JAZZ IS FREAKING HARD!!!!

[jwilson67]

Stick with it. Like anything else it will get easier with time.

 

[bassfacer22]

Play Pop Rock / R&B / Country and Gospel and make "hard" money..

 

[JRA]

Jazz is more melodically complex and rhythmically varied, but the same things are important.

true enough, but my jazz experience has informed my bass playing by way of the harmonic structures/implications. a bass player can correctly re-harmonize a chord, passage, or tune with one note!

 

[azureblue]

I asked "why did you choose me over that guy who truly had a jazz education and could solo his ass off?" Their response was simply "you got the groove".

This a hundred times. I got picked because I could swing, and have gotten more work, not because I can solo, but because I know how to swing and can play the different swing grooves. Yes you need to know the theory and yes it's hard to apply and not sound stiff or, as my bass teacher used to say "fishy" - a reference to players who have no feel and just play scales.



Learn how to make those worn out standards feel good. Learn how how to play Autumn Leaves with different feels at slightly different tempos- play it sleepy. Play it fast. Make it bounce. Make it progressive. Play it like a Society gig. Play it like you are in a screaming big band. But most of all: Swing. Either you got it or you don't. And if you don't, get it.

 

[john_g]

Harder than a priest at a playground.

 

[hintz]

You're over thinking it!! Yes, its difficult at first and jazz is a style that's been placed on a pedestal because of music schools...

Treat it like any other style of music, try to memorize jazz blues(with all the 2/5's) and rhythm changes since most is based off this and learn these two forms in all 12 keys!

Also transcribe walking lines, solos, melody and chords...but most importantly *listen* to it!! You'll be fine

 

[tattooSAM]

Jazz is hard from an academic standpoint.

You are supposed to "feel" it. Getting "into the zone" on a jazz set is as good as sex and drugs. Trust me.

I watched an old John Scofield interview. He said playing jazz is like surfing. Being "in the tube" is one of the best feelings ever, just make sure the wave doesn't crush you.

Point being - stay focused - as you let go...

The toughest part is getting on the board without falling!

 

[SLO Surfer]

but most importantly *listen* to it!! You'll be fine

Listen to it! Jazz is all about listening, and reacting. Listen and use your ears to play along with recordings and start transcribing bass parts. Some day you'll be playing Cherokee with some 86 year old pianist who likes a weird chromatic turn-around in the last few bars that Bud Powell did in 1949 with Ray Brown and Max Roach. Whether you've heard that recording or not, if your ears are developed you'll hear the old codger do it the first time around and then you'll nail it for the next 37 choruses! (based on a true story)

Edit: Learning theory at college was the biggest help for my development in playing jazz.

 

[Rayjay]

It is a lot easier if you completely immerse yourself in it. Listen to only jazz - and especially listen to only certain styles of jazz for long periods. For instance learn bop by immersing yourself in bebop for a few months.

I would liken the difference to an experience taking a language class in high school vs moving to a foreign country and being surrounded by that language 24/7.

Strive not to be the jazz version of the kid who took 3 years of Spanish and can only say "hola."

 

[devnulljp]

That's the goal to get on a DB. But I have to walk before I can walk. It's fun and nerve racking at the same time. Jazz is hard.

I started out cold with a local jazz band, and as you say it's hard. Gets easier though. I made the jump to standup after about a month and was gigging it inside a couple of weeks, so it's not that hard really. The biggest thing that got me up to speed was paying serious attention to arpeggios and the important notes in the chords as well as harmonizing scales. Still learning but it's fun now. You're lucky if you are surrounded by experienced musicians - you can learn a lot from them.

Highly recommend Ed Fuqua's book Walking Bassics too (pretty sure he's a member over on the DB side).
Don't wait for the upright thing, it's a blast (and you'll never be short of a gig).

 

[JPaulGeddy]

I hate having to resort to explaining a joke, but here goes...

I was making a reference to the Wizard of Oz. The story about the girl and her dog Toto from Kansas who got swept away in a tornado and had to follow the yellow brick road? Toto and Kansas are both band names. And both had (at one time or another) bass players named Dave with a last name beginning with H. (David Hungate from Toto and Dave Hope from Kansas)

I was not making a serious commentary of Toto's music or the skills of any other bassists they may have had.

That right there is a jazz version of a joke.

 

[shwashwa]

 

[PeaveyPlayer]

I'm in the same boat

I find jazz hard too trying to think of walking bass lines

 

[Flatwoundround]

Be careful. Once you learn jazz you can never play anything else again because it's too easy. Then where will you be?

You know the saying... A classic rock bass player plays 4 notes to 100 people, a jazz bassist plays 100 notes to 4 people.

...Food for thought.

I have been learning bass tapping with seperate rhythms between the left hand and right hand (for example playing bassline and melody at same time to Lo Rider from War) and I can tell you when I play normal bass now it feels much easier.

IN GENERAL I think with Jazz the RHTYTHM is simple quarter notes with the occassional swung 8th note pick up but the harmony is complex, not to mention improvising bass solos. I think it is great you are working on something that is not easy that is how we grow.

 

[aaronious]

My bass teacher turned me on to this app. Great practice tool!

iReal Pro - Music Book & Play Along on the Mac App Store

Mine too!!! It's amazing!!!

 

[stringthrough]

Takes a while to learn how to walk appropriately through chord changes. Takes much longer to solo over them; constructing a melodic statement that honors the changes yet seems to ride independently above them... Been doing the former for decades; still can't crack the latter.

 

[Groove Doctor]

One month in and you're not an expert yet...? Sheesh. You'll look back in 12 months time and laugh at yourself for that comment.

Time management, consistency, good attitude and confidence will get you 90% of the way there.

 

[tbz]

Yeah. It's the real stuff isn't it.

God's own musical private reserve. Not for general consumption. Too strong for the proletariat.

 

[bassbrad]

The study and practice of jazz theory and styles is hard but it is worth it. You will have so much more command over music in other styles. One month is only the beginning, the study of jazz is a lifetime pursuit. Once you have the chops and theory you will want to dig deeper into the various time periods and styles, cuz what swings is not always cool and what's cool is not always swing.
Or a better way to put it is Louie is a whole different thing from Benny, then you have to think about Miles, Charlie, Duke, Thelonious, Chick and Herbie harmonically. Then you have to think about the drummer and period Tony, Buddy, Steve, Philly Joe, Art, Roy, Bill, Billy, Peter all different ways of playing a Beat. New York, Chicago, Louisiana or the rest of the world have different feels on time. Studying bass players can also be a challenge well worth the effort. Then there are the ethnic styles of Latin, Cuban, Afro then the influences of Funk. Modal jazz is a whole different animal. After that you will want to study the styles of different composers and players and soloists, yes soloists. You have to understand different styles of soloing in order to provide adequate support even if you choose not to take solos.

 

[Mike Sorr]

"It may seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first.” - Miyamoto Musashi