The IIB Monthly Newsletter
Volume 8, Number 11
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!
Live Video Webcast Bass Clinics!
Why waste transit time and money on gas while driving to and from private lessons when you can study bass online directly from the comfort of your own home? Since 2004, Cliff Engel has been providing one-on-one, live video bass lessons to students located around the world through his bass lessons by correspondence program. Now, Cliff brings his live video lessons to the IIB in the form of live video webcast bass clinics. Best of all, these clinics are absolutely FREE!
Some of the subjects that will be covered during live video webcast bass clinics include fundamental right and left hand technique for bass guitar, slapping, tapping, bass line construction, jazz improvisation, soloing, classical and jazz music theory, sight reading, ear training, chordal techniques, harmonics, fingerstyle funk, altered tunings, and concepts for solo bass playing.
To participate in a live video webcast bass clinic, all you need is a computer with a high-speed internet connection (DSL or cable modem) and the Windows Media Player. You can also interact with other bass enthusiasts and present questions to Cliff in the IIB chat room while the clinic takes place.
All of the exercises which are discussed during the clinics will be notated in both standard notation and tablature. These exercises will be made available as downloadable PDF documents the day of the scheduled clinic, and additional exercises that won't be covered in the clinics will also be included to further reinforce the concepts. Free MP3 play-alongs will be presented when applicable. Every live video webcast bass clinic that is conducted on the IIB will be archived for future reference on this web site shortly after the event has occurred. Be sure to check back frequently as live video webcast bass clinics are scheduled on a regular basis.
Special thanks to the following companies for their assistance in sponsoring the live video webcast bass clinics: Zon Guitars, Aguilar Amplification, Line 6, La Bella, and Evidence Audio. ... Read More!
Some of the subjects that will be covered during live video webcast bass clinics include fundamental right and left hand technique for bass guitar, slapping, tapping, bass line construction, jazz improvisation, soloing, classical and jazz music theory, sight reading, ear training, chordal techniques, harmonics, fingerstyle funk, altered tunings, and concepts for solo bass playing.
To participate in a live video webcast bass clinic, all you need is a computer with a high-speed internet connection (DSL or cable modem) and the Windows Media Player. You can also interact with other bass enthusiasts and present questions to Cliff in the IIB chat room while the clinic takes place.
All of the exercises which are discussed during the clinics will be notated in both standard notation and tablature. These exercises will be made available as downloadable PDF documents the day of the scheduled clinic, and additional exercises that won't be covered in the clinics will also be included to further reinforce the concepts. Free MP3 play-alongs will be presented when applicable. Every live video webcast bass clinic that is conducted on the IIB will be archived for future reference on this web site shortly after the event has occurred. Be sure to check back frequently as live video webcast bass clinics are scheduled on a regular basis.
Special thanks to the following companies for their assistance in sponsoring the live video webcast bass clinics: Zon Guitars, Aguilar Amplification, Line 6, La Bella, and Evidence Audio. ... Read More!
Bass Shops - Bass And Beyond
As experienced local bassists who understand the needs of all players from beginner to professional, Juan Ortiz and Jim Cobb have been supplying discerning bassists around the world with the very best in bass equipment since 2006 through northern California's only bass-dedicated retail shop, Bass And Beyond. With a broad collection of standard and customized bass guitars, compact combo amps, audiophile-grade sound reinforcement rigs, and a huge selection of popular accessories for all bass enthusiasts, every piece of gear in their expanding inventory is specifically selected for its quality and performance in the quest of great tone. Whether practicing in a small rehearsal hall, recording bass tracks in a studio, or performing abroad on tour, Bass And Beyond can fulfill the requirements of all your bass playing projects. ... Read More!
