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Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jun 29 2010, 07:01 PM

Hello and welcome to your new month of bass mtp!

I want ask you about your impressions of the first month.
I have two ideas for this month. We can either concentrate on building more strict technique (with some advanced exercises that will really step up a notch all the concepts we covered in previous ones and "shred" your hands) or working on some improvisation concepts with more interactive assignments which require improvisation (mostly through learning walking bass concepts) ? IMO both will be really useful so its your choice

Which of the two seems more interesting to you and want to focus on during this month.

Posted by: Gitarrero Jun 29 2010, 07:12 PM

Tough choice! You're right, both ideas are great and I'd benefit from both of them...but I'll go for the improvisation part, as my goal is to write my own songs and create cool basslines for them.
I really enjoyed my first month and the technique stuff was very useful, because after all I started from zero and had to learn all the basics. But I am feeling comfortable with fingerpicking now, so let's boost my improvisation skills and maybe come back to advanced technique exercises in the third month. What do you think about that?

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jun 29 2010, 10:04 PM

Yes I agree! Let's work on improvisation/bass line construction topics.

I'll post your first assignment on July 1st.

This will be fun as it will involve more creative work!

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 1 2010, 01:29 PM

Weekly assignment 1:

Walking bass concept 1

Lesson to practice:

Walking Bass Concept 1 lesson : http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/misc-lessons/walking-bass-concept-1/

Goal : To learn about 2 feel walking bass and 2 note approach in improvising.

Purpose : Learn how to improvise simple walking bass lines.

Instructions :

I want you to read all the text material of the lesson and to jam along its demo tune. All the time think about which chord is playing in the backing track when doing this. You want to get comfortable on following written chord progression and finding appropriate root and 5ths notes on the bass neck instantly.

Requirements :

Post updates on your practice daily if possible, describing what have you done.
As the weekly assignment, I want you to record your OWN improvisation over the backing track of the lesson (which I'll post for you). Make the recording video please. Also make sure when practicing/recording is to WRITE down chords progression on paper and don't learn it by heart rather be able to look at it written down and instantly jam/imrovise using roots and 5ths on bass against the backing.

Deadline to complete: 7th of July

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 1 2010, 03:18 PM

Hi Bogdan,
that's a very cool assignment!
I have to admit, I am pretty busy at work this week and the next, after that everything will slow down again, giving me more time to practice. So, I can't promise you that I'll be able to record a decent take by the 7th of july, but I'll try! I'll keep you updated as often as possible.

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 2 2010, 03:17 PM

Sounds good! Let me know if you need any help with the material as you go through it...

Cheers,
Bogdan

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 6 2010, 04:03 PM

Hi Bogdan,
I'm still so busy...I have to organize a couple of events and podium discussions that take place this week, so I don't have time to practice new stuff...Nevertheless, I fooled around with the backing track, but I'm not so happy with my improvisations right now. I wrote down the parts that sound good, but I have to admit, I have trouble to use other patterns than the ones you used for the lesson...I hope I got that part right, you want me to play other root and 5th progressions over the BT than the ones you played?
I will try to come up with a decent take today or tomorrow!
See you
Christian

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 6 2010, 11:30 PM

Gennerally yes I want you to improvise. But with those roots and 5ths only there are not so many patterns so its ok to repeat ones I used. Idea here is to be able improvise easily by just following the progression. So if I would send you a different backing you could play instantly without much thinking. Do you possibly want me to make you a custom backing track/progression for you to improvise over?

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 7 2010, 11:44 AM

A custom backing would be cool, but for now I'll stick with the backing of the lesson (btw, could you please post it for me?). Hopefully I can submit a take tonight before the big match...

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 7 2010, 12:05 PM

Here is the backing track for the lesson:  Walking_Bass_Concept_1_backing.mp3 ( 699.9K ) : 206


Good luck tonight!

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 7 2010, 06:54 PM

Hey Bogdan,
there is quite a loud bassline in the BT!? Is it possible that you sent me the wrong track?

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 7 2010, 07:22 PM

Oh sorry for this. I uploaded the one with bass included.

Here is a backing track once again :  120.mp3 ( 688.29K ) : 244


Cheers,
Bogdan

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 7 2010, 07:23 PM

Great, thanks!
Hmm...gotta watch football now , but I'll submit a take later this evening!

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 9 2010, 12:44 PM

Sounds like a plan. Let me know if you need any help with the take...

