The thing about Scott's playing that always strikes me is the economy of motion. NO wasted finger movement on either hand. I absolutely love the way the left hand fingers stay right in place ready to be used. Not way up off of the fretboard. Beautiful technique.
You probably dont care but does any of you know of a trick to log back into an instagram account? I was stupid forgot the password. I would appreciate any tips you can give me
@Kyle Wesson thanks for your reply. I got to the site thru google and I'm in the hacking process now. Takes a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
Scott's videos make me feel actual physiological love at the passion with which he does the lessons and how helpful they are to bassists like me. Wohoo!
Nils-Henning Ørsted Pedersen played the ultimate Donna Lee, not only regarding tempo, but also his improvisations were absolutely top. And all this on an upright bass. Crazy.
And he had the facility that Jaco became famous for.. Before Jaco and on Double Bass.. This piece was written by Miles for a Charlie Parker recording date.. Also it has a Fats Navarro influence in it..
@@Hiphopdabop NHOP also didn't have a rare, very volatile form of bi-polar disorder, some would see that as advantage. Jaco would probably say you were right though, but he would also retort with something similar to "who the fuck asked you?". I thought it said Jaco in the title, did I mix up "Pastorius" with "Henning Orsted Pederson" again? They are just so similar 🙄
Hey Scott. The idea of breaking tunes into small phrases is such an essential part of learning for musicians of all levels on any instrument. Thank you for reinforcing such an important aspect of the learning process!
The best bass teacher and trust me when i say this..I play bass for almost 20 years..lots of jazz standards..including Dona Lee..wish i had somenone like Scott years ago when i was learning this piece...Bass wise, the are probably lots of brilliant players out there..But teacher wise..Scott is No.1...and thats a fact.
When I worked in a music store in the 1980s being able to play this was THE SHIZNIT for any bass player who wanted respect....I only got around to learning it two years ago - But I did finally get to it. Wish I had found your video before the woodshedding :)
Thanks for the videos. As a trombone player, I have been working on my time a lot lately with the metronome, but the stuff you showed with putting it on only beats 2, 3, or 4 gave me something new to work on!
Donna Lee is by Charlie Parker. Miles himself just stated once that he wrote the tune. Maybe he was "a little bit confused" at that time... But it's a melody Charlie Parker wrote on the changes of "Indiana" (also a famous standard). The "new" Melody was famous WAY before Jaco recorded it for his album.
In the video he actually says "It was made famous FOR BASS PLAYERS because the bass player Jaco Pastorius... played Donna Lee on his first solo album" :)
Hi Scott, recently I'm working on my bass skills a lot. Being a professional keyboard player and music teacher I really appreciate that you never take basic knowledge for granted. Some of your exercises are very inspiring for me, while in others I recognize my own study patterns when I was younger. Just about two weeks before watching this video I started practicing Donna Lee on my new fretless bass. I've known this tune by heart on the piano since 1995. I thought that I could just start out on the bass and then I came to realise that it's in my motoric memory. So I actually had to sit at the piano to figure out some of the phrases. Thanks for your tutorials And keep up the good work!
Holy man! Look at you from then to now. Wow. You can hear such a difference in your playing. 10 years of practice documented on RU-vid. Real interesting stuff.
Hey Scott. Have been watching your bass lessons for a couple of days now, and well I gotta say, from one bass player to another, hays off, you really rule the instrument man. Great, upbeat and understandable lessons, I sure have been applying a lot of your tips into my technique and it sure has helped a whole lot :) Keep it up and thanks man.
Hi Scott - Just a few humble words of thanks for your incredibly unique tutorials, and for your straightforward, easy, friendly style which have been so helpful to me. Thank you for sharing your gift. Please let me know the next time your in NYC as the drinks are on me!!! Happy New Year!!!
Then there is hope but I have been trying to play this since 1985 . Just uploaded a new version here and my solo is ok but the tune ? I’m going back into it
I have you beat (1978)! I hung with Jaco in 1984 over a few days. He told me he spent months on a piece before playing it in public. Donna Lee is a course in technique that I have used as a learning piece, not just something to conquer. Giant Steps is the ultimate ear training piece for soloing. Donna Lee is what I use for mastering position changes while improvising solos. I believe that Memorizing this song by tab or note without completely understanding the fundamentals behind it is like memorizing a book without knowing what it is about.
Amazing dude I have had the notation of this for months and have been terrified of it till now. Thanks for helping make this great bass piece achievable!
Dear Sir..."Donna Lee"☆....marvellous piece......excellent lesson!.... this metronome exercise is superbe..... wish you well.....BMW ☆ e.g. J. Pass/NHOP or Kinga Lyk
Scott can you do a video on what a typical bass might accompany a standard quintet arrangement? THanks! You are the topp of the stack on youtube Bass instructions.
