Lifts

[Catlin]

Hey everyone,

 

In School my bass teacher has been asking me to do more lifts for him, so that I can develop a better ear, gain better understanding of bass lines and harmonies, and really listen to the music. I am enjoying working on these lifts but at time I find they can be difficult. Last night I started working on Mingus's Moanin', I love this song, but man I am finding it difficult to distinguish his walking lines through all the other layers of sound.

 

Does anyone have any tips for transcribing walking lines, or maybe ways to hear the bass part more clearly. The bass in this tune comes in on the third time through the A section, and for the first eight bars its fine. Then it just get muddy and hard to hear. I would love to hear what your thoughts are. Thanks, -Catlin

[b5pilot]

Ah, pardon my ignorance, but what's a lift?

 

As far as learning a song by ear, the way I do it is I try to find the clearest recording I can the use the EQ on your stereo, computer, or whatever playback device to dial in the most prominent frequency to bring the bass out.

There is on the market these CD players that are used for bass training that you can slow down the tempo without changing the pitch so as to make it easier to hear and learn.

Something I've been thinking about getting. Somebody else may have a better explanation of these.

[Catlin]

When I say lift I mean to transcribe, I am lifting the bass line off the recording I guess haha.

 

Yeah I have heard about those devices, but I am not sure I really want to go that route, because I should be able to figure these out at full speed. The larger problem is that Blues and Roots the album "Moanin'" is from was recorded in 59, and with a baritone and trombone both freely blowing over top, and a booming bass drum the pitches of the bass feel lost. I can still feel the bass, but the notes are difficult to distinguish. I have tried adjusting the eq but it is still hidden.

 

Thanks for your thoughts b5pilot!

[Phil W]

Take it a bar at a time and play along to check it sounds right. Not much help I know - but I don't find EQ helps me much although I do use bass boost at times - it wouldn't help in this instance.

 

I never heard the term 'lifts' before either.

 

I love Mingus - I have that 'More than a Fakebook' book and the book that comes with a playalong CD - and hundreds or recordings featuring him.

[Bruiser]

I recommend a program called "Slowgold" for transcribing. It allows you to open a track from a CD, .wav file, or .mp3. You can make loops, slow it down or speed it up, and change the pitch up to +/- an octave in increments of one cent. It has a bunch of other functions, but those are the ones I use all the time.

 

What I have done in the past is to just play the entire song, and set a loop marker every two or four bars. Then I listen to the loops one by one with bass in hand, slow them down if necessary, and transcribe them to paper.

 

Another trick with Slowgold, when the bass on a recording is muddy, is to raise the pitch by a full octave. Sometimes that brings out the bass line.

 

You can find a free trial download here:

 

http://www.worldwidewoodshed.com/

 

It works very well, and it's less expensive than a Tascam Bass Trainer.

 

In general, you should try to be steady in your progress--give yourself a goal to transcribe at least 4 or 8 bars a day, or whatever you can handle. If you get stuck on something, leave that line blank and move on to something else--maybe you'll hear something that gives you a clue to the part you can't get.

 

And I never heard of lifts either.

 

Ed