Double Bass Big band (jazz) charts

[Bruce Calin]

Good choice. If it were me (and I think it has been at some point, iirc) I'd uptune and play it on the slab. It's really not a tune appropriate for UB.

Yes in my comment about “What is Hip”, although I know this was a DB thread I assumed we were talking about EB in that case.

I wasn't clear about this tune. I did play it on BG. My comment about carpal tunnel still applies, though. I worry about that much more with BG than DB. It also was an arrangement that made me wonder it a BG capo exists. Put it on the first fret and don't look at the fb.

 

[longfinger]

I wasn't clear about this tune. I did play it on BG. My comment about carpal tunnel still applies, though. I worry about that much more with BG than DB. It also was an arrangement that made me wonder it a BG capo exists. Put it on the first fret and don't look at the fb.

capos for bass guitars do exist.
Can You Use a Capo on a Bass Guitar? | Musician's HQ

But if you have a guitar capo lying around, try it first. Should work too.

Another option, tune up the E string to F for that 1 tune.

I've played that chart too.. I just made do with it in standard tuning, but your point makes a lot of sense.

 

[SAlcott]

I haven't yet seen it but the arrangement is probably a lot easyer on the horn and sax sections in F.

"What is Hip" in F? Really? The bass line is based on being able to use the open E. Maybe the horns should learn to play in all keys. ToP horns don't seem to have any trouble playing in E.

 

[Don Kasper]

The original tune is in E. The arrangement is in F, which makes the bass part more of a challenge.

It makes it Nearly Impossible, not just more of "a challenge".

Maybe the horns should learn to play in all keys.

Yeah...They've got time - They're Still Young Men....(Baaaay-Bee....)
Sorry.

 

[Bruce Calin]

"What is Hip" in F? Really? The bass line is based on being able to use the open E. Maybe the horns should learn to play in all keys. ToP horns don't seem to have any trouble playing in E.

At the time, my snarky self was thinking,"Why don't you #%$*^'s play it in the original key?" My nice self said, "If I must".

 

[SAlcott]

Years ago, when I worked with the singer David Allyn, he did a lot of songs in "odd" keys, like "Skylark" in B. I got over any problems with that issue pretty quickly.

 

[Bruce Calin]

Years ago, when I worked with the singer David Allyn, he did a lot of songs in "odd" keys, like "Skylark" in B. I got over any problems with that issue pretty quickly.

I've played some shows backing artists who have had their charts transposed to account for aging voices and some of the new keys can be "not standard" - Gb, E, Cb(!) I think Cb had to be from some transposition program that nobody looked at afterwards. B would be strange enough. I also recall working with a singer who did "Body and Soul" in G. I believe she also did "Misty" in B. The mind boggles.

 

[Carl Hillman]

Years ago, when I worked with the singer David Allyn, he did a lot of songs in "odd" keys, like "Skylark" in B. I got over any problems with that issue pretty quickly.

Singers, I can understand. (I used to play with a piano player who, if a singer called a tune in a wacky key, he'd move it up or down a half step with out telling them to make it easier on the band.)

But, I had to play a gig once with this other piano player who played everything...and I mean everything in C/Aminor.
Yes. Round Midnight in A minor. Sheesh!

The other killer was a guitar player who used to tune down a half step, so he thought nothing of calling stuff like Cherokee in A at 380bpm.

 

[Steven Ayres]

The mind boggles.

This confuses me. We think nothing of playing thousands of tunes in flat keys so they're easier for the horn players, so why would transposing to make things easier for a singer be out of bounds? We're not keyboard players, there are no black keys on the fingerboard. All we have to do is adjust position.

 

[Bruce Calin]

This confuses me. We think nothing of playing thousands of tunes in flat keys so they're easier for the horn players, so why would transposing to make things easier for a singer be out of bounds? We're not keyboard players, there are no black keys on the fingerboard. All we have to do is adjust position.

