She-Ra's Shed

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Monday, July 27

• Fretboard
  • -
• Technique & Dexterity
  • Bassology Dexterity - 15
    • Set 2 / 1 string @ 80bpm/16ths
  • Major Modes (Bassology Six Variations) - 10
    • All modes @ 60bpm/16ths
  • Arpeggios - 10
    • All major modes @ 60bpm/16ths
  • Broken Intervals - 10
    • 3rds (All modes - AA, AD, AAD, ADA, DD, DA, DDA, DAD) @ 60bpm/16ths
  • Pentatonics - 10
    • Ladder @ 60bpm/16ths
  • Step Sets - 30
    • 4.V0 (All modes - AA, AD, AAD, ADA, DD, DA, DDA, DAD) @ 60bpm/16ths
• Theory
  • -
• Genre Studies
  • -
• Transcription
  • -

Notes & Comments:

• So now that I've gotten the go-ahead from my doc to start using my hand again rather than keep it braced, I'm going to start practicing disciplined again. I'll have to start slowly again, but that's ok, and I'm going to take this week to just work on getting back into the mindset of practice, and getting my hand back into shape. However, I'm also I'm feeling mentally reinvigorated as well because...
• I've been realizing that I've been feeling quite burnt out on bass for the past month or so. I think this stems from having been going for so long doing nearly purely technical exercises and not playing music. I've made this remark before but didn't put an actual plan into practice to address this and so I just fell back into the same old pattern again. (I also spoke with Anthony about this and he mentioned that he's not going to be spending time teaching me "licks", but, rather, how to get technically better to play what's in my head. I'm somewhat conflicted about this as I do want to spend time "learning how to play bass" with him, not licks but actual theory and real world practical application, and not just technical exercises. But I also see where he's coming from. I'm going to mull this over and figure out how to get that guidance so I'm not spending time reinventing the wheel.) But, back to feeling burnt out: this time, the plan of attack is going to be to split my daily exercise (on regular days) into the following broad time chunks:
  • 45-60 mins for overall technical & dexterity practice
  • 45-60 mins for focused, specific work (this may be technical or something else)
  • 30 minutes for fretboard-knowledge oriented work (this may be actual fretboard practice or walking or some combination thereof)
  • 30 or more minutes for transcription (or a song a day, but essentially getting me listening closely to the music)
  • The rest of the day's playing should be just free transcription or improvisation time that's not logged or counted because it'll be for fun and mentally relaxing

401/10k

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Tuesday, July 28

• Fretboard
  • SBL: FA - 30
    • Major triads S:1/2/3 I:1
• Technique & Dexterity
  • Bassology Dexterity - 15
    • Set 1 / 1 string @ 80bpm/16ths
  • Major Modes (Bassology Six Variations) - 10
    • All modes @ 60bpm/16ths
  • Arpeggios - 10
    • All major modes @ 60bpm/16ths
  • Broken Intervals - 10
    • 3rds (All modes - AA, AD, AAD, ADA, DD, DA, DDA, DAD) @ 60bpm/16ths
  • Pentatonics - 10
    • Ladder @ 60bpm/16ths
  • Step Sets - 30
    • 5.V0 (All modes - AA, AD, AAD, ADA) @ 60bpm/16ths
• Theory
  • -
• Genre Studies
  • -
• Transcription
  • -

Notes & Comments:

• Yesterday's practice tired my hand out a bit so I had to take it slower today. Doctor said to expect this for the first few days, but keep going as long as it's just sore and not painful.
• My new computer finally came and I set everything up today. I'm excited to actually use BIAB again as well.

403/10k

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Thursday, July 30

• Fretboard
  • SBL: FA - 30
    • Major triads S:1/2/3 I:1 w/ BIAB @ 70bpm
• Technique & Dexterity
  • Dexterity / Warmup - 25
    • Permutations
      • Set 4 / 1 string @ 80bpm/16ths
    • Modal Variations
      • Major - all modes @ 80bpm/16ths
  • Arpeggios - 10
    • Major - all modes @ 80bpm/16ths
  • Broken Intervals - 10
    • 3rds - all major modes - AA, AD, AAD, ADA, DD, DA, DDA, DAD @ 70bpm/16ths
  • Pentatonics - 10
    • Ladder @ 60bpm/16ths
  • Step Sets - 30
    • 5.V0 (All modes - DD, DA, DDA, DAD) @ 60bpm/16ths
• Theory
  • Revisited & drilled relative minors - 5
  • Revisited & drilled note cycle - 5
  • C major scale dictionary memorization - 5
• Genre Studies
  • -
• Transcription
  • House of Cards by The Souljazz Orchestra - 30

Notes & Comments:

• On Wednesday I played around a little but nothing serious so I didn't log it. Just gave my hand a bit of a rest before diving back in. It's a muscle so recovery days are important.
• I'm coming up on nearly one year of playing bass soon so I'm starting to slowly look through what I've done and making notes to reflect on what I've done right, what I've done wrong, what to improve, etc. I'll write that up at the one year mark.

