Here's a tip:

When you change strings, put the empty package in that particular instrument's case/gig bag. Lots of times people have more than one instrument. When it's time to change strings it can be hard to remember exactly what brand/type/version string set you were using. I put flats on my P Bass 2 years ago (flats only need to be changed every 20-30 yrs, everyone knows that)- I have absolutely no idea what they are, but I love them. If I had saved the wrapper, I'd know....

-Mike

and put a slip of paper in the package that has the date of the when you put on the strings.

I write the date I string 'em on the package and put the package in the case.

Still managed to lose one, though.

Of course I have a spreadsheet which has all my instruments and the dates and type of strings that I have put on them (as well as serial numbers, values, and descriptions)

I've thought about doing that several times, but when I remember, I never have the motivation to do it. Usually I just forget about it. When I remember, no motivation... rinse & repeat...

Just a little CD suggestion for ya'll. Check out the Matt Keegan Trio from Sydney, Australia. In particular bass player Cameron Undy is phenomenal in this group. Lots of chordal playing and odd time signatures. It's and odd trio with sax, bass and drums so the bass takes the harmonic chair in this group. I saw these guys live a few years ago and it really inspired me to take my playing seriously. Standout album for me is Roadscape.

Matt Keegan Trio on Myspace

I won!! Now what do I do??

Are you in the latest issue?

Send a PM to Jon Herrera and make sure that he has your mailing address.

I like your tips, Mike!

Yes it is this months ans thank you. I did forget to include to make sure that you write down your results in your journal and to look at it each month so that you can see your progress.

My Best Advice:

I once heard a Clark Terry quote:

Imitate
Assimilate
Innovate

This has revolutionized my way of learning to play the bass and I thought it was my duty to share it with the rest of this community. This can be used to learn any and all techniques. For example, if you wanted to learn how to better your harmonic technique, you could put on "Portrait of Tracy" and learn it note for note, dynamic for dynamic etc.(Imitate) Then, sit down and analyze the piece completely. Learn what was going through Jaco's head during this song. Show why this song works.(Assimilate) Then make it your own. Learn how to incorporate these harmonics into your own playing and understand how they work in your music.(Innovate) And remember, work on all of these parts equally to truly learn what you're working on. The sum of the parts is greater than the whole

Here's a tip, a bit mundane perhaps, but essential for anyone who plays out regularly.

Label your stuff. Amps, Cabs, crap cases, effects, tuners, pedals, stands, even cables and extension cords. Luggage tags are great on cases and gig bags. A roll of masking tape and a Sharpie work fine on rack cases, speaker grills, pedals, etc. Labeling all your junk will help you keep track of everything so you don't leave anything behind. And it will put others on notice that you're keeping track too, so they're not as likely to "accidently" walk off with anything that's yours.

Hello All:

I own two basses. One is a Steinberger XL-2. The other is a Kubicki Factor. Both basses are tuned in the bridge. Therefore, strings for them are sometimes hard to find. My tip is probably more useful for me or for bassists with this problem, but it applies to all.

If you ever land that last minute gig and don't have new strings, or do not have time to buy them, you need to boil your strings. Well, we all knew that. My tip is to boil them whith soap. Just drop a squirt of dishwash soap in the water and let them boil. It is dead skin, grease and oils that we are trying to remove from the strings in the first place, so soap really helps. The frist time that I did it I found that the strings sound much closer to the sound they give when new, and the effect of boiling them last longer.

Hey, you are in the kitchen anyway...!!!!

Rock on,

Pepe Peña

Hello Brothers of the Bottom:

One of the common denominators of a good bass sound its sustain. We all want it, and tons of it. There are many many factors, but my tip focuses on electronic outboard.

First of all, the bass needs to be compressed. Appart from making the dead spots of your fretboard less ovious, it gives the bass sustain. Lets keep this simple. It is important that you dont compress the sound too much or you will loose definition of your sound, and dynamics too. Just set the compresor a tad above its activation treshold.

