Ed Friedland Posted February 4, 2001 Share Posted February 4, 2001 Hey, talking about gear and players is cool, but I'm also happy to answer any musical questions you may have. I may not be able to answer every question defintively, but then again, we have alot of folks out there, so one way or the other, your answer will come. So, any theory, musicality, stylistic or technical questions? www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan14 Posted February 4, 2001 Share Posted February 4, 2001 Umm could you explain some basic terms you guys use for the names of bits on the guitar and some music terms. Please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted February 5, 2001 Author Share Posted February 5, 2001 Dan, Well I know you're brand new so let's clarify one thing. We ARE talking about a bass guitar right? When you say guitar, most of us think about that high pitched, 6 string thing that guys like Eddie Van Halen play. To make sure we all know what you mean, call it a bass (even though I know it is still a guitar technically). Now as far as the "names of bits on the guitar (bass)" I assume you mean the names of the parts? The body, and neck should be obvious. The things mounted in the body with little magnets on them are called "pickups", they translate string vibration to electrical impulses that are amplified and make loud noises. The metal thing that the strings go over is called the "bridge", and the place where the strings themselves pass over is called a "bridge saddle". The knobs that control volume and tone are called "pots" that's short for potentiometer. You have a volume pot and a tone pot, sometimes a "pan" pot that switches between pickups (if you have more than one). Inside the bass is the wiring that connects your pickups and the pots. You may have "active" electronics, meaning there's a preamp inside to boost the volume and tone of the bass, or you may have "passive" electronics which means the volume is just a product of the pickups and amp together. You may have a flat plastic thing on the body called a "pickguard". On the neck you have the 'fingerboard', it's most commonly made of ebony (black wood), rosewood (brown) or maple (blonde). In the fingerboard are metal "frets" (unless you have a fretless bass, highly discouraged for a beginner). At the end of the fingerboard is a white plastic bar called the "nut" where the strings pass over and connect to the "tuners". The tuners are mounted into the "headstock". Some instruments have necks that are bolted on to the body using screws, thus known as "bolt-ons" while others have necks that are one long piece of wood that the body wings are glued to. This is called a "neck through" bass. Wheew! That's about all the basic "bits of the bass" I can tell you about now. As far as you other question about music terms, well that's a very general question to ask. It would take hours to explain every musical term I could think of and then I may not have hit the ones you're curious about. So, formulate some more specific questions and get back to us. In the meantime, good luck! www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bspangleyahoo.com Posted February 5, 2001 Share Posted February 5, 2001 The collection of protoplasm holding the guitar up and causing it to make loud, screaching noise is often called the asshole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 5, 2001 Share Posted February 5, 2001 Umm, Dan, did ya get that teacher yet.?..It will be alot easier to get answers to the millions of questions that you really don't even know how to ask yet, face to face with your own private instructor. That being said , keep lobbing them in here too , and we'll try to help all we can. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif To help you get off to a good start, here is a VERY important musical term. Tinitus: ----A constant, neverending, annoying, PERMANENT ringing of the ears caused by too much exposure to loud noise...Please protect your hearing. You have Billions of brain cells to kill, but only two ears http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/eek.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornbread_medhotmail.com Posted February 5, 2001 Share Posted February 5, 2001 Well said, Kahn. However, the most important piece of advice is take all the advice you get and throw it all away. What works for me may not work for you. Find a bass you like and study your favorite bands and songs. Learn what you like and then play bass the way you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted February 5, 2001 Author Share Posted February 5, 2001 Originally posted by cornbread_med@hotmail.com: Well said, Kahn. However, the most important piece of advice is take all the advice you get and throw it all away. What works for me may not work for you. Find a bass you like and study your favorite bands and songs. Learn what you like and then play bass the way you want. Well, I have to beg to differ, though I appreciate the sentiment behind that statement. Sure, find your own road, follow your own dream, create your own thing, but when you're talking to a kid that's never played before, I think it makes alot of sense to get some help to make sure you get started on the right foot. I can't tell you how many students I've seen over the years come in with technique that would barely let them play the simplest line. They pick this stuff up on their own and wonder why they can't play along to their favorite songs. If you get a solid start on the axe with some pointers toward effective playing technique, you stand a better chance of doing something creative down the road. Information is not inherently bad, though being at the mercy of a narrow minded, dictator-like teacher can be very damaging. I'd say, choose your mentors wisely, just because someone knows more than you doesn't make them the best person to learn from. Although you may not know anything about music, you still need to make judgement calls about the source of your information. www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornbread_medhotmail.com Posted February 5, 2001 Share Posted February 5, 2001 However, the most important piece of advice is take all the advice you get and throw it all away. What works for me may not work for you. This was actually a quote from James Earl Jones. I feel the same way. Again, you misunderstood my comments. I