Cheers,
Bogdan

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 9 2010, 01:10 PM

Hey Bogdan,
sorry for the delay...I'll record a take tomorrow, I had to organise (and am still organising) an open air music festival in my town. 10 bands are gonna play this evening in different places in the town, so lots of stuff to do...
Hope you understand this, tomorrow you'll get to see a take!

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 11 2010, 05:23 PM

Of course take your time, we'll make other assignments light then...

Hehehe If you need a Serbian band that will play for tickets and accommodation next year - let me know

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 12 2010, 06:45 PM

Finally! Here we go...the stress is gone, and I got time to play guitar and bass again. This was the first take today, actually, this was played without too much thinking, but it was more played by ear. I know this wasn't the goal, but I didn't want to wait much longer...

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 12 2010, 09:36 PM

Yes!!!

This was great. You definitely understand the concept and you used the right notes! Only suggestion would be to pay attention to duration of the notes. You want to have them ringing as long as they should. So if its two feel then its two half notes. Try not to have big pauses between them rather to have a strong legato feeling. Overall good job!

Weekly assignment 2:

Walking bass concept 2

Lesson to practice:

Walking Bass Concept 2 lesson :http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/misc-lessons/walking-bass-concept-2/

Goal : To learn about 2 feel walking bass and 2 note approach in improvising.

Purpose : Learn how to improvise simple walking bass lines.

Instructions :

I want you to read all the text material of the lesson and to jam along its demo tune. All the time think about which chord is playing in the backing track when doing this. You want to get comfortable on following written chord progression and finding appropriate root and 3rd notes on the bass neck instantly.

Requirements :

Post updates on your practice daily if possible, describing what have you done.
As the weekly assignment, I want you to record your OWN improvisation over the backing track of the lesson (which I'll post for you). Make the recording video please. Also make sure when practicing/recording to WRITE down chords progression on paper and don't learn it by heart rather be able to look at it written down and instantly jam/improvise using roots and 3rds on bass against the backing.

Deadline to complete:17th of July

p.s. since you are a little behind feel free to post your assignment before the deadline if you can make it...

Here is backing track for the assignment:  120.mp3 ( 688.29K ) : 217


This is the full track progression :

Dm - G - C - Am - F - Em - G - C - Am - Dm

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 12 2010, 10:14 PM

Hi Bogdan, thanks for the new assignment, I'm glad you liked my take!
I'll start learning the lesson tomorrow and will submit a take within the next few days, maybe even tomorrow if I have enough time to work with the lesson first.
I haven't thought about a lesson for the rec, yet...I'd like a lesson where I can play more than root notes over the backing, and a little speed challenge for the picking hand would be cool as well, I suppose...

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 13 2010, 08:52 AM

Sounds like a plan. You'll see that these walking concepts will be foundation for all your improvising later on. And I guess its always fun to be able to play jazz with a tactic/rules on mind how to do that effectively.

Here are some ideas for the REC take you can choose one you like better:

1. http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/misc-lessons/rock-bass-lesson/ - This is a nice rock tune that is demanding on picking speed and string skipping (its a little hard on the skipping part).

2. http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/ska_walking_bass/ - This will be my recommendation since it will use concepts we'll cover during this month. Also its a bit uptempo and not easy on fingering and fretting (getting right note durations etc)...

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 15 2010, 11:50 AM

Hi Bogdan!
So, I've been practicing the last days and came up with this take. I made two little mistakes in the middle, but overall I am pretty happy with this try.
I think we should go for the ska walking bass lesson as a rec take, the other lesson might be a little fast for me at this time...

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 15 2010, 02:31 PM

Very good job! Tell me how do you feel about the concepts covered so far? Is the chord>note choice pallet opening up?
Since you are getting good with the concepts and theory behind the playing, lets address one important technique issue in our next assignment. Generally you need to have notes ringing in full duration and pauses between them as small as possible and in this (and previous take) you had some problems with it. But its easy to fix.

Weekly assignment 3:

Legato and Staccato

Lesson to practice:

Legato and Staccato lesson : http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/Bass_First_Steps_Legato_and_Staccato/

Goal : To notice the difference between legato and staccato.

Purpose : Learn how to control the sustain of the notes.

Instructions :

I want you to go through the lesson material. Please record 5 short exercises that are included in the lesson against a drum backing track. You can use ones I sent you before 80-100 bpm ones.

