Category: Strings

Citation/ticket for bass players

As a bassist, this one was just too good to pass up. Feel free to share with your bass-playing friends, as all bassists (by nature) have great senses of humor. We have to; we hang with drummers.  ;-)

All the best,
Mark

BASS PLAYER OFFENSES

NAME OF OFFENDER – ___________________________
INFRACTION DATE – _____________________________

MUSICAL OFFENSES FINE

[ ]Playing loudly during warm up $10
[ ]Sound-checking amp with funk slapping $25
[ ]Loud cursing after mistake $10
[ ]Playing high and fast after mistake $20
[ ]Practicing 2-handed tapping between tunes $20
[ ]Asking for “E” tuning note $25
[ ]Playing E anyway when horns tune to Bb $50
[ ]Playing written-out walking line $50
[ ]Failure to play written walking line $75
[ ]Writing note names over ledger-line notes $50
[ ]Writing beat numbers under dotted figures $50
[ ]Playing eighth notes $5 each
[ ]Playing sixteenth notes $10 each
[ ]Playing above 1st octave immediate dismissal
[ ]Dragging fast tempo $75
[ ]Dragging ballad tempo $100
[ ]Blacking out during ballad $200
[ ]Ignoring drummer’s tempo $100
[ ]Following drummer’s tempo $250
[ ]Asking to borrow Real Book for All Of Me $1000

UPRIGHT PLAYERS

[ ]Showing up before first downbeat $25
[ ]Playing audibly $25
[ ]Faking changes $25
[ ]Slapping $150
[ ]Missing tutti lick, then mentioning vintage of bass $25
[ ]Excessive sweating $25
[ ]Pedal point double-stops during horn solo $50
[ ]Asking leader for a solo $30
[ ]Accepting solo when offered $50
[ ]Taking second chorus $100
[ ]Playing solo arco $400
[ ]Pretending to check tuning after playing out of tune $100
[ ]Playing “A Train” ending on every tune $200
[ ]Playing extended “A Train” ending on every tune $500

ELECTRIC PLAYERS

[ ]Checking hair between tunes $15
[ ]Experimenting with odd meters $25
[ ]Missing root at end of blistering fill $25
[ ]Playing with a pick $50
[ ]Tuning during ballad $30
[ ]Playing Jaco groove on samba $75
[ ]Playing Jaco samba groove on ballad $150
[ ]Attempting last word on final chord $50
[ ]Achieving last word on final chord $100
[ ]Long gliss down to final note $200

EQUIPMENT VIOLATIONS – ELECTRIC

[ ]Forgetting strap $10
[ ]Changing strings after every set $15
[ ]Using electric tuner $15
[ ]Setting up mic “just in case” $75
[ ]Forgetting to turn amp on $40
[ ]Bringing amp larger than 1 person can carry in 1 trip $50
[ ]Asking horn player for help moving amp $25
[ ]Bringing custom-made bass $100 per string above 4
[ ]Bringing more than 1 bass $100 per extra bass
[ ]Skull decals on bass $150
[ ]Bringing fretless bass $500

CRIMINAL BAD TASTE

[ ]Telling bone player about all the gigs you get $10
[ ]Asking bone player about their day gig $10
[ ]Sitting behind drums on break $10
[ ]Quoting “Birdland” $25
[ ]Practicing scales during break $25
[ ]Practicing scales during drum solo $50
[ ]Practicing $150
[ ]Beginning a sentence with “When I was a guitar player…” $50
[ ]Casually mentioning to Musical Director of cheap theater that you are “into sequencing” $10

BASIC STUPIDITY

[ ]Wearing old Buddy Rich tour shirt $10
[ ]Wearing new Whitesnake tour shirt $20
[ ]Asking when the rock set starts $20
[ ]Continually asking “where are we?” $25
[ ]Continually shouting “Yeah!” $25
[ ]Asking bone player where “1″ is $50
[ ]Taking cellphone call during 4’s $100

~BASS PLAYER OFFENSES~NAME OF OFFENDER – ___________________________
INFRACTION DATE – _____________________________

MUSICAL OFFENSES FINE

[ ]Playing loudly during warm up $10
[ ]Sound-checking amp with funk slapping $25
[ ]Loud cursing after mistake $10
[ ]Playing high and fast after mistake $20
[ ]Practicing 2-handed tapping between tunes $20
[ ]Asking for “E” tuning note $25
[ ]Playing E anyway when horns tune to Bb $50
[ ]Playing written-out walking line $50
[ ]Failure to play written walking line $75
[ ]Writing note names over ledger-line notes $50
[ ]Writing beat numbers under dotted figures $50
[ ]Playing eighth notes $5 each
[ ]Playing sixteenth notes $10 each
[ ]Playing above 1st octave immediate dismissal
[ ]Dragging fast tempo $75
[ ]Dragging ballad tempo $100
[ ]Blacking out during ballad $200
[ ]Ignoring drummer’s tempo $100
[ ]Following drummer’s tempo $250
[ ]Asking to borrow Real Book for All Of Me $1000

