Grateful Dead Music Forum

May I offer my thoughts-----1. Get a Teacher-find a bass player that has the skills you want and can teach you -set your mind on seeking a good solid player --there is always DVDs and videos to learn from but you should have a real live player that will guide your progress ---2. learn how to tune ,intonate your axe -a strobe tuner and a chromatic pitch pipe are indespensible !! always carry the pitch pipe with you -for ear training --hear a song - what key? boom theres your answer----you have just begun a journey that will last a lifetime -enjoy , have fun- it gets better every time you play ----think of the sound you make -note for note -find that bass tone,sound , that is you ---and enjoy---in time you will share it ---best of luck my friend --to good music!!!! Phil

May I offer my thoughts-----1. Get a Teacher-find a bass player that has the skills you want and can teach you -set your mind on seeking a good solid player --there is always DVDs and videos to learn from but you should have a real live player that will guide your progress ---2. learn how to tune ,intonate your axe -a strobe tuner and a chromatic pitch pipe are indespensible !! always carry the pitch pipe with you -for ear training --hear a song - what key? boom theres your answer----you have just begun a journey that will last a lifetime -enjoy , have fun- it gets better every time you play ----think of the sound you make -note for note -find that bass tone,sound , that is you ---and enjoy---in time you will share it ---best of luck my friend --to good music!!!! Phil ----oh yeah ----Rufus Reid --the Evolving Bassist----good study guide-----Louis Belsons Modern Rythem Technique in 4/4------good time! good tone! ----good luck P

I was going to add my experience, but that trip was for me alone. You have been given excellent advice. Your heart will take you the rest of the way. Also, don't be afraid to be curious. Experiment with time and place of your notes. you learn from mistakes maybe better than from getting it right. And go see other bassists, especially the ones you admire or those who are playing in the context you like. And don't be afraid to play music you hate. It all makes you better until you can play what you love.

I do disagree that you HAVE to be locked in to the drummer. A lot of guitar players want that, and knowing how is important, but especially with Phil, it's not at all necessary, nor desired, at least by me.

Without love in the dream, it'll never come true.

You should be able to lock in with the drummer when you need to... otherwise you'll be limited to just playing Phil, and probably not as well as somebody who can also play conventional bass. Ideally you'll want the ability to lock in or play freely as the situation requires.

You must lock in with the drummer mentally, but physically, you can create your own combinations of what part of the drummer you are following/leading- whether it's just the right hand, or the combination of right foot & left hand, or it can be just on small part of what you play that directly connects with the left hand... whatever. Mentally, you must be rub-a-dub-dubbing in the same tub.

tigerstrat wrote:You must lock in with the drummer mentally, but physically, you can create your own combinations of what part of the drummer you are following/leading- whether it's just the right hand, or the combination of right foot & left hand, or it can be just on small part of what you play that directly connects with the left hand... whatever. Mentally, you must be rub-a-dub-dubbing in the same tub.

A minor disagreement, here. Although I may be very much aware of the drummer, I feel that it is more important that we both be locked into the same song more than we be tied together. That frees him to do more than always being on the one when it occurs, so the music can be really free. By listening to each other, we know when to return to the theme. Of course I know that it is important to be able to lock in with the drummer, that is a very basic skill, and one that any bass player should understand. But "rub-a-dubbing" should be something the whole band is doing, especially in improvisational music. To me, the drummer is an accomplice, not a foil.