There are many ways to approach ear training and to say one is the best would be to ignore the benefits of each. Here are a few examples –

• Practice your scales and chords, paying particular attention to how the intervals interact and resonate with each other.
• Work on intervals from a ‘home’ note and practice the recognition of each interval; sing these intervals and name them.
• Sing your scales whilst practicing them.
• Transcribe

…the list goes on. Then there are app and websites dedicated to ear training, all offering the ‘perfect’ solution.

Having worked through a variety of these methods, I wanted to point out a few key ways you can hone your ability to recognise intervals, pitches and chords. All however, will require a degree of consistent deliberate practice over a reasonable amount of time, in addition to real-world application, to see excellent results.

Ear Training ideas and tools

• Singing your scales – Starting with the simple harmonic structures such as triads, arpeggios, pentatonic scales, major and minor scales and their harmonised scales, through to chromatics, pretty much any and every scales can be utilised. The benefit of singing is that you get to experience the information twice – Once while hearing it when you play and once when you’re singing it. To take it to the next level, sing the note names while you practice singing them. ie – Sing C-E-G-E-C for a C Major triad, etc… The idea is note to develop great chops and sing them super-fast, rather to get them right and recognise them.

• Interval recognition can play a huge role in understanding harmonic structures and movement by ear. With such a plethora of websites and apps to choose from, I have chosen to name a few you can access for FREE and that use in my daily practice.

Functional Ear Trainer from – https://www.miles.be/

Download and follow the program. Also available for your phone.

Toned Ear – https://tonedear.com/ear-training/intervals

An online tool that offers recognition training not just intervals but scales, chords, chord progressions, scale degrees, rhythms, etc…As before, follow the link and instructions.

Musical-U – https://www.musical-u.com/learn/

Another excellent resource aimed at helping develop musicality, with a huge section on ear training. Definitely worth a look (though this one is for subscribers so the ear training is not free…but the information is!!)

• Transcribing – This can be a great way to put the ear training you have been working on into practice. If you are just beginning on your transcribing journey, be thoughtful of your choices. Choose a nice simple melody line you will be able to both transcribe by ear, and play on your instrument once written down. Remember that notating the music can further enhance your sight reading as well as securing the melody for later practice.

What’s the takeaway?

It’s important!! As a skill, having the ability to quickly identify chord types or the notes/intervals used to construct a melody have far a reaching impact when operating as a musician at any level. Working consistently towards pre-determined goals with your ear training will aid the feeling of success and keep you focused on your path. Ear training is not just done when your are specifically focused on the app or tool, it’s done every time you play. Remember to listen whist you practice…or better still, record yourself and listen afterwards.

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In a world where a majority of our lives are experienced online, the ability to remotely educate is becoming more and more important. Is it possible that we are heading towards a world where we learn the majority of our subjects from experts giving a one-time world-class pre-recorded lesson presentation on a topic, and we’re then left to carry out further investigation and learning on our own? Seth Godin talks about classes taught by experts in the relevant field, followed up by in-person individual or group study sessions with a local teacher where ideas can be explored, confusion clarified and questions answered.

Far from proposing that there is indeed something explicitly ‘wrong’, I’ll explore how things can go right and where things can be improved or informed to allow for the best to come out of the ‘remote learning’ model. So then…What is wrong with online education?

Where does it work?

If you consider the teaching of fact-based intellectual subjects like elementary math, this is easy, right? 2+2 will always equal 4 and you can expand on this lesson to include all the option to get to 4 (1+3; 1+1+1+1, etc…) When considering the capacity to communicate ‘information’ and ‘factual’ elements, the internet wins. You cannot beat the internet for providing a ready source of information and learning options. As an intermediate or advanced learner, it is easy to translate and apply the information as you have a foundation in the subject and additional real-world experience.

Why do we learn better in person?

