PDF 
Meet Ray Riendeau -
Hi everyone!
In this article I’d like to discuss the importance of learning and transcribing things that you want to learn. It is very easy in this computer age to find the music, tab, video, explanation, etc of most all songs. This can be a useful tool for sure, but does not take the place of at least trying to learn it on your own first. In the beginning this will seem hard but TRUST me, with practice you will get good at it. Not only are you figuring out something you can play, you are also developing your ears. You will get better and better at picking out the notes used, the rhythms, the phrasing, etc. In fact all these mean one thing: you will become a better musician!!!
Another cool thing is that by transcribing some of your favorite players music, you get some insight to things like chord/scales they favor, their sense of phrasing, etc..Again all great things to add to YOUR vocabulary.
I often tell people in clinics about how when first hearing Victor Wooten doing his double thumbing on a recording I had know way of seeing HOW he was doing it technique wise. Because of this I played it my own way which was very different and in doing so created a new way of slapping I’d never done before. Later after SEEING his double thumbing I also incorporated his particular method to my vocabulary as well.
In the spirit of this topic I am enclosing a video I recently did. The bass you hear is just one track, no overdubs. What I’d like you to do is learn a portion or even the whole song depending on your skill level. There is no way to SEE me play this YET. In the next issue I will breakdown how it is played, or should I say “how I play it”.
It will be interesting to see how they compare and who knows, you might even create a new way to play!!!!
Ray Riendeau has written 8 articles in BMM.
Ray is a highly sought after bassist whose versatile style and dedication to the instrument has earned him world tours and many major CD recording projects. His musical expertise and knowledge of the instrument keeps him busy as a composer, teacher, clinician and a touring / recording artist.
Ray is endorsed by ZON Basses, Aguilar Amplification & Lightwave Systems. He has been featured in many publications such as Bass Player, Bass Frontiers & Bassics to name a few.
As a clinician, Riendeau has demonstrated his concepts to students throughout the United States & Europe at events such as Bass Day - L.A., the National Guitar Summer Workshop, The School of Bass - AZ and Bass Day - New York 2001 which also featured Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey, Matt Garrison, Mike Pope and Christian McBride. Riendeau is also acknowledged for his contributions alongside highly-revered guitarists such as Gary Hoey, Greg Koch, John 5, Jeff Kollman, Scott Mishoe, Ron Jarzombek and Neil Zaza.
Ray is a bassist most known for his work with singer Rob Halford (Judas Priest). As a member of the band Halford, Ray recorded two studio cds, one double live CD, and toured around the world, most notably playing to a sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden - NYC and Co-headlining Brazil's Rock in Rio festival with Iron Maiden playing to a crowd of over 250,000.
Ray was also a recording / touring artist for Machines of Loving Grace, a band who was featured on the movie soundtrack "The Crow" which sold over 1,000,000 copies. His credits with the band include "Gilt" and the soundtrack for the movie "Hackers."
Riendeau assisted in the research and development of Sunn bass amps and the Fender Bassman series combo amps for Fender Musical Instruments. Ray has also been a Fender clinician and authored an instructional video for Fender as well.Related posts:
