Bass Transcription JOSIE from AJA Steely Dan.

Hi All.

I thought I'd share with you a transcription I did of one of my all time favourite bass lines.

Josie by Steely Dan. This features on the AJA album (1977). The bass player on this album is the great Chuck Rainey with Jim Keltner on drums. What a team!

The bass part was actually written out on the session by Walter Becker and he doubles the bass line on guitar. According to Donald Fagen the wanted the "TV cop show sound"........

I hope you enjoy it. If you've never heard it before, I URGE you to search it out. VERY funky & VERY musical.

Bass Workshop

Hi All.

Sales of the new e-Book BASS WORKSHOP are going very well indeed. It's selling all over the world and is very satisfying to know that bass players are interested in learning music and getting better on their instrument.

Learning music will do this for you. The book is all rudimentary knowledge of skills you will need to function as a pro bassist and make the transition to 'Musician'. Covering topics such as:

• Reading standard notation NO TAB.
• Understanding harmony and the way it works.
• Chord tones and major & minor inversions.
• Bass line construction.
• Bass styles & chart geography.
• Following a chord chart.
• Tumbao lines & exercises.
• Beat placement, playing with the kick drum.
• Soloing ideas using chord tones and alternate rhythms.
• Rhythmical awareness.

I have purposely not gone deep into any of the subjects mentioned above as I urge you to dig deeper for yourself. The book is priced at £5.00. At over 60 pages, it's an absolute bargain. Here is a testimonial of BASS WORKSHOP by guitarist and head of guitar at Tech music schools London UK and Guitar Magazine columnist John Wheatcroft......

"Simon Gouding’s abilities as both world-class bass player and top-rate musician are clearly evident to all that have had the pleasure to see and hear him play. Looking through his new book, Bass Workshop, I can safely say that he can add the skills of effortless communicator and natural educator to his impressive CV. This book guides the serious student through a range of effective exercises, etudes and pieces that are both fluent and cohesive, with a clear sense of progression guided along the way with appropriate words of wisdom. This all adds up to a significant body of study that has true musical relevance and is inspirational and self-rewarding…." John Wheatcroft

Click the button below to buy 'BASS WORKSHOP'

Familia BASS PLAY ALONG.

The 1st album was released in 2010. Here is the title track 'Familia' mixed without bass. You can download the track from SoundCloud and also copy the charts over and print them.

My main influence when recording the bass part on this was the great Cuban band Los Van Van. Merging a Funk feel with a Songo feel. The solo's go into more of a funk feel. All the chord changes are written on the lead sheet as are the main bass figures. The bass I used on the session was my Yamaha TRB5.

I supply the lead sheet rather that giving you the complete bass part because I thought it would be good for you to come up with your own bass lines. 

Download the mp3 here.

Familia NO BASS MP3

Here are the JPEG images of the chart.

Buy the album Familia from CD Baby. www.cdbaby.com/cd/SimonGoulding

I hope you enjoy this......

New E-Book Bass Workshop.

Hi Peeps.

The new E-Book is available now.

Rudimentary musical training for the bassist who wants to make the transition to 'Musician'. With standard notation reading NO TAB. Bass line construction, reading bass lines, styles, understanding harmony, soloing ideas, beat placement, Cuban tumbao exercises, rhythmical awareness, Clavé patterns, chart geography introducing a more musical way of thinking into your bass playing. 

You will get the complete PDF download for £5.00. Ideal for iPad and eReaders plus you can simply print out your own book.

To buy the book please click below.

Buy Bass Workshop Here

You can check out some page previews here on the left. My aim for this book is help you become a more musical bass player. I have purposely not dove too deeply into each subject as I really urge you to discover more about each subject for yourself. I have merely scratched the surface here but hopefully given you enough information for you to practise and inspire you to dig much much deeper for yourself.

I've always been a massive believer in learning the FACTS of music in order to get better on your instrument. In this book I present the facts of music, Nothing more. The language you need to know to function as a professional bassist. The information you are expected to know to play  effective bass parts and get hired as a musician. Harmonic language, Reading notation, rhythmic awareness, style examples, transposition, improvising, introduction to soloing and playing in a more musical way.

Thanks for checking it out. Please feel free to contact me or comment on any of these things. 


All the very best,

Simon. 

Harmonised Major Scale Arpeggio Patterns.

Hi There.

Welcome to the new lesson. This is based on a very simple chord progression found in thousands of tunes. Based on the harmonised major scale in C.

The harmonised scale is basically any major scale played in chords.

Cmaj7    Dm7    Em7    Fmaj7    G7    Am7    Bm7b5    Cmaj7

When playing this avoid using a metronome to start with. Get it under your fingers first. Place your fingers at one finger per fret. Don't bunch up your fingers, try to avoid fret-buzz, alternate your picking fingers on every note.

  

www.reverbnation.com/simongouldingmusic

Interesting.........The First Electric Bass Guitar.

This is interesting for all Bassists......

This is the first electric bass guitar. The Tutmarc AudioVox 736 dated 1937.

Specs:

Solid body: fretted bass guitar.
Body & Neck: Black Walnut.
Fingerboard: Purpleheart.
Pick ups & electronics: One single coil pick up.


Many people credit Leo Fender and the Fender musical instrument company with the creation of the electric bass guitar with the advent of the Fender Precision Bass in 1951. However as the Fender P Bass was the first mass produced bass guitar, The Fender company was by no means the inventor of the electric bass.


That innovation lies with a Seattle based musician and inventor Paul H (Bud) Tutmarc. Tutmarc was experimenting with reducing the size of the double bass and in 1935 he built the electric upright bass but the crunch year for the bass guitar was 1937 when he developed the Audiovox model 736 "Electronic bass fiddle". It was designed to be played in the horizontal position and therefore is the first electric bass guitar as we know it.


Bad timing, Bad luck were the main reason why Mr Tutmarc didn't get the accolades he deserved. The 736 certainly wasn't a commercial success. The price was massive in 1937 the Audiovox cost $65.00 and en extra $75.00 for the matching 936 amplifier making it simply out of reach of many many musicians. It also came out just before the outbreak of World War II when the whole of guitar manufacturing was deemed "Non Essential" plus it really didn't fit in to any of the styles of music at that time.


Paul Tutmarc's Audiovox 736.............Way ahead of it's time?