My problem with this is sometimes when they change keys and then capo my brain freezes up! They jokingly laugh at me and tell me to use my capo!!
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Double Bass What is it with Bluegrass players?
- Thread starter Wings
- Start date
My problem with this is sometimes when they change keys and then capo my brain freezes up! They jokingly laugh at me and tell me to use my capo!!
Maybe they aren't joking, and they really do want you to use a capo so everyone is in the same key? I always carry a capo in my gig bag. It's a useful tool.
No, I don't think I could use a capo. When they capo two and play a G they are thinking they are playing a G. My brain rejects that because it is an A.
A guitarist I used to play with would be tuned to open G for a set (or the better part of a set — one guitar, too much of a time-waste/pain to retune every other song), he'd announce the next song to the audience and I'd ask him:
"What key are we playing it in?"
Repeatedly.
I'd time it right between asking so that he'd forget I'd already asked... Got 'im every time. "It's in G"
Even by the end of the night
"It's in ... oh you %^&*er, you KNOW what key it's in!"
Next gig, repeat.
I'm sure I've told this story here before, perhaps even in this thread.
If I could, I'd join any band you're in or jam with you any time.
I could kill for a Sahlens Maple Dog right now, never tried one, but mmmmmm I want one. With a side of Maple-syrup-laced Libby's Deep Brown Beans (*RIP; and F-Y Heinz for giving Libby's the proverbial cement shoes). Coffee w/ maple syrup (or Maple Sugar) and a doughnut glazed with Maple Butter... drool
"What key are we playing it in?"
Repeatedly.
I'd time it right between asking so that he'd forget I'd already asked... Got 'im every time. "It's in G"
Even by the end of the night
"It's in ... oh you %^&*er, you KNOW what key it's in!"
Next gig, repeat.
I'm sure I've told this story here before, perhaps even in this thread.
If I could, I'd join any band you're in or jam with you any time.
I could kill for a Sahlens Maple Dog right now, never tried one, but mmmmmm I want one. With a side of Maple-syrup-laced Libby's Deep Brown Beans (*RIP; and F-Y Heinz for giving Libby's the proverbial cement shoes). Coffee w/ maple syrup (or Maple Sugar) and a doughnut glazed with Maple Butter... drool
I bet if you practiced the skill, say, 15 minutes a day, you could be competent in using a capo and "transposing on the fly" in a few months. A good exercise toward this goal is to take some songs you know well, and play them through all 12 keys, thinking in abstract terms (roman numerals, scale degrees, intervals, whatever makes sense to you) as opposed to absolute note names.
Capo turns a bass or guitar into a "transposing instrument." Understanding how transposing instruments work is a very useful skill to have if you ever plan to do any composing or arranging for "non-concert pitch" instruments like horns. For example, when a tenor sax player plays the note called C, he is actually playing concert Bb pitch, and when an alto sax player plays C, it comes out as Eb. This is a common and accepted musical practice, allowing sax players to switch back and forth between alto and tenor without any confusion.
Capo on a guitar or bass is the same thing: it allows the player to apply the same techniques, fingerings, chord shapes, concepts, and sonorities in any of the 12 keys. A very useful tool indeed!
I'd say being able to play chords on a guitar is a prerequisite for playing the upright bass with any form of acoustic music. I played banjo and guitar for many years before I got serious on the bass. That knowledge has a been a huge help....and still is.
Jake deVilliers
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- May 24, 2006
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That's shaging awesome! You get the Ed Fuqua "Have a blessed day" Award for that one.
Look me up if your ever in Buffalo!A guitarist I used to play with would be tuned to open G for a set (or the better part of a set — one guitar, too much of a time-waste/pain to retune every other song), he'd announce the next song to the audience and I'd ask him:
"What key are we playing it in?"
Repeatedly.
I'd time it right between asking so that he'd forget I'd already asked... Got 'im every time. "It's in G"
Even by the end of the night
"It's in ... oh you %^&*er, you KNOW what key it's in!"
Next gig, repeat.
I'm sure I've told this story here before, perhaps even in this thread.
If I could, I'd join any band you're in or jam with you any time.
