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How I Create Ideas by Franz Vitulli
Wow, ‘create’ ideas, sounds presumptuous, doesn’t it?
It’s been a long time since my last article here on BMM, and I was thinking about sharing something that I have been developing for the last months… how to create ideas? I mean, practicing ideas, composing ideas, any kind of idea that I can use when I hold the bass and want to play it. And it’s not by chance that I called the article “how I” instead of “how to”, which would have been more web-friendly (we all stumble upon some “how to” article on a daily basis), but the topic seems to me too wide to give a unique recipe. This is just one of my methods… by far not the only one!
Anyway, most of the time, when it’s time to practice, I start from a tune that I don’t know – or don’t remember – and begin studying it. I play the melody, memorize changes, play chords, some walking bass, some soloing, etc., until I can say that I’ve ‘mastered’ it, no matter what.
But sometimes, especially when I am studying a tune for my personal repertoire and don’t have to play it in a gig after 3 hours, I may find something that can be reduced, adapted or changed in some way. And then I realize that I can work on that on a multiple level.
For example, some days ago I was studying the Tom Jobim’s bossa nova standard ‘How Insensitive’, and the forth line of the lead sheet captured my attention. There was nothing particularly special, it was ‘just’ a minor II-V-I, Em7b5|A7b9|Dm7 followed by a Db13, and I tried to approach this part by reducing those chords to triads. I didn’t mean to play just an E diminished triad, A major triad and D minor, it would have depleted the entire progression. I simply tried to apply some basic harmonic substitutions. What I’m going to do now has nothing to do with ‘How Insensitive’ per se, I’m ‘moving forward’:
Em7b5 > G minor triad (it’s the same chord, but without the root).
A7b9 > Bb minor triad (I am interpreting this chord just like it was an A7alt built on the 7th mode of the Bb melodic minor scale).
Dm7 > D minor triad (just removed the 7).
Db13 > DbMaj7 > F minor triad (chords with 13 are often used in lieu of Maj7 chords, and F minor triad is just the DbMaj7 without the root).
What I have now is this progression: Gm|Bbm|Dm|Fm
What I just found is, actually, an harmonic sequence: we have two couples of triads, Gm|Bbm and Dm|Fm, with the same interval distance (a minor third), and the second couple is a fifth above the first.
We have a lot of options here.
For example, we can go further with the sequence, doing something like this:
||:Gm|Bbm|Dm|Fm|Am|Cm|C#m7b5|D7:|| (I created another couple, again a fifth above its preceding one, and closed with a D7 to create a refrain)
Or we can keep practicing just those four bars.
Or we can change the distance between each couple of bars and create new sequences.
We can practice different scales over each triad, ascending and discending, and find new melodies.
We can use what we find for composing a new tune, or for personal technical development (for example alternating ascending and discending triads on two octaves). When you want to practice embracing the ‘fitness’ approach, doing it with an harmonic background is so much better than playing nonsense random scales up and down the neck.
Or we can go back to ‘How Insensitive’ and use this approach to solo over those chords.
Remember that this is just ONE idea. I am not telling you to practice with Gm|Bbm|… and all those chords. The entire point of this article is about how to create ideas for many purposes and this is just a single way to do it. I am sure that if I do this, you can do something like this as well. Just remember:
- when I feel that I don’t know what to do when I’m practicing (it’s a rare circumstance, but, you know, it happens), music is the answer. There’s so much to explore in every single existing tune that it’s always possible to find new things. You can even start from an harmonic progression (I was talking about ‘How Insensitive’ but I could just have said “lets start from a minor II-V-I… but that idea came from ‘How Insensitive’ so I thought it was better to stick with what actually happened!), either found on a book, or made up by yourself.
- in every step forward you make, from somewhere to I-don’t-know-where, you have the power to make effective choices: you can go further and further or stick with a ‘level’. You are in charge. As soon as you find something interesting, write it down and choose what to do. Technical development? Composing? Both? Something else? It’s just your choice.