When it comes to physically based subjects like learning how to dance, play sport or a musical instrument, there is a degree of ‘let me show you’ that would potentially require a more individually tailored, real-world, in-person approach, and in an all ‘online’ world where does that initial experience come from? As adults it may be possible to translate this kind of physical information into our bodies and enact the required moves due to having lived in our bodies and learned to control them over the years. However, as beginners we would require a little more guidance to help develop the movements or skills. This may well require an additional source of input via a teacher or mentor. There is also the question of how fine motor movements develop. Do we really need to see a person in front of our eyes displaying a skill, or will an image on a screen work just as well? With an online video, you can rewatch over and over, gleaming all the information and practicing until you have it right. In-person lessons are limited to the time you are in the class and your memory of it. But this situation allows for a physical change in perspective, a question or conversation. It’s possible to truly explore a nuance from within the lesson through discourse and interaction, that can expand the single focus into a wealth of learning.

When you attend a workout class or rehearsal, there’s a probability you’ll give more and try harder in this environment, partly due to being in amongst your peers. When standing/sitting in front of your teacher and having to perform that piece or lesson you’ve been studying all week, there is an additional challenge…and you certainly find out in that moment if you’ve learnt it properly or not!! If you are at home learning from pre-recorded content, how far do you explore the lesson? How do you know when you’re done? It can be harder to push to one’s limits when no-one is watching. Experts in the field are able to see exactly what is needed to help the individual succeed, pushing them past their perceived limits, and forward towards their goals.

How can the online experience be improved?

Accountability – Live interactive lessons can be used as an addition to online video content, to facilitate the inculcation of a given lesson, thereby helping to fully explore the information with questions and discussion. This also allows for the teacher to specifically guide a student with an individually tailored presentation of the information, adapted to the learner. The student can then go away to study and return for an assessment of their progress, giving a chance for ‘re-phrasing’ or ‘tweaking’ of the information to further correct or expand.

The ‘in-person’ effect has a great deal to offer the learner and provides an opportunity for the teacher to specifically guide a student with an individually tailored presentation of the information, adapted to the learner. This type of lesson can be taught either online as a real-time remote lesson, or as ‘in-person’ face-to-face lesson.

What next…

Ultimately, the online pre-recorded model of education is certainly hear to stay and has the capacity to hugely benefit all who engaged with it. We are at a turning point in how we share knowledge, and this opportunity will afford great progress for many who would otherwise not have access to information at this breadth and depth. The question I have is for fields where the knowledge is expanding and our understanding changing…with no gatekeepers on the posting of fact-based informative content, how do we know the information we are consuming is really the latest and most accurate? Maybe that’s for another post…

I hope you enjoyed the read and feel free to get in touch via social media if you have any comments.

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(For all you left-handed players, please substitute ‘right hand’ with ‘left hand’ )

I’m sure most, if not all bass players would agree that the right hand is intrinsically linked to the execution of bass grooves. There is no escaping the importance of great right hand technique if you are to become a great bass player…and yet it is something that is overlooked by many beginner and intermediate bass players. Why is this?

Part of the reason is that many focus primarily on the notes that are being played by the left hand and never really spend enough time on any one thing to get round to what the right hand is unto. I have had many students say of their right hand technique – “…I don’t really know what is going on, I just let it do its thing” (to paraphrase). If you are serious about making a bass line groove and move people, it is of paramount importance that you spend some time on your right hand technique. In my opinion, more than just a bit of time. I would say that for everything you learn, after the notes are ‘under the fingers’, what is going on with the right hand should be the next focal point….even before any serious practice ensues!!!

Let’s get straight to some exercises that can help you on your way to great right hand technique. The primary approach we are working on is the traditional 2 finger index middle approach and this lesson is aimed at beginner – intermediate players (though we can all learn something new, right?).

Exercise 1

Firstly, we’ll get acquainted with playing each string with alternating index (I) and middle (M) fingers –

Using the open string to avoid a left hand focus, play the following exercise. When you get to the last finger pluck on the G, damp it with the left hand (using all four fingers lightly on the string) and go back to the beginning. The aim is to get this transition seamless and create a circular flow through repeated cycles of the exercise. 