405.5/10k

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Friday, July 31

• Fretboard
  • -
• Technique & Dexterity
  • Dexterity / Warmup - 25
    • Permutations
      • Set 3 / 1 string @ 80bpm/16ths
    • Modal Variations
      • Major - all modes @ 80bpm/16ths
  • Arpeggios - 10
    • Major - all modes @ 80bpm/16ths
  • Broken Intervals - 10
    • 3rds - all major modes - AA, AD, AAD, ADA, DD, DA, DDA, DAD @ 70bpm/16ths
  • Pentatonics - 10
    • Ladder @ 60bpm/16ths
• Theory
  • Revisited & drilled relative minors - 5
  • Revisited & drilled note cycle - 5
• Genre Studies
  • -
• Transcription
  • -

Notes & Comments:

• Rough day at work and I was mentally drained, so I really wasn't in the mood for anything this evening. I did play about 30 mins along to songs I know. But other than that, I just went for like a two hour walk.

406.5/10k

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Saturday, August 1

• Fretboard
  • -
• Technique & Dexterity
  • Dexterity / Warmup - 25
    • Permutations
      • Set 2 / 1 string @ 80bpm/16ths
    • Modal Variations
      • Major - all modes @ 80bpm/16ths
  • Arpeggios - 10
    • Major - all modes @ 80bpm/16ths
  • Broken Intervals - 10
    • 3rds - all major modes - AA, AD, AAD, ADA, DD, DA, DDA, DAD @ 70bpm/16ths
  • Step Sets - 60
    • 5.V0 (All modes - DD, DA, DDA, DAD) @ 60bpm/16ths
• Theory
  • Revisited & drilled relative minors - 5
  • Revisited & drilled note cycle - 5
• Genre Studies
  • Playing through 'repertoire' that I haven't touched for a long time - 90
• Transcription
  • The Thrill is Gone by B.B. King - 15

Notes & Comments:

• -

410.5/10k

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Monday, August 3

Notes & Comments:

• Today I did not practice bass. Instead, now that I finally have a computer, I wanted to test my setup out. After about 5 hours of futzing around, figuring stuff out (this was my first time using Logic, or any DAW other than GarageBand), fixing connections, and recording stuff, I have something I'm relatively happy with. This is a cover/take on a tune I heard earlier this week and I really liked: Nemesis by Aaron Parks. This is not mixed or mastered. It's pretty rough too, I didn't bother redoing some stuff (there's an F-7 9 11 chord in there that's a bit clashy and could voiced more sparsely, and the solo is... well, I'm not a piano player.... but whatever I had fun). The arrangement is pretty busy at the end, so I'd have to do a better job, but for 5 hours and figuring stuff out, this is ok. Here we go:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

410.5/10k

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Wednesday, August 5

• Fretboard
  • SBL: FA - 45
    • Maj (S:1/2/3 I:r/1) w/ BIAB @ 75bpm
• Technique & Dexterity
  • Dexterity / Warmup - 25
    • Permutations
      • Set 3 / 1 string @ 80bpm/16ths
    • Modal Variations
      • Major - all modes @ 80bpm/16ths
  • Arpeggios - 10
    • Major - all modes @ 80bpm/16ths
  • Broken Intervals - 10
    • 3rds - all major modes - AA, AD, AAD, ADA, DD, DA, DDA, DAD @ 70bpm/16ths
  • Pentatonics - 10
    • Variety @ 80bpm/16ths
  • Step Sets - 30
    • 5.V0 (All modes - AA, AD, AAD, ADA, DD, DA, DDA, DAD) @ 70bpm/16ths
• Theory
  • Revisited & drilled relative minors - 5
  • Revisited & drilled note cycle - 5
• Genre Studies
  • Bassology Ming w/ BIAB - 30
    • Creating basslines over changing tonal centers, focusing on approaching the change. I was having a lot of trouble with this in the lesson, but it went much better tonight. I'm going to slow it down to learn to look at the fretboard as what's available and incorporate more than one position, rather than stick to the position I was in.
• Transcription
  • Smile by Ed Motta - 20
    
    • I got the intro... and them proceeded to fail miserably once the riff came in. I spent 20 minutes trying to work it out and just couldn't. Maybe this is too hard for my ear right now?

• Lessons
  • Bassology
    
    • What is & how to approach improvisation
    • Creating basslines over tonal changes
  • SBL - Fretboard Accelerator Module 2
    
    • Major triad first inversion exercises

Notes & Comments:

• I did the lessons yesterday and practiced a bit but forgot to write anything down so...... yeah. haha.

414/10k

 

[bfields]

• Today I did not practice bass. Instead, now that I finally have a computer, I wanted to test my setup out. After about 5 hours of futzing around, figuring stuff out (this was my first time using Logic, or any DAW other than GarageBand), fixing connections, and recording stuff, I have something I'm relatively happy with. This is a cover/take on a tune I heard earlier this week and I really liked: Nemesis by Aaron Parks. This is not mixed or mastered. It's pretty rough too, I didn't bother redoing some stuff (there's an F-7 9 11 chord in there that's a bit clashy and could voiced more sparsely, and the solo is... well, I'm not a piano player.... but whatever I had fun). The arrangement is pretty busy at the end, so I'd have to do a better job, but for 5 hours and figuring stuff out, this is ok. Here we go:

Hey, I liked it! The only thing that didn't work for me was the abrupt return to the intro in the middle, after the synth lead.

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Thursday/Friday, August 6/7

• Fretboard
  • SBL: FA
    • Maj (S:1/2/3 I:r/1) w/ BIAB @ 75bpm
• Technique & Dexterity
  • -
• Theory
  • Revisited & drilled relative minors
    
  • Revisited & drilled note cycle
• Genre Studies
  • Bassology Ming
• Transcription
  • -

Notes & Comments:

• Was staying over at a friends house due to water issues in my building. Had no access to a computer so I didn't write my usual log or get my usual practice time. However, I did do at least an hour a day, so, I wrote those up
• @bfields Thanks. Yeah, that middle transition was pretty rough, I totally agree. But I left it there as it was less a songwriting/arranging thing and more a figuring out/checking that everything works thing. I've since thought about ways of massaging that to sound better though - because learning from those kinds of mistakes is important.

416/10k

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Saturday, August 8

• Fretboard
  • SBL: FA - 30
    • Major
      • Root
        • Position 1/2/3 w/ BIAB @ 80bpm
      • Inversions
        • 1: Linear w/ BIAB @ 80bpm
        • 1: Position 1/2/3 w/ BIAB @75bpm
• Technique & Dexterity
  • Dexterity / Warmup - 25
    • Permutations
      • Set 3 / 1 string @ 80bpm/16ths
    • Modal Variations
      • Major - all modes @ 80bpm/16ths
  • Arpeggios - 10
    • Major - all modes @ 85bpm/16ths
  • Broken Intervals - 20
    • 3rds - all major modes - AA, AD, AAD, ADA, DD, DA, DDA, DAD @ 80bpm/16ths
  • Step Sets - 10
    • 5.V0 (All modes - AA, AD, AAD, ADA, DD, DA, DDA, DAD) @ 70bpm/16ths
  • Pentatonics - 45
    • All modes - AA, AD, AAD, ADA, DD, DA, DDA, DAD @ 90bpm/16ths
    • Matrix @ 85bpm/16ths
    • Finger 1 all patterns @ 70bpm/16ths
      • 1 3 2 4 and 1 3 4 2 and 1 4 2 3 need work. They are finger busters if played non barred
    • Inside matrix @ 60bpm/16ths
• Theory
  • Revisited & drilled relative minors - 5
  • Revisited & drilled note cycle - 5
• Genre Studies
  • Bassology - 45
    • Ming w/ BIAB
• Transcription
  • -

Notes & Comments:

• -

419/10k

 

[juggahnaught]

Recording sounded good, dude!

