Classic Rock, Classic Boredom: My Sudden Departure From My Band -- Looking Again

It's funny how one's long association with a band can end so suddenly.  That happened to me about ten days ago.  I was practicing with the classic rock band I have played with for three and a half years, on Sunday before last.  The guitar player was nitpicking and nagging me about my bass playing, something she has done since day one (she rags on all of the other band members too).  Even though I believed most of her comments and suggestions were wrong, I kept my mouth shut to avoid offending her, for the good of the band.  This turned out to be a mistake.

By not expressing disagreement, I allowed the irritation of her micromanagement to build up to a critical mass.  During this last practice, she had found a new obsession to feed her control freak streak:  the number of bass notes that I was playing on a brand new song (new to us, anyway).  The song was "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry Over You."  I think Ringo originally sang it.

I was in the process of discovering the chord pattern and not overly concerned with how close I was playing it to the record.  That would come later, when I practiced the song on my own -- as I had done many times before on prior songs.  Our obsessive-compulsive guitarist, however, felt it necessary to tell me three times that I was playing "three times as many notes" as the bass player on the record.  She was referring, not to the correct chords vs incorrect chords, she was referring to the phrasing -- how the notes are played.  This is a legitimate point, but not one to overwork or over emphasize on the first couple of run-throughs.  I put the song on my list of "new songs to learn," but the third time she mentioned it, I lost my temper.  I told her to "Shut the hell up."  She said "Fuck you" and I returned the suggestion.  Then I packed up my stuff and left, never to return.

I hate to be micro-managed.  It is one of my pet peeves.

The guitar player, Lorraine, has been vigorously pushing the band in the direction she wants to go:  playing classic rock exclusively, as close to the original recording as possible.  I have a problem with the former, not so much with the latter.  Playing classic rock exclusively is boring to me.  Lorraine has pushed us into giving up some good jazz and blues songs, simply because they weren't "classic rock."

The truth is, I want to progress musically, and ridding our repertoire of more advanced forms of music is a big step backwards.  "Classic rock" is overdone and a hard sell, and there is much competition for gigs.  I want to play jazz, blues and standards.  I want to play my string bass as well as my bass guitars.  Now that "the Universe" has taken me out of my musical dead-end, I have the opportunity to find a band or bands that are more to my liking. I feel a sense of release.  Leaving this band was a good thing.

My String Bass Practice Routine: It's Working!

My Calin Wultur Panormo
Carved String Bass

I have been playing my upright bass for the past 3 or 4 days, using Vince Guaraldi's Christmas album as the music to accompany.  My idea was to bring myself up to speed, physically, on the string bass so I can look for bands and gigs.

The practice routine is working.  Each day I seem stronger and can play longer before tiring out.  In fact, my progress is faster than I expected.  The first couple of days provided a blister on my right index finger -- the one used for plucking.  It's no longer sore and is becoming a callous.

Some aspects of playing an upright or string bass should be considered carefully before switching from bass guitar.  The upright bass is much more physically demanding.  You may be able to remove some of the stress by using medium or light gauge strings instead of heavy gauge.  I changed mine, and the results were quite beneficial.  Lighter gauge strings don't have as much volume, but if you are amplifying your bass with a pickup or microphone, that doesn't really matter.

Another physically demanding aspect of the upright is the neck.  Yes, it is much thicker and also much longer.  However, the length does not give you more notes.  The upright bass neck actually offers you less notes, not more.  The neck is long, but so are the half steps (what would be frets on a bass guitar) down the bass.  An upright player must use the open strings more often than is necessary on a bass guitar.

I was surprised this week to find how easily I can press the strings to play arpeggios and bass lines.  Yes, the neck is thick, but not so thick that an experienced bass guitarist can't handle it.

In short, my conquest of the string bass is easier than I expected, though it does require effort.  My next goal is to buy the best pickup for the bass that I can afford.  That will cost me around $195   Ouch.

