Happy May friends!
Just wanted to say happy birthday to all you May birthdays out there, I too am a Taurus, but if you haven’t heard, my favorite bearded bassist Leland Sklar announced a FREE tour with Judith Owen. I am super excited to see them in San Francisco this coming June. Attached is the news link with the tour dates: http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2014/05/07/judith-owen-and-leland-sklar-announce-free-tour/
Get out there and support a great bassist!
Stay groovy my friends,
Dodgebass
Fellow bassists,
When I first started playing bass, I found that I began to gather blisters on my fingers, but was hopeful that after I break my fingers in, I wouldn’t have to deal with that pain ever again. Boy was I mistaken. I will say that it usually only happens when I play for hours on end and really aggressively. I feel the pain is a good thing though, that it allows me to be more humble because I too am still learning each day, and that it gives me something else to push through.
So when you feel the burn, don’t stop! Play through it. It will not only make you a better human being but also a better bassist.
Stay groovy my friends,
Dodgebass
Greetings fellow travelers,
I hope you all had a funky February!
I will discuss a little bit about scales for the bass and how having this basic knowledge can help you better your bass playing. Also here is a link I found with some of those scales for you to start practicing!
http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/m/misc_scales/major_and_minor_scales_btab.htm
First, I would say that knowing your scales will help you identify which key a song is in and actually help you pick up songs you hear on the radio by ear. A lot of jazz and blues tunes use a lot of scales and if you are jamming with your buddies you will be able to keep up with whatever they’re playing. While your guitarist is wailing away on a solo, you can keep up the rhythm with a cool jazzy groove while playing a simple scale.
You can easily groove out on a scale, add on to it while staying in key, and sound like you’re grooving your own solo as well!
Another reason to learn scales, among other bassics (pun intended), is the same reason basketball players learn how to dribble, move, and use proper defense; learning the fundamentals, or the foundation, of anything will ensure a solid growth pattern. Sure, all the fun is in shooting the ball but, if you do not know how to move and dribble, you will not be an effective player, and the same goes for playing the bass.
To be honest, I never took lessons and I just started really looking into scales and theory after playing bass for 14 years! I would say that I am a really good bassist, great at slap bass, and grooving out, but I could always be better. I truly feel that if I had learned the basics in the beginning I would be even better today.
So go out there, learn the bassics, and keep on slapping!
Stay groovy my friends,
Dodgebass
Greetings,
One of my biggest challenges in continuing my bass playing is keeping a set practice schedule. As a dad, husband, student, employee, and band member, it tends to be difficult to find the time for solo bass improvement. So here are some tips to consider in time management that can help even the busiest bassist.
1. It’s OK to say no: It is perfectly alright to say no to your friends or family when they call you on a whim to go out. Don’t always say no, of course, because it’s always good to have a social life to decompress from everyday stresses but just know that you don’t owe them anything.
2. Are you a morning or night person?: This is particularly good to know because if you are a morning person, you are more creative in the morning and vice versa in the night. Whenever you are more creative is the best time for you to conduct your solo bass time effectively.
3. Dedicate a day or time to yourself: Sometimes this is difficult when you don’t have a steady work schedule, trust me I worked on-call too many times, but if possible make one day sacred to you and your bass. I usually pick Sunday because it is typically the day of rest and I don’t have school or work. Keep in mind that it is important to have alone time, not only for you, but for everyone around you. If you don’t get alone time it is possible that you’ll become overworked and over-stressed too often.
4. Keep a planner: By keeping a planner or calendar, this will allow you the opportunity to physically see your schedule and be more prepared to plan out your month. I learn better hands on and visually, so by seeing my schedule, it helps me remember and track my weeks.
5. Take a break from Social Media: Although social media can be entertaining and fun, it can also be very time-consuming and brain numbing. I hear it all too often of other musicians saying that they didn’t have enough time but spend most of their time Googling all over the internet of kitty pictures to Instagram it. As an Army vet I utilize the social media websites, like Facebook, to connect with old friends and they can be beneficial to you but not when it consumes you.
Hope this can assist in your bassing needs.
Stay groovy my friends,
Dodgebass
Greetings all!