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Monday, August 10

• Fretboard
  • SBL: FA - 45
    • Major
      • Root
        • Position 1/2/3 w/ BIAB @ 85bpm
      • Inversions
        • 1: Position 1/2/3 w/ BIAB @ 80bpm
          
        • 2: Linear w/ BIAB @ 70bpm
        • 2: Position 1/2/3 w/ BIAB @70bpm
• Technique & Dexterity
  • Dexterity / Warmup - 15
    • Permutations
      • Set 3 / 1 string @ 80bpm/16ths
        • Finally getting these in my hands. Going to slowly start working on two string exercises.
  • Six Variations - 30
    • Major - all modes in matrix @ 60bpm/16ths
      • This was quite a challenge, actually. The matrix doesn't repeat or has no close modes so it's a lot of jumping, and it's tough, especially as I'm starting on different fingers for the six variations
• Theory
  • Revisited & drilled relative minors & key signatures - 5
  • Revisited & drilled note cycle - 5
• Genre Studies
  • Bassology - 30
    • Ming w/ BIAB
• Transcription
  • Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) by Sharon Jones & The Dap-kings - 20

Notes & Comments:

• My hand is starting to feel back to its old self. This makes me happy!
• Today I hand the hardest time staying focused, I don't know why. I forced myself though it but it led to a lot of frustration. I should take it a bit easier when I'm like this.
  
• The Fretboard Accelerator stuff is really basic stuff but practiced in a very deliberate fashion. I've done some of it before but doing it now, like this, is REALLY helpful, actually and I'm seeing massive improvements with other things too, as I'm playing. It's slow going, though, and I can't wait to cover each chord type, but it's basically a month/chord and I'd rather take the time to drill it down hard.
• Possible surprise for Thursday!!!!!!

421.5/10k

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Tuesday, August 11

Notes & Comments:

• So there was a possible surprise Thursday. But I got a call, and apparently it came in today. Anyway..... oh look, the Fender family is complete!

Well, it's Fender month at Long & McQuade, and, won't you know they gave me a great deal, so I am now the proud owner of a Fender Deluxe Active Jazz Bass V. Instead of practising tonight, I spent the evening cleaning & steel wooling & oiling the fretboard, and then going into a full setup.

And then playing around and having a heckin' good time!

Another picture:

So now I have my main bass - Five - the American Pro P-bass, and this J-bass - no name yet - if I ever need a wider sound palette. I am set for basses for the rest of my life. Well.... maybe one day I'll plop down the cash for the F-bass of my dreams. Anyway, onto notes/initial impressions:

• SO MANY POTS! Volume, blend, bass/treble/mid boost/cut AND an active/passive switch. Oh boy.
• Build quality: looks & feels great, nice and solid. No complaints. It's MiM, and a fantastic instrument in the hand. However, I could definitely see the difference in attention to details between my American P-bass and this one as I was setting it up. The P just has a different level of finish all over. Having said that, A+ to the J for me in terms of build.
• Body: Nice and comfortable. I really have to play it more to give a better assessment of this. The balance is different than my P.
  
• Looks: I love how it looks: it's a Surf Pearl with Pao Ferro fretboard. I've already ordered a Invalid Link Removed, because I don't like the simple black one and I didn't want to go for a classic white or a classic tort. But I absolutely adore the colour of the bass.
  
• Sound: Lots of tone variety. Too much tone variety? No, I'm just new to all these options. It's really fun to play and dial in different sounds. And it has a great sound - fat, clear, articulate. The pickups perform well and there's no weird noise or hum, which is great. I like the passive mode too - but blazin tarnation, it's hot sounding when I'm on the active electronics. Overall, exactly what I expected and wanted, which is all I can ask for, I guess.
  
• Roundwounds: I picked up a set of Ernie Ball Slinkies. I don't know much about Roundwounds seeing as I'm mostly into flatwounds on my P-bass. They are ok so far - VERY bright, which is to be expected as they are new, so I'm curious what they'll sound like as they wear in. I should mention I got a heavier set (45/60/80/100/130) because that's what I'm used to with the LaBellas. They have a really nice growl though, when you dig in, especially when doing a 50/50 blend with a bit of a mid-scooped EQ setup. Here's a question: I'm subscribing to tradition and plan to change my flatwounds..... when they break; but how often should I change roundwounds? Does once a year sound about right - especially given that I'll be spending most of my time on the P, so this won't see tons of use?
  
