MICHAEL DIMIN: A CHORDAL APPROACH
Feature Interview for TalkBass.com by Max Valentino
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| Photo by Julie Kerwood |
Bassist extraordinaire Michael Dimin may not be a household name, save for us TB readers who regularly check into to his forum, but he may well be on his way to joining Stanley, Jaco, Marcus, Victor et al as such. Quick to dismiss his talents as nothing special, his amazing playing, sensitivity, compositional skills, and stunning chordal work belie his sincere modesty.
Few players possess his skills and harmonic knowledge, as his solo chordal bass renditions of tunes such as "Autumn Leaves", "The Shadow Of Your Smile" and "Footprints" attest to. Above it all he is a supreme musician, with a singular unique voice on his instrument.
Author, teacher, clinician, performer, composer, recording artist…the man wears many hats. I recently spoke with Michael about his chordal techniques, his concepts of bass playing, his use of the Boomerang Phrase Sampler to accompany his solo performances, and his book, "A Chordal Approach. In the midst of the interview he dropped news of his upcoming solo CD, "Big Droppins", and his new role as a product specialist for Michael Tobias Designs (MTD).
Information about Michael, his new CD, and future performances and clinics can be found at his website:
www.michaeldimin.com.
You are one of the leading proponents of chordal technique for the bass guitar. A teacher, author, and performer. I suppose the first question to ask would be, and I am sure you get this a lot: Why play chords on the bass? Why have you felt compelled to explore and develop these techniques?
It started in 1979 as a challenge to myself, and progressed until I understood just how little I really new about music. Let me explain. I was a student at Berklee and had heard rumors of a Buffalo, NY area bassist who did a chord-melody solo version of "Misty". It was at a time when Jaco was really making waves and the possibilities for bass players were really opening up. I took it upon myself to create my own arrangement of "Misty." Through that process I realized that I really did not understand the subtleties of harmony and relationship between harmony, melody and bass line. Theoretically, I understood it well, and although I could hear it, I had never played it. Thus started the quest to learn more about harmony and its intimate relationship with the melody and bass line. I needed to play the harmony, experience the concept of voice leading as presented by JS Bach hundreds of years ago. I needed to know how the melody related to the harmony as well as how my bass lines did. I started creating chord melody solo arrangements of many jazz standards.
I spent many years developing the technique and creating the arrangements. By this time I had moved to the mountains of Vermont. I had very little interest in playing or sharing what I was doing. It was total self-interest. Then I got the phone call that really changed my perspective. My mother had called to ask if I had heard that the "bass player I like so much" died. I could not believe that Jaco had died. I sat, on a damp, dirt floor in the basement of the North Adams, MA Public Library searching through 3 months of obituaries in the New York Times, until I found Jaco's. What I realized, was that not only had Jaco died but in that 3-month period many great artists, in all fields, who had shared their art with us, had also passed on. At that moment I knew, definitively, that I needed to perform and share my music again.
Who are your influences, both as a bassist and a musician?
I have many influences. Perhaps from a bassist's standpoint it would be Jaco. Jaco seems to get a lot of ridicule lately, too many comparisons to some of the players lighting it up today. But Jaco did something for us all that no one has done to date. He made the bass guitar a household word. He made it possible for us to perform solo or even to stand out front and take a solo. He opened so many doors for us; we can never repay that debt. If you read some of his quotes, he was hurt by the plethora of Jaco clones that were getting the work while he wasn't. I am no psychologist, but I do know that this could not have helped his emotional turmoil. Jaco was not only a great groove bassist and soloist, he was a wonderful composer and arranger. I remember a Joni Mitchell quote; when asked why she hired Jaco to play on a recording that was a tribute to Mingus, a great upright player, she said that if she wanted a bassist, she could hire anyone. She wanted a musician so she hired Jaco. That statement has driven me to be a musician. There are too many bass players, not enough musicians who play bass.
Speaking of Mingus, he along with Bach and Bartok are also huge influences on me, especially as a composer. Scott LaFaro's sense of melody impacted me as well. When I was just starting out, listening to Stanley Clarke motivated me. I love Vic Wooten's work and am amazed and inspired by the work of Michael Manring. I also love the great groove players like Rocco Prestia, James Jamerson and Chuck Rainey.
But the biggest influence had to have been my mother. She made sure that her kids were exposed to as much art as possible. Taking us to performances, museums, concerts, and plays and, of course, New York Mets games. I truly believe that a positive arts experience for kids creates both artist and more importantly audiences as they grow into adulthood.
Your playing style incorporates many complex voicings; extensions, inversions, and implied harmony, which extends beyond single notes or the occasional double-stop. Could you tell us how you developed this approach?
