Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

[ugly_bassplayer]

The notes at the bottom is the bass movement of the chords spelled out above

Ahhhhhh!!!!!!
(Huge light bulb appears over my head)

Thank you buddy.

 

[monsterthompson]

Champion Leccy Kilters sold out in about 30 minutes. I was eating breakfast, saw the sale email, and then poof! I wasn’t fast enough to snag one, so, next batch for me I guess.

 

[emjazz]

Damn, reminds me a lot of my classical voice leading I did in school.
We did Bach chorals for hours on end. 2 first chords, now voice the next 3 pages and incorporate modulations.

(Without the dang stupid Roman numeral system that made zero sense and is 100 of years outdated....sorry.....I hated it with a passion. Was taught only so the old farts would keep there teaching jobs.)
The chordal movements here are much more “interesting” and varied.

No parallel 5th to 8ve my @$$. Debussy made it work.
Very cool exercises, I like the arrows pointing exactly where the note is voiced next. Very simple and efficient.

One question, what is the MSRP at the bottom?
C-D-D-Eb- Eb....??? And B -Ab - C -B D....????

And the 1) exercise at the bottom.
How do you practice it?

Couldn't agree more. I never liked following the rules, and that stuff made me crazy. You're not supposed to question any of it. Great way to learn standard harmony and for ear training though.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Couldn't agree more. I never liked following the rules, and that stuff made me crazy. You're not supposed to question any of it. Great way to learn standard harmony and for ear training though.

Agreed.
But solfège surpprise exams in tenor clef on alternating lines is literally abuse.
Yes, it happened. Yes, we where beyond peeved.

 

[emjazz]

Agreed.
But solfège surpprise exams in tenor clef on alternating lines is literally abuse.
Yes, it happened. Yes, we where beyond peeved.

Gross

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Gross

Needless to say I failed miserably as did everyone in the class.

Teacher was a failed musician with a power trip. Legendary @$$h0le on the department.
One student (a drummer buddy) actually kicked him the butt in the hall way when he smirked that he failed in his last exam.

Who the #%##*# learns tenor clef on multiple lines anyways?!!??!?!

 

[steubig]

tenor clef is completely useless.

just use alto clef.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

tenor clef is completely useless.

just use alto clef.

What's the TAB clef?

 

[steubig]

perhaps not surprisingly, i tend to look on some of the theory training a little more fondly than you guys.

rules? well, if you want to get that sound, yeah, you gotta use those rules. (same with be-bop, edm, whatever, they all have things that make them sound the way they do; you can call them rules if you want.)

if you look at them as ways to approach voice leading or counterpoint (and some of those guys were masters), learning that stuff is useful.

imo, theory is just a way to reverse engineer other people's/era's systems. some of those are useful.

oth, i've never transcribed jazz solos.

 

[emjazz]

perhaps not surprisingly, i tend to look on some of the theory training a little more fondly than you guys.

rules? well, if you want to get that sound, yeah, you gotta use those rules. (same with be-bop, edm, whatever, they all have things that make them sound the way they do; you can call them rules if you want.)

if you look at them as ways to approach voice leading or counterpoint (and some of those guys were masters), learning that stuff is useful.

imo, theory is just a way to reverse engineer other people's/era's systems. some of those are useful.

oth, i've never transcribed jazz solos.

I love theory. I feel like music theory saved my musical life. I was self taught and just learned on the gig for years. I went back to music school at 33, and theory filled in the very necessary gaps. I love it. What I love about music theory is that it gives you all the tools you need to teach yourself til the day you die. It's so exciting.

Perfectly said, Steuart....if you want to play a certain style than you have to learn the rules of the game. Period.

I've always wanted to create something that doesn't quite exist, so I try to borrow from many different traditions to try to find something of my own...whatever the heck that is.

Actually, I mentioned the Mick Goodrick books because they have reignited my excitement for voice leading. Those books are the bible for voice leading. He has written out every possible voice leading scenario. What you do with it is up to you. THAT'S what I love. Someone giving you the keys to your own imagination.

As far as transcribing solos, I've done very little...but I'm actually feeling like I want to in a deep way. I want to feel other's ideas under my fingertips. I know it'll open up some exciting new things. There are certainly many musicians on many different instruments that I'd like to learn from. It's like getting a private lesson from that person. Can't say I've ever been that excited about transcribing solos as I do now (I think that's from having so much time with this year that I could think about what it is I want to sound like, and how to go about it).

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

perhaps not surprisingly, i tend to look on some of the theory training a little more fondly than you guys.

rules? well, if you want to get that sound, yeah, you gotta use those rules. (same with be-bop, edm, whatever, they all have things that make them sound the way they do; you can call them rules if you want.)

if you look at them as ways to approach voice leading or counterpoint (and some of those guys were masters), learning that stuff is useful.

imo, theory is just a way to reverse engineer other people's/era's systems. some of those are useful.

oth, i've never transcribed jazz solos.

Ok , my turn I guess.

I really liked music theory. Especially counterpoint and jazz harmony.
How chord progressions work, chords, subs, polytonal harmony....etc....
Then was dodecaphonism ,serial music.

Learning the building blocks really helps understandant the sounds one hears. So I learned the rules before I could mangle and destroy them.

I learned that theory early on in my development so around 22,23 years I was more than fed up with it and went totally 180 degrees. Quit school and went my own way.