1a – i m i m i m etc… 4 notes 

1b – m i m i m i etc… 4 notes 

1c – i m i m i m etc… 2 notes & 1d – m i m i m i etc… 2 notes

The most important part of this (and all exercises, grooves, etc…for that matter) is to get it right, not fast. Once you have it down, fast is not far away!! If you immediately go for speed before you’re ready, and continually get it wrong, you are only reinforcing the incorrect execution of the exercise. So take is slow to begin with…

Exercise 2

As above – Descending versions with strict index (i) middle (m) alternation and raking. With the descending versions, it is important to focus for a moment on the damping. As you leave the ‘G’ string and progress to the ‘D’, lightly place the left hand fingers on the ‘G’ in such a way as to dampen this string whilst not interfering with the movement of the ‘D’. Repeat this for each string as you transition to the next. This may take a few attempts before the execution is flawless, but stick with it. As I’ve mentioned previously, mastering this type of movement (in this case ‘damping’) will inform the very way you understand and interact with your bass, and how it responds to your touch. 

2a – Alternating 

2b – Raking 

2c – Alternating & 2d – Raking 

Supplement to the above exercises 1 & 2 –

Triplet versions of the exercises – 

Ascending Triplet version

Ex 1 

Descending Triplet version

2a – Alternating (Index starting) 2b – Alternating (Middle starting) 

2c – Raking (Index starting) 2d – Raking (Middle starting) 

Exercise 3 and more to follow…Get stuck in and I’ll be back with part 2!!

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A measured approach

I would like to share with you my approach to learning and practice that I have formulated through my years of study and teaching. I am not suggesting this is either right or a perfect method for each of you. However, this could serve as a starting point for any investigations you make into achieving forward movement with your performance, both in the practice room and on the stage. 

How to approach it…

To develop a solid practice for almost any physical activity I feel one should cultivate the following – 

Determination – the desire and will to consistently practice / perform to the highest level possible, even in the face of great challenges.

Focus – the ability to hone in on a particular task / topic / problem.

Commitment – To maintain the work on a given area over a period of time until you achieve your aims / have solved any problems.

Patience – to keep going back again and again until you are done and not falter from your path due to boredom or frustration or failure.

Let’s look at one of the methods I personally employ and teach to my students:

Get it right, Not Fast!!

When approaching a new piece of music, the process if two-fold – ‘learning‘ then ‘practice’.

Learning

The ‘Learning’ element if this process should be engaged with slowly with the primary focus being on getting the right notes or chords in the right order. Once these are memorised, take each phrase and again, slowly and, if necessary out of ‘time’ but with a focus on how each phrases frenetically works (ie. 1 & 2 & 3 e &  4), work on each phrase.

As the notes and rhythmic elements of each phrase or chord voicing come together and become more familiar, so you learn how to ‘instruct’ your fingers to execute the movement more fluently.

I have found that singing the line often enables me to then perform it more quickly on my instrument, using the correct notes and rhythmic phrasing.

A story relayed by the great jazz educator Hal Galper talks of a student who approaches Dizzy Gillespie after a high school concert and asks what he is thinking when he is playing. His answer was “…most people think I’m thinking something like (sings quietly) ‘dab bab dooby do daaa’ but actually I’m thinking (sings, but shouting) ‘DAB BAB DOOBY DO DAAA’. In other words, in order to deliver a phrase or melody convincingly and with meaning, it is first necessary for the line to be vivid enough or loud in the brain. Part of your learning process should involve being able to internally sing/hear the music you’re studying loud to strengthen the brain signal.

Practice

Once the process of learning all the harmonic and rhythmic elements (taking the music ‘off the page’ when possible) is complete, it is time to begin practicing, either the piece as a whole or any of the more challenging phrases. This part of the process is about precision and meticulous attention to detail. Fine tuning the performance to express precisely your intended emotional and sonic content. This will be determined either by your own inner voice or your voice on the instrument, or by aiming to perfectly emulate the player whom you have transcribed.

A common misconception about practice is that you engaged with it from the very start of the learning process and that, once the piece has been successfully played through a handful of times, it has been conquered. On the contrary, this is when the work really begins.