It was out of necessity. When I started this, I knew, from harmony class, that it is the 3rd and 7th or guidetones that define the quality of a chord. I was arranging songs that had the key melody notes as a chord tone. This made the process relatively simple. I could voice 3 note chords: root, 3rd and 7th and create believable harmonies. I used the theories of reharmonization to spice up the harmony a bit. As long as key melody notes where chord tones, the arrangement worked. I then started to arrange songs that I wanted to arrange, that were not done because they fit my neat little formula. Tunes like Jaco's "Three Views of a Secret", which by the way is on my upcoming CD, "Big Droppins" (release date Jan 1, 2002). It was then imperative to outline the harmony, faithfully represent the melody and keep a moving bass line (to make the piece flow). I began experimenting with voicings. I tried not to stick to any rules except; "does this sound good?" The Boomerang has also really helped me to develop some of the "does this sound good" issues. I also know that our ears will fill in much that is missing if we can imply the rest. Using this knowledge has really helped.
As an aside, I have been having a great deal of fun with one thread on my forum that asks whether or not 2 notes can be a chord. Obviously, by the rules of western musical theory the answer is no. But if I listened to the rules, I might be making a living playing Root-5 bass lines (not that it is necessarily bad to do that - it is just not where my heart lies). Play the 2 notes of a tritone (an augmented 4th) and resolve them inward to a major 3rd (for ex: play a B and an F double stop and resolve that to a C and E double stop), and tell me your ear does not hear G7 to C. It is all about psychoacoustics.
There must be many challenges, both physical and intellectual, to playing with a chordal approach. How have you overcome the obvious physical challenges of playing more than single notes or double stops?
To be honest, I don't think it is that difficult. I do not posses the amazing technique of Vic or the large hands of Jaco. I am an everyday player. Intellectually, it is about thinking of the bass as a melodic and harmonic instrument. It is about learning all about functional harmony, voice leading, chord scales and melodic development. It is thinking outside the box. Most importantly, it is about developing the self-confidence and the mind set to be a soloist or to play in unusual and different combinations. It is knowing what the music needs and playing it. Andy Cichon, the great Australian Bassist (Shania Twain and Billy Joel) says the three rules of playing bass are "serve the song, serve the song, serve the song." If you are playing in a bass and trumpet duet, serving the song has a different meaning than playing in a Big Band. The physical challenges have been overcome in a purely technical sense. It is in the way I set up my basses.
Do you have your basses set up in any special way? Do you find chordal bass playing demands any specialized equipment?
My basses are set up with as little neck relief as possible and as low an action as possible. I use light gauge strings (.040 -. 100). I used to think that I needed a boutique bass to get my set up that precise. I do believe that many, if not most production basses would have difficulty with that kind of set-up. If the fretwork is not perfect, buzzes will predominate. I thought that, until I got my new MTD Heir 4 string. I have recently signed on with MTD as a product specialist/clinician. The bass is wonderful. It is made in Korea but Michael Tobias' specs and quality are evident. For example, the relief in the neck, at the 8th fret is less than 8/1000ths of an inch and the action is from 1/16th to 3/32nds of an inch at the 12th fret. This bass is very suited to the chordal work that I do. The only other "need" that I have is for a neck with 24 frets and complete access to the entire fretboard.
Do you have any recommended exercises for developing the obvious, considerable hand strength necessary to perform "chordal bass"?
With my basses set up so low, the strain on my hand is really minimal. In fact, I strive for the least amount of muscle involvement in my playing. This is a good lesson for all. Try to use the skeletal structure for most of the work and use the muscles for fine-tuning. This really takes considerable work on your technique, especially the fretting hand. Perhaps the exercise that I could recommend would be to seriously look into your fretting hand technique. It might also save you from some of the other afflictions we bassists suffer from such as Carpal Tunnel (caveat, I am not a Doctor nor purport to know anything!)
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| Dimin presents a masterclass at The Bass Collective in NY. Photo Courtesy of The Collective, Inc. |
Bass is usually considered, and its historical reference is, a monophonic instrument, and as such has been regulated to a rhythmic function and as a harmonic anchor. Have you felt challenges incorporating your chordal style into ensemble playing?
Earlier, I quoted Andy Cichon. If we attempt to serve the song (and not ourselves), incorporating chords is not difficult. I often play with a blues/funk band. Sometimes we have keys and sometimes we don't. On the gigs with keys I rarely if ever play chords. On those gigs where there are no keys, I might outline a bit of harmony during the guitar solos, just to fill in the harmony.
It is the bass and its historical reference as a monophonic instrument that keeps more players from expanding their role. It is also the expectations of our band mates and audiences that "keep us in our places". There are too few gigs where we can step out, so to say. Therefore it is important to pick our spots well. I recently received an email from the wonderfully talented (and fellow talk bass pro) Steve Lawson. He mentioned with pride and enthusiasm that he had 30 solo gigs last year. I had about the same. Sounds pretty tough to make living as a solo bassist, doesn't it?