• Neck: I can't decide how I feel about it. It's definitely "faster" to play than the P-bass, but less comfortable to me. There's something about the spacing on my P that's so.... weighty in a way that I love. Maybe it's just what I'm used to? I don't know. Anyway, overall, the neck is fine. It feels like my thumb drags more along the back of the neck than on the P, which I dislike, but that may be a thing that goes away with playing more? I'm also ambivalent about the Pao Ferro? Can I feel a difference? I think I can - but I may be crazy. Can I hear a difference? No idea - the two basses are too different to compare. One thing that I can say about the neck is that it's very responsive, though. It's easy to play on.
• Tuners: Gotoh tuners but I don't think they're very high quality ones. Tuning is WAY easier & more accurate on the P-bass. I know Gotoh are a hi-quality brand so I may replace them with some of the better quality parts later on. I'll have to see how they hold up. Anyway, it's weird to have 5 tuners in a row. That is all.
  
• Overall thoughts & feelings: obviously, who doesn't love a new toy. However, the more I played around with it, the more I realized how much I love my P-bass and that I am a P-bass fool through and through. I wanted a J-bass in case I need it for job and so wanted to have the classics covered. I'm definitely happy with it, and I think I'll make a point to pick it up at least once a week, because it's so fun to hear the different sounds it makes.

So that's my adventure tonight.

421.5/10k

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Tursday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday, August 13-16

Notes & Comments:

• This weekend, I went to a cottage up north with three friends. I took my new bass with me and I practised at least 1 hour of technical stuff each day, plus at least one to two hours of jamming/improvising to music that someone was streaming as we were hanging out. So I'm going to count two hours a day, per day; however, there won't be a breakdown because I wasn't keeping track like I usually do when working at home.

429.5/10k

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Monday, August 17

• Fretboard
  • SBL: FA - 45
    • Major (Root/Inversion 1&2) - positional w/ BIAB @ 80bpm
• Technique & Dexterity
  • Dexterity / Warmup - 45
    • Permutations
      • Set 1 / 2 string @ 70bpm/16ths
      • Set 2 / 2 string @ 70bpm/16ths
      • Set 3 / 2 string @ 70bpm/16ths
  • Modal Variations - 20
    • Major - all modes in matrix @ 70bpm/16ths
  • Arpeggios - 10
    • Major - all modes in matrix @ 70bpm/16ths
  • Pentatonics - 30
    • All modes in matrix - AA, AD, AAD, ADA, DD, DA, DDA, DAD @ 80bpm/16ths
    • Finger 2 all patterns @ 70bpm/16ths
    • Inside matrix @ 60bpm/16ths
• Theory
  • Revisited & drilled relative minors & key signatures - 5
• Genre Studies
  • Bassology - 30
    • Ming w/ BIAB
• Transcription
  • -

• Other
  
  • SBL: Damien Erskine Seminar "Turning Scales & Exercises into Music" (1:45)
    • A great seminar that really delved deep into some useful ideas and concepts of how to practice "the boring stuff" in an exciting way. This is useful for when working on scales, rather than technique through scales or whatnot.

Notes & Comments:

• -

432.5/10k

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Tuesday, August 18

• Fretboard
  • SBL: FA - 60
    • Major (Root/Inversion 1&2) - positional w/ BIAB @ 85bpm
    • Major A/D/AD - position 1 @ rubato/3bar @ 70bpm/2 bar @ 80bpm
• Technique & Dexterity
  • Dexterity / Warmup - 15
    • Permutations
      • Set 4 / 2 string @ 65bpm/16ths
        • This was really challenging and I had to slow down to be accurate
  • Pentatonics - 10
    • All modes in matrix @ 70bpm/16ths
  • Arpeggios - 10
    • Major - all modes in matrix @ 70bpm/16ths
• Theory
  • Revisited & drilled relative minors & key signatures - 5
• Genre Studies
  • Bassology - 45
    • Bassline creation on Ming w/ BIAB @ 80bpm
      
    • Improv Ionian & Dorian on Ming w/ BIAB @ 80bpm
• Transcription
  • -

• Lessons & Other
  • SBL: Fretboard Accelerator: Module 4 - Continuous Movement System
    • Linking all the work covered so far into one big system to easily cover the whole neck and become familliar with the notes in a non-straightforward way. I may spend more than a week on this one.
      • Exercises:
        • 3 bars/chord: low-to-high positional & high-to-low positional
        • 2 bars, then 1 bar: up/down directionally continuous
  • Bassology
    • Today we started talking seriously about improvisation and, specifically, improvisation over tonal changes. Which is funny because we totally skipped over improvising in one key. He listened to me play for a bit and then said, "Yeah, keep doing what you're doing, you're on the right path. Some stuff you gotta figure out for yourself for it to make sense. Let's talk about the stuff that'll help with that." We covered minor third tonal changes using what he called the Tonal Freeway. It made total sense... but I think this is stuff I'll be practising for the next year because there's a LOT of stuff to learn.