Requirements :

Post updates on your practice daily if possible, describing what have you done.
As the weekly assignment, record 5 included exercises covering legato vs staccato playing.

Deadline to complete:21th of July

Let me know if you need any help!

SKA Bass for REC sounds great!

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 15 2010, 03:15 PM

Hi Bogdan, sounds like a great and useful lesson, I think I really need to train my sustain of the notes.
I'll keep you updated regularly from now on!

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 15 2010, 05:29 PM

I'm glad you like the lesson. This is actually a very important topic to study. Also this is most neglected topic. Let me know your impressions once you start practicing...

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 19 2010, 07:23 PM

Hi Bogdan!
Well, I promised to keep you updated more often now, but I had some unforeseen internet connection difficulties at my girlfriends place this weekend...hope this won't happen again, as I am moving in with her next month!
Anyway, it was going well so far, but I had some problems with my picking fingers when playing staccato, meaning I often used the same finger two times in a row...
Anyway, here is my take at 120 bpm. What do you think?

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 19 2010, 08:53 PM

Hello my friend! Very nice to have a new take from you. This is pretty good. I bet you didn't think in practice much about legato and staccato before and only being aware of this will improve your playing. Staccato only sounded very good - its ok to play with same finger there as long as it doesn't interfere speed on which it needs to be played. Legato only was pretty good too, maybe a little less connected when descending the scale. Try to really connect those notes one over the other. Mixed takes sounded pretty well, could be tighter. Now what I would recommend is practicing some more last two exercises (they are hardest to play to) in order to get clean legato transition and then clean and tight staccato note (in both combination covered in two exercises).

This video will be good enough for this assignment take, so I'll post your final assignment later tonight...

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 19 2010, 09:06 PM

Hi Bogdan,

thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you liked my take! And yes, I had the biggest problems with the combination of legato and staccato, but I will include this lesson into my daily practice routine.
I'm looking forward to the next assignment!

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 19 2010, 11:09 PM

Weekly assignment 4:

Walking Bass Concept 3

Lesson to practice:

Walking Bass Concept 3 : http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/ls/walking-bass-concept-3/

Goal : To learn to improvise walking bass lines on the spot.

Purpose : Learn how to use triads in improvisation.

Instructions :

Since this lesson will combine material from previous 2 we covered I want you to go free style here. You actually don't even need to check out the original bass line I played (only do it if you lack inspiration). Use roots, 5ths and 3rds for improvising a line in 2 feel.

Requirements :

Post updates on your practice daily if possible, describing what have you done.
As the weekly assignment, record your improvisation over the backing track. I'll post the backing in a few days.

Deadline to complete:26th of July

Let me know if you need any help!

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 22 2010, 08:59 PM

Hi Bogdan!

Just wanted to let you know that I am jamming along to the assigned lesson every day for 15 minutes, after warming up with some of the previous assignments. It's working well so far, so if you post the BT I can make a decent recording.

See you!

Christian

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 22 2010, 09:09 PM

Sounds great!

Here is the backing track:  120.mp3 ( 688.29K ) : 185


Looking forward to your take!

Cheers,
Bogdan

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 22 2010, 09:34 PM

Hi Bogdan, here we go!



I tried to concentrate on the sustain of the notes, but it didn't work all that well on every note, especially when I fret with my pinky I realized some problems with sustain. Gotta work on that a little more!

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 23 2010, 01:33 PM

Very good work man! I like your improv and note choice. I hope its fun for you to be able to instantly play jazz walking like this. I think you understood well the theory and concept behind it but you have to work more on your performance. Your left hand is a bit stiff and you are having problems with sustain of notes. You need to play them in full duration and let them overlap each other in order to have bass bottom present all the time through the song. Playing 2 feel is not easy because of this. Keep paying attention to that part of the performance as you can see here its not that much which notes you play but how - in order to get a good walking bass line.

I want you to congratulate you on finishing all your assignments for July. Now you only have the REC take left and then we can continue to the next month of MTP.

Keep up the good work and let me know if you have any questions.

