The IIB Monthly Newsletter
Volume 8, Number 12
Happy holidays fellow bassists and friends!
Welcome to the latest issue of the International Institute of Bassists newsletter!
Welcome to the latest issue of the International Institute of Bassists newsletter!
The IIB Lifetime Subscription Special!
If you have ever considered becoming a subscriber of the IIB but just never got around to signing up, now is the time to join. From December 1st - 31st, you can become a lifetime subscriber of the IIB for only $50! That is 1/2 off the regular subscription rate. The lifetime subscription is a simple one-time fee that will allow you to receive all the benefits of the IIB Subscriber's Area including the IIB Monthly Giveaways, the IIB MP3 Bass Samplers, and an extensive collection of exclusive lesson material featuring over 60 individual lessons which cover a broad range of subjects. Plus, by becoming a lifetime subscriber, you will help keep this resource online for you and others to enjoy in the future.
As A Lifetime Subscriber, You Will Receive The Following Benefits:
The IIB Giveaways - Each month, the IIB gives its viewers the opportunity to participate in various monthly giveaways. As a lifetime subscriber, you will be automatically entered in every monthly giveaway and have the ability to win products including basses, amplifiers, speaker cabinets, combo amps, effects, strings, instrument cables, pickups, gig bags, straps, gift certificates, DVD's, CD's, books, lessons, t-shirts, and more! Special thanks to all of our giveaway sponsors including D'Addario, Planet Waves, Thunderfunk, AccuGroove, Line 6, Ibanez, SWR Sound, Fender, Evidence Audio, Norstrand Pickups, Zon Guitars, Bass Specialties, and BassBooks.com. ... Read More!
The IIB MP3 Bass Samplers Volumes 1 & 2 - You'll receive access to the IIB MP3 Bass Samplers Volumes I & II which feature 22 selected tracks that have been recorded by many of today's premier bass artists including Michael Manring, Marcus Miller, Stuart Hamm, Gary Willis, Ray Riendeau, Adam Nitti, Norm Stockton, Todd Johnson, Jeff Schmidt, Yves Carbonne, Tom Kennedy, Gerald Veasley, Chris Tarry, Chuck Bianchi, David Hughes, and many more. 2 HOURS OF MUSIC! Plus, as a lifetime subscriber, you will also be able to download all future IIB MP3 Bass Samplers as they are added to the Subscriber's Area. ... Read More!
Bass Tips Of The Week - You will have access to a huge database of lesson material that has been written on topics such as Classical & Jazz Music Theory, Sight Reading, Ear Training, Bass Line Construction, Right & Left Hand Technique, Soloing, Jazz Improvisation, Slapping, Tapping, Chordal Techniques, Harmonics, Fingerstyle Funk, Altered Tunings, and Concepts For Solo Bass Playing. All of the lessons are available as downloadable PDF files.
There are over 60 individual lessons and over 100 MP3 play-alongs currently available for download within the IIB Subscriber's Area, and this collection of lesson material continues to expand every month.
To learn more about the benefits of becoming a lifetime subscriber of the IIB and to download a sample lesson from the Bass Tips Of The Week, Click Here!
As A Lifetime Subscriber, You Will Receive The Following Benefits:
The IIB Giveaways - Each month, the IIB gives its viewers the opportunity to participate in various monthly giveaways. As a lifetime subscriber, you will be automatically entered in every monthly giveaway and have the ability to win products including basses, amplifiers, speaker cabinets, combo amps, effects, strings, instrument cables, pickups, gig bags, straps, gift certificates, DVD's, CD's, books, lessons, t-shirts, and more! Special thanks to all of our giveaway sponsors including D'Addario, Planet Waves, Thunderfunk, AccuGroove, Line 6, Ibanez, SWR Sound, Fender, Evidence Audio, Norstrand Pickups, Zon Guitars, Bass Specialties, and BassBooks.com. ... Read More!