Hope it helps. As always, I would be more than happy if you comment on this article and share it on your social walls. I look forward to reading your thoughts!
Bass Videos
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes…
It is always great to meet a super busy bassist who simply exudes a love for music and his instrument. Erick “Jesus” Coomes fits this description exactly. Hailing from Southern California, “Jesus” co-founded and plays bass for Lettuce and has found his groove playing with numerous other musicians.
Join us as we hear of his musical journey, how he gets his sound, his ongoing projects, and his plans for the future.
Photo, Bob Forte
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Visit Online
www.lettucefunk.com
IG @jesuscsuperstar
FB@jesuscoomes
FB @lettucefunk
Bass Videos
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
“These stories from the front are with real-life, day-to-day musicians who deal with work life and gigging and how they make it work out. Each month, topics may include… the kind of gigs you get, the money, dealing with less-than-ideal rooms, as well as the gear you need to get the job done… and the list goes on from there.” – Steve the Bass Guy and Shawn Cav
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This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Check out our top 10 favorite basses on Instagram this week…
Click to follow Bass Musician on Instagram @bassmusicianmag
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Bass CDs
New Album: Jake Leckie, Planter of Seeds
Bassist Jake Leckie and The Guide Trio Unveil New Album Planter of Seeds,
to be released on June 7, 2024
Planter of Seeds is bassist/composer Jake Leckie’s third release as a bandleader and explores what beauty can come tomorrow from the seeds we plant today.
What are we putting in the ground? What are we building? What is the village we want to bring our children up in? At the core of the ensemble is The Guide Trio, his working band with guitarist Nadav Peled and drummer Beth Goodfellow, who played on Leckie’s second album, The Guide, a rootsy funky acoustic analog folk-jazz recording released on Ropeadope records in 2022. For Planter of Seeds, the ensemble is augmented by Cathlene Pineda (piano), Randal Fisher (tenor saxophone), and Darius Christian (trombone), who infuse freedom and soul into the already tightly established ensemble.
Eight original compositions were pristinely recorded live off the floor of Studio 3 at East West Studios in Hollywood CA, and mastered by A.T. Michael MacDonald. The cover art is by internationally acclaimed visual artist Wayne White. Whereas his previous work has been compared to Charles Mingus, and Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet with Charlie Haden, Leckie’s new collection sits comfortably between the funky odd time signatures of the Dave Holland Quintet and the modern folk-jazz of the Brian Blade Fellowship Band with a respectful nod towards the late 1950s classic recordings of Ahmad Jamal and Miles Davis.
The title track, “Planter of Seeds,” is dedicated to a close family friend, who was originally from Trinidad, and whenever she visited family or friends at their homes, without anyone knowing, she would plant seeds she kept in her pocket in their gardens, so the next season beautiful flowers would pop up. It was a small altruistic anonymous act of kindness that brought just a little more beauty into the world. The rhythm is a tribute to Ahmad Jamal, who we also lost around the same time, and whose theme song Poinciana is about a tree from the Caribbean.
“Big Sur Jade” was written on a trip Leckie took with his wife to Big Sur, CA, and is a celebration of his family and community. This swinging 5/4 blues opens with an unaccompanied bass solo, and gives an opportunity for each of the musicians to share their improvisational voices. “Clear Skies” is a cathartic up-tempo release of collective creative energies in fiery improvisational freedom. “The Aquatic Uncle” features Randal Fisher’s saxophone and is named after an Italo Calvino short story which contemplates if one can embrace the new ways while being in tune with tradition. In ancient times, before a rudder, the Starboard side of the ship was where it was steered from with a steering oar. In this meditative quartet performance, the bass is like the steering oar of the ensemble: it can control the direction of the music, and when things begin to unravel or become unhinged, a simple pedal note keeps everything grounded.
The two trio tunes on the album are proof that the establishment of his consistent working band The Guide Trio has been a fruitful collaboration. “Santa Teresa”, a bouncy samba-blues in ? time, embodies the winding streets and stairways of the bohemian neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro it is named for. The swampy drum feel on “String Song” pays homage to Levon Helm of The Band, a group where you can’t always tell who wrote the song or who the bandleader is, proving that the sum is greater than the individual parts. Early jazz reflected egalitarianism in collective improvisation, and this group dynamic is an expression of that kind of inclusivity and democracy.
