I never comment but I needed to this time. I just want to say how much I appreciate how much you do to help total strangers. Although I've been playing for a long time and just recently found your videos, I've learned extensively from you and the knowledge is truly priceless. I, for one, am truly thankful. I pray God blesses you Scott
The ask Scott is good, there can be questions that can be useful. Last time someone asked about the stretch & the size of the hand and you answered and showed an example that you can move around and keeping arpeggios in time. The coin dropped and I moved around it works I'm all over the neck. No stretching at all, just move the hand. It opened up everything and now I go from the bottom to the top.
I just love this song and especially your version! It is a very sad and emotional song, while still so groovy with beautiful jazz lines. I have been listening to it for months now.
i have to be completely honest with you. I really love your tone with your this J bass of yours over any of your other basses. When you use this bass you have the perfect tone to my ears. Love your vids and im a huge fan.
Play along with John Mayer’s “Waiting on the world to change” you can practice being on the beat (where the song already has a great swing to it) and then practice playing slightly behind the beat and it creates a really heavy swing feel to it. It’s a pretty easy song to develop a feel for playing behind the beat. So think of the beat as being a grace note and then sort of “flam” your pitches right behind your grace note. Once you start to get a good feel for it you can phase out those grace notes all together and playing behind the beat without the grace notes becomes second nature. (Hope that made sense)
I'll be signing up when that chords corse comes out. I think it'll really help me and teach me what I have never learnt. I'm looking forward to being taught again been on my own for 3 years no teacher
Scott's Bass Lessons Actually I think the tune is "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," guys! Great song and great feeling bass intro... Definitely swings behind the beat throughout. Great video as always, Scott!
In reggae, my chosen genre, the bass lives behind the beat. It's just part of the feel. It certainly helps getting the booties shaking in the crowd, but not all drummers can play along with it if they're not familiar with the feel of that.
Scott, love your stuff. Have two similar horror stories about a gigs: I walked into a rehearsal (paid) for a musical where the entire score had changed overnight due to cuts that the music director hadn't gotten to us. Most of it was the same. So we start this one tune and my part is not only in the wrong key, but it's a bass part adapted from the cello and bass trombone parts in the score, so every four bars it is shifting from treble clef to tenor and back to bass clef, due to some editing mishaps. I was like, "I thought I could read music, but apparently, there are some things I am not good at." Haha, I feel you on the horror stories. Another time, I'm sitting in this big band rehearsal and the director walks over and goes, "Well, that's not the right bass part... huh. Don't know where (so-and-so) put it. Well, good luck." It was pretty much like that scene from the movie Whiplash where I was basically listening for all the chords (which were DENSE). Luckily these were both rehearsals. Now, I learned pretty quickly to ask those "stupid questions" when I'm not sure. Thanks!
Hi Scott unless I've missed it would you consider discussing or doing lessons on how your bass playing might affect/counteract what the singer is doing and does it get in the way when the Lead Guitarist is playing a solo etc thanks
The bass in flying in a blue dream (g3 version), is ahead of the beat, really swinging, and in the bridge it changes, becomes one with the beat. Really cool contrast.
I'm not big on the gym either. After the work day I AM DONE! lol! As far as staying in shape for playing I do like to hit the weights a lil bit or do pushups before a gig to get the blood flowing in my arms. I heard Vic Woot talk about that in a video and I think it is a great preparation both mentally and physically.
That was a funny story, one of those where the whole band is looking at you. When you play live, lots of things can happen, I think I've had them all. I always wondered what kind of night the drummer was having because if he was having a bad night I was going to have to work my ass off. I went through a spell of disliking drummers but when you get a good one it frees you up to do a little improvising, which is nice if you play 5/6 nights a week.
thanks for the reply scott, i feel i should reply with my worst gig just to be fair ^^ several years ago a friend told us he'd got us a gig at bristol uni, and we were expecting a battle of the bands type event. rented out a mini bus and took all our equipment down to find out it was actually an open mic night at their student bar. we were dismayed but thought we may as well play now we're here. we were scheduled to play last, and after eventually finding the venue and setting up we followed a young kid playing recorder and an acoustic guitarist playing a jeff buckley song that seemed to have one chord progression but about 25 verses. we were just about getting ready to go onstage when the staff told us the bar is now closing can everyone leave please. not impressed =( sorry for an awkward question, but it's cool to know that bad gigs can happen to anyone. cheers
Hi Scott! I've seen your "How to land killer gigs" video, which is incredibly informative. Apart from that, can you please talk about "session players" or "studio musicians" and how to become one (which is, strangely, more reputable than being on the stage in my country)? Does this concept require a different approach to bass musicianship?
Scott, I have a question: YOUR sound is 100% depending on your hands, your playstyle, your bass, and your amp/ cab(s). Could you define a bass' sound? I mean what is the biggest impact on the sound? Wood(s), pickups or electronics? What is the sharing between these 3 factors?
Although i'm not Scott, i can say that your fingers/how YOU play the instrument matters the most and has the biggest part of your sound. You can take a bog standard P bass and get 5 different people to play it: it would sound completely different between them.
At one of my worst gigs my band's guitarist was playing with a wireless system instead of a cable and in the middle of a song his battery fell out. So we went from a massive guitar riff to total silence... :D
My worst gig was we couldn't leave our guitars onstage for fear of them been nicked. There were other bands before and after us. So I tuned up the guitar (I was guitarist then and not a bassist as I am now). The room was cold then we went out to a warm stage and the guitar was miles out of tune so I had to tune up whilst playing.. very embarrassing.I just managed to get tuned up during the 2nd song lol.
Hey Scott, I notice you have never used or shown us a 5 string with a low B. Do you have one? How often has an artist or producer specifically asked you for a 5 string?