So when you’re next in the practice room and you’ve finished the first few run-throughs of a song, got it kind-of half right on the way and you’re about to move on, stop! Make an honest assessment of your performance. Then, take any parts where an improvement can be made, breaking them down to smaller chunks or phrases and work on each part until it becomes a true representation of the piece. By doing this you not only inform your performance of that particular song, you create a foundation of facility and habit. Both of which will go with you to the next tune, and the next and the next and so on, perpetually reinforcing your ability on your instrument.

Further Reading

Having spent many years researching how one learns and excels, I would like to share some of the sources that have informed and guided my thinking.

‘Outliers’  & ‘Blink’ – Malcom Gladwell

Mindset – Carol S. Dweck

Effortless Mastery – Kenny Werner

Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success – John Wooden, Jay Carty & David Robinson

The Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert performance, Chapter 38: The Influence of Experience and Deliberate Practice on the Development of Superior Expert Performance – K. Anders Ericsson

In addition, I have watched hours of lectures from great educators such as Hal Galper and Kenny Werner; studied for a number of years with Joe Hubbard and Steve Lawson, both of whom challenged me to think about my approach to studying in different ways; and attended masterclasses and had one-off lessons with some inspirational musicians. All these have informed my opinion and as I discover more, so I further evolve my thinking, teaching and personal practice.

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I have recently been working on chord tones and chromatic approaches in my lessons with Joe Hubbard and, as part of this process, I am required to write an etude to chord progressions. The last lesson I began the application of what I’d learnt to a jazz standard. In this case, Solar was the choice and below is a video of the etude. I’ve composed this and then practiced in all keys at varying speeds from slow to fast with the aim of integrating the various approach note phrasing combinations into my musical language.

In this video, I’m using my Shuker jazz bass direct into Logic X via a tube preamp. The drum loop is from the Solar play-along track on iRealb.

As this will be an ongoing process, I will share my etudes here and will upload the musical notation for anyone who would like it.

Solar – Etude in C; Eb; Gb & A

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Crispin also remixed one of the Odyssey tracks we recorded in 2011 – ‘Inside Out’. Here it is…

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Specification

• Ash body with a multi-chambered upper bout and a 4 piece Wenge set-neck
• Macassar Ebony fretboard – 24 frets at 34″ scale with 17.5mm string spacing
• Nitro finish Olympic white body and headstock with a satin top coat and black scratch plate
• Chrome hardware – Schaller 2000 bridge, Hipshot Ultralite tuners and a string tree on the E to G strings
• Aaron Armstrong pickups (60’s spacing) and John East U-retro preamp

First Impressions

On opening the case, I was stunned by the beauty of the bass and at the same time surprised by the reflective quality (or lack of) of  the body. It really is a  ‘matt’ finish and the light doesn’t bounce off in quite the way you expect from a bass finished in a solid colour. One notable absence from the beautiful grain of the macassar ebony fretboard are any fret markers. Although this is slightly off putting initially, I have become accustomed to it fairly quickly and now no longer feel anything is missing (to be clear, there are dot marker on the side of the fretboard to help locate positions if needed). This feature, coupled with the black pickups, scratch plate and ebony ramp are nicely offset by the brighter nature of the chrome hardware and controls. With a fairly hefty nod towards the body shape of the more modern custom jazz basses, the top horn is slightly extended almost to the 12th fret and the cutaway between the lower horn and neck is deeper to allow easier access to the higher frets. There is also a very slight curve to the front of the body which adds to the aesthetic qualities of the instrument.

On turning the bass over, I can see the way the Olympic white body colour meets the dark wood of the Wenge at both the set-neck join and on the headstock. The neck heel contour is smooth and feels solid but not bulky, and the lines in the oly white lacquer are very clean. It is evident a lot of care and attention went into the finishing these particular areas of the bass. The rear panel covering the preamp features the LED for an East BLI-01 which, whilst not entirely necessary, does offer an additional comfort and is a useful feature on an already high-spec’d bass. Another striking feature of the back is the Wenge neck itself. This is wonderfully dark with waves of the grain visible giving the impression of depth and woodiness.