Switching to Double Bass From Bass Guitar: Getting In Physical Shape

I have some time off from my regular rock band and now have the time to get up to speed on double bass (i.e. my big stand up acoustic bass).  I haven't touched my double bass in months and I know the transition back to it will involve effort.  On a stand up, the strings are usually heavier and the neck bigger.  More effort is required for both pressing and plucking the strings.  And, there are no frets!

Dealing with no frets:  I decided to deal with this my marking note positions on my neck with a Sharpie pen. I used black for regular notes and red for the sharps or flats.  Not cool, you should know just where to put your fingers totally by feel.  However, I don't have time to be cool, I want to actually know where F. G, A, B, and C is on the E string, so I can play chords (arpeggios) without guessing.

Now that that's done, I will familiarize myself with the big neck by playing major scales and arpeggios for the next two weeks.  This will condition my fingers (the bass guitar does not condition them enough for a double bass), get me used to the bigger reach for playing arpeggios, and help me learn all notes on the neck by feel.  While playing major scales and major arpeggios, I will concentrate on producing a clear tone, not a muffled one due to poor fingering.

Playing a double bass is much more physically demanding than playing a bass guitar, so my initial practice routine, as described above, should get me in shape over the next couple of weeks.

To keep the practice interesting, I will also play the double bass to some fairly easy songs and record it to discover weak spots in my playing.

I will allocate a minimum of one hour a day on double bass practice.  The above practice plan is meant mostly to get my into physical shape to play double bass.

Singing While Playing Bass: How to Learn, How to Practice

Once you have mastered some basic singing skills (see previous post), it is time to learn to play your bass while singing lead.  This has been a tough for most bass players.  It is difficult to play bass lines while singing lead.  You can get confused very quickly.  We can't all be the bass genius that Paul McCartney is, who does this with ease.

My band was playing at a Beatles Tribute, and I made up my mind I wanted to finally start contributing to our vocal effort.  Listening to Beatles tunes, I found that "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" was well within my range, and there seemed to be no bass part.  I could sing this song and not have to worry about playing bass (or so I thought).  I sent my karaoke recording to the band and they agreed I could do the song.  At the next practice, I sang it live and the band was enthusiastic.  However, over the next week I learned that there was indeed a bass part to the song, and I found a couple of YouTube videos where the bass players demonstrate how to play the song.  I had to rethink my approach, but I knew one thing, I would not give up!  I was committed to singing and would do whatever it took.

I learned to play the bass while singing this song in four steps:

1.  I learned the bass part without singing, just playing along to the record.
2.  I learned the singing part without playing the bass.
3.  I started putting the two together. This was done by taking each lyric in the song, singing it slowly while playing the appropriate bass part.  In this way, the two different activities were cemented into one in my brain.  I slowly increased my speed until I could play and sing it at the same time, all the way through, and then I started recording it.
4.  I listened to the recording and learned where there were rough spots, then concentrated on smoothing those out.

There is nothing like playing and singing the song live, so I began doing that at band practice, developing more confidence with each try.  Finally, the Beatles Tribute event arrived, and I sang my song to a live audience.  I was nervous -- this was my first singing ever to an audience -- and the song was mostly good, with a smooth tone and on key.  There were a couple of rough spots, but they weren't disastrous.

And the bass part, that I played simultaneously with singing?  It was flawless.  I had proven to myself that I can sing and play at the same time.

My next step will be to identify several songs I want to sing with the band and begin learning them and the bass parts.  I can do this -- and so can you.  My first effort is below.

Singing While Playing Bass: It Can Be Done

This week I had my debut as a singer at a gig with my band.  I have always been a bass player, and I have found singing and playing bass simultaneously to be difficult.  So I never bothered developing my singing skills.  I could occasionally sing some back up, but even that was rare.

Our band had a great female singer, but she left after a short time, due to her new marriage and career, and once again we had to rely on our musicians to provide the vocals.  I decided to start singing for practical reasons:  if the musicians in the band also supply the singing, the band is not dependent upon a single lead singer.  Any band that wants to grow and prosper must develop the singing skills of everyone in the band.  Everyone must row the boat, there can be no idle passengers.