Your book, "The Chordal Approach" has been personally a great inspiration, and has garnered several wonderful reviews. Could you tell us a little about how this book all came together?
Well thanks for your kind words. I felt that by writing the book I could share the technique on a wider scope than just by gigging and recording. I could teach people to do it themselves. I think I am a natural teacher and that something inside me needs to get the information out. The initial version of the book was entitled "Standards for Solo Bass" and actually had some of the arrangements in it. It had some serious interest from Hal Leonard but at the final hour they balked. I also realized right from the start that is was a book that would appeal to a small niche. Considering that bass books are, in general, not great sellers, I decided to market it myself. The problem that I faced was trying to get license for the arrangements. Unless you have the muscle of a big publisher behind you or you want to call "Autumn Leaves" Brown Leaves Falling getting license is a very time consuming and expensive proposition. I took out the arrangements and rewrote the entire second half of the book. It took me two years to write the book, in it's final version with all the obstacles that needed to be surmounted. That was easy compared to marketing the book.
One important point of the book is how you explain, in great detail, some practical knowledge of chord theory and reharmonization. Do you feel your study of chord-technique and theory has added to your capabilities as a musician?
Absolutely. A bassist needs to have a good working knowledge of functional harmony. I used that term earlier and for those who are not aware of it, I'll try to give it a bit of explanation here. Functional harmony is the theory of how a particular chord or chord progression function within the tune. It allows us to determine tonal centers, decide on proper chord scales and proper chord extensions. It also gives us a common vocabulary to speak from in a musical or academic setting. If I ask you what scale you would play over an A-7 and you can answer me, your functional harmony needs work. It all depends on how that A-7 functions within the tune. Is it part of a II-V, a I minor, a III minor,…. There is a wonderful drummer that I work with often. He does some great work on my upcoming CD. We had a discussion about the Herbie Hancock tune Chameleon. He claimed that the chord progression (Bb-7 to Eb7) was a I minor to a IV chord. For starters the IV chord is not major in a natural minor key. It is obviously a II-V vamp in Ab. Play over it. Use the Bb blues scale or minor pentatonic that the melody outlines and then move to the key of Ab major. It is beautiful and melodic. It works. This is what functional harmony is about. For a great exercise try to analyze the chords and their functions in a tune like Goodbye Porkpie Hat.
For me there is nothing more frustrating than trying to figure out what another player is talking about. Here's a funny story. Once or twice a year I play with a duo who have played together for 25 years. They have played with no one but each other except for those rare occasions where they need a back up band. They have developed their own terminology. The guitar player kept asking me for a "rolling" bass line. His expectation was that I would understand him. Trying to be as diplomatic as possible I asked him to play me an example of what he wanted. Looking back I should have figured out he wanted a quarter note walking line.
Is "The Chordal Approach" widely available?
Being that I felt that the book had a relatively small niche, it is not in too many stores. Some of the bigger stores will not work with independent publishers. It is too much accounting work for not enough product. Or as the head of one major chain told me, "I carry thousands of books, why the hell should I carry yours?" With that said, it is available worldwide at the click of a button. It is available at my site, www.michaeldimin.com as well as at www.bassbooks.com. I really like www.bassbooks.com; they have been very supportive of me and carry a great selection. If I am looking for a bass book it is always my first stop. "The Chordal Approach" is also available at a number of bass boutiques across the country. There is a list at my web site, but to name a few there is Bass Alone, Bass Northwest, LA Bass Exchange, New York Guitar and Bass Boutique, The Bass Collective pro Shop and more. I have sold the bass on every continent (except Antarctica). I have developed relationships with people from South America to New Zealand, Malaysia and Indonesia. One of the rewards of selling the book myself is that I get to "meet" the people who buy it. I can offer them my help and develop relationships. It has been a wonderful experience.
Can we expect a follow up to "The Chordal Approach" anytime soon?
I am halfway done with volume two. I REALLY want to include the arrangements this time. I have also added some arrangements for multiple basses or looped basses. The hold up will be getting the licenses needed for publication. Once the CD is out, I will begin working on it with a bit more vigor. I also have in mind to write a book for beginners. One that gets the new player playing songs, playing across the strings and developing their own lines right from the beginning. I would have to find a publisher for this one though. I know how to reach bassists who already are into the instrument. Trying to reach new players is a challenge best left up to the pros.
Finally, I have decided to write a book on alternative music education. A few days a week I teach a program to at-risk girls in a residential school/treatment facility. For these students, the standard school music ed program just doesn't cut it. While in production of my CD, I really wanted Paul McCandless to record on some tunes. Through my contacts with him, I became friendly with his wife who runs a similar program on the West Coast. She is also an Electric Bassist. We do the same thing but come to it from a very different angle. We've been able to share many ideas.