I hope this is the best place to ask questions for your next video! I'm currently in the recording studio and have come across a question that also transposes (nice play on words?) into a live setting. As a bass player, we all search long and hard to find "our tone" - that mixture of our technique / hands / bass / head / speakers that is ours and no one else's. Now that I HAVE my sound I want it to be conveyed on recording and live through the FOH, yet so many sound engineers just have to push their own preferences to how they want you to sound. How do you ensure that your sound comes through live and on recordings when the Sound Engineer has almost full control of your sound to the public?
Incidently, thanks to your video based on tone etc I have finally found MY sound - which ended up being completely flat across the board with limited/no EQ on amp or bass - Let my basses shine and show their different characters be it bright, warm, dull or snappy. And it is making me play better!!!!
I gotta be honest! When I go in the studio to record if there are any area's that need work they are really shown up in the studio! One day I felt good! Good nights sleep! Rested an all that! And I played well! Another day I didn't sleep well and generally felt sluggish! And I was always behind the beat! So because of that I think it would definitely say it makes a difference to your playing! And worth thinking about! Especially if your really unfit! I do agree some people seem bullet proof ass well! They just always play well bizarrely?!
I have been told by a guitarist/keys person that a bass guitar player only plays-emphasises Beats 1 & 3 but others have said they should accent the 2/4 as n normal rock songs. But I see them playing bass like a lead guitarist playing evenly on all beats. Can you elaborate/clarify
Hello Scott! I'd be interested to know about your thoughts on transcribing, specifically jazz solos. Were there any transcriptions that you took down that made a significant impact on your playing; which ones? Any that introduced you to certain concepts, playing styles, etc... Cheers :)
Regarding playing off the beat one of the best things I've ever done is bouncing off as many live drummers as possible! Drummers have all sorts going on other than the kick.
Hi Scott , I have been out of the bass for a while I have been working for Penske Racing over 20 years , now that I am retired I am getting back into it and some people think I sound great but I SUCK . Do it help to be your own worst critic
hey scott could you give some advice on topick of what is important when choosing to play bass? i am thinking of start plaing it but i just dont know if i have what it takes to do it! i have time and will to work hard but i am litle short on talent (add no skills when it comes to reading nots and so on... in short compleate begainer in the world of music). some tips on that would realy help to make 1st step.
What kind of equipment (audio interfaces, midi boards, software etc.) do you use for your recordings/ what would you suggest for an amateur to start recording his own bass lines in his own home?
Hi Scott! I just wanted to ask you how you practices scales and arpeggios, and what you do to incorporate them into a practice routine. Many thanks! Finn
Hi Scott just starting out with my own youtube channel! looking to see how you started up and weather your live background helped you or did you struggle, as i am to get your videos out there and heard?
Hey Scott! Thanks for this forum. I've been studying bass for a few years and have played in a few bands (can be counted on one hand) and I just started training/playing with a bigger group so there are a few things that are new to me. First is....when working with "Sound-people", do you set you tone and leave it one way for the entire show? Second and more immediately important for me is, do you set your volume knob and never touch it the rest of the show? I play a passive bass most of the time and recently, the bassist I train under set my volume full on the bass and asked me to leave it like that. I've also spoken with a Front-of-House sound guy who indicated really disliking it when instrumentalists change their tones and volume throughout the shows because it changes his mix often. Just wondering.....
Hey Scott, great videos, my band is going to record some songs in the next few weeks, do you have any kind of advice for someone going to the studio, thanks
being able to add vibrato, left-hand muting, and it might sound more even depending on the scale shape; but on the flip side open will allow you to make larger intervals or going from lower to higher registers easier, full octave slides, and open string pull-off tricks (Give It Away by RHCP would be a good example)
Hey Scott, I have a bass which cost me about 300 dollars (Squier VM 70s) and I want to modify it so it can sound better. Is it worth changing parts (pickups, neck, bridge, tuners) or should I save for a new one?Thanks.
Hey Scott, I'm currently at university studying music and would like to be involved in session work and teaching. I'm aware that a lot of jobs within the music industry intersect, but would like to know your advice to help get the ball rolling in terms of a career in Bass.
Hi Scott. i thought bass myself, and my approach was similar to some lessons you have made about "shapes" however i want to learn more theory in order to be more creative and open with my baselines. my band members advised me to learn "chord tones" instead of scales. but i dont know what that is and i couldn't find appropriate lessons on that to teach myself. have you covered the chord tone thingy in your lessons? Cheers
scales, chord tones and arpeggios are all different sides of the same subject really. if you take A Major as an example, the scale is A B C# D E F# G#. the chord tones are what define the mood or feel of the chord, and are the 3rd, 5th and 7th note of a scale. an arpeggio is just playing the chord tones as if it was a short scale, so for A Maj it would be A C# E G# A, those are the notes that give it a major sounding quality. if you dropped the C# to a C and the G# to a G, that would give it a minor quality sound. really, you should try learning scales, chord tones, and arepggios simultaneously to see how they each revolve around each other. hope that made sense! and scott does have a massive online course on this subject via the SBL Academy =)
Hey Scott! I'm having real trouble getting into a consistent practice schedule, and getting in enough practice time. How can I get in enough playing time in the midst of a busy schedule?
There's no 'best'. Just personal preference in tone and feel. Rosewood tends to be a bit warmer all things being equal. Personally, I prefer rosewood for J and P, but maple for my Musicman.
Start simple with a,BEAT! quarters or eights notes , without a beat it means nothing .???? You know what you are doing with no beat I do not ???? Scott Scott ??? Without a beat your explanation is basically useless .see saw was OK as an explanation but without an example I give up
