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The Importance Of Ear Training: Part 1
Welcome back, folks! Although Bass Musician Magazine’s assignment for me has so far been one of providing technique-related material and assignments, I would be remiss if I didn’t take a step back to spend some time talking about the importance of ear training, easily one of the most valuable skills a musician can develop. In this installment I’ll attempt to demonstrate how your technical exercises can be reassessed and reinterpreted as ear training exercises moving forward in your development as a player.
In recent years, I’ve been on a bit of a crusade to try and encourage newer players (and experienced players, for that matter) to get serious about their ear training. In my opinion, I see the greatest weakness among aspiring bass players as lying in the fact that so many play more by ‘sight’ than by ‘sound.’ In other words, too many players are relying on shapes and patterns to navigate the instrument instead of relying on their ears. Since music is an aural form of expression, it should be easy to see how this disconnect really can stifle our musical development and capacity for heartfelt expression.
Take a moment and think about what it would mean to have no limitations to your musicianship on your instrument. What would your ultimate goal be? I have spent many years contemplating this question as I have been working at improving my playing and helping other players to improve theirs. Before you can answer this question, however, you first have to establish what you consider to be the common elements that the greatest players share between them that capture our attention. In my assessment, the greatest players have always seemed to possess an overwhelmingly uninhibited sense of expression and freedom on their instruments. When you listen to a great player, you don’t hear a series of rehearsed exercises or patterns played one after the other, until they run out of ideas… Instead, you hear music come to life… It’s as if your ears are deciphering the artists’ very own spontaneous feelings and emotions in real time. There is an intangible but very real sense of connection that occurs between the player and the listener. As I see it, no contrived technical, theoretic, or academic musical component offers us any true sense of expression until it becomes ‘digested’ by the player; it’s all part of the food chain that comprises the evolution of an artist’s living, breathing musical language.
So then, if our quest is to get to a place in which we are able to play with utmost fluidity and spontaneous expression without hindrance, then we need to accomplish several things:
1. Be able to spontaneous transmit what you hear and feel to your hands and instrument without having to undergo any steps in ‘translation’ or ‘evaluation.’
2. Possess the technical facility and headroom to play what you hear in #1, above, without any stumbling or technical distraction.
3. Be in a state of mind of total comfort and freedom within the music, so that no elements of the music hit you with a sense of unfamiliarity, anxiety, or surprise. I refer to this informally as ‘being in the zone.’ Some of us have an easier time living there than others, but we should not forget that this can also be practiced and developed over time.
‘Scatting’…Gimmick, or Tactic?
Many of us have seen and heard players who can ‘scat’ while they play, or spontaneously sing the notes as they are playing them. When I first saw this done on stage by a bass player many years ago when I was just starting out, I was amazed. I thought to myself, “What an incredible display of musical prowess! That cat really knows what he’s playing!” Little did I know, however, exactly how demonstrative a skill that would become for me later.
Some of us might interpret singing while playing to be a showy demonstration, or dismiss it as mere ‘schtick’ used for entertainment value only. However, I’m here to tell you that every one of us should be exercising that same skill while we play at all times, regardless of whether we are not singing the pitches out loud or not! If you are still confused by why a tactic like this is so valuable, then ask yourself this question:
What does singing what you play demonstrate? It shows that every note you are playing has a specific purpose and place in time. Nothing is arbitrary. You played it because you HEARD it.
This point cannot possibly be overemphasized. Too many players today play the bass in an almost fidgety manner. They try to fill space with shapes that are familiar to them, but their phrases lack any real purpose or inspiration. Singing what you play really forces you to get serious about playing what you hear. I hope that you can see the benefit in devoting time to this valuable practice and performance tactic.
The Ultimate Goal
Some of you might be surprised if I made the suggestion that your bass is holding you back from becoming even more musical and expressive a player… But ask yourself this… Have you ever been inspired with really fantastic musical ideas while your bass was not in your hands? Did you happen to notice that many (or most) of them would not have normally been something you would have come up with if you were playing your bass at the time? For many of us, this is the norm and not the exception. This actually is a symptom of a larger problem: Many of us lack the true familiarity with our instrument that would allow us to accurately play what we might be inspired to hear. To get to the solution, we have to work hard at making the unfamiliar familiar. Most musical challenges we face are not as much an issue of difficulty as they are an issue of familiarity. Subsequently, this should be your ultimate goal:
Be able to play what you spontaneously hear and feel, at any time and in any musical context, with honesty, accuracy, assertiveness, and technical facility.
In order to accomplish this, we have to be always be in the mindset of pursuing true mastery of our instrument. Successful ear training can help us to get closer to that goal much sooner.
Check back next issue for learning how to put this into practice!
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…
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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
