Gary Willis Masterclass (SBL)

[ErikP.Bass]

I have recently become completely fascinated with Gary Willis (technique, approach, musicality) and have been devouring everything I can from him (books, app, videos, albums etc.) and came across this masterclass. I contacted SBL to see if they’re doing a replay in 2022 but am wondering if anyone here attended and had any feedback. I didn’t realize how influential he’d been for Scott. Please feel free to chime in with any other recommendation/stories/tracks too!

 

[Spin Doctor]

I have recently become completely fascinated with Gary Willis (technique, approach, musicality) and have been devouring everything I can from him (books, app, videos, albums etc.) and came across this masterclass. I contacted SBL to see if they’re doing a replay in 2022 but am wondering if anyone here attended and had any feedback. I didn’t realize how influential he’d been for Scott. Please feel free to chime in with any other recommendation/stories/tracks too!

Yeah, Gary is a great musician. I'm especially into the stuff he did with tribal tech, and my band did the same version of Norwegian Wood that he covers on one of his albums. Can't remember the name of the album right now, but I stole quite a bit from it. But he is actually covering Herbie Hancock's arrangement of that song.

I actually enrolled in that masterclass, but to be honest, I'm not sure his teaching style resonates with me as I didn't get a lot out of it. I probably didn't spend enough time with it, which is obviously my fault, but the bottom line is I don't think it was worth the money. I've worked through his "Fingerboard Harmony" book off and on over the years, and it is one of the few books that kicked my ass. It was probably over my head when I was kinda heavily into it, but I do think it's worth the money and worth working through.

 

[ErikP.Bass]

Thanks @Spin Doctor ! I heard back from SBL and it doesn’t sound like they’ll be doing a replay of the masterclass unfortunately.

I really dug the Progressive Basics video and have been working in Fingerboard Harmony and his Ear Training book as we speak. I purchased them both a ways back but similar to what you noted, I think they were way over my head at the time. I’m following the exercises much more this time in and they are for sure kicking my butt in the best way. The clear direction and restricted approach he takes is certainly getting me more in my head and eliminating my tendency to noodle / play faster than I should (of course without saying anything meaningful musically!).

The man’s technique (left and right) is something to behold. I’ve been attempting to get three fingers going in the right hand….which is a trip….very humbling. Not sure I’ll be able to get it down but it’s fun to explore!

 

[fu22ba55]

I’m following the exercises much more this time in and they are for sure kicking my butt in the best way.

I'm also working through this book right now. In theory, the early exercises seem pretty simple, but in practice--it takes some concentration for sure. That summary on pg. 25 of "what you should know before moving on" is my current mountain to climb.

But I've looked through the rest of the book, and can see where he's going with this concept. I like the idea of playing over changes in a linear fashion, in ONE position (before adding the other positions), which I think is the goal of this book.

It's frustrating that both his course (Gary Willis') and SBL's Fingerboard Accelrator course are both currently "closed for entrants", since I imagine the content is pretty similar.

 

[Les Fret]

I’ve been attempting to get three fingers going in the right hand….which is a trip….very humbling. Not sure I’ll be able to get it down but it’s fun to explore!

I see his right hand technique as a highly personal technique that works great for him. But I find it a bit cumbersome myself to be honest and I haven’t seen many other players use and master that technique. It’s nice to try out but it’s not really a ‘must learn’.

 

[ErikP.Bass]

I see his right hand technique as a highly personal technique that works great for him. But I find it a bit cumbersome myself to be honest and I haven’t seen many other players use and master that technique. It’s nice to try out but it’s not really a ‘must learn’.

I am of a similar mind at the moment. It slows you down so much I imagine most get too frustrated and give up. I’m curious as to how many people have been able to truly adopt it. One thing for certain is he does a PHENOMENAL job of explaining and demonstrating it. Pretty AMAZING to me that he just developed it on his own based on ergonomics and efficiency. The man is a genius for sure, no doubt about that.

 

[Les Fret]

I am of a similar mind at the moment. It slows you down so much I imagine most get too frustrated and give up. I’m curious as to how many people have been able to truly adopt it. One thing for certain is he does a PHENOMENAL job of explaining and demonstrating it. Pretty AMAZING to me that he just developed it on his own based on ergonomics and efficiency. The man is a genius for sure, no doubt about that.

I don’t really see the advantages of that right hand technique. The idea is that it is better for muting. But you get the same muting with floating thumb and two fingers and some left hand muting.

 

[Joshua Pickenpaugh]

Willis is great. He has the ability to take a complicated idea and explain it rather plainly so us mere mortals can understand. Kinda like the Warren Buffet of bass instruction.

 

[Altitude]

Gary Willis is on my personal bass Mt. Rushmore.

I’m not sure he is a super effective teacher though. His playing approach and musical ideas are very complex and they come off that way in his communication. I don’t find myself thinking more clearly about music after I read or listen to his teaching; I rather feel a bit more confused than before I did. Might just be me.

