Intermediate Bass: Introduction to Triads
Once we’ve gotten our hands working in sync, the next task will be to make some music with them. One of the easiest and most useful ways to create a functional bass line is to use the major and minor triads.
The triads (R-3-5) are derived from the major or minor scale in this fashion: Continue reading
Beginning Bass: Left and Right Hand Dexterity
Beginning Bass: Fretting Hand Dexterity
These exercises are good as warm-ups if they are played slowly and they can be used to build speed if utilized at the end of a practice session as well. Continue reading
NAMM approaches
The long weekend is over, the barbecues a memory, and summer is here in full swing. That means that NAMM is just around the corner.
DNA will not be exhibiting this time around, but I’ll be there, walking the floor, and having some meetings. Of course, there’s also the Low Notes For Nashville benefit concert to think about. Sean O’Bryan Smith and Mick Donner are working out details with several bassists, and we’re all becoming more excited by the minute.
One reason that I’m so excited is that we are providing the speaker cabinets for the backline. More than a dozen top bassists will get a chance to hear the cabinets in a working situation. That should be a ton of fun.
For more information, see our Events page, and visit Low Notes For Nashville.
I’m even luckier than the rest, as I’ll be using a rig this Saturday at Springfest. I haven’t decided for certain, but I think I may use the DNS-410. I won’t need it, but it’s here, and it’s bored. I’ll report back next week to let you know how itgoes (went).
New Content:
Bassists Bond for Benefit
The summer NAMM show is always a great experience. But this year it’s going to be even better. Reason? Because the night before the show poens - Thursday, June 17, Low Notes For Nashville will host an all-bass benefit concert for Nashville flood relief. The concert will be headlined by Steve Bailey, and will feature a double-handful of top bassists including DNA endorsers Sean O’Bryan Smith and Roy Vogt. I’ll be MC-ing the event and will do a short set as well.
For more information, see our Events page, and visit Low Notes For Nashville.
New Content:
Second Honeymoon Fever
Welcome back, my friends, to the show that’s just getting started. (With apologies to Greg Lake.) I didn’t mention it last week, bu David and Judy enjoyed a wonderful second honeymoon in Hawaii last week. There are no pictures to prove they were really there, and all I really know is that David was totally unavailable for several days.
So, I’m not certain he was in Hawaii. He could have a new undisclosed location known to no one, even me. He could have been off in some very small foreign country doing weird stuff for guys that don’t talk much and blend into shadows. You just never know. But, pictures or no pictures, the officail story is that they were in Hawaii, and until proven otherwise, I’m sticking with it.
Now, Sean O’Bryan Smith and his blushing bride Jami have a very different honeymoon story. They didn’t wait hoonose how many years for their second getaway. They’re doing it for their anniversary. I’m pretty OK telling you because they’re both tweeting their fingers off, and they’ve even tweeted pictures. Plus Sean left me in charge (sort of) of the whole Low Notes for Nashville thing.
So, last week was interesting, and this week is interesting in a different way. My weekend will be spent mostly driving so my family can meet my bride of almost eighteen months for the first time at my mother’s 80th Birthday party. No pressure there, right?
So, let’s up the ante, then. I modified the lyrics to a song to make them about my mom and the kids, and how we got our love of music - and our talent - from her. (Dad loved music, too, but he couldn’t carry a tune in a dump truck, much less a bucket.) My sisters are performing it with me, some thing we haven’t done in decades. And we get one ten minute rehearsal themorning of the party. Should be fun…
Definitely check out Low Notes For Nashville. There’s a lot going on, and there a lot of ways you can pitch in and be a part of it. The list of players involved is just amazing. We’ll soon be announcing details on a benefit concert for the cause.
Over at the forum, we’ve given the place a name. Not surprising that the poll results showed The Gene Pool to be the clear favorite. We’re now discussing potential member nicknames. We’d love to have you join the conversation.
As for new content, in addition to the Practice Tip of the Week, we posted a short video lesson for beginners. To be honest, I’ve been so busy talking to dealers, endorsers and such that I haven’t had time to add more articles from Roy Vogt and Sean. Plus, they’re both in Nashville dealing with the aftermath of the worst natural disaster they’ve had in at least five hundred years. So they’ve been a bit busy, too.
But things are getting better. And the NAMM show is just around the corner. Summer is shaping up to be pretty nice, I must say. But that’s all I can say. See you in a week.
Bass Players Unite for Nashville Flood Relief
One of the reasons we enjoy our work so much is that bass players are a wonderful community. And we’re proud that many of our endorsers are at the heart of a new effort to assist with Nashville flood relief.
Low Notes For Nashville got its start when Sean O’Bryan Smith tweeted that he was donating all May download profits to flood relief. Within minutes, Lane on Bass followed Sean’s lead. That was last Thursday.
By the end of the day, Roy Vogt and Polo Jones had stepped up, and Sean and Lane were already putting together a much larger effort than expected By the end of Friday, the group had a new web site - thanks to Roger “Spydah” Barlow - our Web UberGeek.
We immediately committed to providing loaner cabinets and whatever other assistance we could. Now, less than a week later, dozens of players have added their support, as have several manufacturers.