I hope your holidays were as relaxing and groovy as mine was. I’ve been busy with the band and haven’t had the time to post anything new but check out our new recordings with our new Electric Wind Instrument (EWI) player!
Check it out here: https://soundcloud.com/pegasusstarshiparmada
Stay groovy my friends,
Dodgebass
Got up and slapped the bass
Happy Friday!
Are you looking for a last minute Christmas gift for yourself or fellow bass player?!
Check out Victor Wooten’s 2014 calender photographed and designed by Steven Parke.
The calender is only 10 dollars and measure 12″ by 12″
Here’s the link to Victor’s merch: http://vixmerch-official.myshopify.com/products/victor-wooten-2014-wall-calendar
Stay groovy my friends,
Dodgebass
Great news!
Les Claypool’s Duo de Twang announced that they will be releasing their debut album “Four Foot Shack” February 4th, 2014. The album includes twangy covers of The Bee Gee’s, Alice in Chains, Jerry Reed, Primus, Les Claypool, Flying Frog Brigade, as well as one original song titled, “Four Foot Shack.”
I’m looking forward to this album and if it’s able to pre-order I will be doing so!
Hope ya’ll had a great Thanksgiving and as always
Stay groovy my friends,
Dodgebass
p.s. here’s a little taste: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I692CfWXpfc
Guten Morgen!
The topic of hitting this road block in your musical path has been coming up a lot for me lately and so I felt I should give some advice if you ever hit this block or if you’re already at it.
I’ve been playing bass now for over 13 years and have experienced this Bass Block a couple times in my path and it can be very hard to get passed it sometimes. It usually happens when you lose the motivation to keep on playing or when you feel that you have reached your musical peak.
Here are some things you can do to overcome Bass Block:
Put it down: Sometimes you can simply overload yourself with the bass and putting it down for a couple weeks will allow you to absorb everything you have learned and allow new information to come in. This tends to happen a lot when you are first learning because you tend to want to learn everything you can all at once but you have to be patient when learning something new.
Don’t give up: When you feel that you have reached your bass potential, don’t give up because you’ll soon realize that you are still in the beginning stages of truly mastering not only yourself, but your bass as well. By putting the bass down, like in the last tip, you’ll be able to come back to it with that same beginner’s enthusiasm and before you know it you’ll start learning a whole bunch of new techniques.
Have motivation: This is usually easier said than done. Because I have always had a lot of self-motivation and a strong support system, I didn’t struggle with the motivation factor of Bass Block as much. The key here though, is to have a strong support system, i.e. family, friends, significant others, etc, that will motivate you to get through this rough patch. If you do not have many friends, family, or any support at all, I would recommend that you find something in yourself, find the whole reason you started playing in the first place, and harness that energy to keep on going!
Be strong: When you find your motivation and start playing again, it will still be hard, but remember to stick it out because in the end you’ll discover a lot about yourself as well as your bass abilities. By choosing to be a bass player you have already chose to be stronger than most other musicians. Remember that the bass is a very powerful instrument and requires you to be a very powerful person! Keep this in mind when you get down on yourself and never give up!
Stay bass strong my friends,
Dodgebass
Happy Veteran’s Day!
Hello friends, as an Afghanistan War Vet and active bass player, I would like to honor three famous bass players who fought for our freedom in World War II.
Trigger Alpert: Born Sept. 3rd, 1916 in Indianapolis, Indiana, Trigger served our U.S. Army during WWII and went on to play with Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald. Trigger released an album as the band leader in 1956 “Trigger Happy.”
Peter Badie: Born May 17th, 1925 in New Orleans and served in our U.S. Navy. Badie went on to tour and record with Sam Cooke and can be heard on “Meet me at Mary’s Place” and “Ain’t that Good News.” Badie was one of the first bassist in New Orleans to play an electric bass.
Johnny Pate: Born December 5th, 1923 in Chicago Heights, Illinois and served our U.S. Army playing for the 218th AGF Army Band. Pate made arrangements for B.B. King’s “Live at the Regal” (1964) and the Bee Gee’s “Life in a Tin Can” (1973). Pate joined Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions in 1963 and can be heard on “Keep on Pushing.” In 2006, TNC Records made an 80th Birthday Tribute Album.
Remember to thank a Vet and
Stay groovy my friends,
Dodgebass
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