I began practicing singing to karaoke songs I found on YouTube, downloading the videos using iSkysoft iTube Studio software, converting them to MP4 self-playing video files, for ease of access.  Then I would sing to the YouTube videos and record the singing with Free Sound Recorder, available on the web.  I could then send my efforts out to other band members for feedback.

Further, I searched the web for websites that teach singing skills, and found great teachers like Roger Burney and TVS Training, both of whom provide a number of free singing lesson videos on the web (and more intensive training for a reasonable price).  I also bought Jaime Vendera's book, "Raise Your Voice," 2nd Edition, and downloaded lesson vids from the web.  With these tools I found some important ways to improve the tone, range and power of my voice, and  I am not working on becoming a credible singer.

Another thing I do to improve my singing voice is to sing along to CDs in the car, practicing the techniques I have learned from the aforementioned resources.  The major lessons are how to sing in the soft palate, how to avoid putting strain on your pharynx, how to breathe, how hit the high notes.  Singing with CDs helps to strengthen your vocal muscles, which must be developed like any other exercise.

Next article:  the method I used to start singing and playing simultaneously.

"Sweet Lorraine" -- Fred's Love Song for His Wife of 75 Years

Why do people write love songs? Probably because love is the highest human emotion. This gentleman was married to his wife Lorraine for an astounding 75 years. When she passed away, he was inspired to write a love song in her memory. It won a "best original song" contest and is now on iTunes. Fred and Lorraine's story is below.

Ringo Starr's Very Cool Hat in "Help!" (Actually, a Scottish Military Issue Tam O'Shanter)

Since my band is preparing for a Beatles tribute in September, I have been looking for hats that say "Beatles!"  Don't take that literally, since there are baseball caps that have "Beatles" emblazoned on the crown.  What I want are hats like those the Beatles wore in their heyday in the 1960's.

John Lennon liked hats that are eight-panel newsboy caps, with the brim unbuttoned from the crown.  George sometimes wore a top hat, as he did in "Help!".  However, the coolest hat in that 1965 film was worn by Ringo.  It was a khaki colored, military issue tam o'shanter.  It is described in a bagpipe forum this way:

If you watch the Beatles 1965 film "Help!", there is a musical sequence on Salisbury Plain near Stonehenge with the Beatles being guarded by British soldiers -- I think one of the Scottish regiments, based on what I've seen from stills shot at the time. In the movie, Ringo wears a khaki tam o'shanter obviously borrowed from a soldier and I've tried to ID the regiment from what you can see of the tartan backing and cap badge -- can anyone else hazard a guess? I think possibly the KOSB or RS (is that Hunting Stewart or Leslie?). The cap badge is *I think* the unpopular and short-lived "Lowland Brigade" badge issued for a time to all the units grouped in the brigade (there was at the same time a common "Highland Brigade" badge).

52nd Lowland Cap Badge Design

52 Lowland Cap Badge
Tartran Backing

I've done some research, and the tam o'shanter (a Scottish cap) was of the 52nd Lowland Brigade (as proved by the cap badge of same).  The big X is actually the St. Andrews Cross, a Scottish symbol.  It is also a part of the flag of Scotland, a white cross on a blue field.

At first I thought the cap badge backing (the square piece of cloth beneath the cap badge) was solid black, or what they call Government Tartran.  I have changed my mind.  The badge backing, after blowing up a picture of Ringo (see above), appears to be the Tayforth Universities Officers Training Corps Hunting Stewart Tartran.

52 Lowland Cap Badge & Backing
(Photoshop Simulation)

So where could a Beatles fan/musician get a hat like Ringo's?  You can order military issue tam o'shanters here (for $35) or here.  Some of these hats are more of a green tint, but Ringo's was obviously of a tan or light brown color.  Therefore, I would opt for the second link above.

You can buy a 52nd Lowland badge off of Ebay, when they are available.

 You can order the cap badge backing here -- see item E1J995.

