II-V-I Progression: Three Note Chords

Hello, fellow beginning guitarists (of which I consider myself a member of your august company). For my first posting in about five weeks (been keeping up the "Bass" end of this blog), I'm posting some simple triads in the standard II-V-I chord progression in key of C. The Chords are:

D Minor 7th

G Dominant 7th

C Major 7th

The first set of chord voicings are done on the upper position of the guitar, with the chords fretted as follows (forgive me, but I don't have tablature settings on my software anymore):
Dm7: E-10th fret; A-muted; D-10th fret; G-10th fret;
G7: A-10th fret; D-9th fret; G-10th fret;
Cmaj7: E-8th fret; A-muted; D-9th fret; G-9th fret;

The second set of voicings are in the first and second positions on the neck and the chords voiced as follows:

Dm7: D-3rd fret; G-2nd fret; B-1st fret (notice that this is an F major triad);
G7: A-5th fret; D-3rd fret; G-4th fret;
Cmaj7: A-3rd fret; D-5th fret; G-4th fret.

I've added text below the chords describing the parts of the chords being used for each triad. For example, on the Dm7 in the first measure, I used the root, flatted 7th, and the third on top; for the G dominant 7th in the second measure, I used the root, 3rd, and flatted 7th, etc.

This is a fun and simple way to introduce jazz voicings into your guitar practice. Take your time, get a feel for how the voicings sound, have fun, and I'll see y'all on the flipside next week.

Cheers,

GG

A Word of Encouragement

Konnichi wa, fellow bassists. This week, I'm posting early because I'm moving into four weeks of guitar exercises, in the interest of fairness (keeping up my end on the "Guitar" part of this blog, as well), so I wanted to leave you some words of encouragement while I'm working on the six-string duties.

Recently, I found a vlog on Youtube from a gentleman who will remain unnamed because I'm a nice guy. The aforementioned gentleman is a sound engineer who runs his own studio, and has very good, "sound" advice to give on running a studio (sorry, I can never resist a pun). However, there is a rather irritating side to this guy's vlog. He has severe issues with bassists. To put it simply, he thinks we (bassists) are all anti-musical, untalented, complete idiots. This is an unfortunate stereotype, one that is reinforced through experiences with too many lunkheads who do, unfortunately, play the bass.

There is a fine line between genuine, constructive criticism on the one hand, and outright hostility on the other. Just about every posting on this guy's vlog has one or more digs at bassists in general. In their seminal 1980 book, "The Platinum Rainbow" (Swordsman Press, 1980), writers Bob Monaco and James Riordan urge their readers (which especially includes would-be producers and sound engineers) to have "a professional attitude." While the Internet, and video-logs, didn't exist at the time the book was written, it still holds true, and one thing you should never, ever do, if you want to be taken seriously (especially as a sound engineer) is wear a t-shirt in your video posting that says that bass players are an (insert insulting, unmentionable profanity here).

So, how do we, as bassists, counter this type of unfair stereotyping? Very simple, my friends. Keep practicing. Learn your instrument, and learn it well. Learn to be a well-tempered, consistent, and at the same time, spontaneous and creative player. Learn everything you can about the theory behind your instrument, how it interacts with the drums to form a tight rhythm section, how to generate your own bass lines that are exciting and interesting and work to be the real foundation of any band you play a part in. Learn how your instrument is maintained, exercise best practices in string-changing, proper set up, amplifier use in a variety of live and recording settings, and learn about miking, when to use a mic, and when it's best to run direct through the board. Be a bass scholar. You don't have to be on the level of a Geddy Lee or Esperanza Spaulding, but you do have to be the best bassist you can be, and you'll only get there through regular practice and being curious about everything concerning the electric or stand up bass. Learn to not only play rock styles, but learn jazz, funk, and country stylings, learn proper playing techniques, including muting, slapping, and percussive effects. Grow as a musician, and show that in your hunger to grow, you are a musician, and a damned good one, at that.

Above all else, be professional in your attitude, even if you're not working professionally. Be the antithesis of everything this guy in his vlogs says bass players are. Prove him, and all the others like him, who think we are all useless idiots, wrong. Be the bassist he WISHES he could get in his studio (but you, being a professional, will never stoop to being in, because there are better options, and sound engineers/producers with better attitudes, who are a better fit for you, and a better investment in time and money).

Have fun, practice, learn. Don't be the "failed guitarist," be the successful bassist I know you all are.

Cheers,

GG

Bass Guitar: Dotted Quarter and Eighth Notes

Good afternoon, fellow bassists! As promised, this week I'm posting two simple exercises utilizing one of the most memorable hooks or licks in rock and pop: The dotted quarter note and eighth note.

You can hear examples of this all over the place, but the two most prominent songs that come immediately to mind, at least for this old-schooler, are Steely Dan's Rikki Don't Lose That Number from their 1974 album Pretzel Logic, and Fleetwood Mac's Dreams, which is found on their 1977 release Rumours.

I've created two exercises in key of C, in the same chord progression that I've used for the past several postings (I promise I'll be changing things up after this; REALLY, so bear with me for one more); play through these slowly, taking your time and getting a feel for the rhythm. This is an important rhythm exercise, because it follows a drummer's basic kick drum pattern in 4/4 time.

 Learning to play consistently and convincingly in this rhythmic feel will enable you to lock in with almost any drummer out there, and they'll love you for it, because you're "in the pocket" with them.
In the second exercise, I've added some passing notes to give the work movement and a sense of tension. These are also key virtues for any good bassist. Learning to use these tones judiciously and strategically, even in the simplest of compositions, will add to that composition and make you a much more valuable asset to the band. It will also establish your credentials with any band as a knowledgeable and credible bassist. Have fun!

Bass Guitar: Dotted Half notes with Quarter Notes

Good morning friends, sorry if I'm late in getting a post to you; I was going to post last week, but a number of things have happened, including doing a clean install on my computer of an older version of my OS (in which I inadvertantly erased a bunch of files I thought I had made back ups of, including my music files) and having to revert to an older version of the notation software I use to compose my exercises for guitar and bass on. Having said that, it's time to move on to this week's exercise on bass. This week, we're introducing the dotted notes, and we begin with the dotted half note.

A dot (.) at the end of a note adds an extra half count to its original value. For example, a half note counts as two quarter notes, but a dotted half note counts as three. So, instead of counting "one, two,..." for each half note, with a dotted half, you would count "one, two, three."

Here's a simple sixteen bar exercise, again using the simple C-G-Am-Em-F-C-F-G chord progression that I've been using in my other bass exercises. Play bars 1 through 8 slowly, getting a feel for the rhythm, then play bars 9 through 16, and see how the feel of the rhythm changes.

As I always say, take your time, work slowly at first, and have fun.

Next week, we'll look at how dotted quarter notes combined with eighth notes creates one of the most memorable and used bass hooks in the realm of pop and rock music.

Cheers!
G