Double Bass Evolving bassist: how linear should you go through it?

[Aragorn35016]

Hey guys so I’m now teacher-less, and I’m trying to reformat/refocus myself. I’m going to be continuing my bow/etude studies, but additionally really taking the evolving bassist book more seriously. I’ve watched the EB video a couple of times, even started writing out my own jazz blues like Rufus instructs, but the book is put together in a very linear kind of way. At least that’s the way my overthinking mind is processing it. For those that have went completely through the book, did you play through it one etude at a time not moving on until you accomplished the etude or did you bounce around the book? The reason I ask is that Etude 3 is a ton of Chord/Scale variants and I’m finding it really hard to stay focused and retain that much information, before moving forward to the more musical parts of the book. For those of you that have mastered Etude 3, how did you break it up and memorize all of that info and are you successfully retaining it all?

Thanks for your input

John M.

 

[fu22ba55]

For those that have went completely through the book

Sadly, I don't think I've ever made it "completely through" 90% of the method books I've purchased. The core pitfall of teacherless self-instruction is that it's easy to get distracted and buy more books instead, accumulating a "pile of shame" of uncompleted methods.

My advice? Find a study buddy who's in the same spot (would like to go through the same book) and set up a zoom/skype/facetime call every two weeks to keep each other honest. It's harder to derail your practice when you're accountable to someone, and a study buddy would be FREE for both of you.

I'd offer to go through it with you myself (Lord knows I need to work through that book eventually), but my dance card is pretty full these days.

 

[Sam Sherry]

For those that have went completely through the book, did you play through it one etude at a time not moving on until you accomplished the etude or did you bounce around the book?

Decades ago I went through it the book a couple of times in order but I never claimed to master it.

One way that The Evolving Bassist was a door-opener for me was finding out that repeated viewings yielded new nuggets of musical power. (That proved to be true of many other works of art and craft of course.) And that's a feature, not a bug: Mr. Reid put little, advanced kernels into the middle of "basic" etudes.

But wait, it gets better: If you grab those ideas firmly you can move them around to other applications. Then, as I believe Mr. Reid intended, they becomes deeply advanced kernels embedded in a "basic" etude.

Keep looking. It's really worth it.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Hey guys so I’m now teacher-less, and I’m trying to reformat/refocus myself. I’m going to be continuing my bow/etude studies, but additionally really taking the evolving bassist book more seriously. I’ve watched the EB video a couple of times, even started writing out my own jazz blues like Rufus instructs, but the book is put together in a very linear kind of way. At least that’s the way my overthinking mind is processing it. For those that have went completely through the book, did you play through it one etude at a time not moving on until you accomplished the etude or did you bounce around the book? The reason I ask is that Etude 3 is a ton of Chord/Scale variants and I’m finding it really hard to stay focused and retain that much information, before moving forward to the more musical parts of the book. For those of you that have mastered Etude 3, how did you break it up and memorize all of that info and are you successfully retaining it all?

Thanks for your input

John M.

I memorized all those scales and have practiced all of them around the cycle of fourths (counterclockwise circle of 5ths) every day for the past two and a half year. I have retained the material. I learned them slowly, one scale at a time, reading the notes, until I had them all memorized, and now it's part of my daily warmup.

 

[Ryan in PDX]

I think you and I are in similar places on our journeys. When I started taking lessons (late spring '20, focusing on basic technique and jazz 101), the only book my teacher said was essential was Simandl. He has referenced or lent me the Ray Brown, Rufus Reid, and John Goldsby books at various times, and I now own all three. There's great stuff in all of them, but we're taking a page here, a page there, not working cover to cover. We will talk about a tune, or a specific feel or technique, or an issue I'm having, and he might have me use one of those books as a supplement. If I were on my own, I'd probably put most of my time into transcribing tunes and maybe working the example lines in those books.

My advice? Find a study buddy who's in the same spot (would like to go through the same book) and set up a zoom/skype/facetime call every two weeks to keep each other honest. It's harder to derail your practice when you're accountable to someone, and a study buddy would be FREE for both of you.