Reviews - Yves Carbonne: Seven Waves
Delivering a collection of contemporary jazz, R&B, rock, funk, and spiritual sounds through eleven original compositions which employ the massive tonal range of his sub-bass guitars, Seven Waves is the long-awaited debut solo project from bassist Yves Carbonne. Carbonne, a pioneer of sub-bass playing, has spent the past several years refining his innovative concepts utilizing 10 and 12-string fretless basses which are tuned one octave below conventional tuning. Upon first listen, it is apparent that there is something very special about Carbonne's creative sub-bass approach which merges funk-laden subcontra grooves with pristine harmonics, powerful chords, and lyrical fretless soloing. The amount of low end that is not only heard but also felt on this production is extraordinary. While extended range instruments present bassists with a number of formidable challenges, Carbonne successfully transcends these obstacles when performing his music and spans the entire sonic spectrum in a very coherent, sensitive, and musical fashion. In addition to his many emotional bass/vocal collaborations with French African jazz and soul singer Guillaume Eyango, this recording features three unaccompanied sub-bass pieces and guest performances by prominent artists including solo bass virtuoso Michael Manring, drummers Roger Biwandu and Anthony Breyer as well as Laurent Maur on harmonica. From nearly subsonic depths, Yves Carbonne has elevated the bar for playing extended range bass with the release of Seven Waves. ... Read More!
Bass Tips Of The Week
Soloing Techniques - "Freddie Freeloader"
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 study the classic solo recorded by Miles Davis on "Freddie Freeloader." Throughout a career that extended five decades, Davis released a collection of landmark projects spanning bebop, cool jazz, modal jazz, and fusion music. He also discovered some of the most important figures in jazz music such as John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Ron Carter, Dave Holland, and many others. In 1959, Davis released Kind Of Blue, a recording that is often cited as the best in jazz history. Featuring legendary musicians including John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb, Kind Of Blue has become one of the most consistent selling recordings in the history of recorded music, regardless of genre. ... Read More!
Sight Reading For Bass - Rhythm Studies: Dots
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 dotted rhythmic combinations in an effort to increase the proficiency of your rhythmic recognition skills when sight reading standard notation for bass. Like ties, dots have an additive function, and they add value to rhythms. In standard notation, dots are located just to the right of notes and rests, and they add one-half of the rhythmic value of the notes or rests that they follow. For example, the entire duration indicated through a dotted half note is a half note plus a quarter note. Likewise, the full duration of a dotted quarter note is a quarter note plus an additional eighth note. 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 study the classic solo recorded by Miles Davis on "Freddie Freeloader." Throughout a career that extended five decades, Davis released a collection of landmark projects spanning bebop, cool jazz, modal jazz, and fusion music. He also discovered some of the most important figures in jazz music such as John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Ron Carter, Dave Holland, and many others. In 1959, Davis released Kind Of Blue, a recording that is often cited as the best in jazz history. Featuring legendary musicians including John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb, Kind Of Blue has become one of the most consistent selling recordings in the history of recorded music, regardless of genre. ... Read More!
Sight Reading For Bass - Rhythm Studies: Dots
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 dotted rhythmic combinations in an effort to increase the proficiency of your rhythmic recognition skills when sight reading standard notation for bass. Like ties, dots have an additive function, and they add value to rhythms. In standard notation, dots are located just to the right of notes and rests, and they add one-half of the rhythmic value of the notes or rests that they follow. For example, the entire duration indicated through a dotted half note is a half note plus a quarter note. Likewise, the full duration of a dotted quarter note is a quarter note plus an additional eighth note. 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!
Ric Fierabracci - Hemispheres
Brian Bromberg - In The Spirit Of Jobim
Jonas Hellborg - Art Metal
Henrik Deleuran - Bassline 1
Master Bassist Bakithi Kumalo "Gets Amped"
MTD Introduces New MTD Nickel Roundwound Electric Bass Strings
Ric Fierabracci - Hemispheres
Brian Bromberg - In The Spirit Of Jobim
Jonas Hellborg - Art Metal
Henrik Deleuran - Bassline 1
Master Bassist Bakithi Kumalo "Gets Amped"
MTD Introduces New MTD Nickel Roundwound Electric Bass Strings
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
November 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
November 2007
To Unsubscribe from the IIB's monthly newsletter, simply go to: http://www.instituteofbass.com and submit your e-mail to be removed.
