Double Bass Soloing on a blues progression ?

[guillermo]

"building a melodic quarter note walking line", is also something that I have to improve big time.
When the book comes out, I'll go and get it

Thanks again
Guillermo

 

[Rob Knight]

I'm working on a book that will focus primarily on building a melodic quarter note walking line.

Is that working on - nearly finished?

Or working on - don't forgot you mentioned it but don't get excited yet?

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Just getting started on the text, some of it is going to be from Dan's record with the bass lines transcribed; I'm supposed to be going back in the studio in January to record some other "standard" type material (there are only two tunes that aren't blues in Dan's book). Looking at a release by the summer music shows?

 

[Rob Knight]

Excellent. You'll have to remind me when it comes out, because I'll have been to bed before then and generaly start each day with no recollection of things that seemed important the day before.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

I know whatcha mean. My general temporal division is Before Breakfast and After Breakfast. Stuff that happened After Breakfast I generally have pretty good recall for. Anything that happened Before Breakfast kinda all fades together and igetting harder and harder to pull up...

 

[Doug Ring]

Especially if you don't get breakfast till 1pm...

 

[TimoMetzemakers]

While we all wait for Ed's book, there are several etudes over major and minor blues progressions in Invalid Link Removed. Peter Washington is playing the etudes on the CD that comes with it. It's a really great book for the shed; I sure got a lot out of it.

 

[Kurisu]

Hey Ed - do you still think it would be helpful for us bassists to get the Blues Scales book, even if it doesn't really focus on walking? There's got to be value in there, right? If only to transcribe your lines.

For example, when walking on this date, did you use the blues scales (that the book focuses on) as a starting point?

 

[Ed Fuqua]

I think Dan did a nice book, the whole approach IS something that will give you material to help wrap your ear around the change from the I to the IV and also help you start hearing changes in general. I didn't really approach the bass lines with the ideas form the book specifically. But since a lot of this stuff is in my ear already AND since I really try to be open to what's going on around me when I play; my lines are going to reflect Dans' ideas in response to what Dan's playing. If that's clear?

 

[Justin K-ski]

I know I have anything to offer compared to guys like Ray, Paul and Ed, as they're real pros who have done their time and I'm just some ****ty highschooler, but I'll say it anyway.

Here are some tricks I use for the blues, esp the 1st four measures of I7, I'll use F.

F7 |Eo7 A7|Dm7 G7|Cm7 F7| sets you up for the next Bb7. Some people calls this the Bobby Timmons changes.

F7|Eb7|Db7|Cb7| Bb7 etc...

F7|G7|A7|B7|Bb7 etc...

Still in F

Ab7|A7|Bb7|B7|Bb7....

One word of warning, about the last two. Before trying these on the job, you want to be sure that an inexperienced piano or guitar players isn't going to mistake your cool notes for wrong one's and start chomping away at chords trying to correct a none existant error.

 

[Kurisu]

I think Dan did a nice book, the whole approach IS something that will give you material to help wrap your ear around the change from the I to the IV and also help you start hearing changes in general. I didn't really approach the bass lines with the ideas form the book specifically. But since a lot of this stuff is in my ear already AND since I really try to be open to what's going on around me when I play; my lines are going to reflect Dans' ideas in response to what Dan's playing. If that's clear?

I guess I understand what you're saying, it's just that I don't know how to get there, you know? Maybe it just has to come from experience, and a good teacher? In that case, how much can a book really help?

(This is strange... I never thought Ed would be writing a book... )

 

[Craig Garfinkel]

This is strange... I never thought Ed would be writing a book...

Actually Ed's written several...a post at a time.

And that's a compliment, btw.

Actually Ed, you could simply print out all your posts, print, collate, bind...instant NYT Bestseller. Just need a title. Too bad "Diary of a Madman" is already taken.

But seriously Ed, editorially speaking, I hope you're not keeping your trademark wit out of the text of your book. Sure it's theory, but that doesn't mean it can't be hip and funny too.

Case in point, Tommy Tedesco wrote a gu*tar method book that my band's gu*tarist has that's full of anecdotes written with copious amounts of both wit and wisdom. I know, might be a waste on most gu*tarists, but there's plenty of pictures too.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Maybe it just has to come from experience, and a good teacher? In that case, how much can a book really help?

(This is strange... I never thought Ed would be writing a book... )

well, there you go. Having somebody in the same room with you is ALWAYS WITHOUT EXCEPTION the most efficient way to go about this.

When I was first talking about this with my teacher, the joke was that I would start the preface by saying " Put this book down", what I would like to do with this (that I don't really see happening with other books on walking bass) is kind of what Dan does; emphasize the use of your ears to make decisions about note choice.

We'll see how successful I am...

 

[Kurisu]

We'll see how successful I am...

Any update on the book, Ed? Or did I miss it somewhere?

I'm listening to Mingus's Blues And Roots thinking, "Man, I wish Ed would finish his book already, I have no idea what's going on here..."

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Durrl was right about making announcements too far in advance. I'm still working on it, but life intervened and I haven't been able to devote as much time as I'd like.

 

[Rob Knight]

We might have to learn the old fashioned way then.

Trial, error, and guidance

Still, my life gets in the way too, so the likelyhood of me being a bluesmaster before you finish the book is slim.