said advice, not technique. Now, technique, that doesn't just "happen." A teacher is needed for technique. I learned most of my technique from reading Bass Player and many of my opinions were formed from those same articles, many of which you authored. I wholeheartedly agree with you, in my humble opinion. But, who is going to get any better when they listen to Gene Simmons saying that practice is completely unnecessary? No one but Gene Simmons. That was what I was implying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornbread_medhotmail.com Posted February 5, 2001 Share Posted February 5, 2001 Besides, the music world would be pretty boring if everyone played like Jaco. If that ever happens, I'll donate my gear to Goodwill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtian_dup1 Posted February 5, 2001 Share Posted February 5, 2001 OK Ed, here's a musical question for ya. I'm playing my Conklin 7-string (tuned in 4ths, BEADGCF), and I come up with a really sweet chord and a jazzy little progression. My keyboard player says, "What IS that chord?!?" We looked at it for a few minutes, but couldn't find anything for him to play that sounded good under it. So here is the chord: 5th fret on the D string: G 4th fret on the C string: E 5th fret on the F string: Bb The thing that throws all the math off is that Bb. It is a flatted 10th? Octave of the flat 3rd? The particular fingering is the most important thing here, because alternate fingerings just don't "sing" like this one. What is the name of this chord, and what should the keyboard player play to fill it out a bit, but not overpower those thin high strings? (Well...you *DID* ask for musical questions!) :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtian_dup1 Posted February 5, 2001 Share Posted February 5, 2001 Got another one... I regularly "double-pluck" notes. The only way I can describe it is as a flam on the drums. (Used to play a bit of drums.) The flam is two hits done with alternating hands, separated by a musically insignificant amount of time that creates a "ba-blap" sound when you hit the drum. I use this a LOT with my fingers on the bass. Pluck the string with the middle finger, a follow instantly with the first finger so that the first note becomes little more than a percussive thump. What is this technique called? Double-stops? Ghost notes? Finger flam? :-) Thanks for the help! - Christian Budapest, Hungary www.Crunchy-Frog.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bspangleyahoo.com Posted February 5, 2001 Share Posted February 5, 2001 G,E,Bb could be called C dom 7 (omitting the root, which is often done by guitarists). It can also be labeled as the first inversion of an E diminished traid. There are many other possibilities depending on the context in which the chord is being used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bspangleyahoo.com Posted February 5, 2001 Share Posted February 5, 2001 G,E,Bb could be called C dom 7 (omitting the root, which is often done by guitarists). It can also be labeled as the first inversion of an E diminished traid. There are many other possibilities depending on the context in which the chord is being used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted February 6, 2001 Author Share Posted February 6, 2001 Well, the G-E-Bb voicing could also be considered a Gm6 chord as well as the Edim, or C7 as already mentioned. It could also be Em7b5 or Bbdim, or Gdim, or even C# dim (without the root). Due to the range of the 7, you have all sorts of hybrid voicing available, things that can be several chords depending on the root. Try all the various root possibilities to see which has the character you want and go from there. Christian, I do that sometimes in slap playing. I've always called it a "flam-pop". But you could call it a "flam" or a "double pluck". I don't know if it's ever been formally named. www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansouth Posted February 6, 2001 Share Posted February 6, 2001 Originally posted by xtian: What is this technique called? Double-stops? Ghost notes? Finger flam? :-) I've got no idea. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif But it's definitely not a double stop. A double stop is when you finger notes on two strings simultaneously, sounding an interval (essentially a two note chord). To the gentleman who asked about the E, G, Bb chord, the replies got a little confusing. Your chord is Edim ( E diminished ). It's like E minor with a flatted fifth (E minor is E, G, B). The reason that so many other chords were mentioned ( C7, Edim7, Em7b5 ) is that this little chord can exist in within a larger chord made by adding one extra note ( C7 = C,E,G,Bb ; Edim7 = E,G,Bb,C# ; Em7b5 = E,G,Bb,D). This will become more clear if you can try to play these chords on a piano where you can see the interval relationships. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtian_dup1 Posted February 6, 2001 Share Posted February 6, 2001 Thanks for all the replies about the G, E, Bb chord! I have printed out the list and will go through the stuff with my keyboard player tonight. Hopefully a new song will emerge... On the other point, about the "finger-flam", I always sorta guessed this is what was meant when someone talked about "ghost notes". If my thing is not a ghost note, then what is? - Christian Budapest, Hungary www.Crunchy-Frog.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dansouth Posted February 7, 2001 Share Posted February 7, 2001 A ghost note is a note that is plucked on a muted string so that it doesn't ring out. It just creates a little rhythmic "thud." I like the finger-flam name, myself. Go with that! P.S. How do you say "finger-flam" in Hungarian? http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtian_dup1 Posted February 7, 2001 Share Posted February 7, 2001 Hmmm...well, the word "flam" exists because it has onomatopoeia (sounds like the action it describes), so a flam is probably "flam" in any language. But the Hungarian word for "finger" is "ujj", which is pronounced "OO-eee". (Make sure you make that "e" sound a long one, because "uj" means "new"!) Ujj-flam hmmm...I like it! We now return you from the Finno-Ugric linguistic backwaters, to your regularly scheduled bass discussion. Groovy. - Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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