I could kill for a Sahlens Maple Dog right now, never tried one, but mmmmmm I want one. With a side of Maple-syrup-laced Libby's Deep Brown Beans (*RIP; and F-Y Heinz for giving Libby's the proverbial cement shoes). Coffee w/ maple syrup (or Maple Sugar) and a doughnut glazed with Maple Butter... drool
1) Are you guys seriously talking about using a capo on an upright bass, or has the bass guitar snuck in here?
2) Next tune...C Jam Blues. "What key?"
3) I am playing in a rehearsal band where the musical director starts off every rehearsal with a few choruses of C jam blues, but in a different key, so... "Last week was F Jam blues, so this week it's Bb Jam Blues..."
2) Next tune...C Jam Blues. "What key?"
3) I am playing in a rehearsal band where the musical director starts off every rehearsal with a few choruses of C jam blues, but in a different key, so... "Last week was F Jam blues, so this week it's Bb Jam Blues..."
My capo suggestion was to jthisdell whose profile lists a '71 Fender Precision as his main bass. And I was not the one who "snuck" bass guitar into the conversation. Read the original post: "I've been playing bass guitar for over 15 years..."
Anyway, what is a C extension on an upright bass, if not a type of "capo"?
C-Extension Capos from Rob Anzellotti
love it!!!
we were working on an original and were going to call it "wagon wheel" so that every time we get asked to play wagon wheel, we'd actually get to play a song we liked......but we decided we'd make a few enemies.
I am really bad at updating anything in my profile. Thus my lack of a picture.
Anyway I almost exclusively play an NS NXT4 EUB in both my bluegrass and my gypsy swing jazz trios. And I still don't think my brain would actually let me use a capo even if I wanted to. I don't use open strings that much so I don't see what would be the point. It is just totally foreign to my understanding of the instrument (either one).
And to clarify, I can transpose all day long without a capo (jeesh). But if the guitarist is transposing by using a capo and I am trying to follow him just by watching his hand I sometimes get confused. If I really know the song I can switch it to another key in a second.
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Even more fun: you don't know the tune, AT ALL. The guitar player has a capo on, and is going to be a nice guy and call the chords, but he calls the shapes of the chords he's playing not the actual chords or their numbers. So he calls "A" and you have to think "A + 3 = C" - for every stinkin' chord. I eventually bend over and say, "could you call the numbers?" which works unless he's one of these guys who don't know from numbers.
Bit by bit, I am getting so I can hear and anticipate the harmonies better, so this is less of a challenge every year.
Bit by bit, I am getting so I can hear and anticipate the harmonies better, so this is less of a challenge every year.
This is a funny, entertaining, and yet so tell tale bluegrass bass threads I've read on Talk Bass in a long time. It's a bluegrass DB thread that continues to trample on everyone that doesn't fit the mold or act "appropriately" at a bluegrass jam or gig. I've been playing bluegrass bass for over 40 years and have probably run into every situation that has been described in the last 8 pages of this thread. Every situation here seems to have made a different impression on the bass players depending on where and when it happened.
I've played my 100 year old Pfretzschner, my 1943 Kay, my Guild B-30, my 1937 Regal upright, and now my Englehardt Swingmaster and never had or suffered any negative comments or insulting glares do to with what I chose to play because I tried to chose my instrument appropriately to fit the gig or jam and I concentrate on TIMING. If what you play fits where you are and your timing is on the money, I've found that nobody cares. I've played in jam sessions that had 4 basses and if there are no ego's involved, it can be a blast,,literally. Done right you can get even with every banjo players that you have ever wanted to stomp on for years and blow them right out of the circle.
I've played with a combination of electric and acoustic basses and it all boils down to using your eyes, ears, and good judgement and having consideration for your fellow musicians because you are all there to entertain and have fun.
So many bluegrass bands do so much crossover music because it's also a lot of fun, most gigs do have a many requests that are not in the bluegrass genre. An good example being Iron Horse,,, in my opinion one of the most entertaining bluegrass bands around because they do songs that fit their instruments and arrange them please the ears,,, and audiences eat them up. I played with a really funny and talented guitar player out of upstate New York, Warren Sutton, that played every request that came to the stage, no matter what it was. If he didn't know the song,, he would make one up on the spot. It would always crack up the guys in the band as well as the crowd listening.