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 23 2010, 01:52 PM

Hi Bogdan!
Thanks for your feedback. I realized that my left hand was a bit stiff, maybe because I was improvising and therefore wasn't 100% sure which note I would play next. At least that was the impression I had when playing...hope you understand what I mean.
But you're right, I understand the theory behind it and it's a lot of fun to be able to play walking bass!
I am working on the REC-assignment right now and will submit a take on monday, since next week I am moving out of my place and have to pack all my stuff and bring it to my girlfriend's place. So I probably won't be able to record any takes from wednesday to sunday next week. Shouldn't be much of a problem though, as I think we are in time with our MTP. Can't wait for the next month, though it will be our final one with the MTP...I'll definitely gon on playing bass, I'm just not sure if I can afford private lessons right now. But I'll stick with your lessons and post my takes in the rec section, so hopefully I'll get some feedback from you there!
See you!

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 24 2010, 10:44 AM

It just takes some practice. I would recommend practicing your sustain with walking bass lines like this (2 feel!). They are great for pointing out on your weaknesses if you are lacking control there. If you just want to practice your sustain, play the same pattern over all chords in order to focus on the technique part of performance.

Yes we are in front of schedule now which is great. Record the REC take when you are ready. Next month is our final one but later on you can always upload your takes for feedback etc in my boards! I'll be glad to help.

I think you made quite some progress during these 2 months of MTP, so keep up the good work!

Cheers,
Bogdan

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 27 2010, 03:49 PM

Hi Bogdan,
I just realised that I don't have the BT for the ska bass lesson...could you please upload it? I'd like to record it today.
Thanks!

Christian

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 27 2010, 06:42 PM

Hi Christian,

you can find the backing track in this thread : http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=29154

Let me know when you have the take ready!

Cheers,
Bogdan

Posted by: Gitarrero Jul 28 2010, 07:37 PM

Hi Bogdan,

sorry I couldn't make the recording yesterday. Now I'm afraid I can do it on sunday, because I have packed all my recording stuff together yesterday evening and brought it to my new place. As I still live in my old flat for the next 4 days and have lots of stuff to do (cleaning...) sunday is the earliest day I can submit a take...
Anyway, it works pretty good so far, some parts are a bit fast and my playing sounds kinda sloppy in these parts, but maybe I can work on it until sunday.

See you!

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jul 28 2010, 11:18 PM

Hey! Don't worry, Sunday sounds fine! Just try not to be too late so we can start the new month of mtp!

Have fun moving to a new place!

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Aug 1 2010, 12:22 AM

P.s. You can alternatively record a REC take of any walking bass concept lesson we covered this month (you have those backings posted already) ! Looking forward to your take

Posted by: Gitarrero Aug 1 2010, 06:49 PM

Hey Bogdan, sorry but I can't submit a take today, but will be able to do it tomorrow. I just finished moving and am still unpacking my stuff in my girlfriends flat...

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Aug 2 2010, 01:06 PM

Sounds fine!

Posted by: Gitarrero Aug 2 2010, 01:23 PM

Just a few more hours, I'll submit a take tonight!

Posted by: Gitarrero Aug 2 2010, 07:43 PM

Hi Bogdan, here is a first take. It gets out of sync after a while, no idea why that happens...I reocrded it at my mom's place where I left some of my stuff (including my old computer) today, so the circumstances (and software and so on) are not the best...if it's okay I wanna make another take tomorrow at my new home

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Aug 2 2010, 10:53 PM

This was great man! Few sloppy parts but overall I really like the way you played it and feeling/energy!
In order for me to wrap up this month I'll need a take posted in REC board - I guess you can record tomorrow once again if you want just remember to post in in REC

Good to see you walkin' that bass!

Posted by: Gitarrero Aug 4 2010, 03:50 PM

Hi Bogdan,
I must say it's great fun to play walking bass, and this last assignment was really motivating! How about a new bass collab? That would be cool.
I posted this take at the rec section now, as I am still at my mom's place and will only be able to make a better take on friday, which would be too long as I want to continue this mtp quickly.

Still, as I really like this lesson I'm gonna record a new take on friday.

See you!

Christian

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Aug 4 2010, 06:35 PM

Congratulations on completing the second month of bass mtp!
We have been working on improvisation part during this month and you gained some skills in playing walking bass!
Here is your summary:

Assignment 1 - completed -
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=35744&view=findpost&p=490783

Assignment 2 - completed -
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=35744&view=findpost&p=491261

Assignment 3 - completed -
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=35744&view=findpost&p=491878

Assignment 4 - completed -
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=35744&view=findpost&p=492364

REC TAKE for July: http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=36169

Good job so far! See you in a new months thread!