Recent content by CFIrwin

I used to have an original duo with a guitar player. I used goat hoof shakers around my left ankle, not to keep time, but to add a percussive element to the sound in specific parts of certain tunes. If I was out at at a club the the bassist was fighting with the pianist using a foot tambourine...

We are one to a stand in my section, which I like because or orchestra has us print most of our own music so everything is very small. If we were to have real parts that were larger sized, I’d be more open to it. Violins, violas, and cellos all share…so maybe I’m the problem

That’s a cool sounding track. The pocket’s great and I really like the production. It sounds so much like the early 2000’s Erik Truffaz quartet, with the filtered Rhodes and heavily delayed trumpet. Worth checking out his album Walk of the Giant Turtle if you’re not familiar.

Practically, the only time I ever use them is when I am playing in the orchestra and am having trouble hearing myself or need to be right on pitch for an exposed entrance. Listening and muscle memory will get you farther in the practice room and in almost all playing situations.

I use a bronze metallic Sharpie to make small dots in a couple spots (octave, high B, and high D on the g string) on the front of the board and 5th “fret” on the side of the board. It lasts about 2 months before needing to be reapplied and can be wiped off anytime with some spit on the thumb.

The guy next to me in my orchestra section plays on an SB80 ply. He's a good player and practices a lot, but he is unable to play the dynamics correctly. All of his pizza is mf or louder, and he has to do a lot of work to start long quiet notes. Not sure what the user error : bass limitations...

In my group it boils down to the type of charts and the time people can invest. I run a sextet, and pay my musicians for rehearsals, so we do one rehearsal before the show and read the original charts on the bandstand. Memorizing music takes time and repetition...so if I want the best players...

I'd do it like this...best of both worlds and easiest to read.

A few strange takes in this thread... I think it's fair to say that if you're bringing tunes to a session and expect horns to play them, you should prepare / find Eb and Bb charts. Not all horn players can transpose on the fly.

Mingus Charlie Haden Richard Davis William Parker Paul Kowert

"Muses For Richard Davis" and "Dealin'" are mainstays on my turntable. One trick of his I enjoy using is what I call "parallel unisons", thumbing a note on the g sting and double stopping the same note on the d string with the middle finger and playing lines up and down. Love that guy and his...

When I saw him with Hawtail this spring he was playing Flex Deluxe D/G (solo I'd assume) with Spiro's on the bottom...fwiw.

I have the "Mingus: More Than A Fake Book" that has a 6 page spread on Lovebird, with his chords, some hand written parts, changes in the tune over the years etc. If you don't have it already, DM me.

I had one of these for many years...it played like a boat oar with strings. Like it was made by out of work cabinet makers who had only seen pictures of basses, but never played one. Took me $500 of set up and mods to make it play decently. Went to chance the bottom strap button out and it was...