True. The only point I was making is that when you play in a key that's particularly far from standard or that you're used to hearing it in as you play it there can be some mental adjustment. It's more for me than just changing where on the bass you're playing. It's also an ear adjustment.

 

[longfinger]

I've played some shows backing artists...Cb(!) I think Cb had to be from some transposition program that nobody looked at afterwards. B would be strange enough.

New key is B major...
Horn players starting to cry, "all those sharps? Ahh c'mon!"
um.. ok, how about Cb?
Horn players, "hmm that's a lotta of flats... ok!"

 

[longfinger]

Oh yes. I did play this chart.

What Is Hip - Little Big Band Series
arranger - Mike Tomaro
key: F

It still works. It's not a transcription of the original, it's an arrangement. Videos of various groups performing it are on YouTube.

 

[SAlcott]

Singers, I can understand. (I used to play with a piano player who, if a singer called a tune in a wacky key, he'd move it up or down a half step with out telling them to make it easier on the band.)

David could tell. He could also sit down at the piano and play the song, demonstrating the voicing he wanted.

 

[Carl Hillman]

So, he's more of a musician than just a "singer"...

I've worked with a few of those...just a few.

 

[SAlcott]

He was indeed.

 

[Andy Mopley]

On the subject of charts...anyone know of a good source of orchestral scores of Beatles / Other popular tunes? I am trying to convince our orchestra that the occasional foray into "pop" may actually be good for the players and the audience...

 

[statsc]

This confuses me. We think nothing of playing thousands of tunes in flat keys so they're easier for the horn players, so why would transposing to make things easier for a singer be out of bounds? We're not keyboard players, there are no black keys on the fingerboard. All we have to do is adjust position.

This does not account for maximizing the use of open strings. There’s a big difference between blues in F and blues in F#. That said, we should be to play these tunes in any key.

 

[Bruce Calin]

This does not account for maximizing the use of open strings. There’s a big difference between blues in F and blues in F#. That said, we should be to play these tunes in any key.

Once I got comfortable with trusting myself to play what I hear, for better or worse, I found myself hearing different ideas in different keys and in different musical situations. This is part of the whole concept of improvised music for me. I try not to worry about editing what I play beyond misplaying what I hear for some technical reason. Even that I try not to dwell on and let things go. It makes it a lot more fun. I worked for several years with a piano player who had perfect pitch and loved to mess with key changes in the middle of tunes, playing bridges far from the standard modulation, etc. He was really kind of a jerk about it and people quit hiring him because of things like that but I came to enjoy it. It was like a game and I really had to listen closely. It was great for ear training and for being ready for anything. Other musicians both hated and respected him. It was not easy for them to work with him and he didn't care, but I learned a lot. This is a fairly large derail, I know, but it does relate somewhat to making something out of written parts that need help.

 

[longfinger]

On the subject of charts...anyone know of a good source of orchestral scores of Beatles / Other popular tunes? I am trying to convince our orchestra that the occasional foray into "pop" may actually be good for the players and the audience...

I had fun listening to this album.

Beatles Go Baroque

I remember playing that CD to my tonal counterpoint professor, and he immediately let out a hearty laugh.

The scores must be available somewhere.

 

[Wasnex]

IMHO, Worst case scenario is a chart with a poorly crafted bass line that is written out with no chord changes .

The vast majority of big band pieces I have played professionally had only the hits and solis written out. Walking bass lines were almost always improvised on the spot from changes. Tunes that were more funk or R&B oriented would often have a bar or so of the original bass line written out as an example, and I was generally expected to improvise the rest in the original style from the changes. Some fusiony pieces where the bass line changes constantly would be written out. Some of these would be improvised from changes as well, but I remember doing a concert series with Eric Marienthal where I had lots of super fast, technical lines to read.

I played in a university big band when I was in high school. This is before I knew how to read changes. From what I remember only about 50% of the walking lines were written out. The way I learned to play the chord charts was by lifting the original bass line from a recording.

In high school almost everything was written out. One day, the instructor brought in some pro level arrangements for us to read. The bass chart had changes, and I was totally lost .