“The Daughters of the Moon” rounds out the album, putting book ends on the naturalist themes. This composition is named after magical surrealist Italo Calvino’s short story about consumerism, in which a mythical modern society that values only buying shiny new things throws away the moon like it is a piece of garbage and the daughters of the moon save it and resurrect it. It’s an eco-feminist take on how women are going to save the world. Pineda’s piano outro is a hauntingly beautiful lunar voyage, blinding us with love. Leckie dedicates this song to his daughter: “My hope is that my daughter becomes a daughter of the moon, helping to make the world a more beautiful and verdant place to live.”
Bass CDs
Debut Album: Nate Sabat, Bass Fiddler
In a thrilling solo debut, bassist Nate Sabat combines instrumental virtuosity with a songwriter’s heart on Bass Fiddler…
The upright bass and the human voice. Two essential musical instruments, one with roots in 15th century Europe, the other as old as humanity itself.
On Bass Fiddler (Adhyâropa Records ÂR00057), the debut album from Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and bass virtuoso Nate Sabat, the scope is narrowed down a bit. Drawing from the rich and thriving tradition of American folk music, Sabat delivers expertly crafted original songs and choice covers with the upright bass as his lone tool for accompaniment.
The concept was born a decade ago when Sabat began studying with the legendary old-time fiddler Bruce Molsky at Berklee College of Music. “One of Bruce’s specialties is singing and playing fiddle at the same time. The second I heard it I was hooked,” recalls Sabat. “I thought, how can I do this on the bass?” From there, he was off to the races, arranging original and traditional material with Molsky as his guide. “Fast forward to 2020, and I — like so many other musicians — was thinking of how to best spend my time. I sat down with the goal of writing some new songs and arranging some new covers, and an entire record came out.” When the time came to make the album, it was evident that Molsky would be the ideal producer. Sabat asked him if he’d be interested, and luckily he was. “What an inspiration to work with an artist like Nate,” says Molsky. “Right at the beginning, he came to this project with a strong, personal and unique vision. Plus he had the guts to try for a complete and compelling cycle of music with nothing but a bass and a voice. You’ll hear right away that it’s engaging, sometimes serious, sometimes fun, and beautifully thought out from top to bottom.”
While this record is, at its core, a folk music album, Sabat uses the term broadly. Some tracks lean more rock (‘In the Shade’), some more pop (‘White Marble’, ‘Rabid Thoughts’), some more jazz (‘Fade Away’), but the setting ties them all together. “There’s something inherently folksy about a musician singing songs with their instrument, no matter the influences behind the compositions themselves,” Sabat notes. To be sure, there are plenty of folk songs (‘Louise’ ‘Sometimes’, ‘Eli’) and fiddling (‘Year of the Ox’) to be had here — the folk music fan won’t go hungry. There’s a healthy dose of bluegrass too (‘Orphan Annie’, ‘Lonesome Night’), clean and simple, the way Mr. Bill Monroe intended.
All in all, this album shines a light on an instrument that often goes overlooked in the folk music world, enveloping the listener in its myriad sounds, textures, and colors. “There’s nothing I love more than playing the upright bass,” exclaims Sabat. “My hope is that listeners take the time to sit with this album front to back — I want them to take in the full scope of the work. I have a feeling they’ll hear something they haven’t heard before.”
Available online at natesabat.bandcamp.com/album/walking-away
Interview With Bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
Tour Touch Base (Bass) with Ian Allison
New Gear: Spector Woodstock Custom Collection Volume II
New Gear: The Dingwall John Taylor Signature Model
This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Working-Class Zeros: Episode #2 – Financial Elements of Working Musicians
New Gear: Esopus Guitars Launches New Acoustic/Electric Bass
Debut Album: Nate Sabat, Bass Fiddler
