The IIB Monthly Newsletter
Volume 9, Number 2
Hello 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!
Product Spotlight - Thunderfunk Amps
Designed to amplify the natural characteristics of bass instruments, Thunderfunk amplifiers are becoming the choice of the world's best bassists. Founded by electronics designer Dave Funk, Thunderfunk Amplification manufactures one of the most versatile, lightweight, and powerful tube bass amplifiers currently being produced. Thunderfunk's newest model, the TFB750A, is constructed of an aluminum chassis that weighs only 21 lbs., and it can be utilized as a fully integrated amplifier, DI, preamp, or power amplifier. Among its numerous components are a built-in limiter, 4-band semi-parametric equalizer, enhance and timbre controls for tone sculpting, "the switch," and a cooling fan that can be left on or turned off for quiet operation. In addition to building amps for the working bassist, Funk is also the author of a tube amp workbook which is recognized as a standard reference guide for collectors, owners, and technicians of vintage Fender tube guitar amplifiers. ... Read More!
Bass Events - The Bass Bootcamp
Scheduled in conjunction with the Berks Jazz Festival, Gerald Veasley's Bass Bootcamp is an annual event that is held each March in Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2002 by Veasley, one of today's leading contemporary jazz bassists, to help bassists jumpstart their playing, the Bass Bootcamp has since become one of the most popular and successful yearly bass events in North America. Led by an international faculty of professional bassists whose mission is to inform and inspire students in a challenging yet supportive environment, former clinicians include Michael Manring, Gary Willis, Victor Wooten, Brian Bromberg, Adam Nitti, Victor Bailey, Bakithi Kumalo, Richard Bona, and Doug Wimbish. For three intense days, bass enthusiasts from around the world will gather at the bootcamp to participate in a series of non-stop workshops and clinics that run throughout the day, and at night, campers will have the opportunity to attend world-class festival performances. ... Read More!
Reviews - Peter Muller: The Flow
Following the successful release of M-Vibez, his acclaimed debut in 2003, Peter Muller has produced his second solo session, The Flow. Over the past two decades, Muller has become recognized as a leading bass figure throughout Europe. Compiled in his own Wave Island studio in Germany and distributed under his own label Mullenium Records, Muller is joined by Frank Mead (sax, flute), Tim Cansfield (guitar), Tobias Neumann (keyboards), Christian Kappe (trumpet), Ulle Rode (guitar), Kristof Hinz (drums), and Tim Weller (drums) on 10 remarkable tracks which blend funk, contemporary jazz, r&b, and soul sounds. Utilizing his classic 1979 Fender Jazz bass, Muller articulates the punchy slap grooves and solos that bass enthusiasts have come to expect from Muller. In addition to the virtuoso slap bass playing, Muller also contributes fretless bass melodies, percussion, synthesizers, samples, and guitar tones to this release. While some sophomore productions fail to meet the expectations set forth by their predecessor, Muller's latest project delivers from start to finish. Although the bass is featured in a prominent role in each of these selections, you don't have to be a bassist to enjoy the depth of these compositions. If you are an aficionado of funk music, heavy grooves, or lead bass playing, The Flow is definitely worth checking out. ... Read More!
Bass Tips Of The Week
Sight Reading For Bass - Blues Bass Lines
If you take an analytical approach to sight reading standard notation and break it down into its fundamental elements, you are left with two primary components consisting of notes and rhythms. In order to begin sight reading standard notation for bass, you must have two pieces of note-based information committed to memory including the notes on the staff in the bass clef as well as the position of those notes on the fingerboard. 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 because 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. Once you have the notes on the staff as well as on your instrument thoroughly internalized, the position of those notes will never change. The only thing about those notes that is going to change will be their function as they are applied to different chord types.
In this lesson, you are presented with 16 choruses of the 12-bar blues. Each chorus consists of a classic blues bass line, and each bass line has been written in a different key in an effort to increase the proficiency of your note recognition skills when sight reading standard notation for bass. If any of the exercises seem easy, simply increase the tempo. No matter how fast you can read through these lines error-free, you can always improve your note recognition skills and heighten the degree of difficulty by increasing the tempo. Becoming a proficient sight reader of standard notation on an advanced level is a process that takes dedication and time. This isn't a subject area that anyone is going to have completely mastered within just a couple weeks or even a couple months. After you have successfully completed reading through these classic blues bass lines, go back and practice transposing each chorus to all of the other keys. You can also commit these bass lines to memory to utilize in live performance situations.
