Blues Bass Camp!

[EddiePlaysBass]

Last Monday I saw an ad for a blues bass camp in Breda (Netherlands) through a FB musician's page I subscribe to. I had a look, and it actually sounded quite promising:

 

- one-day event

- from 12:00 PM to 6:00PM (I believe)

- minimum 4 / maximum 10 participants

- plenty of time for individual practice through headphones

- food and drinks included

 

The entry price is EUR 95.- (about USD 105) and Breda is roughly 75 minutes by car, from where I live nowadays.

 

So I thought about it and decided to see if I could still enroll. Mailed the organiser and as it turns out ... it's fully booked

 

However, this is the beginner's course and he said that depending on skill level I could possibly skip it and join the follow-up course. I mailed him some examples of my playing (recordings of The Dapper Dans [rock' n' roll], Dusty Dollar [blues rock] and Marigold [pop]) and he replied with a suggestion of having a phone conversation because he does believe I can skip installment and join the other group in the near future.

 

I' m very excited about this as this type of thing is way out of my comfort zone. I prefer individual lessons over group lessons and I prefer no lessons over individual lessons :grin:

 

But this guy organises different types of "bass camps" (including a funk camp and a 10-part slap series) so it's worth at least checking out one installment to see what gives. Ironically there's a bass teacher about 10 minutes from where I work but I went there twice and realised he's a great player but does not have the theoretical background I am looking for in a teacher. This Bass Camp Guy seems to have just that.

 

To be continued

[lug]

You just need to go down to the crossroads.

[Paul K]

I did a bass camp a few years ago; t'was four days but I missed the first day and a half due to a snowstorm. I had a great time. It wasn't so much about learning new stuff; it was more about re-lighting the enthusiasm fire and hanging out with other players. So go; learning new stuff is a bonus. And you're a better player than you think, so skip the baby-food course. Hang with the big boys.

 

[EddiePlaysBass]

And you're a better player than you think, so skip the baby-food course. Hang with the big boys.

 

To be fair, I was not aware that there was more than one course - I wanted to sign up for the course which I will (likely) be attending (the big boy course).

[EddiePlaysBass]

Right, so I had a lengthy call with the instructor. Sounds like I know most of what they covered in the introductory course, but I need to brush up on one little aspect (the flat 7th chord) which will not take up too much of my time anyway

 

He explained what will be covered in the second course, and it sounds very interesting indeed:

 

- II, VI and VII chords

- major / minor thirds

- creating riffs over chord progressions

- note length

- minor blues

- 6/8 measures

- ...

 

In fairness, I am also familiar with some of this stuff but like Paul said, this is about re-lighting the enthusiasm fire and hanging out with other players and learning new stuff is a bonus.

 

What intrigues me is that he will do follow-up seminars on early soul, non-slapbass funk, jazz and even reggae. I'm interested so if this one goes well I will be going back every two months for the rest of the year

 

Added bonus: there's a watershed chance that I can declare the costs of these seminars at work (up to a predefined budget limit, of course) ... I'll know about that on Monday.

[Eric VB]

What's to know about flat 7th chords in relationship to the blues?

 

Major flat 7th (dominant) is just mixolydian mode. Compared to the major scale (Ionian) you just flat the 7th.

 

G major = ionian = G A B C D E F# G

G major flat 7th = mixolydian = G A B C D E F G

 

Now, since you're playing modal, the key signature is not constant. For example, a twelve-bar blues in the key of G using major flat 7th chords is going to progress over G7, C7 and D7. Over the G7 the key signature is no flats, no sharps (same as C major). Over the C7 the key signature is one flat (Bb; same as F major). Over the D7 the key signature is one sharp (F#; same as G major).

 

However, most people don't try to memorize all the key signature changes. Instead, they think modal, i.e. just play mixolydian mode over each chord root: G mixolydian, C mixolydian and D mixolydian.

 

The "cheat" here is that each mode can be thought of as a fingering pattern. When the chord changes you just shift your fretting hand and repeat the pattern. As always, though, you'll get more mileage in the long run if you know the names of the notes you're playing and the names of the notes on the neck; sometimes you have to play out of position and patterns won't help you there.

 

Mixolydian mode is the basis for "boogie woogie".

 

Using the same twelve-bar blues in G you'd play (quarters):

G B D E F E D B (over G7)

C E G A Bb A G E (over C7)

D F# A B C B A F# (over D7)

 

Depending on the variety of twelve-bar blues you may need to cut the above licks in half, e.g. D F# A B over D7. [Note that mixolydian usually works over regular major chords as well. If it doesn't sound good to your ear for a particular song, though, substitute the octave for the flat 7th to play a boogie woogie.]

 

Instead of just repeating the same boogie woogie pattern over and over you can take a walking approach instead. A common walk up from the root (G7) to the IV (C7) is based on the major blues scale.

 

G major blues scale: G A Bb B D E G

 

Here the "blue note" is a flat major third (Bb) or simply the minor third. It creates tension against the major third (B) in the G7 chord. (If you omit the blue note you have a major pentatonic scale instead.)

 

Back to the walk up! It's simply the first four notes of the major blues scale. After the root it leads up chromatically to the next root (C in C7): G A Bb B C.

 

You can do a similar chromatic walk up from the root (G7) to the V (D7): G B C Db D. All of these notes are from G mixolydian except Db, the flatted 5th. It creates tension against the 5th in the G7 chord just like the blue note from the major blues scale. (In fact the flatted 5th is the blue note in the minor blues scale.)