Went hard into hip hop and such where no one cares about 12 note polytonal chords.
Practiced 2 bar James Brown and hip hop lines for hours on end. I began to appreciate space and groove. Discovering textures in electronic music also.

Then came the complete questioning of standard concepts of what "music " really is.
Rhythm, pitch?!?!?!?
Noise...is noise music. Is unintentional noise music??? Is intentionally done noise music???
Improvise, written???
What is "valid" to one and garbage and invalid to another person?

I still question myself every freakin day on these concepts. Can't stop that brain from spinning.

I guess that's about it.....

Re: transcribed songs.
I did way too many bebop tunes and Omnibook. (I think I knew every freakin jam session Charlie Parker head.....now....forgot all of them except little bits and pieces)
I have zero interest atm to transcribe any solo.

 

[steubig]

Ok , my turn I guess.

I really liked music theory. Especially counterpoint and jazz harmony.
How chord progressions work, chords, subs, polytonal harmony....etc....
Then was dodecaphonism ,serial music.

Learning the building blocks really helps understandant the sounds one hears. So I learned the rules before I could mangle and destroy them.

I learned that theory early on in my development so around 22,23 years I was more than fed up with it and went totally 180 degrees. Quit school and went my own way.

Went hard into hip hop and such where no one cares about 12 note polytonal chords.
Practiced 2 bar James Brown and hip hop lines for hours on end. I began to appreciate space and groove. Discovering textures in electronic music also.

Then came the complete questioning of standard concepts of what "music " really is.
Rhythm, pitch?!?!?!?
Noise...is noise music. Is unintentional noise music??? Is intentionally done noise music???
Improvise, written???
What is "valid" to one and garbage and invalid to another person?

I still question myself every freakin day on these concepts. Can't stop that brain from spinning.

I guess that's about it.....

Re: transcribed songs.
I did way too many bebop tunes and Omnibook. (I think I knew every freakin jam session Charlie Parker head.....now....forgot all of them except little bits and pieces)
I have zero interest atm to transcribe any solo.

i get all of that.

to my mind they all coexist.

 

[emjazz]

The best thing I've learned through all of this is it doesn't matter. Do what you love. Work on what gets you excited. If that changes, change with it. It's all good.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

The best thing I've learned through all of this is it doesn't matter. Do what you love. Work on what gets you excited. If that changes, change with it. It's all good.

Fist bump.
(Pays virtuel drink of choice)
@steubig also.

 

[steubig]

tequila all around!

 

[emjazz]

Did someone say tequila?? Wait, wait...I'm here!!

 

[Spectrum]

"To kill ya"

I like booze, but a bad experience once steers me away from that. Unless we're talking Margueritas, then I'm in.

 

[steubig]

moderation in all things.

my (then college-age, but still underage) son’s quote when telling me not to drink tequila: “tequila changes you.”

should i have felt pride or fear?

 

[lordradish]

i get all of that.

to my mind they all coexist.

What he said.

I seem to have an unusual relationship with theory. Much of the music I like to play, apart from funk and the ambient stuff, would definitely benefit by a mastery of theory. I've always just said I'm a jazzer with rock chops. I don't really feel that way, anymore, as I think I'm closer to jazzer than I've ever been, before (after 36 years of playing, I hope so). Oddly, though, my soloing seems to be best when I just trust my ears and don't really think about the theory, all that much. It's a recent breakthrough, which I attribute to playing the sixer. I've actually impressed myself, soloing, in the last year, as, generally, before that, I think most of my solos were just half-assed pentatonic guitar solos on bass, and that's exactly what they sounded like.

It seems like my relationship to theory comes in dribbles and drabs. I try to get a concept, doesn't click, then years later, in another context, it does. I'm still really trying to understand harmony better. Learning how to play tenths all over the neck and the sus's that come with it has really made a big difference, oddly enough.

As I've become more of a keyboardist, even though the ambient thing is hardly chops intensive, I am still finding a lot of harmonic concepts useful.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

What he said.

I seem to have an unusual relationship with theory. Much of the music I like to play, apart from funk and the ambient stuff, would definitely benefit by a mastery of theory. I've always just said I'm a jazzer with rock chops. I don't really feel that way, anymore, as I think I'm closer to jazzer than I've ever been, before (after 36 years of playing, I hope so). Oddly, though, my soloing seems to be best when I just trust my ears and don't really think about the theory, all that much. It's a recent breakthrough, which I attribute to playing the sixer. I've actually impressed myself, soloing, in the last year, as, generally, before that, I think most of my solos were just half-assed pentatonic guitar solos on bass, and that's exactly what they sounded like.

It seems like my relationship to theory comes in dribbles and drabs. I try to get a concept, doesn't click, then years later, in another context, it does. I'm still really trying to understand harmony better. Learning how to play tenths all over the neck and the sus's that come with it has really made a big difference, oddly enough.

As I've become more of a keyboardist, even though the ambient thing is hardly chops intensive, I am still finding a lot of harmonic concepts useful.

I can remember very vividly the concious decision to quit/ stop soloing (or practice soloing) on a jazz standards, rhythm change etc...ever again. Was close to when I quit music school, big surprise.

Figured everyone is soloing bebop at 300bpm, so I'll go vamp this for 3 hours and listen to the bomb squad basically reinvent music.

Oh yes, I'm that weird, screwed up, whatever you want to call me.
Never looked back.