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Phil W

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Awesome-sounding bass, Alberto!

 

Non aspettavo mai che una chitarra in alluminio sonerebbe così bravissimo :) (hope I got that right, my Italian is a bit rusty)

 

thanks so much Eddie! It really sound great!

check out the video presentation I did

 

[video:youtube]

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Nice, Nancy. Sure, a little rushed, but I'd hire your band for my nightclub.

Ya know, if I needed a band.

And had a nightclub. :thu:

Haha. Thx, wraub. Clearly, I need to pay closer attention to the drummer. I fear hitting the note too late, and as a result, I end up getting there too early. Oy.

Queen of the Quarter Note

"Think like a drummer, not like a singer, and play much less." -- Michele C.

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I suggest you relax. Have fun with it.

Definitely tune into the drummer, maybe watch his kick drum foot.

And relax. And have fun with it. :D

 

I'm a lot more like I am now than I was when I got here.

 

 

 

 

 

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I fear hitting the note too late, and as a result, I end up getting there too early. Oy.

 

I also have the tendency to play in front of the beat. It sounds good to me when I'm playing it, but not so good on playback. I even go so far as to highlight the chart "SLOWER THAN YOU THINK" in giant letters to remind myself to lay back. It helps a lot, but it's a constant struggle for me also.

Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse.

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I fear hitting the note too late, and as a result, I end up getting there too early. Oy.

 

I also have the tendency to play in front of the beat. It sounds good to me when I'm playing it, but not so good on playback. I even go so far as to highlight the chart "SLOWER THAN YOU THINK" in giant letters to remind myself to lay back. It helps a lot, but it's a constant struggle for me also.

 

I have that too, the tendency to play in front of the beat. UNLESS it is a song which starts off with bass, then usually I will drag it out for some reason. My previous band did a John Hiatt song called "Old Habits" (god I loved that song) and especially the drummer was always on my case about starting it way too slow - but I just liked the slow drag groove. Nowadays with the pop band I'll usually start "Stand By Me" way too slow for my own tastes, too. Any other song? I'll be pushin' ...

"I'm a work in progress." Micky Barnes

 

The Ross Brown Shirt World Tour

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A recording from last Friday's instrumental rehearsal:

 

Radar Love (Golden Earring)

 

It's a cut 'n' paste from two parts recorded, to give the band an idea of how it will sound once we get all the parts down. We had dabbled with the song a few weeks back, but this was our first serious attempt at playing it.

 

Drummer is singing along a bit for guidance, and if he drops a beat here or there it's cos he's turning the page on his sheet music :)

 

I am playing with a pick here.

"I'm a work in progress." Micky Barnes

 

The Ross Brown Shirt World Tour

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Here is a song for solo bass. Please tell me what you think and check out my other covers and songs!

Hey Zach! Nobody's commented yet? Please allow me.

 

First off, kudos for composing on bass! That's not an easy step to take.

 

Also, nice display of two-hand technique. Maybe there were a couple of notes that didn't ring out as expected but the song was pretty demanding and sounds good overall so no worries.

 

Personally I think you could do a little more. For example, although you are sustaining chord tones while playing melody on top (homophony), I think you could take another step and play true polyphony (e.g. Stu Hamm's "Linus and Lucy", where the LH bass and RH melody are like two independent performers).

 

Another thing to consider is employing another technique to add variety. See for example Vic Wooten's "Amazing Grace". [Note: after writing I see that you cover this Vic solo, so you know what I'm talking about.]

 

If you want to stick with two-hand tap I wonder if you wouldn't be better served with a tap instrument (Chapman Stick, Warr Guitar)? I think you would have more freedom with one of those.

 

What challenges me most for composing solo bass songs is coming up with a good melody. Melody is what audiences listen for. When composing solo bass "by arrangement" (as opposed to, say, using a looper or backing tracks) it's trickier to drive the melody. Again I'll point to Vic and how he never loses the "Amazing Grace" melody even when he goes off on harmonic tangents. It's a great exercise to take a cover song and try to play it as a solo bass arrangement without losing the melody.

 

Having said that, with a little polish I can see "A Journey" being used in film or maybe even a video game. It definitely sets a mood with the starting minor chord which descends. (Sounds like a vi V IV iii to me.) And there is plenty of expressivity with the tempo changes and the sparse to dense note playing.

 

Thanks for sharing!

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I have that too, the tendency to play in front of the beat. UNLESS it is a song which starts off with bass, then usually I will drag it out for some reason.

I blame it on playing it with another band prior, but I used to play the intro to "My Girl" too slowly for the current band. Now I take a moment to "play the recording in my head of the guitarist playing his opening riff" to set my tempo and that helps get me up to speed.

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OK. Fine. So I put some bass on this track so that I won't be kicked off the bassplayer forum. Happy now? New 12 string and the aforementioned new microphone. Me likey.

https://soundcloud.com/paul-kempkes/no-such-thing-8-31-14

The 12 string sounds good!

 

I like this John Mayer song but, as with a lot of his material, I've crossed it off of my "list of songs to work on" because of his high vocal range and/or guitar complexity. Paul, I like that you kept the vox in a comfortable range for you and made some slight changes to make this cover your own. John Mayer purists may object but I think your version will go over well with the general audience. Good job!

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