The other thing that gives a lot of sustain to a bass its distortion. A lot you guys probably are rising an eyebrow right now, but let me tell you this: I checked the profile of all my favorites bass players in the internet, rock AND jazz, and all of them use it. You probably will tell me: I hear no distortion in the sound of Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten, Sheehan, Hamm, Geddy Lee, Steve Harris... etc... But they all have it. Just a little tiny bit of it. Just set it a tad below the level where you can start to hear the effect. It will give you a lot of sustain. Think of the wavelenght and you will understand why imediateley.

Thats my tip. If you are at it, add a little stereo chorus, a little reverb and some sort of aural enhancer... and vuala!!! you have a mayor league uniform. Now you only need to play like a pro... :-) Remember, the art its in the tip of your fingers. But like Marcus Miller says in its web site: get the gear right as quickly as possible, and then concentrate on playing.

Peace,

Pepe Peña

^^ I couldn't disagree more. ^^

I am not sure if this has been mentioned or not...

Sometimes I will be checking out a local gig and notice that the bass player will hang out by their amp, and in some cases directly in front of it.

If you are standing in front of your amp you are blocking your sound from going as far . As the bass player you will not be able hear yourself as good, not to mention everyone else.

Move out of the way and give yourself some room to play away from your amp, this will allow the sound of your bass to travel further, giving everyone in the venue a chance to check out your groove.

-Cat

Here are two tips which will help you when you make it to a recording studio.

1) Practice playing while wearing headphones. Get someone kind of headphone amp, plug your bass in and play with headphones on.
At the studio, you will be wearing headphones. Get used to wearing them ahead of time. Unless there is a big budget for the recording,you probably will be going direct into the board at the studio and not using an amp. Your bass should sound good through the headphones and amp tone controls and effects should not be necessary to get a good sound.

2) The primary concern of the engineer when recording a bass is getting a consistent level from the instrument. To practice getting a consistent level, find a tape deck with a mike input. Put a tape in the deck, press record (and then pause) and then plug your bass into the mike input. Now play and watch the digital level control on the tape deck. Every note should be exactly the same level. Try playing all the kinds of things that you will be playing on the recording and watch the level like a hawk. This will help your playing immensely.

This is a funny question ... and it really brings up, more than anything else, another thought ... why do you play in the first place?

I'm not a musician per se, and wish I had been able to get past a bad piano teacher that loved to smack people's hands and faces in the 50's (in POrtugal) ... but our house was mired in music with over 3K LP's of classical music and then I ended up "collecting" experimental and electronic and "way out there" musics from all over the world.

There is a saying in the psychic/newage world that when you want to learn, do ... what not ... all you have to do is look inside, at the source. Learning, even an instrument, is the same thing. It is not about learning a few tricks ... which will bore you next week ... and if it is, your success will (likely) be measured in one lick and song ... for a magazine like this to talk about 30 years later!

At my older days I have picked up the bass guitar and am trying to learn it.

There are many things in here that are similar to my working with actors on a stage ... and in the end, as a director, I can easily tell you the difference between a Streep most other actresses, or De Niro and most other actors, is ... their desire to work the material ... not just play the notes ... ie, read the script.

One of the hardest things to teach acting novices, and most professionals (check out prime time TV), is the ability to "listen to each other" and then reply to it. And I had a chance one time to display this with a drummer friend, who was a roomate ...

Take 16 bars ... for this challenge do it at the same 60 or 80 beats per minute ... which makes it harder than free forming it.

Play the same 16 notes with anger

Play the same 16 notes with love

Play the same 16 notes like an elephant

Play the same 16 notes like a child

... and see the differences.

The inevitable result is ... a Salieri comment ... "it is much too experimental ... " and herein lies the majority of the problem with most music ... it is not "inner music" or something that is designed from within ... it is an incidental passage of notes that supposedly colors a set of lyrics ... and to you and I both ... c'mon ... this defeats the purpose of why ANY of us would want to play anything in the first place !!! I don't suppose that you are playing it because you just want to rip your shirt and pick up the girls? (Well, ok ... sounds good too!)