Although these exercises may seem somewhat dry since memorizing notes on a sheet of standard notation and your bass isn't the most exciting task you will ever devote time to practicing, great strides can be made in your ability to sight read standard notation over a relatively short span of time by concentrating on these basic note recognition exercises. By becoming a proficient sight reader, you will see your options as a working bassist increase exponentially because you will be able to more effectively communicate with other musicians. There are so many gigs available which require the ability to read standard notation. Whether your goal is to become a commercial session bassist, a member of the college jazz ensemble, bass chair of the local symphony orchestra, play in the school musical, or provide support in your community church, becoming a proficient sight reader will only increase your opportunities and chances of obtaining these gigs. Not only does being able to sight read greatly increase your value as an in-demand bass player, but as an additional benefit, it also makes your practice sessions much more productive since you are able to use that time more efficiently and cover more material. ... Read More!
Walking Bass Lines: Roots, Fifths & Octaves
The three fundamental building blocks of walking bass line construction in jazz music include chord tones, scale tones, and chromatic approach notes. Chord tones consist of the root, third, fifth, and seventh degrees of a scale while scale tones include the second, fourth, and sixth degrees. These chord and scale tones are commonly referred to as target tones. Chromatic approach notes are non-diatonic tones which are not found within the chord or its diatonically associated scale. The most basic method of outlining chord changes is through the utilization of root notes, fifths, and octaves.
Since a root note and an octave are the same notes, we can classify this as a two-note approach to walking bass line construction, and by simply repeating a root note or fifth or even adding an octave, you can easily generate dozens of four-note cells over the four beats within the span of a single measure. Instead of thinking F-C, the notes that are available to use on F7, you can designate numbers to represent their scale degrees such as 1-5-8 (F = 1, C = 5, and Octave F = 8). You can then take these cells and manipulate them into various permutations such as 1-1-5-5, 1-5-1-5, 1-5-1-8, 1-5-8-1, 1-5-8-5, 1-8-1-5, 1-8-5-1, 1-8-5-8, 1-1-8-8, 1-8-1-8, 8-8-1-1, 8-1-8-1, 8-1-5-8, 8-1-8-5, 8-8-5-5, 8-5-8-5, 8-1-5-1, 8-5-1-5, 8-5-1-8, 8-5-8-1, and so forth. You don't always have to play a different note on every subsequent beat of the measure. All of the great jazz bassists repeat notes because that repetition provides structure and continuity within bass lines.
Although you can place any note of a scale on the first beat of the measure or the downbeat of the chord change, you will generally want to play the root note or octave on beat one when initially learning this root-fifth-octave approach. As you gain more confidence in your ability to use these basic scale degrees, you can then experiment with improvising lines by placing fifths on the first beat of chord changes. Keep in mind that there are many more root-fifth-octave cells possible than what I have outlined here especially if you consider the cells that could begin with the perfect fifth. ... Read More!
If you take an analytical approach to sight reading standard notation and break it down into its fundamental elements, you are left with two primary components consisting of notes and rhythms. In order to begin sight reading standard notation for bass, you must have two pieces of note-based information committed to memory including the notes on the staff in the bass clef as well as the position of those notes on the fingerboard. 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 because 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. Once you have the notes on the staff as well as on your instrument thoroughly internalized, the position of those notes will never change. The only thing about those notes that is going to change will be their function as they are applied to different chord types.
In this lesson, you are presented with 16 choruses of the 12-bar blues. Each chorus consists of a classic blues bass line, and each bass line has been written in a different key in an effort to increase the proficiency of your note recognition skills when sight reading standard notation for bass. If any of the exercises seem easy, simply increase the tempo. No matter how fast you can read through these lines error-free, you can always improve your note recognition skills and heighten the degree of difficulty by increasing the tempo. Becoming a proficient sight reader of standard notation on an advanced level is a process that takes dedication and time. This isn't a subject area that anyone is going to have completely mastered within just a couple weeks or even a couple months. After you have successfully completed reading through these classic blues bass lines, go back and practice transposing each chorus to all of the other keys. You can also commit these bass lines to memory to utilize in live performance situations.