Notes & Comments:

• Despite best laid plans, I've still been neglecting transcription. There's so much to do and I just don't have enough time/energy to dedicate to doing everything I want. Life, man. Anyway, I'm doing a lot of new things and they're pretty great, so I'm not complaining too much.
• Also, man, BIAB is amazing. Aside from a good teacher and a good instrument, I think it's probably my best investment for learning music.

435/10k

 

[adudenamedruby]

A Year in Review

WOOHOO! Well, it's been exactly a year since I picked up and started seriously studying the bass. A LOT, has happened in the year, and I wanted to take a moment to sit down and reflect on it, and where I'm going now.

• The Log
  • There's been many changes to reach a format that seems to be working for me. Some of these changes were imposed on me (I originally wanted to go back to past posts and edit them with DONE markers to check off goals and such, but TalkBass removed the option to edit a post after a certain time has passed); some were because what I was doing wasn't working.
  • More importantly, the log has been an invaluable tool for tracking what I was having trouble working on before so that I can focus on it to address it. This has allowed me to progress in challenging area with steady improvement. It's also been invaluable to know how to progress from what I've been working on.
  • Yearly Goals: to briefly address this here, I've left this thing behind (though I did complete most of them) because the editing system of TalkBass makes this inconvenient. I'm goal-setting on a more consistent basis and course correcting as I go.
  • In the future: One thing I think I should do is improve how I notate thoughts about what I was doing. The Notes & Comments section is great for general thoughts, but more specific things should go under their headings.
• Technique
  • SBL Technique Accelerator - I started this about halfway through my year, after I was already doing other things, and it really forced me to slow down and focus on weak areas (or areas I wasn't aware needed to be addressed). I stopped doing the program a month or so ago after being sick and such, not becasue I didn't want to complete it, but because there's things that I'm constantly revisiting and checking as I'm working on other exercises. It's been a treasure trove of information and 100% worth the price of admission for me personally.
  • My technique between when I started and today is a night and day difference. I feel in control of the bass, both from my right and my left hand. There's a lot left to work on but I think I've really done a good job of laying really good foundations.
  • In the future: Muting is my one big problem when playing above 90bpm with a lot of vertical movement across the strings in the bassline. I'm going to focus on getting this down by really working on the types of basslines that give me trouble and deeply focusing on my right hand floating thumb technique.
• Fretboard
  • I've made great strides on knowing the fretboard. I can tell you where any note is (with a teensy bit of hesitation), where each of any note is, and how many of each notes there are on my fretboard. This has really been a slow process, but as time is passing, and as I'm doing different exercises, I'm finding my familiarity increasing more and more.
  • In the future: As much as it feels like a copout to say this, I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing. It's working and allowing me to learn both the fretboard and other things at the same time.
• Theory
  • This has been one of the more neglected aspects of my "training". I'm tackling only what I need to know as I progress, which I think is fine. Instead of memorizing things I won't use for a long time, I'm not just learning but also actively applying what I'm learning and that's helping with internalization of those concepts.
  • In the future: I love theory because it's the why behind the "what happened!?" I hope to start exploring more of it, but, again, I think what I'm doing now is effective, so I'll continue doing that. One thing I do need to work on is memorizing all the notes in all the keys.
• Transcription
  • I've done some. Not enough. I've mentioned how I feel about this in the past so I won't continue to do so too much here. I need to do more. I'm finding that I'm very tired after my practice session or that I have to practice a lot of things and that leaves little room for transcription. This has to change. Music is an auditory experience. As musicians, our ears are the most important things we have and so we have to both take care of them but also train them.
  • In the future: Do more. No, seriously. Do. More. Make it a priority. Maybe begin a practice session with transcription.
• Musicianship
  • This is one area I feel I've progressed the least in, overall. I'm a very good technical exercise player, but I haven't worked on jamming, improvising, and transcribing a lot, all of which are key to developing musicianship. Instead of feeling bad about this, I'm choosing to see it for what it is: I've prepared technically for a lot of content that I'll be tackling now. I've gotten a lot of the boring stuff out of the way (though there's a lot more to get through!) and now I can focus on the fun stuff and be proficient at the physical aspect of playing.
  • In the future: The three big things I want to work on are:
    • Groove - Learning to create different grooves for basslines on the same song in order to become more flexible and creative as a bassist
    • Roots - Learning to, when creating basslines, not rely on roots, but instead, hit 3rds, 5ths, and 7ths where appropriate to create more engaging basslines.
    • Vocabulary - Learning licks and different styles, in order to begin internalizing musical vocabulary to be able to perform well in different situations.