In essence, when you look at history of music, any kind of music, it has always been a "reaction" and a "new" way to describe that ex[ression was defined as "music" in the form of some kind of name for a notation ... there are just as many folks out there that do not care about notes and simply play for the "feel" of this note next to the next ... and it has nothing to do with composition ... it has to do with your response to that feeling in that specific moment in time ... and tomorrow you might respond to it differently ... and in many ways, this is the very essence of the free form experimentalists out there (ECM is the best at it second to none, and rock has no equivalent anymore since Amon Duul 2) ... and they deserve the credit for pushing the envelope and helping define new expressions ... and tomorrow we're going to call it Diminutive Major 69 !!! (with a thank you to FZ and friends!)

It's always hilarious to me when a player says ... I have to be in tune with the drummer, to create a rhythm or this or that ... since in many cases, the "original" was not about that at all ... it was about the person creating something that made them feel good and vibrated through their bodies and created a song that many of us remembered. No player in his right mind will sit here and try to find a lick that everyone will play again in 40 years ... Jimmy Page, Jimi and any others created "experiences" that have been defined with this and that note played in this and that way ... but to them, it was about how they felt and expressed it at that point in time and it just happened to have become an important expression for that day and age ... something that "colored" the importance of those days for you and I ...

30 years later this is described in a notation form with such and such detail ... and no one, not even this magazine is capable of asking the questions and discussing the real vibe that creates all this ...

I remember an article with Richard Wright one time, when asked how he came up with the notes for a solo ... and he replied ... "I don't know ... I played what sounded right ..."

See if you have the guts to do an issue about "the source" ... that which creates it all ...

And for all intents and purposes I find it sad that one will never hear about some amazing bass experiences found in many other avenues of music the world over ... I've never seen anyone talk about David Darling/Terje Rypdal (EOS) in what is the finest chamber music duet you will ever hear. I'm not sure that anyone will ever mention Lothar Meid and his "non-basslines" (in my book) for a lot of the early AD2 material (up until Vive La Trance) ... or anyone will ever discuss serious musical'ists that were a part of CAN ... or maybe even afraid of discussing the incredible bass playing free form stuff done with AshTa Tempel, and many of the Cozmic Couriers ... stuff that many folks will call just free form jams ... as if a RAGA has no music value at all ... I would call these a rock version of a raga, for example.

The essence in a raga, is to find a meaningfull experience and feeling through out the meditation ... and when the only thing that we can say and do is define ecstasy as knowing where to place your fingers, ... you take away the childish desire and expression necessary to help someone be creative.

Yes, the scales and the whatnots are important for learning how to move around the neck some ... and strut your fingers ... but after a while you have to "unlearn" all that in order to learn ... "who are you" and how you express yourself ... and more often than not that has more to do with your feeling and comfort zone and how you express yourself between A and B ... than it does the notes themselves.

Try "forgetting the notes" sometimes ...

I think you will enjoy it.

Wow, that's not a tip, that's a novel.

Welcome to the forums!

Before you forget the notes, it helps to learn them first.

Take time to talk to people. Have conversations with your audience (and your fellow musicians) and make sure you listen. Musicians can come across narcissistic and arrogant. The other guys are more likely to call you for the bass spot if they get on with you and find you interesting - likewise people coming to your gigs, buying your CDs or following your career. Make sure you use social networking and the internet socially rather than merely as blatant self-promotion and ego massage too.

Develop yourself as a person and not just as a musician - find the context for your music.

Join the Lowdown Lowdown bass forum. Ask intelligent, well-written questions and answer other people's questions in an informative way.

Your reputation as a bass player will improve. (But you won't get any gigs from it.)

True enough. Though I've learned enough here to get plenty of gigs. I've also had a few Lowdowners and Guitar and Keyboard forum guys come to my gigs or meet up to jam or chat.

I have got gigs for other forumites who have depped for me on occasion though and it's only a matter before I get a gig directly.

The Lowdown is a great place and it's worth it just for the hang - and those who come in just to self-promote miss the point entirely.

Hi,

As a director that has done many plays, I've actually always wanted to do a couple of bands on the stage ... on the productions I did I was known for sound, music and COLOR ...

In a way, you have to know the notes ... I don't disagree with that ... but here is the example and I can prove it to you on a stage with 3 musicians ... I'm gonna do something, play something and you are going to match up with it by playing a note or two in your instrument.

