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Basslines for Practice

#41
BlueMINI said:
Here is one of the videos I've saved that is helping to tighten things up-- hope it helps!
Click to expand...

Anthony does a great job of explaining how to subdivide the beat there. I've been fortunate in that I've not often had trouble with this, probably because my high school band directors did exactly the same thing with us. Hearing "one-e-and-a-two-e..." again brought back some memories. :-) I've found that this also helps with sight-reading odd rhythms.
 
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#42
Based on your practice clip, it looks like your approach is to start in your comfort zone, which in this case is a bit slower than the record, and then gradually speed it up until you can play it at full speed. That's the right approach, and I commend you on your patience - there is a tendency to want the gratification of playing at full speed immediately, but that defeats the whole purpose of developing precise timing.
 
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#44
NeckPickup said:
Based on your practice clip, it looks like your approach is to start in your comfort zone, which in this case is a bit slower than the record, and then gradually speed it up until you can play it at full speed. That's the right approach, and I commend you on your patience - there is a tendency to want the gratification of playing at full speed immediately, but that defeats the whole purpose of developing precise timing.
Click to expand...

I'm trying to get better. I left my ego at the door.
 
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#46
brianrost said:
The Jeff Berlin "no metronome" thing is usually misinterpreted. As I recall, he said that playing with a metronome will not give you good time and I agree 100%.

Playing with a metronome shows if you have bad time, especially at slow tempos which is what Ed Friedland's exercises are all about.
Click to expand...
Thanks for clarifying that.

A metronome is just an external reference that keeps you honest.... especially helpful for slow tempos, syncopation, and complex note divisions (1/8 & 1/16th notes esp).
 
#49
Morrighan said:
I find listening as great a part of learning as practice. Listening to some of the time masters would be an excellent point of departure. Art Tatum and Tito Puente are two of the great time masters and easily accessible. I realize they're new to your musical taste ("playing funk and R&B since 1975"). There's a saying that each time you taste a new food you live another day longer. Can we extend that to musical styles?

One of the players/teachers here, @enricogaletta , recommends Afro-Cuban Bass Grooves by Manny Patiño and Jorge Moreno for "all my students for several bass topics, latin grooves, time keeping and groove skills" in another thread here. It is an amazing book.
Click to expand...

I've used that book before. One thing I suggest to make it more effective is to program a Clave pattern in your drum machine and practice locking the grooves into the Clave as it will help you understand how they are related.

C/S,
Rev J
 
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#50
That is a good suggestion because will help you to practice and develop a skill, playing something that you like.
But try to work on very simple grooves with metronome first, in my opinion the best way, just pick a book of simple bass line, groove exercises, than practice at 60bpm, than jump directly to 80, 100, 120, 140 etc.
Jumping by 20 bpm will help you to familiarize quickly with a different time scenario, plus the "space" between the clicks are the challenge especially on slow tempos.
Careful, don't jump to the next "up twenty" bpm if the first doesn't sounds at least 90% accurate.
Another AMAZING way to improve quickly your time keeping skills is learn rhythm and sight reading.
If you need further help just pm me, I will be happy to give more suggestions.
 
#51
enricogaletta said:
That is a good suggestion because will help you to practice and develop a skill, playing something that you like.
But try to work on very simple grooves with metronome first, in my opinion the best way, just pick a book of simple bass line, groove exercises, than practice at 60bpm, than jump directly to 80, 100, 120, 140 etc.
Jumping by 20 bpm will help you to familiarize quickly with a different time scenario, plus the "space" between the clicks are the challenge especially on slow tempos.
Careful, don't jump to the next "up twenty" bpm if the first doesn't sounds at least 90% accurate.
Another AMAZING way to improve quickly your time keeping skills is learn rhythm and sight reading.
If you need further help just pm me, I will be happy to give more suggestions.
Click to expand...

Thanks, right now my teacher has me learning things from the Patterns for Jazz Book. I play those patterns with a metronome too.
 
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#54
Dr. Cheese said:
This was 100bpm. The original was this one bassline for a bit over two minutes like my clip.
Click to expand...

This clip sounds real good! On the first two clips you posted I noticed you'd always come in on time when the phrase began (even in the middle of the "song"), but get ahead of the metronome in the bars after that.

I had been thinking of how to word this the right way (I'm not a teacher or an expert in any way), but IMHO, one suggestion I have is "listening to the sound". It's really helpful when we as musicians can sort of split out minds: One part (say, one half) is the execution master, it knows the scale notes, that you're playing in 3rd position, that verse 2 or chorus is coming up, etc. The other part of the mind is a listener -- it listens for the sound being produced, and it listens without anticipation any of the sounds that will come up next; just listening to what's coming out of the speaker or the metronome or the rest of the band, and enjoying it. I notice, for example, that great masters like Victor Wooten, Marcus, etc, when they're playing their bass lines they're actually paying attention to the sound it's producing, and they're enjoying that part; I'm sure they've played those bass lines (or similar) hundreds if not thousands of times, but they still enjoy the sound being produced.

But the last clip you posted sounds real good. Proof that working on it always pays off. Thanks for sharing.
 
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#55
s0707 said:
This clip sounds real good! On the first two clips you posted I noticed you'd always come in on time when the phrase began (even in the middle of the "song"), but get ahead of the metronome in the bars after that.

I had been thinking of how to word this the right way (I'm not a teacher or an expert in any way), but IMHO, one suggestion I have is "listening to the sound". It's really helpful when we as musicians can sort of split out minds: One part (say, one half) is the execution master, it knows the scale notes, that you're playing in 3rd position, that verse 2 or chorus is coming up, etc. The other part of the mind is a listener -- it listens for the sound being produced, and it listens without anticipation any of the sounds that will come up next; just listening to what's coming out of the speaker or the metronome or the rest of the band, and enjoying it. I notice, for example, that great masters like Victor Wooten, Marcus, etc, when they're playing their bass lines they're actually paying attention to the sound it's producing, and they're enjoying that part; I'm sure they've played those bass lines (or similar) hundreds if not thousands of times, but they still enjoy the sound being produced.

But the last clip you posted sounds real good. Proof that working on it always pays off. Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the compliment and your advice.
 

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