Big Ears

What up gang ? Well, it is that time again. Yes, one of the masses of bass players without any hair conversing on who knows what. For this month’s survival tip from the front line, I wanted to talk about the principle of “big ears”. Continue reading

Freelancing

A large number of professional musicians, bassists included, make their living in part or whole by freelancing. Believe it or not, the term “freelancing” goes back to Medieval times when knights with no loyalty would “freelance” or hire themselves out

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Modes in Action: Why Not

Now that you’ve had a couple of months to get familiar with the modes, let’s try our hand at something a little more challenging with them. I’ve written a short tune consisting of only two chords, Dm7 and Ebm7. Each

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LM Products Straps

I think the strap is one of the most overlooked pieces of gear we have in our arsenal. Most of the time, bassists choose a strap bases solely on looks. And, sure, looks are important. But not nearly as important

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Strap Lock Modification

One of the most embarrassing things that can happen to a bass player is to have their bass fall off their shoulder in the middle of the gig.  I’m not the only one – by far! – to have this happen. But about four years ago, I discovered something to help avoid that.My guitar tech Alan Wait came up with this simple, inexpensive idea, and I’ve used it ever since. Check out the video below to see what I’m talking about. Continue reading

The Ultimate Gig Bag

You’ve probably heard Murphy’s Law: Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. As a working professional, I live and die by Murphy’s wisdom. That’s why I always take my gig bag stocked full of everything I think I may ever need on a gig. And I strongly suggest you do the same. To help, I’ve put together a list of must-haves to get you started. Then I added some things that you should consider if you plan on making music your livelihood. Continue reading

The Nashville Number System

The Nashville Number charts are a standard way to write out chord progressions and arrangements for songs that do not require reading music. This approach came about in the 1950s as the studio crew known as the A Team was recording around the clock in studios like the Quonset Hut and RCA Studio B with artists like Elvis, Brenda Lee, Roy Orbison, Marty Robbins, and countless other Country, Pop and Rock artists. I believe credit for this system lies with the Vocal group the Jordanaires who sang backup on most of the record dates in Nashville at that time. Continue reading

So You Play Bass – Now What?

Let’s say you’ve invested a number of years getting your skill set together as a bass player. You subscribe to one (or more) of the bass-oriented music magazines. You’ve maybe taken a number of years of private lessons with various

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Tools and Spares for Your Gig Bag

Almost everyone who knows me, knows that I am an absolute freak for spares. I believe it’s essential for the performing bassist to have everything necessary to take care of minor problems that may arise during a performance. Continue reading

Be One with the One and Five

Hey Gang, Sean here. Pleased to meet you.

So, for my first article for this series of articles, now on Bass Lessons HQ, I pondered multiple subjects that could relate to the world of as we low-enders know it. After

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