There are always bluegrass players that try to define bands and musicians by what instrument they play but if you have the talent and don't attempt to play over your head, and are honest with yourself about your abilities, you probably won't run into any problems. The thing is, if you do have a bad experience, you will remember it for a long time,,,, but you can't let it cloud your thinking or judgement. Most of us play bluegrass for fun because there certainly isn't a lot of money in it. And most of all you can't forget 2 important things,,,, capos aren't really made for bluegrass basses
,,,, and "Everyone follows the Bass Player" 
I've played my 100 year old Pfretzschner, my 1943 Kay, my Guild B-30, my 1937 Regal upright, and now my Englehardt Swingmaster and never had or suffered any negative comments or insulting glares do to with what I chose to play because I tried to chose my instrument appropriately to fit the gig or jam and I concentrate on TIMING. If what you play fits where you are and your timing is on the money, I've found that nobody cares. I've played in jam sessions that had 4 basses and if there are no ego's involved, it can be a blast,,literally. Done right you can get even with every banjo players that you have ever wanted to stomp on for years and blow them right out of the circle.
I've played with a combination of electric and acoustic basses and it all boils down to using your eyes, ears, and good judgement and having consideration for your fellow musicians because you are all there to entertain and have fun.So many bluegrass bands do so much crossover music because it's also a lot of fun, most gigs do have a many requests that are not in the bluegrass genre. An good example being Iron Horse,,, in my opinion one of the most entertaining bluegrass bands around because they do songs that fit their instruments and arrange them please the ears,,, and audiences eat them up. I played with a really funny and talented guitar player out of upstate New York, Warren Sutton, that played every request that came to the stage, no matter what it was. If he didn't know the song,, he would make one up on the spot. It would always crack up the guys in the band as well as the crowd listening.
There are always bluegrass players that try to define bands and musicians by what instrument they play but if you have the talent and don't attempt to play over your head, and are honest with yourself about your abilities, you probably won't run into any problems. The thing is, if you do have a bad experience, you will remember it for a long time,,,, but you can't let it cloud your thinking or judgement. Most of us play bluegrass for fun because there certainly isn't a lot of money in it. And most of all you can't forget 2 important things,,,, capos aren't really made for bluegrass basses
,,,, and "Everyone follows the Bass Player"
There's a tune called simply "In C", and one of my bands, we play it in C#.
Couldn't find it on Google, tried a couple of ways of phrasing the search, but "In C" just brings up theory and harmony lessons...
Dug a little deeper: Invalid Link Removed
Now the challenge I'll put forth to that band (currently on hiatus, alas) will be to play "In C" in a bluegrass style...
Luckily, I've got a new bluegrass ensemble possibility pending... meeting my friend and two other moozishuns this coming Friday. I think I'll wait and see how it goes before springing "In C" on them, in C#.
Show-off!
Uhm, pics or it didn't happen?
Seriously, nice collection, the Regal in particular interests me.
@sevenyearsdown If I make it to Buffalo, beers are on me, so long as you fire up some of those maple-dogs...
Cheers,
FF
There's a tune called simply "In C", and one of my bands, we play it in C#.
Couldn't find it on Google, tried a couple of ways of phrasing the search, but "In C" just brings up theory and harmony lessons...
Dug a little deeper: Invalid Link Removed
Now the challenge I'll put forth to that band (currently on hiatus, alas) will be to play "In C" in a bluegrass style...
Luckily, I've got a new bluegrass ensemble possibility pending... meeting my friend and two other moozishuns this coming Friday. I think I'll wait and see how it goes before springing "In C" on them, in C#.
Show-off!
Uhm, pics or it didn't happen?
Seriously, nice collection, the Regal in particular interests me.
@sevenyearsdown If I make it to Buffalo, beers are on me, so long as you fire up some of those maple-dogs...
Cheers,
FF
We are guilty of playing of Wagon Wheel at certain venues.
Us too!
if that's what the bride wants to hear, you play it.
we dodge it as much as possible. one drunk guy gave us $20 a few shows back to play it and then got kicked out 10 minutes later = win / win!
Awesome trifecta! And that tapestry really ties the room together; Bet you could bow all three basses with what it's hangin' off! Someday I hope to get my hands on a Regal, even if I'm not able to procure it for myself, just playin' one would sate an incredible itch.
I'm guilty of Wagon Wheel, repeat offender. It's a popular ditty at a jam that I infrequent. I'll probably sin again if pressed...
