• 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.

Real Book Fun!!

#165
Yeah, i started digging into the file format for the various instruments. It's pretty cool how they do it. If you think of the snare as one instument that can have a MIDI "velocity" of between 0 and 127, they setup a table that calls for different audio samples depending on the velocity. 0 through 15, say, is a very soft hit on the snare, and they use one sample sound for that. 15 will be a louder version of the same sample as 1, but it's the same sound essential sound. Then 16-40 might be the next sample, and it's a sample of a snare hit slightly harder. On and on, until you get to the final velocities that are the really hard hits. So you can achieve a really wide array of snare tones just by how hard you tell the computer to hit it :) I love understanding how crap like this works, and I want to get in and tinker with it.

I started digging into this because my favorite drum kit only comes with a single crash cymbal, and that always gets old fast to my ears. But the rest of the kit sounds so spectacular, I'm always drawn to it. So I'm trying to modify the file that defines that kit to add another crash or two, maybe a splash or two... I haven't worked it out just yet, but I'm close...
 
#167
I only have a very few of them ready in my head - but Scrapple was the first bop head I learned, back in the late 70s, so it has a tendency to come out at odd times :) And I still can't solo on those bop tunes in any convincing way, no matter how slow the tempo.

I wish I was one of those cats who could get up on the bandstand and blow through any standard in any key, but it ain't me babe.

RocketMusic said:
Ah, must be nice to have a catalog of jazz tunes at the ready in your head! Man, I need to get with some guys and start playing some of this stuff...

Thanks for the tip, oren. I'll look it up and give it a whirl!
Click to expand...
 
#168
Jerry's recent take on "Naima" made me desperately want to play it. Then I started looking at the chart, and I thought "Oh, boy, this is way over my head".

Engineer that I am, I started by making a spreadsheet that breaks down the various chords. I can't see this sort of stuff yet when I look at a chord chart (like which chords are "out", which notes repeat through the changes, etc.), especially when extensions like 9ths and 13ths come into play. I just need more experience doing this...

Anyway, here's what I came up with in case it's of any use to anyone else out there. Does it blow anyone else's mind that there could be a constant droning B AND Bb throughout almost the entire the B section?!? Bb Locrian sounds great over most of that section as a result...
Naima%20Chord%20Study.jpg


After analyzing the chords (emphasis on "anal"), I programmed a nice, smooth shuffle beat that I'm really digging for this tune. Then I broke out King Koa and recorded the chords 2-4 measures at a time. I'd figure out my voicings just a few bars at a time, lay that down, and then move onto the next few measures. Once I had that completed, laying down the bass line was pretty simple. The melody was slightly harder, just 'cause I still struggle to read... but I'm trying to force myself to sight read this stuff (with little success, but it's getting better)...

Anyway, here's what I've come up with so far. There's a big hole in the middle where I need to add a solo... if anyone has some strategies for soloing over all this craziness, I'm all ears. I tried for an hour or so to play something by ear, but it's just too complex for my feeble ears...

"Naima" (Coltrane)

It's my dream to revisit this with my fretless and take it to church a little bit... a few more times through on the fretted one, and I should be able to make that happen. I also need to spice up the drums a bit, they're just the rough parts right now...
 
#169
Where to start? Wonderful rendition, Greg!

Smokin' groove. Over the years I've played this as a ballad, a bossa, and an R&B ballad...and most recently on a gig as a 5/4 funk groove. I love the shuffle feel, and adding some gospel love would be fantastic.

It's really cool to compare & constrast our two takes. I dig the harmonies you chose, particularly the opening two chords of the verse. I struggled with that Ebm7, and ended up voicing a Gb9 instead. For the bridge, those clusters are so beautiful, and I love the movement of the maj7 - b9 vibe.

FWIW, on extensions, I still fall back on the "trick" I learned many years back. Subtract seven from the number. A 13th is merely a 6th, one octave higher (or not), for example.

Beautiful stuff, my man. The bass sounds fantastic, and tbe playing is terrific.
 
#170
Thanks, Jerry! I was really wishing I had a 6-string on those chords, man. It was tough to voice some of those chords with only 2 or 3 notes. You lose the complex tonality of some of them when you don't throw 4 or 5 notes at 'em...

I think I've decided to do my solo the same way I did the chords (2-4 bars at a time). It'll be a little more "composed" than a straight improv all the way through, but I think that's the only way I'll get through it for now...
 
#172
RocketMusic said:
I think I've decided to do my solo the same way I did the chords (2-4 bars at a time). It'll be a little more "composed" than a straight improv all the way through, but I think that's the only way I'll get through it for now...
Click to expand...
If I can offer a suggestion, don't. You're composing at that point, which is entirely valid, but it's not improv. Instead, how 'bout just shedding over your changes until you get the vibe you're after? Then you can record a coupla' passes and see what sticks.
 
#174
Wow! Soloing over these changes on Day 2 was much better than Day 1. I definitely started with a different approach. Breaking the solo section up into three parts did indeed help me eat the elephant one bite at a time. But more importantly, I decided to sing each solo section before I tried to play it. I'd latch onto something that I wanted to go for, and then I'd record however many takes it took to get a good one. That lead to a lot more arpeggiation than you'll usually hear out of me, and I really dig it. I need to work more of that into my playing!

I was also on the lookout for the three sections sounding disjointed from each other. I think the AA and the B sections flow pretty smoothly, but the C section sounds a bit like it was recorded separately. I couldn't impove upon that before my brain gave out. That's for another day.

Anyway, enjoy!

"Naima" (now with a decent solo!)
 
#178
Jerry's blog post about practicing gave me the itch to get back to working on my reading. I certainly don't do it daily, but I do get better every time I do it. I should probably do it daily, eh?!? :rollno::D

So I started thumbing through my Real Book, and I came across a Ron Carter tune called "Little Waltz". Immediately I said "hey, he's a bass player!". Mama didn't raise no fools.

I'd never heard it before, so I did a quick youtube search & out popped two killer versions. Ron plays piccolo bass and is heavily featured on Invalid Link Removed, and Herbie Hancock absolutely eats up the second version along with Ron on upright.

I don't have an upright or access to Herbie Hancock... so I pulled out my new Mike Lull M5V and got to work programming some drums and piano parts! I'm pretty pleased with both, although I could still tweak them for hours adding more dynamics and variety. That stuff is never done, no matter how much time you spend on it.

Anyway, here's what I've come up with so far. I took the lead on bass over the first and third verses, and the middle pass is wide open for anyone that wants to try adding a solo to it. Soloing over these changes is beyond my abilities at the moment, but I'm working on it... any brave takers?!?

I recorded everything direct through Invalid Link Removed. The lead parts were done with the blend centered and the EQ flat. The bass part in the middle verse was palm muted with a slight bass boost and a slight mid boost @ 250Hz. Some of the low B string work in that middle verse will knock your house down, so mind your speakers. :bassist:

Here's the entire mix:
"Little Waltz" (Ron Carter)

And here are the naked bass tracks (no EQ, FX, etc.):
"Little Waltz" (Ron Carter)
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back