• Jamming
  • I failed hard here. Both with good reason and without. I did not go out jamming soon after learning the basics of bass because... well, I was scared. Then, when I got more chops and was ready to go out.... COVID said hello. Hopefully this coming year will be better for this.
  • In the future: go to actual jam sessions (COVID permitting) and jam with unknown music from Spotify more, as a poor substitute.
• Gear
  • I started the year off with my Fender American Pro P-bass V. It is my go to instrument and I love it dearly. However, I've also acquired some more gear in the mean time.
    • Ibanez 5 string (which I haven't touched in months because it's stuck at the office where no-one is allowed to go; )
    • Fender Deluxe Active Jazz Bass V
    • MarkBass 2x12 cab & MarkBass Little Mark 3 800W
    • MarkBass 1x12 Combo
    • Tone Pedalboard: Noble DI, Peterson Stromostomp HD, and Cali76 Compressor
    • Fun Pedalboard: Strobostomp HD tuner, MXR Bass Envelope Filter, SolidgoldFX Beta DLX, MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, Cali76 compressor, MESA Subway+ DI-Preamp
  • What's next? Nothing really. I spent a TON of money on gear this year (my wallet - it hurts). I was also confident that, having grown up in recording studios and being knowledgeable about music and production, I knew what I wanted and what I was doing. Each time I play with what I have, I'm satisfied that it's exactly what I wanted and am very happy with the flexibility I have for what I want. I don't have GAS at all, so I'm not even considering any more purchases in the near or far future - maybe another strap, in case mine breaks. But that's about it.
• Learning
  • Teachers
    • I've learned my lesson with teachers that teach because they have to and teachers that teach because they're passionate, and have been doing it for a long time. I started this year with a local teacher. He was a great guy, and the price was really good ($250 for 5 lessons). However, the lessons were all over the place, without continuity, addressing things haphazardly, and with questions being answered with far too many tangents. I frequently left there both with some answers and with more confusion than when I had walked in. While I learned useful things with him, I think at least a good chunk of my time there was wasted.
    • Bassology - Deciding to study with Anthony Wellington was not easy because he's not local (I didn't know what online lessons were like), and because it's expensive ($250 for two lessons, basically, after converting from US to CAD). Now, several months into learning with him, I'd say it's probably one of the best decisions I've made. The lessons build on each other, they're logical, they tackle relevant things, are challenging. He not only answers questions extremely well, but when I say "I have two questions", he replies with, "You're gonna ask A and B". And that's exactly what I wanted to ask. It's been a fantastic experience and I can't wait to see how much more I learn. There are also things he doesn't address directly, though is happy to give advice about, but I've started to see and understand why it's better for me to work on those on my own time on my own.
  • Other Learning Material
    • I've been using both books and SBL to supplement a lot of learning. I'm not going to do reviews on the books I've been using but Ed Friendland's stuff stands out as clear, concise, useful, and generally heads and shoulders above the rest of the books I've been using.
    • SBL - For the price, what you get is amazing. While I don't like his YouTube stuff (too salesy), the content in the campus is stellar and they're always putting out more stuff. It's self paced with is great. It's definitely skewed towards beginners/intermediate players (which is great for me because I won't cross that bridge into 'advanced' for many, many years to come). I was in a bit of a financial situation when they were offering a deal on the lifetime memberships, but I'm saving up for whenever a deal comes up again and will 100% get one. It's a no brainer, for the value I've gotten out of it, personally.
    • BIAB - I'm no expert... but if you were to ask me what the three best investments you can make to learn music well and become a decent or better musician, I'd say: a good instrument that you like, a great teacher, and BIAB from PG music. It's like practicing with a professional band in your living room - from the accompaniment to the soloists; the ability to trade solos, trade bars, do whatever you want. iRealPro is a great app to use in a pinch or on the road, but a poor substitute for BIAB, in my opinion.
• Great successes
  • The gig! I had my first gig with the After the Mountain band. I prepared weeks for it, transcribing the basslines, playing along, etc. It was really awesome and I cannot wait to play live music again.
  • How far I've come. It's easy to get lost in the weeds, and see only your faults and be critical of them. But honestly, as I play along for fun, when I do so, I sometimes amaze myself with what I'm able to do. So I just want to acknowledge that, because I don't do that often enough.
• Disappointments
  • I've been sick this year, had surgery, and had a few injuries that got in the way of playing. These have been demoralizing, but, as an avid Tetris player, I know full well that you just have to roll with the punches and keep going, no matter what happens.
  • My biggest disappointment was opting to not play the double bass this year. I still think it was absolutely the right move. I've made incredible progress on the electric bass because I was able to focus my time and energy on it. However, to be honest, I still love the double bass intensely, so, at the back of my mind, I think this was the greatest low point of the year for me.