What you will find, and the same thing happens to actors and musicians on ANY stage, is that a lot of folks need a "script" ... and other folks have no issue working with "what's there ..." (scripted or not!) ... and this is hard. Obviously this is not good if all you can play is scales and Chuck Berry's and pre-fabricated sequences of notes ... I can tell you that this will likely NEVER make you a better artist ... since you are always being compared to the original.

If you want to learn and make it on your own ... you have to find your own "inner beat" ... and sometimes, just practicing the scales, or whatever exercises, is not enough to help you grow and develop your inner instinct and creativity that will make you an original artist ... the type that ends up having articles written about them in this magazine.

You have to find your inner chord ... or as the Moody Blues once said ... search for the lost chord ... since without it, it will be harder to create your own.

The academic way ... is grab a staff and write down notes and imagine it in your head and add more to it ... and maybe it will become a song or a symphony. The results are mixed in my experience. Many of these students had some interesting ideas, but the combination of notes was as cold and invisible (my word) as anyone could imagine ... to ME, that is what happens when the "music" is disconnected from the experience ... if it is just notes and "music" ... or in this case just tricks, tips and scales ... it will not be a meaningful learning experience for most of us ... but if you are doing the Red Lion circuit ... you better have your chops down!

In my most humble opinion...

I believe that, as bassists, we need to keep a few things in mind. Personally, I try to step back every once and a while and re-focus on the big picture. Here are two things I always try to bring myself back to.

1) We are the glue of the band. We are the marriage between rhythm and melody/harmony. Let's not only focus on locking in with the drummer or fitting our line to the keyboard's changes, but let's focus on bringing the two together to sound as one.

2) Learn everything...what I mean is that we need to learn all aspects of the band (especially, non-bass related aspects). Do you know how to setup the PA? Can you sing backup? Can you sing lead? Can you record the band from stage? Can you run lights? Can you back-up the band trailer down a narrow ramp to load in? Can you mix the opening act when your sound tech is running late? Can you "ring out" the feedback in your singer's monitor?

My point is that you need to make yourself valuable. Valuable beyond your bass playing. In addition to being a solid bassist, we must all focus on our additional skills, attitude, and mindset of being a team player.

Again, this is in my most humble opinion. Being a team player and having additional skills only make you more attractive to groups that need a bassist. Let's face it, supply has met demand on the "lead bassist" market. At least until Primus is hiring! (kidding) So, once you're solid on the bass chair, be sure to learn some additional skills that will make you more marketable and don't forget to give yourself "attitude checks" from time to time.

Warmest regards from cold Michigan,

Zach

Ok folks, for this exercise you'll need to put down the bass and pick up a piece of graph paper, a pencil/pen and a ruler (optional, but I hope you can draw a straight line).

Here's what you're going to do:

You're going to write out all seven modes in order and then you're going to draw the first 12 frets of your fretboard on the graph paper for each mode (A single sheet just fits them if you skip three blocks between each, top to bottom).

Great, now I want you to "fill in" the modes on the fretboard. Personally, I like using "G" as a jumping off point so I would start with G Ionian.

So on the G string (Easy place to start) I would fill in the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 12th frets.
Now figure it out on the other three strings .

And just so no-one has to lookup the info:

Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian are the modes.

Ionian pattern is Root - whole - whole - half - whole - whole -whole - half (root/octave)

Dorian pattern is Root - whole - half - whole - whole - whole - half -whole (root/octave)

Just keep shifting the spacing to the left.

The idea here is that by literally mapping out the modes it will exercise our brains a little and cement the fingering there.

Part Two (Extra credit):

Get out some more graph paper and break down each of the modes into 4-6 fret "sections"; Each containing just one octave of the mode.

Try practicing with a blindfold on.

Seriously.

I see lots and lots of people playing gigs or jams that are totally fixated on what their hands are doing on the neck. But as musicians, one of the most important things we should be focusing on is how we sound relative to the rest of the ensemble by using our ears. This means being aware if the band is tight on the changes of the tune, or even being able to tell if someone is out of tune.