The IIB MP3 Bass Samplers Volumes 1 & 2 - You'll receive access to the IIB MP3 Bass Samplers Volumes I & II which feature 22 selected tracks that have been recorded by many of today's premier bass artists including Michael Manring, Marcus Miller, Stuart Hamm, Gary Willis, Ray Riendeau, Adam Nitti, Norm Stockton, Todd Johnson, Jeff Schmidt, Yves Carbonne, Tom Kennedy, Gerald Veasley, Chris Tarry, Chuck Bianchi, David Hughes, and many more. 2 HOURS OF MUSIC! Plus, as a lifetime subscriber, you will also be able to download all future IIB MP3 Bass Samplers as they are added to the Subscriber's Area. ... Read More!
Bass Tips Of The Week - You will have access to a huge database of lesson material that has been written on topics such as Classical & Jazz Music Theory, Sight Reading, Ear Training, Bass Line Construction, Right & Left Hand Technique, Soloing, Jazz Improvisation, Slapping, Tapping, Chordal Techniques, Harmonics, Fingerstyle Funk, Altered Tunings, and Concepts For Solo Bass Playing. All of the lessons are available as downloadable PDF files.
There are over 60 individual lessons and over 100 MP3 play-alongs currently available for download within the IIB Subscriber's Area, and this collection of lesson material continues to expand every month.
To learn more about the benefits of becoming a lifetime subscriber of the IIB and to download a sample lesson from the Bass Tips Of The Week, Click Here!
Bass Lessons Online - Todd Johnson: Chord Melody For Bass - "Bye Bye Blackbird"
In 1989, I enrolled at Musicians Institute to study with Gary Willis, Steve Bailey, Bob Magnusson, Jeff Berlin, and all of the other great players that were teaching there at the time. It was there that I saw Ron Escheté play bass lines and harmony on a 7-string electric guitar. Before I had met Ron, I knew it was possible to do this on a 6-string bass, but I just didn't know what to play. One day, Ron and I got together, and he asked me if I could play an F7 voicing with the third and seventh on the high strings while playing an F on one of the lower strings. Then, he wanted me to move the third and seventh of F7 down a half step and find a low Bb to play a Bb7 chord. When I went home, I figured out how to play an entire F blues using just thirds and sevenths. During our next session, he wanted to see what I could do on "Autumn Leaves." He told me that as long as I kept thirds and sevenths in my chords, he didn't really need anything else to play over. After a couple sessions, those ideas started coming together, and Ron started playing polychords on top of what I was doing.
My chordal studies on bass began with a blues in F and countless hours of hard work. Now, I can do all those things simultaneously without having to think about it. In much of jazz music, when it comes time for the bass solo, everyone stops playing and takes a break. The bass player supports everyone during their solos, and then they just quit on the bass player when it's time for the bass solo. Since I can play bass lines, harmony, and melody at the same time utilizing chordal techniques, I can accompany myself during a bass solo so I don't have to rely on anyone else to provide the chordal accompaniment.
"Bye Bye Blackbird" is one of my favorite standards from the jazz repertoire. I recorded this particular chord melody arrangement on my DVD, The Solo Session, with my Zon 6-string bass. You'll need a 6-string in order to play this transcription note-for-note, but you can play most of this rendition, with the exception of a few notes, on a 5-string bass that is tuned E-A-D-G-C. If you enjoy this distinct style of solo bass performance that goes beyond the traditional role of the bass guitar, I recommend checking out the entire DVD since it contains my chord melody arrangements of many other popular jazz standards and can serve as a master class for learning chordal vocabulary.
This transcription features the first two choruses of my arrangement. On the DVD, I follow these two melody choruses with two solo choruses before ending with another melody chorus. This arrangement has been notated using both standard notation and tablature. Please note that the standard notation has been written one octave lower than where it is played on the fingerboard to eliminate the extensive use of ledger lines and to provide an easy means of comparing the chordal structures between both choruses. The positions indicated in the tablature represent the actual positions that I played on this track. In addition to the standard notation and tablature, I have provided a streaming video clip from my DVD so you can see the exact fingerings I'm utilizing to play this arrangement. As you will notice throughout the transcription, I play chords in two different ways. Some of the chords are played in a block style format where all the notes are sounded simultaneously with my thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers while other chords are articulated in a rolled fashion where I arpeggiate the notes from low to high in quick succession, one after the other. ... Read More!
My chordal studies on bass began with a blues in F and countless hours of hard work. Now, I can do all those things simultaneously without having to think about it. In much of jazz music, when it comes time for the bass solo, everyone stops playing and takes a break. The bass player supports everyone during their solos, and then they just quit on the bass player when it's time for the bass solo. Since I can play bass lines, harmony, and melody at the same time utilizing chordal techniques, I can accompany myself during a bass solo so I don't have to rely on anyone else to provide the chordal accompaniment.
"Bye Bye Blackbird" is one of my favorite standards from the jazz repertoire. I recorded this particular chord melody arrangement on my DVD, The Solo Session, with my Zon 6-string bass. You'll need a 6-string in order to play this transcription note-for-note, but you can play most of this rendition, with the exception of a few notes, on a 5-string bass that is tuned E-A-D-G-C. If you enjoy this distinct style of solo bass performance that goes beyond the traditional role of the bass guitar, I recommend checking out the entire DVD since it contains my chord melody arrangements of many other popular jazz standards and can serve as a master class for learning chordal vocabulary.
This transcription features the first two choruses of my arrangement. On the DVD, I follow these two melody choruses with two solo choruses before ending with another melody chorus. This arrangement has been notated using both standard notation and tablature. Please note that the standard notation has been written one octave lower than where it is played on the fingerboard to eliminate the extensive use of ledger lines and to provide an easy means of comparing the chordal structures between both choruses. The positions indicated in the tablature represent the actual positions that I played on this track. In addition to the standard notation and tablature, I have provided a streaming video clip from my DVD so you can see the exact fingerings I'm utilizing to play this arrangement. As you will notice throughout the transcription, I play chords in two different ways. Some of the chords are played in a block style format where all the notes are sounded simultaneously with my thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers while other chords are articulated in a rolled fashion where I arpeggiate the notes from low to high in quick succession, one after the other. ... Read More!
Bass Abroad - Markus Setzer
One-half of an atypical duo collaboration that features the vocal accompaniment of his wife, Markus Setzer has released four bass and voice recording sessions under the name Reimer|Setzer, and over the past several years, the celebrated duo has performed their unconventional arrangements at music festivals across much of Europe. As one of the most highly regarded bassists and clinicians in Germany, Setzer leads workshops through his bass academy and has demonstrated his concepts to hundreds of bass enthusiasts at many of Europe's popular bass events including the European BassDay, Bass Days Poland, and the Euro Bass Day. Since 2001, Setzer has also contributed a regular lesson column to Gitarre & Bass magazine which is distributed throughout Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the Netherlands. ... Read More!
Reviews - Alain Caron: Conversations
Conversations is the sixth studio session released by internationally acclaimed bassist Alain Caron. While all of Caron's previous projects as a leader have been comprised of electric fusion tracks within different ensemble configurations, this recording features a set of intimate acoustic duos pairing Caron with highly regarded pianists including Francois Bourassa, Lorraine Desmarais, Oliver Jones, Otmaro Ruiz, and vibraphonist Jean St-Jacques. As its aptly named title suggests, this recording contains musical conversations between Caron and his guests which is very reminiscent of all the historic recordings that captured the brilliant interplay between pianist Bill Evans and his bassists, Scott LaFaro and Eddie Gomez, through the 1960's and 70's. Similar to what Evans' famed bassists demonstrated on those extraordinary trio dates, Caron weaves in and out of hard swinging walking bass lines, tight unison exchanges, and melodic solos utilizing only a fretless acoustic bass guitar. Caron's tone is deep but articulate, his intonation is impeccable, and he plays some of the most sophisticated jazz bass solos you will hear anywhere. With the exceptions of the bebop classic "Confirmation" by Charlie Parker and "Setembro," a Brazilian wedding song, Caron composed ten of the dozen tracks included on this collection. Compositionally, these traditional pieces might not consist of what you would expect to hear from Caron when compared to the previous endeavors that he has released as a solo artist over the past 15 years, but they do explore a brand new dimension of his remarkable writing and performance facility which I look forward to hearing more of in the future because you can't help but enjoy listening to these conversations. ... Read More!
Bass Tips Of The Week
Soloing Techniques - "Giant Steps"
One of the most effective ways to learn how to solo involves the transcription, analysis, emulation, and manipulation of the phrases recorded by your favorite soloists. Similar to learning a new language, soloing involves studying and using a vocabulary to express and develop ideas. Because note choice, rhythm, and phrasing are too many variables to consider at the beginning, transcribed solos that have been recorded by your favorite musicians will initially limit your focus and help establish a solid foundation so you don't feel overwhelmed with all of the possibilities that are available to you as a soloist.
Keep a collection of transcribed solos by your favorite bassists, saxophonists, trumpet players, pianists, and guitarists. This archive may consist of solos you've personally transcribed as well as solos you've acquired through other resources. Even though there are a number of outstanding bass soloists including John Patitucci and Jeff Berlin, be sure to check out the solos of other great instrumentalists like Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Oscar Peterson.
As bassists, we devote most of our time to practicing grooves since our primary function in an ensemble is to provide support within the rhythm section, and as a result, bassists are generally not the best soloists. While bassists such as John Patitucci and Jeff Berlin spent time analyzing bass solos early in their development, today they are considered elite bass guitar soloists because they have spent a significant amount of time studying solos that were recorded by their favorite horn players, pianists, and guitarists which they then assimilated into their own approach. By examining the solos played by horn players, for example, you are presented with a different approach to playing bass since horn players don't have to deal with the same physical limitations that are imposed by a fretted bass guitar.
After you transcribe the lines of your favorite soloists, practice playing them along with the recordings by memorization without referring to the notation. Listen very deeply to how the master soloists communicate through the language of improvisation. Strive to not only play all of the notes and rhythms perfectly but also emulate the sound and feel that has been captured on the recordings as close as possible. Pay particular attention to all the little nuances and inflections that soloists often incorporate into their phrases, and try to make an emotional connection to the solos. Once you understand how they arrange their phrases, you will be able to utilize that knowledge and create more sophisticated solos by altering the basic structure of your favorite phrases through melodic interpretation and rhythmic displacement and then assimilate those ideas into your own solos.
As a soloist, one technique of melodic interpretation involves the varying of phrase lengths. This can be accomplished through either phrase extension (prolongation) or phrase compression (reduction). Phrase extension can be applied by simply making the durations of notes longer or including notes not found in the original melody. Phrase compression is a technique where a portion of the phrase is omitted or note durations are shortened.
Besides altering the melodic vocabulary within a phrase using the techniques of extension and reduction, phrases can be modified through rhythmic displacement. Rhythmic displacement is a basic musical concept that involves taking a figure and manipulating it by simply shifting notes from their original position to other beats within the music. Effective rhythmic phrasing is an essential aspect of sustaining rhythmic interest. When presenting a speech, the best speakers will pause in order to allow the listeners to absorb the information. Great soloists take the same approach and will incorporate pauses so that the listeners can process the musical ideas being expressed. A completely different solo phrase can be created by just changing the place within the measure where you begin and end phrases as well as manipulating the length of the phrases.
Have you ever sat through a speech where the speaker talked in a monotone voice throughout the entire presentation? Just as a skillful speaker will use different inflections during a speech, sophisticated soloists will integrate various articulation techniques, dynamics, and vibrato into their phrases. Instead of just playing the notes without accents, you can breathe life into your phrases by using articulations such as grace notes, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides. You can also assimilate different degrees of dynamics and vibrato according to your personal taste. If, as a soloist, you don't insert a combination of both melodic and rhythmic interest into your solos, listeners will simply tune you out as they would someone speaking in a monotone voice so you should always try to maintain interesting and varied phrasing.
Learn as many melodies as possible because they usually contain repetition and the best target notes, and experiment with improvising phrases using variations on those melodies. This is a great way to understand how ideas relate to each other which will help you expand and personalize your own ideas. Melodies can begin early, start late, speed up, or slow down, and the accompaniment will continue. By learning how to play and interpret melodies, you will acquire the ability to break free of outlining every chord change that is played because you will learn to hear the chord progressions moving underneath your phrases instead of using specific note choice to constantly remind you of the chord changes. As you learn more melodies, you will acquire a sense of the independence the melodic instrument has from the accompaniment.
In this lesson, we will take a look at the classic solo recorded by tenor saxophonist John Coltrane on "Giant Steps." Coltrane is recognized as one of the most influential innovators in the history of jazz music. His solo on "Giant Steps" features a brilliant display of voice leading techniques comprised of melodic phrases over ii-V-I chord progressions. Since the ii-V-I chord progression is the most common harmonic formula utilized in the jazz vocabulary and the foundation of countless jazz standards, you can take your favorite phrases from this solo and easily incorporate them into other jazz tunes. ... Read More!
Jazz Improvisation - Melodic Interpretation: "Giant Steps"
In this lesson, we will take a look at one of the practically infinite ways you could interpret the classic jazz standard, "Giant Steps." In the standard notation, you will find two bass clefs. The top bass clef features the basic melody played in a very straight-ahead fashion. In the bottom bass clef, I have notated one possible way of interpreting this melody demonstrated through some of the devices discussed previously. First play the basic melody many times. Next, play my interpretation of "Giant Steps," paying specific attention to the numerous notated articulations. Then, create your own melodic interpretations by experimenting with the techniques of melodic development. Finally, seek out recordings by the masters, transcribe their lines, and analyze how they interpret the melody of "Giant Steps" as well as other classic jazz standards. Take note of how they embellish key melody notes, how they begin and end phrases, the way in which they vary phrase lengths, and the different methods they use to articulate the tones. In addition to transcribing those phrases, play along with the recording and try to mimic all of the articulations, dynamics, and vibrato. After you feel comfortable playing along with your favorite melodic interpretations on recordings, expand upon those ideas and build your own solos around those concepts. ... Read More!
Sight Reading For Bass - Rhythm Studies: Ties
If you take an analytical approach to sight reading standard notation and break it down into its fundamental components, you are left with two primary variables consisting of notes and rhythms. Since there are only 12 unique pitches in the Western-based musical alphabet, memorizing their positions on the staff in the bass clef as well as on the fingerboard of your instrument is a relatively easy task. The much more challenging aspect of sight reading standard notation is experienced in learning to instantly recognize rhythms. Unlike notes where there are a relatively few number of them, the rhythmic combinations you could be potentially presented with in a piece of standard notation are practically limitless.
In this lesson, we will work through a collection of rhythm studies exercises comprised of tied rhythmic combinations in an effort to increase the proficiency of your rhythmic recognition skills when sight reading standard notation for bass. In standard notation, a tie is simply a curved line that connects two notes of the same pitch, and when tied, the rhythmic value of those notes is added together. Therefore, the first note is played, and the tied notes are then held for the full rhythmic duration of both notes without articulating the second note of the tie. Since the principal goal of this lesson is to improve rhythmic acuity as it pertains to sight reading, these rhythm studies exercises have been notated using rhythmic notation. This is the type of notation that a drummer would be required to read in a percussion-related chart. ... Read More!
One of the most effective ways to learn how to solo involves the transcription, analysis, emulation, and manipulation of the phrases recorded by your favorite soloists. Similar to learning a new language, soloing involves studying and using a vocabulary to express and develop ideas. Because note choice, rhythm, and phrasing are too many variables to consider at the beginning, transcribed solos that have been recorded by your favorite musicians will initially limit your focus and help establish a solid foundation so you don't feel overwhelmed with all of the possibilities that are available to you as a soloist.
Keep a collection of transcribed solos by your favorite bassists, saxophonists, trumpet players, pianists, and guitarists. This archive may consist of solos you've personally transcribed as well as solos you've acquired through other resources. Even though there are a number of outstanding bass soloists including John Patitucci and Jeff Berlin, be sure to check out the solos of other great instrumentalists like Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Oscar Peterson.
As bassists, we devote most of our time to practicing grooves since our primary function in an ensemble is to provide support within the rhythm section, and as a result, bassists are generally not the best soloists. While bassists such as John Patitucci and Jeff Berlin spent time analyzing bass solos early in their development, today they are considered elite bass guitar soloists because they have spent a significant amount of time studying solos that were recorded by their favorite horn players, pianists, and guitarists which they then assimilated into their own approach. By examining the solos played by horn players, for example, you are presented with a different approach to playing bass since horn players don't have to deal with the same physical limitations that are imposed by a fretted bass guitar.
After you transcribe the lines of your favorite soloists, practice playing them along with the recordings by memorization without referring to the notation. Listen very deeply to how the master soloists communicate through the language of improvisation. Strive to not only play all of the notes and rhythms perfectly but also emulate the sound and feel that has been captured on the recordings as close as possible. Pay particular attention to all the little nuances and inflections that soloists often incorporate into their phrases, and try to make an emotional connection to the solos. Once you understand how they arrange their phrases, you will be able to utilize that knowledge and create more sophisticated solos by altering the basic structure of your favorite phrases through melodic interpretation and rhythmic displacement and then assimilate those ideas into your own solos.
As a soloist, one technique of melodic interpretation involves the varying of phrase lengths. This can be accomplished through either phrase extension (prolongation) or phrase compression (reduction). Phrase extension can be applied by simply making the durations of notes longer or including notes not found in the original melody. Phrase compression is a technique where a portion of the phrase is omitted or note durations are shortened.
Besides altering the melodic vocabulary within a phrase using the techniques of extension and reduction, phrases can be modified through rhythmic displacement. Rhythmic displacement is a basic musical concept that involves taking a figure and manipulating it by simply shifting notes from their original position to other beats within the music. Effective rhythmic phrasing is an essential aspect of sustaining rhythmic interest. When presenting a speech, the best speakers will pause in order to allow the listeners to absorb the information. Great soloists take the same approach and will incorporate pauses so that the listeners can process the musical ideas being expressed. A completely different solo phrase can be created by just changing the place within the measure where you begin and end phrases as well as manipulating the length of the phrases.
Have you ever sat through a speech where the speaker talked in a monotone voice throughout the entire presentation? Just as a skillful speaker will use different inflections during a speech, sophisticated soloists will integrate various articulation techniques, dynamics, and vibrato into their phrases. Instead of just playing the notes without accents, you can breathe life into your phrases by using articulations such as grace notes, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides. You can also assimilate different degrees of dynamics and vibrato according to your personal taste. If, as a soloist, you don't insert a combination of both melodic and rhythmic interest into your solos, listeners will simply tune you out as they would someone speaking in a monotone voice so you should always try to maintain interesting and varied phrasing.
Learn as many melodies as possible because they usually contain repetition and the best target notes, and experiment with improvising phrases using variations on those melodies. This is a great way to understand how ideas relate to each other which will help you expand and personalize your own ideas. Melodies can begin early, start late, speed up, or slow down, and the accompaniment will continue. By learning how to play and interpret melodies, you will acquire the ability to break free of outlining every chord change that is played because you will learn to hear the chord progressions moving underneath your phrases instead of using specific note choice to constantly remind you of the chord changes. As you learn more melodies, you will acquire a sense of the independence the melodic instrument has from the accompaniment.
In this lesson, we will take a look at the classic solo recorded by tenor saxophonist John Coltrane on "Giant Steps." Coltrane is recognized as one of the most influential innovators in the history of jazz music. His solo on "Giant Steps" features a brilliant display of voice leading techniques comprised of melodic phrases over ii-V-I chord progressions. Since the ii-V-I chord progression is the most common harmonic formula utilized in the jazz vocabulary and the foundation of countless jazz standards, you can take your favorite phrases from this solo and easily incorporate them into other jazz tunes. ... Read More!
Jazz Improvisation - Melodic Interpretation: "Giant Steps"
In this lesson, we will take a look at one of the practically infinite ways you could interpret the classic jazz standard, "Giant Steps." In the standard notation, you will find two bass clefs. The top bass clef features the basic melody played in a very straight-ahead fashion. In the bottom bass clef, I have notated one possible way of interpreting this melody demonstrated through some of the devices discussed previously. First play the basic melody many times. Next, play my interpretation of "Giant Steps," paying specific attention to the numerous notated articulations. Then, create your own melodic interpretations by experimenting with the techniques of melodic development. Finally, seek out recordings by the masters, transcribe their lines, and analyze how they interpret the melody of "Giant Steps" as well as other classic jazz standards. Take note of how they embellish key melody notes, how they begin and end phrases, the way in which they vary phrase lengths, and the different methods they use to articulate the tones. In addition to transcribing those phrases, play along with the recording and try to mimic all of the articulations, dynamics, and vibrato. After you feel comfortable playing along with your favorite melodic interpretations on recordings, expand upon those ideas and build your own solos around those concepts. ... Read More!
Sight Reading For Bass - Rhythm Studies: Ties
If you take an analytical approach to sight reading standard notation and break it down into its fundamental components, you are left with two primary variables consisting of notes and rhythms. Since there are only 12 unique pitches in the Western-based musical alphabet, memorizing their positions on the staff in the bass clef as well as on the fingerboard of your instrument is a relatively easy task. The much more challenging aspect of sight reading standard notation is experienced in learning to instantly recognize rhythms. Unlike notes where there are a relatively few number of them, the rhythmic combinations you could be potentially presented with in a piece of standard notation are practically limitless.
In this lesson, we will work through a collection of rhythm studies exercises comprised of tied rhythmic combinations in an effort to increase the proficiency of your rhythmic recognition skills when sight reading standard notation for bass. In standard notation, a tie is simply a curved line that connects two notes of the same pitch, and when tied, the rhythmic value of those notes is added together. Therefore, the first note is played, and the tied notes are then held for the full rhythmic duration of both notes without articulating the second note of the tie. Since the principal goal of this lesson is to improve rhythmic acuity as it pertains to sight reading, these rhythm studies exercises have been notated using rhythmic notation. This is the type of notation that a drummer would be required to read in a percussion-related chart. ... Read More!
News
Be sure to check out the latest books, DVD's, CD's, and gear. ... Read More!
Chris Tarry - Almost Certainly Dreaming
International Bass Night Featuring Michael Manring, Yves Carbonne, and Edo Castro
Chris Tarry - Almost Certainly Dreaming
International Bass Night Featuring Michael Manring, Yves Carbonne, and Edo Castro
Advertising Special On The IIB!
If you purchase a 6-month advertising package, you'll receive 2 months of advertising on the IIB for FREE! The International Institute of Bassists is a bass-centric web site aimed specifically toward the art of contemporary bass playing and the study of the bass tradition. Since its founding in 1997, the IIB has established a long-time presence on the internet and grown into one of the largest and most popular interactive bass-related web sites found online. As a viewer of the IIB, you can read exclusive interviews with bass virtuosos including Michael Manring, Stuart Hamm, Jeff Berlin, Gary Willis, Matt Garrison, Keith Horne, and Brian Bromberg to name just a few. Viewers of the IIB also have access to free, downloadable lessons which are published by a staff of highly-respected instructors such as Michael Manring, Ray Riendeau, and Berklee College of Music associate professor Jim Stinnett. In addition, viewers have access to interviews with the founders of manufacturing companies, bass shops, and bass events along with the latest bass-related news, reviews, and streaming media. ... Read More!
The IIB Giveaways
Each month, the IIB gives its viewers the opportunity to participate in various monthly giveaways. Sponsored by: D'Addario, Planet Waves, Thunderfunk, AccuGroove, Line 6, Ibanez, SWR Sound, Fender, Evidence Audio, Norstrand Pickups, Zon Guitars, Bass Specialties, and BassBooks.com. To become eligible to win products including basses, amplifiers, speaker cabinets, combo amps, effects, strings, instrument cables, pickups, gig bags, straps, gift certificates, DVD's, CD's, books, lessons, t-shirts, and more!
ENTER TO WIN TODAY! ... Read More!
ENTER TO WIN TODAY! ... Read More!
The IIB MP3 Bass Samplers - Volumes 1 & 2
The IIB MP3 Bass Samplers are comprised of selected tracks that have been recorded by many of today's premier bass artists including Marcus Miller, Michael Manring, Stuart Hamm, Gary Willis, Adam Nitti, Norm Stockton, Ray Riendeau, Tom Kennedy, Yves Carbonne, Gerald Veasley, and many more.
2 HOURS OF MUSIC! ... Read More!
2 HOURS OF MUSIC! ... Read More!
As a subscriber, you will receive the following benefits:
The IIB Monthly Giveaways - Each month, your name will be entered in all of our various giveaways providing you with the opportunity to win basses, amplifiers, speaker cabinets, combo amps, effects, strings, instrument cables, pickups, gig bags, straps, gift certificates, DVD's, CD's, books, lessons, t-shirts, and more! ... Read More!
The IIB MP3 Bass Samplers - Volumes 1 & 2 - You'll receive access to the IIB MP3 Bass Samplers which feature selected tracks that have been recorded by many of today's premier bass artists including Marcus Miller, Michael Manring, Stuart Hamm, Gary Willis, Adam Nitti, Norm Stockton, Ray Riendeau, Tom Kennedy, Yves Carbonne, Gerald Veasley, and many more. 2 HOURS OF MUSIC! ... Read More!
Bass Tips Of The Week - You will have access to a huge database of lesson material that has been written on subjects such as Classical & Jazz Music Theory, Sight Reading, Ear Training, Bass Line Construction, Right & Left Hand Technique, Soloing, Jazz Improvisation, Slapping, Tapping, Chordal Techniques, Harmonics, Fingerstyle Funk, Altered Tunings, and Concepts For Solo Bass Playing. All of the lessons are available as downloadable PDF files.
There are over 60 individual lessons and over 100 MP3 play-alongs currently available for download within the IIB Subscriber's Area.
By becoming a subscriber, you will help keep this resource online for you and others to enjoy in the future.
The IIB MP3 Bass Samplers - Volumes 1 & 2 - You'll receive access to the IIB MP3 Bass Samplers which feature selected tracks that have been recorded by many of today's premier bass artists including Marcus Miller, Michael Manring, Stuart Hamm, Gary Willis, Adam Nitti, Norm Stockton, Ray Riendeau, Tom Kennedy, Yves Carbonne, Gerald Veasley, and many more. 2 HOURS OF MUSIC! ... Read More!
Bass Tips Of The Week - You will have access to a huge database of lesson material that has been written on subjects such as Classical & Jazz Music Theory, Sight Reading, Ear Training, Bass Line Construction, Right & Left Hand Technique, Soloing, Jazz Improvisation, Slapping, Tapping, Chordal Techniques, Harmonics, Fingerstyle Funk, Altered Tunings, and Concepts For Solo Bass Playing. All of the lessons are available as downloadable PDF files.
There are over 60 individual lessons and over 100 MP3 play-alongs currently available for download within the IIB Subscriber's Area.
By becoming a subscriber, you will help keep this resource online for you and others to enjoy in the future.
CLICK HERE To Subscribe Today For Only $9.95 Per Year!
If you have any comments, suggestions, news-related items such as press releases, or products that you would like to submit for review on the IIB, please feel free to e-mail: Editor@InstituteOfBass.com.
Thanks so much for your continued support, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Editor: The IIB
December 2007
To Unsubscribe from the IIB's monthly newsletter, simply go to: http://www.instituteofbass.com and submit your e-mail to be removed.
Thanks so much for your continued support, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Editor: The IIB
December 2007
To Unsubscribe from the IIB's monthly newsletter, simply go to: http://www.instituteofbass.com and submit your e-mail to be removed.