I would be open to trying this.

 

[Carl Hillman]

Sadly, I don't think I've ever made it "completely through" 90% of the method books I've purchased. The core pitfall of teacherless self-instruction is that it's easy to get distracted and buy more books instead, accumulating a "pile of shame" of uncompleted methods.

My advice? Find a study buddy who's in the same spot (would like to go through the same book) and set up a zoom/skype/facetime call every two weeks to keep each other honest. It's harder to derail your practice when you're accountable to someone, and a study buddy would be FREE for both of you.

I'd offer to go through it with you myself (Lord knows I need to work through that book eventually), but my dance card is pretty full these days.

Liked for the 'shame pile' on the sadness shelf.

 

[fu22ba55]

Liked for the 'shame pile' on the sadness shelf.

I can't take credit for "pile of shame." @fivestringgecko used the term in another thread recently:

Is anyone else getting as much as me from J. Gwizdala's book?

 

[Aragorn35016]

I think you and I are in similar places on our journeys. When I started taking lessons (late spring '20, focusing on basic technique and jazz 101), the only book my teacher said was essential was Simandl. He has referenced or lent me the Ray Brown, Rufus Reid, and John Goldsby books at various times, and I now own all three. There's great stuff in all of them, but we're taking a page here, a page there, not working cover to cover. We will talk about a tune, or a specific feel or technique, or an issue I'm having, and he might have me use one of those books as a supplement. If I were on my own, I'd probably put most of my time into transcribing tunes and maybe working the example lines in those books.



I would be open to trying this.

Me too, let me figure out how to configure my computer setup, and if you want we can give the study buddy thing a try!

 

[Ryan in PDX]

Me too, let me figure out how to configure my computer setup, and if you want we can give the study buddy thing a try!

Right on! I'm all set up with zoom and Skype. Feel free to PM me.

 

[Aragorn35016]

Right on! I'm all set up with zoom and Skype. Feel free to PM me.

Just tried to PM you, for some reason I’m getting an error that says I’m not allowed to send you a PM???

 

[Aragorn35016]

Looks like me and Ryan are gonna try a study buddy session, I wonder if anyone else on TB does this? Maybe we’re starting a mutual education/edification movement.

 

[fivestringgecko]

I can't take credit for "pile of shame." @fivestringgecko used the term in another thread recently:

Is anyone else getting as much as me from J. Gwizdala's book?

Sadly, I can never seem to get to my Pile Of Shame. I started out strong with practicing when Covid stopped the scene, but kinda ran out of steam/motivation. And now I'm back to practicing stuff for "the next gig."

5sg.

 

[fu22ba55]

Looks like me and Ryan are gonna try a study buddy session, I wonder if anyone else on TB does this? Maybe we’re starting a mutual education/edification movement.

I do have a study buddy here on TB, and it's a great way to keep you honest about your practice without spending a fortune. That's why I suggested it--it's been helpful for me.

 

[fu22ba55]

And now I'm back to practicing stuff for "the next gig."

I cut WAY back on my gigging since I needed to spend more time in the pile and level up my soloing. Gigging teaches you other things in other ways, but I was on a hamster wheel of learning too many tunes per week, and forgetting them too soon after in order to make room for the next batch.

 

[Sam Sherry]

I cut WAY back on my gigging since I needed to spend more time in the pile and level up my soloing. Gigging teaches you other things in other ways, but I was on a hamster wheel of learning too many tunes per week, and forgetting them too soon after in order to make room for the next batch.

With enormous respect for those who do, I don't wait to "master" a tune before playing it.
With that in mind gigging teaches me at least as much about a tune as practicing.
But to each their own.

 

[damonsmith]

I think all the jazz books are more handbooks to consult over time. They are also going to give you much more after you've internalized a few tunes. It sounds like you would be better served by picking a tune and using @Ed Fuqua's really learning a tune thread in addition to Simandl.