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bass workshop

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2016 8:19 pm
by kensuguro
I created a short bass groove workshop in the hopes of bringing awareness to the global shortage of great bass lines, and as an opportunity to review modern practices in bass line production.
The presentation mainly focuses on controlling groove and where to place the downbeat, and various examples of execution.

If bass isn't your thing, I think this can be of use. If bass IS your thing, I hope this can inspire even more excellence and musicianship in delivering more great bass lines.

I've always considered myself to be a "bass aware" keyboardist, inevitable as a journey of the "groove" aware keyboardist. In practicing and learning tight grooves, a tight bass line is a must, so naturally I spend a lot of time training to get my shit tight. I think generally "bass" gets relegated to something that just holds the "root" and not much else. And many people don't understand its importance (historical and practical) in getting the overall groove right. So hopefully bass sensitivity can be cultivated and encouraged more.

Re: bass workshop

Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2016 8:46 pm
by jksuperstar
Ever listen to Victor Wooten's "The Music Lesson"? His fictional story breaks music into 10 topics: notes, articulation, technique, feel, dynamics, rhythm, tone, phrasing, space, and listening. Or for more fun:

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Re: bass workshop

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 8:22 pm
by 53E7
Nice tutorial. This is very well done! Thank you for making it. I found it very useful. I will try out of these composition techniques on my next project.

Re: bass workshop

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 5:47 pm
by kensuguro
glad you took away something useful. Looking forward to how you digest the material!

Re: bass workshop

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 8:07 pm
by kensuguro
I'm curious as to what the REAL bassists on Z will want to add to this.. as Lesson 2, or even more. I'm merely a student compared to the real warriors here. The stuff I went over in this one is barely just the beginning, there's so much more. It's part of the draw of bass for me, in that it's actually one of the more theory heavy parts of music, and yet also highly variable depending on the creative choices that you make.

Re: bass workshop

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 8:40 pm
by jksuperstar
I think you did a great job of keeping the bassline running, explained a change (like moving focus from the 1 to the 2nd beat), and having the change heard right then. It was smooth, tied the lesson with an experience, and I really liked that delivery....kudos on the synchronicity ;)

For some reason, I thought this was the beginning of a series, so my earlier suggestion from Victor Wooten was as food for thought (such as accents of notes/beats could be expanded into phrasing in general.)

Anway, I've gone back and listened several times now, it's worthwhile. So thanks!