Wearing the blindfold will also force you to know where you are on the neck of the instrument. Where is that major third relative to the open A that you're pedalling away at? You may know that by looking at the neck, but truthfully these are things you should know if you're serious about your craft. You should instinctually know where that is, both by sound and by feel.

And what if you cannot see the neck? Stage lighting was not designed by some guy with the intention of illuminating the necks of stringed instruments. It's designed for atmospherics. And sometimes that means starting a tune on a completely dark stage. Not everyone has LED neck markers in their instruments to compensate for just such an occassion. So training yourself to not have to look at the neck can help you when the stage lights go down. And there's also an element of showmanship to consider. Someone who's looking at the neck might not be engaging to the audience. On some gigs it matters to make eye contact with the audience.

And what about the instances where you do need to look at something other than the neck for musical purposes? You may be filling in on a gig and need to read a score or a leadsheet. The sheet music might need your undivided attention. Or what about in a band where there are visual cues? The singer of a band may want to wrap up a tune, but if you've got your eyes glued to the neck, how will you see that? Or how are you going to catch the subtle visual cue from the drummer that lets you know about some accents or a fill that are coming up?

So try the blindfold during your practice sessions. If you've been playing for a while you'll be surprised to know that there is already some muscle memory at play. It's not a mortal sin to look at the neck. But try trusting your hands and your ears. Engage the audience and your bandmates. You might wind up enjoying your gigs more.

^
^
^
good idea!

Readers Tip
From Ziggy Morris

Many of us own more than one bass, and I’m sure that means you have a favorite go-to bass - I certainly do. And that usually means that our other basses sit around unplayed for long periods of time. But sometimes what make a bass our favorite is its playability, and maybe it’s just a matter of setup. So learning to do a setup to our own personal taste can regenerate an interest in playing a neglected bass, and remembering why we liked it so much when we bought it. The beauty of doing your own setup is 1) it’s not difficult - a lot of internet and print resources thoroughly explain it, 2) it can be easily tweaked over periods of time, 3) it saves time and money, and 4) it gives you a Zen-like connection to your bass. You just need a few tools that are readily available (some basses even come with them), and most importantly, patience! So get out your least favorite bass, obtain the necessary tools, and follow instructions slowly and methodically. When you get confidence from your understanding of the interaction between relief, intonation, action, and pickup height, it will be come easy to feel (and hear) differences and then customize to you exact tastes. That’s when the real satisfaction sets in. So try it on that old seldom-played bass; what have you got to lose?

Ziggy Morris
% Phil Szczyglowski
20806 Brook Mill Court
Great Mills, MD 20634
301-737-4457

Ziggy Morris songs can be heard on myspace and facebook.

When I start with a student, I try to put as much emphasis on developing their ears as I do their playing. Learn the roman numeral chord system and sing the chord numbers as you learn new songs. Once you get basic chord changes in your ear, start singing the root motion along with every song you hear on the radio, at concerts, shows, etc. With regular practice it will get easier to learn songs quickly and ultimately it will become easy to play songs that get called on a gig that you have heard, but haven't necessarily ever sat down to learn with a bass in your hands. You can work on your ear training chops all the time, and you'll know hundreds of tunes in no time.

This is more of a suggestion for an article than a playing tip.

How 'bout some insight on how to get out of the garage? I know there's got to be more than a couple of bassists out there reading the mag and just sitting on the cusp.

If their town is anything like where I live, don't hold your breath waiting for your fellow "musicians" to give you a hand. If you can't make the jump to an established local band (which I couldn't), you're screwed.

Street smart things:

• starting and fleshing out a garage band
• entry level PA and voice systems
• promotion and demos
• getting and nailing that first gig
• holding meaningful auditions
• tips for having a meaningful audition
• tips and tactics for practice and rehersals
• hosting and running an "open mic" session
• what to do about the cranky old dude with the hairy eyebrows and furry ears that won't go away

I'm thinking there's a whole host of people out there that are either new to gigging or getting back into it after a very long time. That should last, oh, a couple of issues if you do it up right.

Granted, I got a lot of help from the forum when I decided to make the leap. Having it nice and compact in a mag or to would make great reference.