@@michalkbass He does have BASS PLAYER'S GUIDE TO SIGHT-READING which is one that you can find on the his site. I'm not the best either so I know what you mean. But RU-vid is full of free resources I plan on investing it all of his books.
And once again incredibly helpful tips! I have several of your books and can only recommend it if you want to improve your bass. Thank you for your support!
I recently bought your ii-V-I book. I thought I knew a decent amount of ii-V-I vocab but playing out the exercises that are "outside" the key centre really kicked my butt! Even some of the more basic exercises did as well! Love your stuff. Definitely want to look at your other books and content.
Hello Janek, great lesson enjoyed it a lot. Just wondering as a beginner could explain a little more about how to create a melody or what book explains it. Really appreciate the time that you give. Thank you
Melody is all around us. All you need to do is turn on the radio, or find a random spotify playlist. I got my ability to be melodic as a musician by listening. There is no "method" to creating a melody, just the same as there is no method to "Creating" vocabulary. The english language for instance, is pretty much all set with words at this point. The only way we learn to use the words within the framework of the language is initially by listening as an infant, and then slowly assimilating, repeating, and then creating our own thoughts and phrases once we have sufficient information. Music and melody is no different. You won't learn it from a book, no matter what anyone tells you. Are there books that help exercise that muscle? Absolutely. I've written over 20 of them. But every book i write focuses on listening first, and "learning" second.
Janek seems to care about my playing, although he hasn't met me. But I've met you Janek, and your content has been, and is still very helpful. Thank you.
Thank you Janek. I'm so happy to found your lessons. I love your playing (saw you first playing with Benny Greb at Drumeo Festival and then with Steve Smith, Awesome!!! ) Now i try to learn from you and it makes fun. thanks for sharing your knowledge 🙏
Love you dawg, you always have such wisdom. I have that book and I'll definitely dig into that ish. I play in a duo with a singer songwriter and she's always throwing me solos. It's effing terrifying! I'm still trying to find that sweet spot between King Edward and Bootsy. Cracking into this exercise will definitely remind me of how important it is to get and keep them booties shakin'!
Thank you Janek! You're always the inspiration that motivate me to push myself further and further and further. Does it offer international shipping by any chance perhaps? Thank you!
Breaking down how to get used to solo with grove is very helpful… lots of bass players go straight for the chops once the have a chance to solo Is that the bass you were playing at the namm show? I saw a post about you becoming a RKM artist
I’m not sure about being an RKM “artist”. I’m not even sure what that would me to be honest. But the bass is amazing, it was a wonderful gift from RKM, and it’s something I will play on a very regular basis whenever I need an incredible P to play on records, videos and gigs. There is some talk about doing a limited run collaboration with them. But let’s see what happens. I’m just very happy to have this bass in my studio. It’s a serious piece of equipment that I connected with right away.
You made me so curious about your book 'Bass Player's Guide To Pentatonics' that I ordered one today! Receiving the book in Europe made me buying this one at Amazon as the shipping costs are at zero. Unfortunately it will be an unsigned book :-( But the book's content will certainly make up for this blemish, I assume!
They call all be used independently, and each cover quite different topics. Where certain topics make sense together, we’ve bundled the books with a discount for buying more than one.
I have to ask, is your strap set high? I’ve noticed your bass doesn’t really rest on your knee all the time. I have the hardest time getting mine set like that.
Well in this video I’m not using a strap at all, and it’s sitting 100% of the time on my left knee. Just remember that your knee needs to be raised to find the right balance point. I use a classical guitar foot stall, but anything that gets your foot a few inches off the ground will work. The balance of your instrument is also very important. If you have a neck heavy bass you’ll find it far more difficult.
Got it. Sounded very familair to something I'm sure I know but can't remember for the life of me, so thought gonna ask just in case hah @@janekgwizdala
plug that shit in and crank it up until it sounds good... That's kind of a crass answer, but it's also kind of accurate. get a compressor, and watch one of the million and one videos on youtube about how a compressor works. Or... do what I do: Get a compressor, never learn how it works, but turn the knobs until I find a sound I love.
The worst thing about bass solos is that most other rhythm section players don't know how to back it up. They don't realize that like every other instrument, it needs support. It needs a foundation. That's what the bass provides for everyone. So what do they usually do when the bass stops doing that? They DROP OUT! That leaves the bass player with his pants down. Your example works well with a groove, but on a swing tune, not so much. As for Victor Wooton, he plays pre arranged solos.
Couple of things that need addressing in this comment... I definitely agree that bass players get hosed sometimes when the rest of the band drops out for the bass solo, but the concepts I'm talking about in this video absolutely work for walking lines, and Victor Wooten does no play pre-arranged solos when he improvises. He plays soloistic bass compositions as part of his shows, but he is also a world class improvisor when it comes to soloing.
@@janekgwizdala Well, "pre arranged solos/soloistic bass compositions" -- same diff. I'm sure in that little tidbit where he's using the harmonics, he's worked that out in advance. Still great though -- but also, it's got a beat. Never heard Victor solo over walking changes without accompaniment. Few people pull that off well. Christian, Scotty, Jeff Berlin. The nature of the register of the instrument alone does not make it conducive to a large audience as it is, even if someone is good at it. So why make it worse? On my recordings I play the drums and piano when I play a bass solo so I'm sure to get something that works. : ) Anyway, I like your playing and videos by the way.
The great thing is, you can be both without ever calling it “being a soloist”. The smallest of melodic hints in your groove can go way more than most “soloists”. Freddie Washington, pino paladino, mike league, Abe Laboriel… all people I don’t consider soloists, but I would listen to their playing over so many “jazz” cats any day.
