Woodshedding -- prog rock

[KrisH]

Someone in another thread said "If you want to get good at something, spend the time!" Although I feel like I know how to play my instrument well, and often get compliments from audience and other musicians alike at shows, I've felt stagnant for a long time. I practice often, most every evening, but found myself just going over the same old stuff I'm already familiar with. So I decided it was time to dig deep into my library and learn new stuff.

For the past few evenings I've been working on "Sound Chaser" by Yes. The intro itself is an workout in timing and speed! I don't think the piece is beyond my capabilities -- I just have to learn it, and hone the techniques to play it well. It's a process of pushing myself past my current comfort zone and developing, just like physical exercise.

My goal is to move out of the pop/"classic rock" rut I'm in and actually develop myself in a more progressive rock direction. I've always liked Yes, King Crimson, Flash, ELP, etc., but never had the opportunity to play it. Even so, those artists are kind of "classic," too, aren't they? In my years as a mercenary bassist," I never paid too much attention to what was new in the music scene, if I wasn't paid to. Sad but true. . .

What could anyone recommend that might be a little more up-to-date, that would help me hone my skills? Or for that matter, what "classic" recommendations outside the standard "pop" prog could someone recommend? I'm mainly interested in getting ahold of pieces that have different bass lines, solos, etc., that would take me outside my current box.

 

[onlyclave]

Play some Jamiroquai tunes. They're pretty fun.

 

[DJones]

If you're into doing some heavy reading, the James Jamerson book (standing in the shadows of motown) is great for building not only funk chops, but corrodination, sight reading and getting down some major rhythmic challenges.

 

[Nashrakh]

Play some Camel!

"The White Rider" and "Lady Fantasy" both have awesome bass lines. No bass solos though.

 

[factorplayer]

+1 Camel has some great stuff - not as technically challenging but very tasteful

 

[unclejane]

Someone in another thread said "If you want to get good at something, spend the time!" Although I feel like I know how to play my instrument well, and often get compliments from audience and other musicians alike at shows, I've felt stagnant for a long time. I practice often, most every evening, but found myself just going over the same old stuff I'm already familiar with. So I decided it was time to dig deep into my library and learn new stuff.

For the past few evenings I've been working on "Sound Chaser" by Yes. The intro itself is an workout in timing and speed! I don't think the piece is beyond my capabilities -- I just have to learn it, and hone the techniques to play it well. It's a process of pushing myself past my current comfort zone and developing, just like physical exercise.

My goal is to move out of the pop/"classic rock" rut I'm in and actually develop myself in a more progressive rock direction. I've always liked Yes, King Crimson, Flash, ELP, etc., but never had the opportunity to play it. Even so, those artists are kind of "classic," too, aren't they? In my years as a mercenary bassist," I never paid too much attention to what was new in the music scene, if I wasn't paid to. Sad but true. . .

What could anyone recommend that might be a little more up-to-date, that would help me hone my skills? Or for that matter, what "classic" recommendations outside the standard "pop" prog could someone recommend? I'm mainly interested in getting ahold of pieces that have different bass lines, solos, etc., that would take me outside my current box.

Dream Theater is good stuff that'd you'd kind of call modern progressive rock. John Myung is a virtuoso, but some of it is accessible to mortals. "6:00" is a pretty challenging one that isn't just completely unlearnable (tho the middle part I had to resort to tab to learn and didn't finish all of it at that). That one will keep you busy for a long time and you'll learn a bunch of new stuff.

Another I'd recommend is "Cupid's Dead" by Extreme. This one is also generally playable by us normal folks but will keep you occupied for quite a while. One way to make this more challenging is to not tune down a half step like it (sortof) is on the recording and play it on a 5 or more string. This forces you to play it all on closed strings, which makes a lot of it significantly harder. In fact, I initially learnt it on my 5 string this way and didn't discover until later that it's playable on a 4 string tuned down a half step. Certain parts are significantly easier if you do this because you can play them using open strings.
On the unlined fretless this one is a real challenge to play in tune.

Everything on Rush's "Hemispheres" is worth learning the bass parts to, it's all pretty intricate stuff and some of Ged's best playing IMO.

More mainstream stuff that'll really improve your time and precision is Eric Johnson. I use this for intonation practice because EJ is always utterly impeccably in tune.

LS

 

[pseudoxh4]

Frank Zappa's stuff can get quite 'prog'. In particular, albums like 'Does Humor Belong In Music?' and 'Make a Jazz Noise Here' have extraordinary bass lines.