The overall appearance of the bass is one of strong clean lines with some lovely finishing touches. The ramp on the bass has been cropped in such a way as to follow the lines of the scratch plate; the pickups have slight radius matching the neck and ramp; there is an additional tort scratch plate should a change be required; the body is ever so slightly slimmer than a traditional jazz bass, making it feel more in touch with ones body; The lines of the control layout, with the last dial following the body line and the pickup switch placed above and between the last two dials. As with all the Shuker basses I have seen and played, this one exhibits the build quality, attention to detail and finishing that has earned Jon a formidable reputation as a master  luthier.

Sound and performance

On first playing of the bass, I can feel it has a fair weight to it (around 5kg) but once on the shoulders, this looses its relevance as the balance is perfect with absolutely no neck dive or indeed movement in any way other than that deliberately introduced by myself. I should add that I am using a Comfort Strapp which will add a certain amount of stability and grip to the back and shoulders not present with a leather strap. The neck depth is very comfortable at 20.5mm behind the first fret and 22.5mm at the 12th, whilst the nut width is 45mm which all help the neck to feel and play fast if required. Acoustically the bass sounds wonderfully warm and well rounded with the hint of the jazz bass bite we know and love.

The preamp in the bass is the U-Retro by John East which offers three stacked pots – pickup pan with volume on top; a mid control with boost/cut on top of the frequency selection dial; bass boost only with treble on top, and a single pot for the passive tone. The stacked bass/treble features a pull pot with a 6db boost to the higher frequencies (a slap switch!) and the passive tone has a pull pot which switches the bass into passive mode. The Armstrong pickups are both dual coils which sound like they are voiced to emulate a jazz bass sound with a little more depth and girth. There is a pickup switching option of both parallel / both single coil / rear parallel, front single wich when combined with the preamp offers more sonic possibilities than one could ever want or indeed need. If this isn’t enough, there is also an option of wiring the pickups in series should there be a need for yet more width to the sound but I would say in this instance, there would be no need to change anything.

Once the bass is plugged in with the John East preamp engaged, it comes to life. With the pan pot at the centre indent and no boosting or cutting of any frequency, the bass sings with enough body and character to be immediately useable. Panning to the front pickup brings out a more growly p-bass tonal palate while towards the bridge brings out the burpy nasal jazz bass qualities. On a recent session the bass was put through its tonal paces and I found that it provided everything that was required and more when plugged into the desk.

Sound Samples –

Independent Women PYT

Conclusion

Having now been playing the bass for over a month, I feel it has become a valuable member of my bass arsenal alongside my ’74 P-bass and Single-cut Shuker and well worth the investment. So much so that I expect this with be the bass that stays in my gig bag for most dates unless something more specific is required. Once I have the time, I’ll post a video or two demo-ing the bass ‘in situ’. Until then, here are some pictures taken by Darren Saunders to further whet your appetite!!

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The Pino Palladino bass line from the D’Angelo track Soultronic from the Live in Stockholm (recorded on July 8th 2000). Pino has been a major influence for me since I first heard his playing on the “Standing in the shadows of Motown” CD (Accompanying the book) I sought albums he’d played on and transcribed many of the lines.

On this particular track I haven’t followed exactly the line he plays but, having worked on the various phrases and harmony, I aimed to allowed my playing to flow in the spirit of his original line. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. More to come….

1974 Fender Precision into Focusrite. Audio recorded using Logic (a mild amount of EQ used); Filmed on an iPhone 4s edited in iMovie.

Download the transcription here!!

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The EP has now been finished…There are the tracks I appeared on and a bonus track “Stranger MixB Demo” –

Vox – Sarah Grace

Guitar – James Stelling

Piano – Ben Burrell

Bass – Tiernan Godel

Drums (and mixing/production on “Stranger MixB Demo”) – Tim Rickard

Engineered/produced by Rob Strauss

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