Like Ron Carter, bass guitar looked super to him compared all of the classical and Jazz work he did on double bass.
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He didn’t need to study bass guitar.
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
Like Ron Carter, bass guitar looked super to him compared all of the classical and Jazz work he did on double bass.
To be fair he probably couldn't. There weren't a lot of resources back then.
I doubt if he ever looked at a Soundgear unless Ibanez offered him an endorsement. He has had his Alembic since 1973 or 1974.
Steve Swallow didn't study electric bass either. Neither did Monk Montgomery. They most certainly studied bass, though.
Yes, according to interview, the original one got stolen, and some guy called him years later offering to sell it back. He told the guy where to go. Before the Alembic he was playing a Gibson EB, short scale with mud buckers. Probably felt like a toy in his giant hands? When he switched to the Alembic his band mates could finally hear him, said "hey, you actually know how to play?"
That's a fair point for sure. I started in 1984 and the Mel Bay book every beginner had then. Besides that it was a real struggle finding much else.
I'd guess that the majority of us never took formal electric bass courses.
He didn't need to study electric bass because he studied music which is transferable to all instruments, but especially so from double bass.
The late saxophonist / genius Andrew White wasn't working enough and like several horn players I know, he decided to play electric bass to get some gigs.
Legend has it that he got a bass, put the case on the floor in his living room and opened it up, and then just sat there for a while looking at the bass and thinking about it, decoding the fretboard in his mind.
He then apparently then just picked up the bass and started playing it as though he had it all figured out.
He went on to play bass with Stevie Wonder and the Fifth Dimension. While also playing oboe and English Horn in the American Ballet Orchestra.
He was also the original premier transcriber of Coltrane solos. I was fortunate enough to see him on the scene in DC back in the day.
Legend has it that he got a bass, put the case on the floor in his living room and opened it up, and then just sat there for a while looking at the bass and thinking about it, decoding the fretboard in his mind.
He then apparently then just picked up the bass and started playing it as though he had it all figured out.
He went on to play bass with Stevie Wonder and the Fifth Dimension. While also playing oboe and English Horn in the American Ballet Orchestra.
He was also the original premier transcriber of Coltrane solos. I was fortunate enough to see him on the scene in DC back in the day.
It's always intresting hearing what one of my major influences talk about when discussing Bass.
well, Berklee started including electric bass into it's performance program in 1973. I personally took lessons on Upright and electric bass in the early 70's in Chicago.
I studied cello from 9-years old. When I was 15, the bands director at my school handed me a double bass and a Simandl book, and said "figure it out." When I was 16, I auditioned for a band with a borrowed bass guitar, and played it like a double bass on its side. I got the gig and bought a cheap bass guitar from a friend. When I was 17, I auditioned at a professional first-run theatre, for the house bassist (double bass and bass guitar) position. I got the gig. When I was in university I started double bass lessons with the bassist that I had replaced in the theater. She was also a bassist in the professional symphony in the city where I lived. Those lessons helped me improve a lot as did playing in the theater with musicians much better than I.
It also convinced me not to try to make a living from music.
It also convinced me not to try to make a living from music.
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You do know his main is short scale with a pretty narrow fretboard, right?
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Also I fail to see what is wrong with having fun, or being serious about or while having fun...
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I also did not study. Self taught and just applied techniques from guitar and watching bass players. I got somewhere. Not on double bass. Got a teacher over a month getting nowhere. Whtaever I learned from upright bass, as well as the stengthe derived from playing the thing not only made me go somehwere on the upright but more so on the electric. The reading that was required also made more sense of the instructional DCI videos I got for electric: , Jaco, Lincoln Goines and Patitucci vhs/books combo. I was also studying jazz.
Once you know how to produce notes on the EB, you need to learn music. Jazz in particular is very helpful even if you don't play it.
Having said that, many successful cats do not have formal education.
But pioneers and geniuses like Stanley are a different league. You can get inspired by them, but it probably their experiences and methods won't apply .
Once you know how to produce notes on the EB, you need to learn music. Jazz in particular is very helpful even if you don't play it.
Having said that, many successful cats do not have formal education.
But pioneers and geniuses like Stanley are a different league. You can get inspired by them, but it probably their experiences and methods won't apply .
I found it easy to transition to electric bass after years of study on cello, classical guitar and upright bass. To be true there were few opportunities for "electric bass study" when I entered college in 1977 so was forced to continue upright bass, classical guitar and I added percussion to the trick bag. Even back then it was frowned upon to study both jazz and classical as I had intended.