 

You can walk down chromatically, too, although here the notes outside the mixolydian scale don't really relate to other scales so just think of them as chromatic passing tones. For example, the V IV I progression can be played using simple arpeggios as

D F# A Db C E G Ab G ...

 

For minor flat 7th use aeolian mode, minor blues scale, minor pentatonic scale and chromatic passing tones.

 

Nearly every blues bass line is going to use something mentioned above. Go listen to some blues and see if you can hear the different scales.

[Groove Mama]

I had a great time. It wasn't so much about learning new stuff; it was more about re-lighting the enthusiasm fire and hanging out with other players. So go; learning new stuff is a bonus.

All this.

 

In April, I'll be returning to Wooten Woods for the fourth consecutive year and will probably keep making my annual pilgrimage there for the foreseeable future.

[picker]

Have a great time, Nancy!

[EddiePlaysBass]

Short version: I had heaps of fun and learned a lot.

 

Longer version ... The drive to the "bass university" was shy of 90 minutes, but I spent the time listening to some contemporary blues :-) I arrived about 15 minutes before it was due to start and was the second student there.

 

In all, there were 8 students - two women. 4 Fenders (including one lefty), 1 London City bass, 2 MusicMan (teacher played one), 1 Crafter five-string and a Rickenbacker. We all had an individual mixing console where we plugged in the bass, headset and MP3-player so we could practice individually. The teacher could listen in at will or amplify us for the rest of the class.

 

The overall experience level was not very high - based purely on the grasp of the blues idiom I would say I was the second-best bassist among the students. But some of them were definitely more proficient at slap bass, so it is perhaps an unfair comparison. One guy had only been playing since last November, but when he played a lick he'd come up with (part of the assignments) I complemented him on his use of rhythmic techniques and said I would steal his idea later - which I did

 

At any rate, the pace of the class was slightly slower than I would have wanted but at the same time it gave us all time to really dig into the grooves and tips and tricks which were shown and explained. I was hoping for theoretical approaches to blues playing - i.e. what works how and why does it (not) work - and I got plenty of that so I'm happy!

 

After the class, the teacher complimented me on my technique and playing, and said I had played some nice licks. Obviously I was proud to hear it He will host a soul bass camp next but as he is still developing these courses and writes everything down himself + records all the backing tracks (by progaming a drum computer and playing guitar over it himself) I am sure he will be busy for a few months Still, I wil definitely go to the soul camp and the jazz camp he wants to do after that.

 

Lastly, two final thoughts:

 

(1) Paul K was right: I got to meet a lot of new people and have added them all on FB - maybe some actual friendships will develop from it. But it was a good experience all the same;

(2) The one student who was definitely a better player than me (the lefty) looked like our own Phil Wain. Less handsome but still, the resemblance was there

[wraub]

Good on ya, Eddie, glad you had (what sounds like) a good time.

 

Have considered doing much the same myself. You are not changing that.

[EddiePlaysBass]

A good time was had, indeed. As with everything involving a group, I got along better with some people than with others. But everyone had the right mindset and worked well with the material which was handed.

 

It was also interesting to hear some of the bass lines other people came up with - if anything, it makes you realize that you have a certain way of doing things, and it opens your eyes to other possibilities.

 

I just sent some feedback to the teacher who organised the course and asked to keep me informed about his future bass camps. And to bill me for this one, cos I haven't paid yet

[Paul K]

Right on, baby. Glad for you.

[EddiePlaysBass]

I'll revive this one rather than start a new thread, as the same bass instructor has announced a Reggae Bass Camp for end of June / start of July.

 

I think I will attend again, as it is EUR 95,- for a 4 to 5 hour course which also includes a full (paper) course and customized (as in: recorded by the instructor himself) MP3 material.

 

Reggae is less within my comfort zone than blues, though I have dabbled in it somewhat. Could be interesting! The only thing I hope is that he won't split the course into two days like with the blues camp - I am not sure I could afford EUR 190 + twice the travel expenses...

[EddiePlaysBass]

The reggae bass camp was awesome, and I have a new-found respect for the genre. It was interesting to note how I struggled with keeping a steady rhythm all through the song. Additionally, there is a lot more to a good reggae rhythm than I anticipated!

 

Anyway, the Blues Bass Camp I attended was "Module 2" and ended right when it got real interesting (jazz blues, slow blues and some other more "difficult" variants) due to lack of time. The teacher now mailed that he has enough potential candidates for a 3rd installment and if we would be interested.

 

Hellz yeah! Only I told him I could not make the proposed day, and so did some other people so he has postponed another clinic in favour of this one. So in October I will be heading his way again! This will be my third overall Bass Clinic with him this year, and I have to say I like this as an alternative to regular lessons.

 

Now to work on the course material so I am prepared when this clinic comes around! Time to get back in the proverbial saddle, gents!

[Tom Capasso]

Have fun!!

 

I don't have room in my schedule for a Blues Bass Camp, so I've got the Bass Camp Blues...

[Richard W]

I've been to Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch twice in the past three years and would highly recommend it. It's a Friday - Monday long weekend of very intense workshops and performances. My second visit I had a chance to take lessons from Jack Casady, which was really special.

 

Hope to go back someday.

[EddiePlaysBass]

After the last Bass Camp (reggae) myself and another student prodded Eric (the organizer / teacher) for a weekend-long Bass Camp formula. We could have a BBQ in the evening and some jam sessions and the likes. I would like that!

 

He's getting somewhere with these bass camps of his, but I think attendance is not yet high enough for him to warrant a weekend-long formula.