UPRIGHT PLAYERS

[ ]Showing up before first downbeat $25
[ ]Playing audibly $25
[ ]Faking changes $25
[ ]Slapping $150
[ ]Missing tutti lick, then mentioning vintage of bass $25
[ ]Excessive sweating $25
[ ]Pedal point double-stops during horn solo $50
[ ]Asking leader for a solo $30
[ ]Accepting solo when offered $50
[ ]Taking second chorus $100
[ ]Playing solo arco $400
[ ]Pretending to check tuning after playing out of tune $100
[ ]Playing “A Train” ending on every tune $200
[ ]Playing extended “A Train” ending on every tune $500

ELECTRIC PLAYERS

[ ]Checking hair between tunes $15
[ ]Experimenting with odd meters $25
[ ]Missing root at end of blistering fill $25
[ ]Playing with a pick $50
[ ]Tuning during ballad $30
[ ]Playing Jaco groove on samba $75
[ ]Playing Jaco samba groove on ballad $150
[ ]Attempting last word on final chord $50
[ ]Achieving last word on final chord $100
[ ]Long gliss down to final note $200

EQUIPMENT VIOLATIONS – ELECTRIC

[ ]Forgetting strap $10
[ ]Changing strings after every set $15
[ ]Using electric tuner $15
[ ]Setting up mic “just in case” $75
[ ]Forgetting to turn amp on $40
[ ]Bringing amp larger than 1 person can carry in 1 trip $50
[ ]Asking horn player for help moving amp $25
[ ]Bringing custom-made bass $100 per string above 4
[ ]Bringing more than 1 bass $100 per extra bass
[ ]Skull decals on bass $150
[ ]Bringing fretless bass $500

CRIMINAL BAD TASTE

[ ]Telling bone player about all the gigs you get $10
[ ]Asking bone player about their day gig $10
[ ]Sitting behind drums on break $10
[ ]Quoting “Birdland” $25
[ ]Practicing scales during break $25
[ ]Practicing scales during drum solo $50
[ ]Practicing $150
[ ]Beginning a sentence with “When I was a guitar player…” $50
[ ]Casually mentioning to Musical Director of cheap theater that you are “into sequencing” $10

BASIC STUPIDITY

[ ]Wearing old Buddy Rich tour shirt $10
[ ]Wearing new Whitesnake tour shirt $20
[ ]Asking when the rock set starts $20
[ ]Continually asking “where are we?” $25
[ ]Continually shouting “Yeah!” $25
[ ]Asking bone player where “1″ is $50
[ ]Taking cellphone call during 4’s $100

  • Share/Bookmark

Related Articles:

Fun with music: a classic(al) cinema moment!

Most musicians know that classical music and the big screen can be merged with great success; in fact, most great movies have great scores, and many would consider it a requirement!

Say what??!?!

The following video from musicians and comedians extraordinaire Igudesman and Joo demonstrates just how complementary these two art forms are. Without further ado, I give you Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and James Bond…together at last.  8-)

Watching these two is a good reminder of just how much fun music can be. Enjoy!

All the best,
Mark

P.S. – For more Igudesman and Joo, please visit their official website!

  • Share/Bookmark

Related Articles:

Review: Mel Bay’s Easiest Fiddling Book

Last month, guest contributor Michael Henderson shared his review of Clayton Haslop’s Beginner’s Circle DVD Course with the PartTimeMusician.com family. This month, Mike has generously agreed to share his first-hand account of Mel Bay’s Easiest Fiddling Book. Enjoy!

All the best,
Mark

Mel Bay's Easiest Fiddling BookMel Bay’s Easiest Fiddling Book: A Review

Mel Bay’s Easiest Fiddling Book by Craig Duncan retails for $14.95 with the CD. It contains 23 songs arranged from easiest to hardest, starting with Liza Jane and progressing to Rubber Dolly. Along the way you’ll encounter Oh Susanna, Shortnin’ Bread, Buffalo Gals, and Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. It contains fingering charts for each tune to allow beginners who do not know how to read music to begin playing immediately.

All of the tunes are arranged in 1st position and are in the keys of Amaj, Dmaj, and Gmaj. Most of the songs are in 2/4 time. None of the songs have complicated fingerings. All of them were pretty easy to play with the left hand, partly because the G string isn’t used by any of the tunes.