Although these exercises may seem somewhat dry since memorizing notes on a sheet of standard notation and your bass isn't the most exciting task you will ever devote time to practicing, great strides can be made in your ability to sight read standard notation over a relatively short span of time by concentrating on these basic note recognition exercises. By becoming a proficient sight reader, you will see your options as a working bassist increase exponentially because you will be able to more effectively communicate with other musicians. There are so many gigs available which require the ability to read standard notation. Whether your goal is to become a commercial session bassist, a member of the college jazz ensemble, bass chair of the local symphony orchestra, play in the school musical, or provide support in your community church, becoming a proficient sight reader will only increase your opportunities and chances of obtaining these gigs. Not only does being able to sight read greatly increase your value as an in-demand bass player, but as an additional benefit, it also makes your practice sessions much more productive since you are able to use that time more efficiently and cover more material. ... Read More!
Walking Bass Lines: Roots, Fifths & Octaves
The three fundamental building blocks of walking bass line construction in jazz music include chord tones, scale tones, and chromatic approach notes. Chord tones consist of the root, third, fifth, and seventh degrees of a scale while scale tones include the second, fourth, and sixth degrees. These chord and scale tones are commonly referred to as target tones. Chromatic approach notes are non-diatonic tones which are not found within the chord or its diatonically associated scale. The most basic method of outlining chord changes is through the utilization of root notes, fifths, and octaves.
Since a root note and an octave are the same notes, we can classify this as a two-note approach to walking bass line construction, and by simply repeating a root note or fifth or even adding an octave, you can easily generate dozens of four-note cells over the four beats within the span of a single measure. Instead of thinking F-C, the notes that are available to use on F7, you can designate numbers to represent their scale degrees such as 1-5-8 (F = 1, C = 5, and Octave F = 8). You can then take these cells and manipulate them into various permutations such as 1-1-5-5, 1-5-1-5, 1-5-1-8, 1-5-8-1, 1-5-8-5, 1-8-1-5, 1-8-5-1, 1-8-5-8, 1-1-8-8, 1-8-1-8, 8-8-1-1, 8-1-8-1, 8-1-5-8, 8-1-8-5, 8-8-5-5, 8-5-8-5, 8-1-5-1, 8-5-1-5, 8-5-1-8, 8-5-8-1, and so forth. You don't always have to play a different note on every subsequent beat of the measure. All of the great jazz bassists repeat notes because that repetition provides structure and continuity within bass lines.
Although you can place any note of a scale on the first beat of the measure or the downbeat of the chord change, you will generally want to play the root note or octave on beat one when initially learning this root-fifth-octave approach. As you gain more confidence in your ability to use these basic scale degrees, you can then experiment with improvising lines by placing fifths on the first beat of chord changes. Keep in mind that there are many more root-fifth-octave cells possible than what I have outlined here especially if you consider the cells that could begin with the perfect fifth. ... Read More!
News
Be sure to check out the latest books, DVD's, CD's, and gear. ... Read More!
Marcus Miller - Marcus
Gerald Veasley - Your Move
Alper Yilmaz - Clashes
Marcus Miller - Marcus
Gerald Veasley - Your Move
Alper Yilmaz - Clashes
Advertising Special On The IIB!
If you purchase a 6-month advertising package, not only will you receive 2 months of web site advertising for FREE, but your banner will also appear in each monthly newsletter during that 6-month period for FREE! That is a savings of $150 off the regular 6-month newsletter advertising rate! In September, 1999, the IIB delivered its first monthly newsletter to less than 100 subscribers. Today, the IIB's newsletter reaches over 10,000 bass enthusiasts each month! 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, Alain Caron, 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, Todd Johnson, Ray Riendeau, and Berklee College of Music professor Jim Stinnett. In addition to these lessons and interviews with the bass greats, 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. Plus, viewers can also watch selected instructional, concert performance videos, and live bass clinics on IIBtv as well as communicate with other bassists around the world through the IIB chat room. ... 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 70 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 70 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
February 2008
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
February 2008
To Unsubscribe from the IIB's monthly newsletter, simply go to: http://www.instituteofbass.com and submit your e-mail to be removed.