You will have to have the badge backing sewed onto the tam o'shanter, then affix the 52nd Lowland badge over that.  Finally, you will have a hat identical to that Ringo wore in "Help!"  Final cost will be in the neighborhood of $100.

Finally, here's a video showing the Beatles (and Ringo in his hat) playing "I Need You" in the movie "Help!".  You also get a good view of John's unbuttoned, green corduroy newsboy hat.

Note:  the Video was removed by the owner due to copyright.  Asinine, no doubt it was Fair Use because it was instructional in nature and not for profit, but hey, big corporations can be asswipes.

UPDATE:  I ordered all the components as described above, and put them together.  I sewed on the tartran backing myself, then carefully punched small holes through the tartran and the hat in order to afix the cap badge.  Fortunately, I did not ruin the hat in the process.  The badge is held on by a cotter pin inside the cap.  Here is the result:  a Scottish military tam o'shanter that is very close to the one worn by Ringo in the film "Help!":

My recreation of Ringo's hat

Note that I am wearing the tam with the cap badge between my left eye and my left ear, which is the proper way to wear it.  Ringo wore his borrowed tam with the cap badge in the middle of his forehead.  It looks nice, but is not the proper military way to wear the cap.

Hats for Musicians: If you ain't got the right hat, you can't be in the band. It's in the Musician Union rules.

If you're going to be in a band, you gotta have the right hat.  I am, of course, referring to most any kind of band, whether it be classic rock, British rock, Reggae, Blues, Funk, Latin, Country, Jazz or Peruvian Flute.

Stingy-Brim Fedora

Possibly the most popular hat worn by band members today is the stingy-brim fedora.  These are great looking hats.

Another popular band hat is the pork pie hat.  These have long been popular with jazz bands, but have moved into rock and roll as well.

Pork Pie Hat

Recently, I purchased a Homburg hat because I saw the steel guitar player in Hank Williams III's band with one.  I liked the look.

You can find a lot of hats on EBay.com, or just google them by name and you will find many suppliers.  Look for the best prices.

Stacy Adams Homburg Hat

My band is scheduled to play for a Beatles tribute in September, so I ordered a "John Lennon" hat off of Ebay -- see picture.  Finding retro British-style rock hats isn't easy all these years after the British Invasion of the 1960's.  John Lennon's favorite hat was a retro newsboy hat, also called a Baker Boy's hat or Applejack or Eight Panel hat.  These often resemble a Greek fisherman's hat.

John Lennon Style Hat

The best representation of the Lennon hat that I found is made in Poland, and it will be at least three weeks before it arrives.  There are suppliers in Great Britain who also make similar hats.  They are made of corduroy.

There are many kinds of hats for musicians to choose from, and the proper hat creates a favorable impression to the audience.  Use your imagination and find the topper that fits your fancy.

Let's Get Funky! (Uh...But What Is Funk Anyway?)

Musicians who play with soul often use a technique called "funk."  But what is funk?  According to About.com:

Funk is a very distinct style of music based on R&B that reached its height in popularity from the late 1960s to late 1970s. Its name originated in the 1950s, when "funk" and "funky" were used increasingly as adjectives in the context of soul music -- the meaning being transformed from the original one of a pungent odor to a re-defined meaning of a strong, distinctive groove [the "groove" being the rhythm laid down by the drums and bass].

One of the most distinctive features of funk music is the role played by bass guitar. Before soul music, bass was rarely prominent in popular music. Players like the legendary Motown bassist James Jamerson brought bass to the forefront, and Funk built on that foundation, with melodic basslines often being the centerpiece of songs. Other noteworthy funk bassists include Bootsy Collins and Larry Graham of Sly & the Family Stone. Graham is often credited with inventing the percussive "slap bass technique," which was further developed by later bassists and became a distictive element of funk.

The stong bassline is primarily what separates Funk from R&B, soul and other forms of music, melodic basslines often being the centerpiece of songs. Also, compared to the soul music of 1960s, funk typically uses more complex rhythms, while song structures are usually simpler. Often, the structure of a funk song consists of just one or two riffs. The soul dance music of its day, the basic idea of funk was to create as intense a groove as possible [emphasis added].