A couple of paragraphs in the introduction explains the scheme for the fingering charts. The charts use a shorthand notation to indicate the string to play and the finger to place for the note. The notation uses dashes to indicate a longer duration for a note. I found this approach a bit confusing at first. I had to compare the letters and numbers to the score carefully to understand it. Once I did, though, I concluded that it would likely work for a new player to find the notes. The scheme falls short of my expectations, though, because it doesn’t address the rhythm of the pieces. For example, there’s no way to capture the difference between a quarter note and a dotted quarter note.

After playing through the book, I didn’t find the choice of songs very interesting. I had high expectations because when I was looking at the book in the store, I recognized most of the songs in the book. A few of them (Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and Oh, Lord) were in my want list. Additionally, it had Oh, Susanna, Simple Gifts and Shortnin’ Bread. That made it seem like a good choice at the time. As I played through it, though, I found that most of the songs just weren’t that interesting.

My impression is that the book does not live up to the title of “easiest” and that it is not a good value. I was surprised that the author slipped accidentals into the second song in the book (Old Joe Clark). The fingering scheme has some shortcomings. The selection of songs is somewhat stale. There are a couple of songs that might have been interesting to play but overall, they’re kind of boring.

Finally, I should admit that I did not listen to the accompanying CD because I plan to return this book as soon as possible.

Michael Henderson is, in his own words, a “middle-aged adult who lives in Denver and started learning to play the violin in November of 2008″. He’s also a really decent guy. 8-) If you’d like to leave him a note, please do so in the comment box below.

This review is provided for informational purposes only; your mileage may vary. For more information on Mel Bay products, please visit the Mel Bay website.

  • Share/Bookmark

Related Articles:

Music is for sharing

Several events and discussions over the past couple of days have reminded me of an essential truth: music is truly whole only when it is shared.

Girl With GlockenspielMusic is a performing art

Unlike most visual arts, the aural arts are enjoyed while the artwork is being created. Of course there are are exceptions to both categories: the visual art of dance and the aural art component of composition spring to mind. We will discuss the impact of live vs. recorded events in a future article, but for the moment, let’s focus upon how the performance relates to the music itself.

For any newcomers to the Part-Time Musician “playing addiction”, there is nothing quite like a live performance – no matter how small or large the audience – to make you more fully appreciate your music and the impact it can have upon people’s lives. This is about you, of course; after all, you get to enjoy the benefits of your learning, growing, and playing on a daily basis! But when you share your music with others by playing for them, everyone is enriched. Those listening are transported to a world of your creating, and the gift you receive is wrapped in the giving itself. It’s hard to explain, but very real to experience.

Music is an inheritance

Last night, I visited the youth symphony for which I was, for four years, Director of String Ensembles. Watching and listening to the new Director and group, I was impressed with the talent and commitment evident in all involved. When you’re in the middle of the scramble, it can be easy to overlook that. It reminded me of how important it is to pass along your music and knowledge – whether very specific or wide-ranging, structured or just “felt” – to others.

There is an age-old struggle within most musicians, whether full- or part-time, regarding personal advancement vs. contributing to others’ advancement. This often translates to “play vs. teach” in the full-timer’s world, but it’s much more complex than that. Most musicians (or artists of any stripe, really) must strive and improve over time to be satisfied. Taking time to share what you know with others would seem to diminish that, but those who have done so know differently: sharing what you know deepens what you know. And if that isn’t enough, it challenges you to learn (and master) even more!

The Takeaway

As with most things in life, the key is balance. If you want to be the best musician you can be, be sure to incorporate opportunities to share your music and what you know about it. Music truly is a gift from which you gain most while giving.

All the best,
Mark

Like what you see? Subscribe for free updates! We don’t spam you, and we don’t give out your email address to anyone. Period!

  • Share/Bookmark

Related Articles:

Cyber Conductor: For the person who has everything

With the Christmas season quickly approaching and gift-giving on everyone’s mind, here is something you might consider getting for the person on your list who seems to have everything. Thanks to David Carter for passing this along!

Cyber Conductor v1.0

Cyber Conductor v1.0

Whatever else they may have, I guarantee you they don’t have one of these! Click on the video below for more information.  ;-)

Keep playing,
Mark

DISCLAIMER: PartTimeMusician.is not affiliated with Aleksey Igudesman in any way. We just think he’s both talented and funny. Oh that we were also so burdened!

Like what you see? Subscribe for free updates! We don’t spam you, and we don’t give out your email address to anyone. Period!

  • Share/Bookmark

Related Articles: