The IIB Monthly Newsletter
Volume 8, Number 1
Hello fellow bassists and friends!
Welcome to the latest issue of The International Institute of Bassists newsletter and the web site of the International Institute of Bassists!
Welcome to the latest issue of The International Institute of Bassists newsletter and the web site of the International Institute of Bassists!
Bass Greats - Stuart Hamm
Through his innovative work as a solo artist and his contributions as a sideman to Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, Stuart Hamm has firmly established himself as one of the most influential electric bassists of the past half-century. Extending the non-traditional function of the electric bass previously revolutionized by Jaco Pastorius and Stanley Clarke in the 1970's, Hamm helped to reshape the contemporary concept of the bass guitar as an unaccompanied instrument with the utilization of polyphonic, two-handed tapping, slapping and popping techniques, chords, and harmonics. Although Hamm certainly wasn't the first bass player to debut during the 1980's and employ an unorthodox approach to playing the electric bass, he was undoubtedly at the forefront of his generation who effectively fused the application of these unconventional techniques.
As one of today's leading bassists, Hamm has released four critically-acclaimed studio recordings. On Radio Free Albemuth (1988), Kings Of Sleep (1989), The Urge (1991), and Outbound (2000), Hamm showcased his unique style of playing the bass as a lead instrument both within a solo environment and various ensemble formats on a genre-spanning spectrum of repertoire that merged rock, jazz, fusion, classical, country, and urban sounds.
Live Stu X 2, the fifth solo project produced by Hamm and his first as a solo artist in nearly seven years, was released in January 2007 and features a diverse compilation of classic tracks recorded by Hamm during his set on the first leg of the Bx3 tour in Philadelphia last April as well as a few previously unrecorded pieces that were captured in San Francisco before a live audience in 2004.
Based on the highly successful G3 tours he was a part of in the 1990's which featured guitarists Satriani, Vai, and Eric Johnson, Hamm founded the Bx3 tour in April 2006 that has subsequently taken him along with fellow bass pioneers Billy Sheehan and Jeff Berlin from the United States to Asia. With Sheehan, the most revered bassist in the history of rock music, and Berlin, the legendary jazz bassist and founder of the Players School of Music, Hamm is prepared to embark on a 6-week Bx3 tour which is scheduled to take the distinguished threesome of unparalleled technical virtuosity across the United States from Anaheim to Boston.
In this interview, Hamm talks about Live Stu X 2, playing alongside Jeff Berlin and Billy Sheehan on the Bx3 tour, influences, collaborating with Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, using tapping techniques, practicing, and gear. ... READ MORE & LISTEN TO 3 TRACKS!
As one of today's leading bassists, Hamm has released four critically-acclaimed studio recordings. On Radio Free Albemuth (1988), Kings Of Sleep (1989), The Urge (1991), and Outbound (2000), Hamm showcased his unique style of playing the bass as a lead instrument both within a solo environment and various ensemble formats on a genre-spanning spectrum of repertoire that merged rock, jazz, fusion, classical, country, and urban sounds.
Live Stu X 2, the fifth solo project produced by Hamm and his first as a solo artist in nearly seven years, was released in January 2007 and features a diverse compilation of classic tracks recorded by Hamm during his set on the first leg of the Bx3 tour in Philadelphia last April as well as a few previously unrecorded pieces that were captured in San Francisco before a live audience in 2004.
Based on the highly successful G3 tours he was a part of in the 1990's which featured guitarists Satriani, Vai, and Eric Johnson, Hamm founded the Bx3 tour in April 2006 that has subsequently taken him along with fellow bass pioneers Billy Sheehan and Jeff Berlin from the United States to Asia. With Sheehan, the most revered bassist in the history of rock music, and Berlin, the legendary jazz bassist and founder of the Players School of Music, Hamm is prepared to embark on a 6-week Bx3 tour which is scheduled to take the distinguished threesome of unparalleled technical virtuosity across the United States from Anaheim to Boston.
In this interview, Hamm talks about Live Stu X 2, playing alongside Jeff Berlin and Billy Sheehan on the Bx3 tour, influences, collaborating with Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, using tapping techniques, practicing, and gear. ... READ MORE & LISTEN TO 3 TRACKS!
Bass Faces - Jonni Lightfoot
From sold out soccer stadiums in Mexico to packed arenas in Asia and abroad, Jonni Lightfoot has toured extensively throughout the world since becoming a member of Air Supply in 2001. Lightfoot, a native of Salt Lake City, performed before 175,000 people in 2005 as part of only the second Western group to ever play inside Cuba. Along with his bass playing duties in Air Supply, Lightfoot has also assumed the roles of the band's studio engineer and musical director. As the leader of his own projects, Lightfoot has emerged as an expressive solo bassist on the piccolo bass while revealing his versatile musical vocabulary on three studio recordings including his debut Copper Street Fair in 1996, Pendulum in 2001, and the highly anticipated Blu which was released in 2006 and features tracks with performances from members of Air Supply and legendary solo bassist Michael Manring. Today, Lightfoot continues to broaden the boundaries of conventional application and utilizes the bass as a lead instrument in his own bass-fronted band. ... Read More & Listen To A Track From Blu!
Bass Tips Of The Week
Jazz Bass Lines - "Rhythmic Embellishments: Pull-Off Skips"
In this lesson, you will find three choruses of the 12-bar blues, the most common set of chord changes played in jazz music, in F. To illustrate the development of solid, functional walking bass lines with rhythmic embellishments, I have composed a number of lines which are intended to supply you with ideas on how to effectively employ pull-off skips over these changes. Pull-off skips are played within the framework of eighth note triplets, and similar to most other rhythmic embellishments, pull-off skips fill in space between quarter notes and help propel the momentum forward. They accentuate the first and third subdivisions of the eighth note triplet figure and add a rhythmic bounce to bass lines. I often refer to pull-off skips as left-hand or fretting-hand articulations because as its name implies, you will be using a finger on your fretting hand to pull-off from a closed tone to the open string below by either a half-step or whole-step. However, pull-off skips do not always have to involve using open strings. They can also be employed by pulling off from one fretted tone on the fingerboard to another closed tone below, and although rarely used, you can also execute a pull-off skip by playing a fretted tone on one string and then pulling off to the open string above. Typically, pull-off skips consist of half-steps and whole-steps, but by utilizing wider intervals in the pull-off skip, you can create a more dramatic effect. To achieve the most smoothly connected lines, I would recommend playing pull-off skips comprised of half-steps and whole-steps. Regardless of the intervals contained within the pull-off skip, the line should be played with a consistent, fluid motion. After executing the pull-off skip with the left hand, the subsequent quarter note is articulated with the right hand. ... Read More.
Jazz Bass Lines - "Rhythmic Embellishments"
In this lesson, you will find three choruses of the 12-bar blues, the most common set of chord changes played in jazz music, in F. To illustrate the development of solid, functional walking bass lines with rhythmic embellishments, I have composed a number of lines over these changes which are intended to supply you with ideas on how to effectively employ the most utilized rhythmic embellishments including skips, ghost skips, pull-off skips, hammer-on skips, slurred skips, syncopated rhythms, and triplets. ... Read More.
In this lesson, you will find three choruses of the 12-bar blues, the most common set of chord changes played in jazz music, in F. To illustrate the development of solid, functional walking bass lines with rhythmic embellishments, I have composed a number of lines which are intended to supply you with ideas on how to effectively employ pull-off skips over these changes. Pull-off skips are played within the framework of eighth note triplets, and similar to most other rhythmic embellishments, pull-off skips fill in space between quarter notes and help propel the momentum forward. They accentuate the first and third subdivisions of the eighth note triplet figure and add a rhythmic bounce to bass lines. I often refer to pull-off skips as left-hand or fretting-hand articulations because as its name implies, you will be using a finger on your fretting hand to pull-off from a closed tone to the open string below by either a half-step or whole-step. However, pull-off skips do not always have to involve using open strings. They can also be employed by pulling off from one fretted tone on the fingerboard to another closed tone below, and although rarely used, you can also execute a pull-off skip by playing a fretted tone on one string and then pulling off to the open string above. Typically, pull-off skips consist of half-steps and whole-steps, but by utilizing wider intervals in the pull-off skip, you can create a more dramatic effect. To achieve the most smoothly connected lines, I would recommend playing pull-off skips comprised of half-steps and whole-steps. Regardless of the intervals contained within the pull-off skip, the line should be played with a consistent, fluid motion. After executing the pull-off skip with the left hand, the subsequent quarter note is articulated with the right hand. ... Read More.
Jazz Bass Lines - "Rhythmic Embellishments"
In this lesson, you will find three choruses of the 12-bar blues, the most common set of chord changes played in jazz music, in F. To illustrate the development of solid, functional walking bass lines with rhythmic embellishments, I have composed a number of lines over these changes which are intended to supply you with ideas on how to effectively employ the most utilized rhythmic embellishments including skips, ghost skips, pull-off skips, hammer-on skips, slurred skips, syncopated rhythms, and triplets. ... Read More.
News
Be sure to check out the latest books, DVD's, CD's, and gear. ... Read More.
Trip Wamsley - Curve
Stuart Hamm - Live Stu X 2
Trip Wamsley - Curve
Stuart Hamm - Live Stu X 2
The IIB Monthly Giveaways
Each month, the IIB gives its viewers the opportunity to participate in various monthly giveaways. Sponsored by: Line 6, D'Addario Strings, Gallien-Krueger, Ibanez, Hartke, Zoom, Evidence Audio, and Zon Guitars. To become eligible to win products including basses, amps, effects, strings, instrument cables, gig bags, straps, DVD's, CD's, books, lessons, apparel, and more!
ENTER TO WIN TODAY! ... Read More.
ENTER TO WIN TODAY! ... Read More.
The IIB MP3 Bass Sampler
The IIB MP3 Bass Sampler is comprised of selected tracks that have been recorded by many of today's premier bass artists including Marcus Miller, Michael Manring, Adam Nitti, Gary Willis, Norm Stockton, Gerald Veasley, and many more.
OVER 1 HOUR OF MUSIC! ... Read More.
OVER 1 HOUR 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 monthly giveaways providing you with the opportunity to win basses, amps, effects, strings, instrument cables, gig bags, straps, DVD's, CD's, books, lessons, apparel, and more! ... Read More.
The IIB MP3 Bass Sampler - You'll receive access to the IIB MP3 Bass Sampler which features selected tracks that have been recorded by many of today's premier bass artists including Marcus Miller, Michael Manring, Adam Nitti, Gary Willis, Norm Stockton, Gerald Veasley, and many more. OVER 1 HOUR 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.
By becoming a subscriber, you will help keep this resource online for you and others to enjoy in the future.
The IIB MP3 Bass Sampler - You'll receive access to the IIB MP3 Bass Sampler which features selected tracks that have been recorded by many of today's premier bass artists including Marcus Miller, Michael Manring, Adam Nitti, Gary Willis, Norm Stockton, Gerald Veasley, and many more. OVER 1 HOUR 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.
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!
Advertise On The IIB
If you are looking to increase your online presence and promote your product in front of a serious bass-targeted audience, check out the brand new Advertising Opportunities available on this web site. Through the utilization of the latest banner rotation software technology, the IIB is offering advertisement space in 5 different zones placed strategically throughout the template of the IIB web site and priced well below industry standard. Advertising packages are available at a reduced rate to those interested in securing an advertising contract of 6 months or longer. Purchase a 6-month advertising contract on the IIB web site and receive 1 month of advertising for FREE!. As an advertiser on the IIB web site, you have the opportunity to submit an advertising banner(s), pictures of your product(s), and a text-based ad of any length outlining product specifications, company history, contact information, and links to be posted on a page specifically designed to promote your merchandise within our Advertiser's Index at no additional cost to you. If you'd like to rotate information on your storefront, we can update that information for you on a monthly basis. There are virtually limitless possibilities available with your storefront.
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 me at: Editor@InstituteOfBass.com.
Thanks so much for your continued support, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Editor: The IIB
January 2007
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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 me at: Editor@InstituteOfBass.com.
Thanks so much for your continued support, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Editor: The IIB
January 2007
To Unsubscribe from the IIB's monthly newsletter, simply go to: http://www.instituteofbass.com and submit your e-mail to be removed.
