might have? Perhaps songs that are a bit easier in terms of difficulty?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Largedon

How about "The Fish" by Chris Squire. Haven't heard many do that one. I agree with Connor and try to avoid the more cliche ones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSt2usXDC2c
Here's a link to a live version of it, not the best audio quality.

Is there music for that anywhere on the internet?
(My school's network is slow as hell and I didn't want to wait for the entire video to buffer, so I have no idea how difficult of a piece this is, just in case some of you are wondering why I may be pursuing this piece if it happens to be harder than the previously suggested ones.)

alfredpunkjazz · #7 10-06-2008, 06:40 PM

Bach.

Tons of music from him for you to choose, seriously... It is something beautiful.

Plus, you have complete freedom on the interpretation.

Largedon · #8 10-06-2008, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cloverfield

Thanks for all the good suggestions.
To be honest, those Jaco songs are largely out of my skill range.
I might be able to pull off something by Stu Hamm with a lot of practice.

Are there any other suggestions you might have? Perhaps songs that are a bit easier in terms of difficulty?

Is there music for that anywhere on the internet?
(My school's network is slow as hell and I didn't want to wait for the entire video to buffer, so I have no idea how difficult of a piece this is, just in case some of you are wondering why I may be pursuing this piece if it happens to be harder than the previously suggested ones.)

Not sure if theres a transcription online, never actually looked. The studio version is from the Yes album Fragile if you can find a copy of that. I'll GIS for a transcription and post it if I find it.

Largedon · #9 10-06-2008, 06:52 PM

Here's a link to a site that sells the chart for $4.95.
http://search.musicnotes.com/?hl=y&q=Chris+Squire

Here's another link to a tab of it, yeah I know tab sucks but its free.
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/y/yes/fish_btab.htm

This one may be a little tricky without somekind of sampler as its quite a few parts layered over each other, but maybe with a little change to the arrangement it could be made to work. My brother used to do it back in the 80s and he didn't have a sampler.

MD · #10 10-06-2008, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alfredpunkjazz

Bach.
Tons of music from him for you to choose, seriously... It is something beautiful.
Plus, you have complete freedom on the interpretation.

You'd have to research the material to see if anything catches your ear, but maybe something out of this book. A solo piece or perhaps a duet with yourself.

http://www.amazon.com/J-S-Bach-Elect.../dp/0634031430

MirageBass · #11 10-06-2008, 09:40 PM

If I may suggest, try transcribing a piano piece yourself. Youtube has plenty of videos that play piano songs in slow-mo as instructionals, and you can map each note slowly and practice it until you have an original arrangement.

Otherwise, I'd suggest Stu Hamm. You can learn a lot even if you've never tapped before in a relatively short time and still sound beautiful. Again, I recommend the Star Spangled Banner, or Flow My Tears.