Where to from here? Well, I think I'm on a great path, and I'm really moving at a great pace. There's so much left to learn, discover, and play.... and I really can't wait to get to it! So here's to a year full of ups and downs... and whatever is to come in the next year.

Much love

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Wednesday, August 19

• Fretboard
  • SBL: FA - 60
    • Major triad - Root/Inversion 1&2 - positional w/ BIAB @ 90bpm
    • Major triad 5-string A/D/AD/DA - position 1 @ 2 bar @ 80bpm/1 bar @ 70/75/80bpm
      • AD/DA is proving challenging at 75bpm so I'm working on that for a bit before I get to the continuous movement system. I really want to have this stuff down, rather than do it once or twice and then move on.
• Technique & Dexterity
  • -
• Theory
  • Revisited & drilled relative minors & key signatures - 5
• Genre Studies
  • Bassology - 30
    • Improv Ionian -> Aoelian on Ming w/ BIAB @ 85bpm
      • This is very frustrating/exciting. We've been working on a few things and they're all coming together. I can see it, intellectually. And I can feel the connection. But I can't do it on the instrument. I can see what's coming though - which is working on the connection between chords and scales that I've only understood theoretically but not actually internalized on the instrument.
• Transcription
  • -

Notes & Comments:

• Short day today. But also it's my bass birthday!!!

436.5/10k

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Thursday, August 20

• Fretboard
  • SBL: FA - 60
    • Major triad - Root/Inversion 1&2 - positional w/ BIAB @ 90bpm
      • For the sake of time to practice other stuff, I will cut this short, and then out.
    • Major triad 5-string A/D & AD/DA - position 1/2/3 @ 75/80bpm & 65/70bpm
• Technique & Dexterity
  • Dexterity / Warmup - 15
    • Permutations
      • Set 1 / 2 string @ 70bpm/16ths
• Theory
  • Revisited & drilled relative minors & key signatures - 5
• Genre Studies
  • Bassology - 60
    • Improv on Ming w/ BIAB @ 85bpm
      • Transitions: Ionian > Aeolian; Lydian > Dorian
• Transcription
  • -

Notes & Comments:

• Another today where I had to skip technique stuff due to other things.
  
• My improvisations sound like hot garbage right now (with the occasional hint of passable). I'm less focused on making it musical than on catching the transitions. For better sounding lines, I need to focus on emphasizing the changes and chord tones. Almost like playing bass, but with extra notes. I'll start working on this as I learn my way around the other transitions.
• Playing bass today was awkward because today I received my fancy, weighted jump-rope. After doing a 25 minute session, my wrists/forearms were sore for the rest of the day, so my hands felt tired when I was playing. I usually do my sessions in the morning so this shouldn't be a problem, but today I was excited to try it out.
• Also, I'm loving how I'm making music with my practice right now. It feels great.

438.5/10k

 

[adudenamedruby]

Log Date: Tuesday, August 25

• Fretboard
  • SBL: FA - 60
    • Major triad - Root/Inversion 1&2 - position 1/2/3 w/ BIAB @ 90bpm
    • Major triad 5-string A/D & AD/DA - position 1/2/3 @ 70/75bpm
    • Major triad CMS - position 1 @ 65bpm
• Technique & Dexterity
  • -
• Theory
  • -
• Genre Studies
  • -
• Transcription
  • -

Notes & Comments:

• Went camping and only got back today. Managed to get an hour of practice in.... but was too tired to do anything else.

439.5/10k