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Claude Adrien Helvétius

Thursday, July 30, 2009, 10:47 AM - musicFoo

When I speak I put on a mask. When I act I am forced to take it off.

Notes from Victor Wooten Bass Clinic

Wednesday, July 15, 2009, 11:15 PM - musicFoo

Music is like a language; you learn it best by immersion.

KEY
Find the root internally.
Play a riff, then add the bottom notes.
Understand "top down" chording; rebound and recovery exercises.
Even if you hit a "wrong" note, the notes on either side are in the scale.
Better yet, practice the chromatic scale.

WALKING
Walking is a feel; forget the notes.
Go-For-Feel!
Slow down until you find the groove.

FEEL
When you play, you can play on the down beat and the up beat. You can also play in-between the up and down beats.
When you solo, practice using quarter notes. Fast is just slow sped up.

1. The right notes
2. Technique
3. Rhythm/Tempo
4. Phrasing
5. Dynamics
6. Tone (Important)
7. Articulation
8. Feel/Emotion
9. Space (give the other musicians room; give the music space; analogy: "white space" in page design.)
10. Listening

2 through 10 = groove
You can get 2 through 10 right, and even if you miss #1 it will be fine
(Victor plays a great solo using only the "wrong notes"
They gave an example of how to make the other musicians sound 10x better: stop playing! Let them solo, and when they crescendo, come back in.)

MODES

HO = Hammer On (D-E)
TN = Thump note (E)
LS = Left-hand slap
GT = Ghost Thump
GP = Ghost pluck

(4 measures, 16 notes)


01 | 02 | 03 | 04 || 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 || 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 || 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 

H--|--O | TN | TN || SL | GT | GP | GT || GT | GP | TN | TN || LS | GT | GP | GT

Rotate the notes: start with #2 and end with #1, then start with #3 and end with #2. Continue until you come back to #1 in the starting position.

CONCLUSION
Visualize yourself playing the technique.
Use your imagination to boost the physical.
Use popular phrases as a tempo. You can even use speech as your tempo.

Music is communication.

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These are just teh transcription of my notes from the clinic I attended. You really should check out the clinic itself.

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Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Up Above My Head

Monday, July 13, 2009, 07:29 AM - musicFoo