The Funk genre has lost most of its popularity since the 1970s, but saw a mini-revival in the early 1990s due to the sampling of Funk songs by hip-hop artists.

Examples of popular contemporary funk artists include Soulive and funk pioneer George Clinton, who's still recording new music after more than three decades. Also, many rock bands use a stong funk element in their music, including Primus and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

My major problem with this piece is its definition of funk as a separate genre of music.  Funk was and is a style or technique, not a different genre.  It was mostly applied to Rhythm and Blues or Soul music, but may be applied to other genres as well.  Elements of it can be found in any face-paced music genre, like Latin (think Santana) And jazz.  Vince Guaraldi, the famous jazz pianist, was known as "Dr. Funk" to his fans and fellow musicians.

Funk is a staccato bassline with triplets and eighth notes, many of which are played on the upbeat.  That's why it is so hard to play -- our natural tendency as bass players is to play on the downbeat.  In addition to playing in a staccato style, the bassist also relies on slap and pop techniques to emphasize certain chords, and hand muting techniques to make individual notes more distinct.  Beyond all this technical verbiage, funk just sounds good!  An otherwise bland song can be given pep, the way a bland soup wakes up to spices.

EXAMPLES OF FUNK
A great example of a song played "funky" is the classic R&B tune "I Heard It Through the Grapevine."  Marvin Gaye's 1968 version is the most popular, though it wasn't funky when first released.  Gaye added funk to later live renditions, as we shall see.  Here are some facts about this famous song:

The Gaye recording has since become acclaimed a soul classic, and in 2004, it was placed on the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. On the commemorative 50th Anniversary of the Billboard Hot 100 issue of Billboard magazine in June 2008, Marvin Gaye's "Grapevine" was ranked 65th. It was also inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame for "historical, artistic and significant" value.

Now let's consider different Versions of "Grapevine," funky and the not-so-funky:

1. Gladys Knight and the Pips released their version in 1967, before that of Marvin Gaye, and it went to number two on Billboard.  Gladys Knight's version is undoubtedly the funkiest version.  See her sing it live at this link, and be sure you can hear the bass (use headphones if you don't have capable speakers).

2. Marvin Gaye's original version was not funky but he added funk in later performances.  Hear his original 1968 recording here (no funk) and his live performance in Montreux here (funk added).

3.  Finally, there is Creedence Clearwater's version of the song -- no funk at all.  Hear it here.

In my opinion, the funk adds a great deal of color, class and enjoyment to the song.  Funk may not be absolutely necessary, but it surely separates the elite performers from the also-rans.  Therefore, if you are a bass player, it would behoove you to learn at least some basic elements of funk style.

MORE EXAMPLES:

• Here's a young bassist doing a great demonstration of the funky bass line to Knight's version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." 
• Here's a vid of the Pips bass player James Jamerson playing his very funky bass line to Gladys Knight's rendition of "Grapevine."

ONLINE LESSONS ON FUNK

There's a series of lessons on YouTube called "Rock School," produced by mostly British performers, explaining various aspects of rock music.  Volume 3 of Rock School covers "Funk."  There are eight videos covering in Vol 3, but only the first three deal with funk.  They are worth your time if you want to get funky.  See links below.

Rock School Vol 3 - Part 1 of 8 - How to Play Funk

Rock School Vol 3 - Part 2 of 8 - Funk Guitar and Bass

Rock School Vol 3 - Part 3 of 8 - Funk & Reggae Bass

When learning to play funky, start slow and add more over time.  Be patient.  

Experienced Musicians Jam to "Born To Be Wild" (Video)

When experienced musicians come together to jam, the results can be pleasing. Here we are at a Jam party last week, playing "Born To Be Wild." This was the first time we had played this song together, and it already sounds polished, IMHO.

 

 Here we are accompanying a fair lady singer in the Monkees' classic "Daydream Believer." This one is probably not ready for prime time, but pleasant nevertheless.