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Best musical advice you ever got

#721
15 years old in the mid 80's

Dizzy Gillespie and Slide Hampton

"You're pretty good but you guys need to sit a little closer together so you can feel better what's going on with each other" (directed to me and the drummer and keyboard player at a high school jazz band competition)
 
#722
1) "If you don't feel it, don't play it." - James Jamerson quote

2) Paraphrased: A machine can play root - fifth... can you be replaced by a machine?

3) On melody in bass lines: If you can't hum it and have it stand on it's own as a tune, it isn't melodic.

4) Not advice but something I stumbled upon. When I play, I imagine that I'm humming the notes, NOT playing them... the bass merely replaces my voice box, becomes the thing I hum through. Suddenly all those cool lines that were in my head were a lot easier to play... all I had to do was hum them, through the instrument.

Also humming through the instrument really makes you aware of tiniest nuances of how you voice each note, and it seems to become easier to add those nuanced inflections because I already know how to hum them.
 
#725
Vocal training techniques:

1) Singing with your mouth open wider than normal conversation
2) Singing very softly
3) Don't force your vibrato when singing, learn to soften it for little/no vibrato, or increased vibrato
 
#727
"It's more important to know/hear if a notes works, than why a note works." I'm sure a lot of people on this board will take issue with that but I don't care because in my case it's most definitively true.

This was told to my by my good buddy; a classically trained bassist and music teacher. I went to him with the thought of getting lessons because I didn't know much theory. He told me to not bother. I already had an extremely good feel for the finger-board and knew the notes by ear even if I couldn't name them.
 
#730
My drummer who is also a long time friend since 7th grade (old head of a bassist now) told me to get any original music copyrighted before playing it in public to get a reaction to it.

Our band moved from one city to another and befriended another group there who our former singer was in, and she provided this business/social oppurtunity. Needless to say we performed gigs they could not make it to that were booked. This was easy as both bands played 80% of the same songlist.
:rolleyes:
One night on one of their gigs, I went to the bathroom on a song not requiring bass guitar playing. As I passed the stage there was a small digital recorder sitting on stage near the corner. I asked my keyboardist was it his as he is a gadget person. He said no. We confiscated it and listened to it.:scowl:

....moral...get your good music legal before it goes public. :bassist:
 

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