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Those wishing to help can purchase downloads from several musicians (with more coming on board), make a cash donation through the site, donate extra gear, or attend the huge bass concert the group is now planning.”This is a way I can help my city get back on its feet,” said Sean. “I’ve always been about strengthening the bass community, and about serving others in need. Now I get to both at once.” |
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“I’m totally with Sean,” Lane said. This is a unique opportunity to combine my charity work and my love for the bass community. It’s been absolutely wonderful to see so many players - all the way up to the greats I’ve learned from over the years - enthusiastically jump on board. Now let’s see just how far we can drive this bus.”We hope you’re as excited as we are, and will join us in our efforts to support the many brother and sister bass players in Nashville in their time of need. Visit Low Notes For Nashville and do what you can to help.With sincere thanks to everyone involved, |
The DNA Team
Prayers for Nashville, Updates to Site
As you may already know, this has not been a good week for Nashville and the surrounding area. The Cumberland River not only flooded, but rose higher than it has in more than one hundred years. Some are saying it’s the highest the river has ever been.
The last report we received said that, while official flood level for the Cumberland is 22 feet, the river crested at 2-1/2 times that level - an incredible 57 feet! According to some reports, downtown Nashville was under ten feet of water at one point. This has been devastating, to say the least.
We’ve made every attempt to reach our many friends and supporters in the area. We haven’t reached all of them yet, but so far, everyone seems to be safe. We’re very sorry to report that David and Barbara Crossman, owners of The Learning Dock, LLC, publishers of Roy Vogt’s Teach Me Bass Guitar, were forced out of their home and probably can’t go back. Thankfully, they got all of their belongings out, and the home was a rental. They also have close fmaily in the area, so they have a place to stay while they look for new digs.
Corner Music suffered mionor flooding; luckily, they were able to move verything off the floor before the water arrived. As of last report, JD and the crew had everything back together and were going strong.
Obviously, we’re sending all the positive thoughts, prayers and good energy we can muster, and we hope you will do the same. If you’d like to do something more concrete, our friends Bryan Beller and Kira Small sent this link around for those wishing to donate to the flood relief:
Donate to Tennessee Flood Relief
In other news, David has authorized the declassification of a trio of photos of the prototype cabinets. While at an undisclosed location, he is combing through other photos and we may declassify more shots soon. View the pictures on our Cabinets page.
We also updated the Videos section, grouping videos according to type: Field Tests, interviews with David Hisownself, and endorser clips.
The SEAL Team page now has links to all Field Reports.
One last thing to mention - our Forum is going strong, and it’s been great to see so many old friends join in the fun. Right now, we’re running a poll to determine our own nickname for the forum. So if you join now, you’ll have a say.
New Content:
Operation: NASH BASH
Hey, all y’all! Wow, what a week I’ve had! Operation NASH BASH was a success, but it took 23 hours from door to door. If you want all the details, check out my latest SEAL Team Report.
Another objective of the trip was to get over to Corner Music, our Premier Dealer in Nashville. Here’s a quick introduction of JD, surrounded by some fine looking vintage Ps and Js.
Next week I’ll have another clip of that wall of basses.
It’s after 9:00, and I just got back from rehearsal, so I’m going to leave it here, because I still have to finish writing the report I promised a few paragraphs ago, as well as the Practice Tip of the Week.
If you want to keep up on the latest, visit the forum. I check all unread threads at lesat once a day, usually in the morning. And don’t forget about Twitter, You Tube and Facebook. We’d love to connect with you there, as well.
New Content:
Field Testing, WATT hates volcanoes
Hi, everyone! I hope you’re having a good week. I’ve been runing non-stop since Friday. The weekend was filled with personal stuff - going to see a band Glenda and I both love, then joining the guitarist and his wife for a big get together at their place to celebrate the bassist’s Birthday. Sunday was the April dinner in the Danville Foodstock series. So by the time I hit Monday, I was in full swing.
As everyone on the forum already knows, I made a stealth trip up to ChicagoLand to pick up several prototype cabinets. It was a quick up and down run, with barely enough time to hang out with David. Yesterday and today I worked on coordinating with several endorsers, and finding a room for us all to use.
Tomorrow, I’m up at 5:00 in the Geez It’s Early. We’ll see if James, my Young Gun drummer actually wakes up so he can ride with me. I’ll hook up with JD and the crew at Corner Music first, then grab lunch with Marc Williams, who may well be our first new member of the family. Then I have some time to kill before meeting up with Abe White, Roy Vogt, and Sean O’Bryan Smith to beat on some cabinets.
Once we complete the test, I”m hopping right back in the van with about eight ounces of straight espresso and heading home. I really a full day at the desk Friday, because I”m tied up for most of Saturday with a last minute fill-in gig for Doc Ashton & the Root Canals.
Doc runs the hottest Jazz band in the area. The bassist for this pair of clinics and a concert had to bail at the last minute, and I got the call. So I’m going to find out how rusty my Real Book chops are. As many of you know, Lane don’t do much Jazz. And if the changes aren’t on paper, you can skip the bridge and I’ll see you at the end.
In other news, I got a short email from brother WATT. Seems he got stranded along with the rest of Europe thanks to an upset volcano. IF I understand correctly, the entire Iggy Pop and the Stooges band and crew was stuck.
Y’all… can you just imagine Iggy after several days stuck where he doesn’t want to be? Hopefully, byt he time you read this, WATT will be on his way home to sunny San Pedro. It’s an even bet whether he ever leaves again.
I’ve really got to cut this short and get some sleep. I’ll have a good report on Friday, as well as more updates to the site, including this week’s practice tip.