Love love his music though.

 

[ErikP.Bass]

I don’t really see the advantages of that right hand technique. The idea is that it is better for muting. But you get the same muting with floating thumb and two fingers and some left hand muting.

I think it goes beyond just muting myself. There’s a whole economy of motion thing that comes along with it too, not that you can’t accomplish something very similar with two fingers and floating thumb as you note….the ramp comes in to play as well.

 

[GastonD]

I don’t really see the advantages of that right hand technique. The idea is that it is better for muting. But you get the same muting with floating thumb and two fingers and some left hand muting.

I love Willis, but my view on this subject is exactly the same. I had tried hi right hand approach a long ago and it was holding me back (possibly I was just impatient at the time), but I later adopted the floating thumb from Todd Johnson very naturally, but with a twist - plucking with index and ring fingers.

 

[ErikP.Bass]

I may be over complicating this but I’m getting all twisted doing the first passing tone exercise from the Fingerboard Harmony book. It’s seems simple on the surface…..just Cm7 to F7 with chord tones on beats 1-3 and a passing tone on beat 4. Additional restrictions are first five frets only and stay in the same direction with the line only reversing when you reach the last chord tone (highest/lowest note). He says this loops every 4 bars on a four string but I’m getting to some passing tones that are more than a tone apart from the chord tone before and after and if I strictly adhere to this I break the 4 bar loop. There are 7 total starting points. Crazy how much difficulty I’m having with this…I’m going to take another break and review….wish me luck! I must be doing something wrong.

 

[ErikP.Bass]

I love Willis, but my view on this subject is exactly the same. I had tried hi right hand approach a long ago and it was holding me back (possibly I was just impatient at the time), but I later adopted the floating thumb from Todd Johnson very naturally, but with a twist - plucking with index and ring fingers.

I’m having fun exploring the technique but have been playing for a while so I’ll likely experience the same. Old habits are hard to break for sure. It was Todd Johnson where I found floating thumb as well.

 

[GastonD]

... but I’m getting to some passing tones that are more than a tone apart from the chord tone before and after and if I strictly adhere to this I break the 4 bar loop...

Hmmm, the only tone missing from the Bb major scale here is D, so I don't see how can you land on a note more than a step away from the nearest chord tone in either direction. It would mean the diminished 5th interval between those two chord tones, and I can't see it being the case.
In view of the 4-bar loop, that shouldn't really worry you, although I did fall into the loop and was looking for ways to avoid it, lol.

 

[ErikP.Bass]

@GastonD I might not have really explained where I was getting stuck well and I realize in the grand scheme of things it’s not a huge deal, but I was viewing it as a bit of a puzzle to solve. Here’s what I came up with so far and as you can see only lines 1, 3 and 7 meet the criteria from the book and the others break the rules, namely losing the step wise motion with the passing tones on beat 4.

 

[fu22ba55]

I may be over complicating this but I’m getting all twisted doing the first passing tone exercise from the Fingerboard Harmony book. [...] Crazy how much difficulty I’m having with this…I’m going to take another break and review….wish me luck! I must be doing something wrong.

Dude, I am right there with you. I vacillate between "this exercise is easy, I must be doing it wrong" and "this exercise is really, really hard, I must be doing it right."

I'll look at your transcription in a second: I was thinking of doing the exact same thing--writing out my note choices.

No joke, we should be study buddies and have a quick zoom call once a week to compare notes. The descriptions he gives in the book are just lean enough that they can me misinterpreted.

 

[fu22ba55]

I did fall into the loop and was looking for ways to avoid it, lol.

I kept doing this as well. Looping too often.

 

[fu22ba55]

ErikP, If we're talking about the exercise on pg 13. (one passing tone on beat 4), my question is this: do our 4 bar phrases HAVE to loop? Or can they take LONGER to loop? Or loop from a DIFFERENT note than the one you start on? That's been my (incorrect) experience... I'll start on one note, and fall into a loop somewhere else.

 

[ErikP.Bass]

@fu22ba55 My understanding from Willis’ instruction is that this DOES loop every four bars on a four string bass starting from any of the seven available chord tones of Cm7 in the first five frets. I’ll take a look at your suggestions and will continue to work on it. I think I may have solved a couple of the others but the directional aspect is questionable. Man, this is HARD….deceptively simple as you’ve noted.

 

[fu22ba55]

Yeah... his copy on pg. 13 is confusing:

"This example loops on a 4-string bass after four measures"

But does that mean EVERY example should loop?
Then later:

"In order to benefit from this exercise, begin each four-bar loop with each chord tone..."

So ErikP, I think you're doing it the right way... trying to create a 4-bar loop. If I follow the instructions (without looping) I get the following when starting on G: doesn't start looping until bar 10:

I'm all for toiling away at an exercise to improve. I just want to make sure I'm toiling the RIGHT way, otherwise I'm reinforcing mistakes (or not getting what I'm supposed to get out of the exercise).