Wow! I always thought it was Mr Parker lol! Live and learn, cheers man! I've just replaced the link under the video too so it's now going to the right place ;)
loving these study piece videos!... I learned Donna Lee a few years ago but this really helped cleaning it up... would you consider doing one on victor wooten's "u can't hold no groove"? also thank you for making this channel !
I have tried a "Tempo changer" and it is a great help. Maybe I also could benefit from a "Band in a box". I think you have good point when you say that playing note by note in a slow tempo will make my ears grow. I only miss one thing and that is if Scott Devine would consider repeating part of a video in slow motion as a few other teachers do on the internet. But fro sure I favour Scott as the best teacher for me so I will follow Scott as long as I can.
I cannot learn Jaco by ear so I buy e.g. The Essential Jaco Pastorius with notations and tabs instead. And I watch Scott Devine and follow all his lessions very closely. I practice to hours maybe three five days a week - I really do hope that Scott will continue his good work.
Hey man, yeah - little bit of reverb that all. If you hit the link underneath the video it'll take you to the lesson on the website - then underneath that video you can download the first part of the transcription and the mp3's for the specific metronome tempos. Cheers man! Scott
when is part 2 coming :) ? and thank you for everything i learned more in these past 4 past weeks than i did in a whole year, after you donate to this guy you get so much matirial guys go donate this man is a genius ! :)
Just curious what other pieces you believe are study pieces? This is second one I know if you’ve done of Jaco and I love Jaco just like anyone but want versatility in my playing thanks in advance!!
Is Jaco playing the exact same notes as Charlie Parker does it? The thing is, I have the Charlie Parker Omni book with his solos, so it would be a lot easier for me if I could just play after those sheets.
You are so right! That would be helpful. Recently I switched from playing death metal with two guitars to post-metal with one guitar and found out, that my then-current equalizer settings were totally of no use in the new band.
I’m just started to learn this tune and I’m confused on if I should me hammering the triplets or playing them with regular right hand walking finger technique?
BRB just watching this at half speed to try and sort this piece out...its taken me waaaay too long to start doing some intense jazz oreintated study pieces
I find it impossible to find the transcription and tabs for this by following the offered links. I'm just taken to a multi-page sales pitch (which I have read through, before), but no transcription. I don't mind being tricked into having to put up with the shpiel, but at least give what is promised, at the end. If I missed something, and the transcription is there somewhere, I apologize and would ask someone who has found the link to please post the direct link... Thank you...
How do you play the triplets solo part at bar 47 and 48? B flat m7 to E flat 7. Does anybody know the targeting or fingering of those eight triplet beats? Because I can't find any information about those 2 bars on RU-vid anywhere. Scott! HELP!
Hi Scott, thanks for another great lesson. You've seem to have put the wrong link below the video though, it leads to the slap bass lesson. Also, Donna Lee was actually written by Miles Davis, but credited to Bird by mistake. Thanks so much for all your great work, you're an inspiration.
What's even more amazing is that Nils HO Pederson played this on acoustic bass years before Jaco. It's a tough tune at first but it actually doesn't lie too badly if you work out the most economic hand positions. Learned it about 35 years ago and still practice it!
Dear Sir I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your wonderfully sensible and practical bass lessons, (I like to mess around on bass to work things out). I'm really an alto Saxophone player, but your lessons work perfectly for both. Many years ago I had the nerve to request the mighty Peter King to play Donna Lee and he beat it in at a terrifying pace without incident and nobody got hurt. Later, I asked him if he had any tips for playing this number. He paused for a few moments as I waited for the secret to be passed on, until he said 'start on the second beat'. That was, of course no use to me at all. But these years later I understand. Cheers
New Subscriber. I have done several. Piano videos on Donna Lee. Needed to work on left hand. Decided to go with a walking base. Actually I'm playing my guitar..don't own a bass right now. Actually looking to have a mix of the melody and a true walking base. I am working in An. Ab is a nice bass 🔑.
@mewbie He has a glove on because he doesn't like changing his strings so with the glove on his fingers don't sweat that much and don't get on the fingerboard on the bass. Also saves up the cleaning on the bass!!
I'm been working on this piece and I have a suggestions for you. Can you please say specifically what note you end on, your glove makes it difficult to see and I know not everybody has a perfect ear...
You can downoad slowdown soft ware for free , same key slow as you want. Learning by ear has great advantges, especially for bass players. You can play along note by note to check if you need, You'll feel your ears growing.
Ive spent alot of time getting the first 4 phrases upto speed just seen this video and realised my fingerings are whack..... This lesson is dope Scott! D'you do private lessons?
Hey Scott, you mention Jaco Pastorius who's off course brilliant. But have you ever heard of a Danish Bas player called Niels Henning Ørsted Pedersen also called NHOP? He plays Donna Lee with Joe Pass. I had the pleasure to hear them both in Tivoli in Copenhagen many years ago. Unfortunately I can't link to it, so you'll have to find it your self here on youtube. It's worth wile!
