• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Check out my Audition Video?

#4
I watched all the vids on your channel. There is not one moment of fingerstyle playing anywhere. At Berklee, you're going to have to play with other people as an accompanist. That's what 99.9% of bass is.

I think you have your priorities totally backward: learning all the fancy Guitar Center/NAMM tricks before actually learning how to play your instrument in a traditional role. You've obviously got talent, but you're focusing it on all the wrong things right now.

That said, I don't really know how they judge the auditions for the high school summer programs. Don't know how picky they will be about maturity on the instrument.
 
#5
I'll add to the above comments that Bach isn't meant to be played metronomically in time. And it ALWAYS sounds terrible when it is. Find some cellists playing that piece, learn from their interpretations of his work.
 
#6
I would love nothing more than to play with a cellist, unfortunately I live in a small town and don't get the opportunity. And though my style of playing isn't traditional, I've always understood that as kind of the point. Wooten was once asked (bass day 96 I believe) by a younger Anthony Wellington what his reaction was to people complaining that he didn't play traditionally, to which he responded (paraphrasing) "Your right, I'm not." Not to say I'm of the victor wooten caliber, I just find his philosophies to be relevant to my point.
 
#9
great,.. you can tap!

not my preference and i'm not really moved by it. it's only fun for me in passing. somewhere between here & there.

try it again with some orthodox thrown in. for me "finger" is the true measure of a bassist, YMMV. gl.
 
#10
Dude your 16 and you are playing some really cool stuff. There is truth to what the above posters are saying but there is no one way to play the bass...as long as you can hold a groove, lay down some tight lines AND do this stuff you ARE on the right track. Keep playin!
 
#11
That is some beautiful playing there. What you are doing is very well done. But, were I auditioning a bass player my first question would be, "how well does he groove the low end?" in other words, the bass. You certainly have a future in music, no doubt, but you're basically showing your guitar skills.

As a suggestion I think you might like the bass in Burning for you by Blue Oyster Cult. Don't really know why, but you somehow brought them to mind for me.

Keep it up. You have the chops, now start grooving.
 
#12
Pacman said:
I'll add to the above comments that Bach isn't meant to be played metronomically in time.
Click to expand...

First I gotta say nice playing and congrats for putting your video out here to get feedback for your application.

It's clear you've worked out a nice version of that Bach piece for tap. I think Pacman is on to something here, and I would suggest you do it without the metronome. One thing that would impress in your audition is showing that you know the piece really well, along with its history.

Bach wrote that piece for keyboard--probably harpsichord or clavichord. It's been played on every instrument imaginable. Given the keyboard-like approach of bass tap, this is a cool arrangement. But have a listen to someone do it on the piano:

Konstantin Lifschitz
Konstantin Lifschitz plays Bach BWV 846 (vaimusic.com) - YouTube

Feel that pulse and those dynamics? Those slow arpeggios really demand to be pushed and pulled. Historically, the piece was probably played closer to what you did, as the early keyboard instruments didn't sustain hardly at all.

As an audition piece, I think this would be a vehicle for you to demonstrate your dynamics and sense of natural time--not just speed. I'd shut off the metronome and create your own pulse. You certainly don't have to play it in any pre-determined way, but show off your natural sense of time.

That's just my opinion.

Oh, and I'd agree about adding a thrid piece that shows some pizzicato playing. Slap and tap are great, but I imagine the panel will be looking for diversity of approaches, too.

Again, congrats for putting yourself out there and good luck.

Oh, and one last thing. I don't do much video or recording, but I might suggest sitting farther from the mic so you can't hear the audible "clicks" directly from your unamplified bass. You could do this by sitting farther back and zooming in from across the room. Just an idea.

--Steve
 
#13
Quinn.H said:
I would love nothing more than to play with a cellist, unfortunately I live in a small town and don't get the opportunity. And though my style of playing isn't traditional, I've always understood that as kind of the point. Wooten was once asked (bass day 96 I believe) by a younger Anthony Wellington what his reaction was to people complaining that he didn't play traditionally, to which he responded (paraphrasing) "Your right, I'm not." Not to say I'm of the victor wooten caliber, I just find his philosophies to be relevant to my point.
Click to expand...

I think you're missing the ENTIRE point of what he's about. Victor is always trying to instill in young players the value of the GROOVE. It is the bedrock, the foundation of the bass. And it's your job as a bassist to provide that foundation in any group you play in. Because Victor is who he is, he has the liberty to do what he does. And everything he does, no matter how flashy, has PERFECT time and feel. And I'm not even that big a fan of his music, but you've got to respect his incredible playing and his approach to music, and just who he his, cause he's one of the nicest guys out there. He's paid his dues, he's learned his instrument backward and forward. You haven't. At least from what I've seen.

Now it's fine to do what you do. But if you expect to be able to do anything at Berklee at all and hang with other players, you need to refocus BIG TIME. None of the flashy chops guys started out that way; they started with fundamentals and ensemble playing. That's true of just about everyone (possibly excluding Jeff Schmidt). If the tapping and chords are all you're about, I would seriously recommend not wasting your money on Berklee at any level. If you're not interested in time, tone, and feel, then you will get nowhere there.

I'm not trying to diminish you or anything, I'm just trying to look out for you a little bit and hit you with a little reality that you may not be getting back home with your teacher and whatnot, or the real world may hit back harder than you expect.

edit: If you want, send me a gmail account where I can send you the audio of a Victor clinic he did at Berklee around 2006. I think you would find it hugely interesting.
 
#14
Snarf said:
I think you're missing the ENTIRE point of what he's about. Victor is always trying to instill in young players the value of the GROOVE. It is the bedrock, the foundation of the bass. And it's your job as a bassist to provide that foundation in any group you play in. Because Victor is who he is, he has the liberty to do what he does. And everything he does, no matter how flashy, has PERFECT time and feel.
Click to expand...

Absolute truth here - people miss what Vic is all about because of the flash. But you, like me, hear that it's his TIME that really sets him on another level.

Steve - that Bach prelude was sublime! OP - you NEED to check that out!
 
#17
Even though others have said this, it bears repeating - learn and focus on the fundamentals of music and the mechanics of playing. Forget about the flash, at least for now. Maybe it's just the quality of the video, but I found your technique a little sloppy.
Listen to Pacman and Snarf. They're telling you the truth.
 
#19
Pacman said:
Steve - that Bach prelude was sublime! OP - you NEED to check that out!
Click to expand...

I thought it was very nice, too. I searched for one where a player demonstrated a very musical and human pulse that allowed the piece to develop a heartbeat, which is what I personally feel OP should do with that bass tap arrangement.

Oh, and you'll really impress the judges if you provide the manuscript catalog number for that piece, which is BWV 846. Bach wrote hundreds of preludes and several in C Maj, so it's helpful to refer to the specific piece by number.

That's an interesting piece of music publishing history. It's the very first (and most simple) piece in a keyboard instruction book called The Well-Tempered Clavier. Bach was quite an entrepreneur and it could be argued that he started the first modern music publishing business; he had colleagues serve as "distributors" in various cities in Europe. Between his music publishing business, his instrument rental business, and his business of performing formal inspections of newly-installed organs, Bach supplemented his small income to become one of the first financially independent composers.

So think of it as an instruction piece. Bach wrote it to teach players something. What are you learning?

--Steve

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#20
The thing for musicians to understand, and so many don't, is that the genius of Bach is BEYOND the notes. Being able to play them correctly is where the work starts, not ends.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back