I enjoy @terb’s “Post Your Covers!” and “Post your original songs/compositions!” threads—they’re fantastic! And although @terb makes it very clear there isn’t a minimum skill level, recording an entire cover might be beyond some of our skill. I’m starting this thread in an attempt to lower the bar.
I propose recordings of 60 seconds or less (think Instagram) of what you are practicing—not entire covers. We should mostly hear you playing your bass with a minimalist, or quiet, backing track. Mistakes are encouraged (they will get more of us to come out of our shells).
I am posting a fragment of a 12-bar blues. I transcribed it from a recording by Johnny Cox (who I think wrote this bass line as he was transcribing the guitar portion of Blues in A by Frank Gambale). It’s a jazzy tune that is full of quirky tones (those sour notes really aren’t my mistakes!). There are 20 different fretted notes in these 12 bars, a lot of string crossings, and several triplets. I played it at 70 bpm vs Johnny’s 110, and I still had several obvious mistakes in my rhythm. This might not lower the bar in complexity, but it certainly does in execution. Help me lower the bar by posting short fragments of what you’re working on!
Allright. I’m practicing a song of the band I joined and since I got two so far that I can actually play it from top to finish here’s the intro of the song I’m having more problems with. (Can’t play the other two perfect either, but better).
Thanks for this thread @Sachelis I think it’s a really good idea.
I decided a week ago or so to take a break from lessons for a couple of weeks and try and learn one song. Even picking something simple to play, to go from short lessons riffs to trying to keep time, remember the fingering and manage the string crossing in a full track is a step up from the lesson work.
I played it on below 50% speed at first. Noteflight didn’t have the option but I just changed the BPM to 50.
It took me a few weeks alone to get the muting rythm right in that speed. Now I just have problems with the fast transition to D and A with muting afterwards. Well… you can hear what I’m talking about I think.
The D comes too late and gets cut short or is just not loud enough as it actually should be an accented note even if not in the sheet.
I hear you @Mark_UK. At the end of lessons Josh often suggests that we practice with the complete song, but it’s so tempting to move on. It’s easy to end up playing one 12-bar blues, one 3/4, a few songs that focus on minor triads, etc and then click Next. I love his teaching style and think the course is perfectly paced, but I also think that for proficiency, most of us could spend months on many of the topics he covers in a single module. Slowing down to focus, or blasting through and then returning to topics, are probably both good strategies.
Hey @juli0r,
Nice bass track, it sounded pretty solid to me👍
I’m not sure if I mentioned it earlier but we are all self critical of our own performances, people who don’t know what your playing, like me wouldn’t know?, I’m just listening to your bass work and guess what it sounded tonally very nice and timing was consistent throughout.
Great job:+1:
Cheers Brian
@Mac I have everthing needed, except the brain to learn it all. I have all the manuals in a tidy pile staring at me, daring me. Dont they do clockwork anymore?
Jamie
So, maybe this would be better played on a 5-string, playing off the 5th fret. Or, alternatively, on a BEAD bass. In that way, you could avoid having to deal with open strings or the jump from 2nd to 5th fret (with string crossing)!
@Mac, maybe try recording with your phone and saving it on soundcloud.com. Soundcloud.com is free (I opened an account today to start this thread). You can publish on soundcloud.com as “private” and simply paste the link in this forum—it’ll magically display the player.
cool bassline! I don’t think you butchered it, either.
For the notation, key looks like standard E minor, so instead of putting an accidental on every F, it’s better to denote the key signature with a single sharp on the F that goes through the dots on the bass clef.
Yeah, thanks for this thread, I have some stuff I will be able to post tomorrow.
I love being able to post pieces, I am brand new at recording, have not even thought about the video yet, so I am far from having a proper cover.
But just getting my IMac, and finally being able to record things, I am so glad to have this thread to post my tests.
Dangerous to determine the key from just the intro, because it’s in D major and not E minor.
I agree that the notation is missing the key and that would be easier.
If you play E and F# on your B string, then everything happens around the 5th fret, and no need to move from 2nd fret (F#) to the 5th fret or use open strings.
I have all the manuals in a tidy pile staring at me, daring me. Dont they do clockwork anymore?
