Sharay Reed vs. Scott's Bass Lessons Challenge

[StayLow]

While we're busy "talking" bass and buying gear...

Really no idea which forum to put this in, however to me it seems right to put it here for so many reasons I believe are self-evident. Be astounded and enjoy.

 

[mambo4]

That was good stuff.

I've often wondered about dealing with sus chords, so I was interested when asked about A sus,
he says would probably think of G/A.



Whatever he's "doing" he would "play over G, not really A..I'll throw that D in there"
combining G B D and A D E gives a simple G maj pentatonic which is easy to improvise with.
I'll have to try that.

 

[DWBass]

I know my chords pretty well but I work better hearing the chords/music. Then I know what notes to put to it. Insightful video though. The guy is well versed and comes from the double bass side.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Whatever he's "doing" he would "play over G, not really A

You could(!) think about that A7sus4 - A D E G chord as some "leftover" from Emin7 (G B D/E) where the bass note from E moves to A = G B D/A.

Sharay has mentioned a three chord "bundle" of A7sus4 - F#-7 - F
Is F#-7 = F#7?

 

[Whousedtoplay]

The guy is well versed and comes from the double bass side.

Sharay Reed is a superb bass (very smooth) player with clearly established HIS own tone, style, approach, etc...

 

[Brad Johnson]

That was good stuff.

I've often wondered about dealing with sus chords, so I was interested when asked about A sus,
he says would probably think of G/A.



Whatever he's "doing" he would "play over G, not really A..I'll throw that D in there"
combining G B D and A D E gives a simple G maj pentatonic which is easy to improvise with.
I'll have to try that.

Agreed, good stuff. Ultimately you have to hear the full arrangement to really know what you can get away with IMO. It's a good start though.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

As an amateur pop musician, I tend to "separate" A7sus4 from G/A.
A more advanced jazz player, they can easily "crowd" any extensions, tension, superimposition/s, and it's going to sound excellent to them.
To me, there are slight distinctions between A7sus4

and G/A

Now, let's check the notes for the F#7(-7) chord.
I have highlighted the notes from the previous A7sus4 (or G/A) chord. While E remains the same, I would/could use a half-step movements highlighted in my snapshot for any "melodicism" in my bass line while joining those chords.

Or, let's "preserve" not one E note but two notes - E and G - from the previous A7sus4 chord, and we will have F#7(b).
What if we slide (ascending) to frets 12th and 14th with that chord?

And now, we have that F or Fmaj7.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

This morning I had a few minutes to spare and checked Scott's written Intro bass line for the
D - Am - G - C7 section.
Specifically, just the bass notes in the D - Am part.
It starts at 6:52:84 from the above mentioned video.

P.S. Could anyone explain that appearance of Am with the tonic chord, D major?
Modal interchange?
P.S.2. I really do not like that "slam the brakes" Scott's idea with Amin but it's only my opinion.
It's an unusual "compositional device" but I don't like it at all.

The first time, the bass plays the F# - G "walking" to get to A. From my personal amateur pop bass player's experience, that note choice is so overly trivial that I need to order myself not to use it.
(And it's more appropriate for the D major - A major (A7) choice of chords/tandem.)
Scott slightly "improved" that passage by moving that A note one octave lower. It gives a specific "melodic flavor", but my choice would be just a pickup notes of B - the 6th or E - the 9th (or 2nd) before A.

The second time, Scott has written a longer movement passage from D major to Amin by adding Blue note of F natural like D - E - F natural - F# - G - A and again A on Amin.
In my amateur pop musician's opinion, it's not "cool" to mix/clutter different comping styles so close together, and that A note on Beat4 of D major, and, again, A note with Amin is, more or less, "wasted" note from a walking bass perspective.

It's only my opinion about those two measures from Scott's bass lesson challenge.

 

[mambo4]

As an amateur pop musician, I tend to "separate" A7sus4 from G/A.

To be fair, when Sharay noticed the A7sus4 (not just A sus) and went on to state he'd stay on the A with a root -5 and allow himself hear what was going on.

edit for nerds only:
Other sus chord approches Invalid Link Removed
"Improvise over a sus chord exactly how you would over a minor seventh chord a fourth lower."

 

[Whousedtoplay]

To be fair, when Sharay noticed the A7sus4 (not just A sus) and went on to state he'd stay on the A with a root -5 and allow himself hear what was going on.

edit for nerds only:
Other sus chord approches Invalid Link Removed
"Improvise over a sus chord exactly how you would over a minor seventh chord a fourth lower."

It's only my vision.

A7sus4 must have that A bass note in order to preserve that sonority!

As I've pointed earlier, that A7sus4 is like a remnant of Emin7(from E Dorian) with the bass note, A.
Here is an interesting point.
"a minor seventh chord a fourth lower" would be the Emin7 (in our case), but...
Emin7 - E - G - B - D could belong to E natural minor or E Dorian.
Should we use C natural or C# (E Dorian) while improvising over A7sus4?
A7sus4 omits that 3rd, but I would vouch for C# note in our case.

A7sus4 as A7 in "transition", trying to grow C#.

 

[socialleper]

The problem I run into with SBL videos is he is talking to a very specific audience. As an original rock player, his advice isn't of much use to me. Being able to play something by sight reading like that is great, and this player is good at what he does. However, I will never been in that situation. I wish there was more content out there for writing music as a bass player, rather than following someone else's lead as a hired gun.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Let's take another chord "bundle"
D7sus4 - Bm - Bb - Eb7sus4.
We know that the BASS must play D with D7sus4 and Eb with Eb7sus4.

Now, let's substitute those two sus chord as
Amin7(from A Dorian)/D - Bmin - Bb major - Bbmin7(from Bb Dorian)/Eb

With Amin7/D (or D7sus4) I would play D and, possibly, C, G, A, (F#), if I needed.
N.B. I'm talking about diatonic notes without touching (dissonance) chromaticizm.
At 7:40, Sharay plays D - D(octave up) and G-A with D7sus4.
With Eb7sus4, Sharay plays Eb and (slightly detuned) Ab which becomes A.

During the second D7sus4 (at 7:52), Sharay plays C - D(up) - G(down) - A(up) - Eb(down) - D - D - C - (ascending) D - E natural F# to B notes.

 

[StayLow]

So cool that this thread is resulting in good content and discussion. Thanks, all.

The problem I run into with SBL videos is he is talking to a very specific audience. As an original rock player, his advice isn't of much use to me. Being able to play something by sight reading like that is great, and this player is good at what he does. However, I will never been in that situation. I wish there was more content out there for writing music as a bass player, rather than following someone else's lead as a hired gun.

Check out Paul Wolfe's new "80/20 Method". Courses - 8020 Bass Same guy who runs How To Play Bass

It's a simple, easy-to-follow and very well-structured approach that will definitely improve you technically and musically for rock, and for all styles short of advanced or unusual forms such as jazz, tech metal, etc. though the increased dexterity and ear improvement will help in any style.

I think he currently has a special offer open, with a lot of great bonus materials. Contact him to ask.