Author Topic: Suddenly I'm good? (Read 944 times)

oujeebass · « **Reply #15 on:** December 20, 2008, 08:25:14 PM »

I do remember Stanley Clarke saying he was adverse to anything but 4 strings. I have always thought that a low B was a bit low, and also nauseating at high volume.

mario_farufyno · « **Reply #16 on:** December 28, 2008, 06:07:14 PM »

I don't think any serious musician could avoid going below 41Hz as some frequencies should be forbidden. I simply love Stevie Wonder's bass lines, and they are mostly writen in E flat...

Stanley must have said that HE doesn't feel good using a 5th string (because he is SO used to play on 4 and shurely doesn't want to re-learn how to play - since the low B is hard to keep mutted, we must to change right hand position). He may also (as many of us) feel that the low B rarely sounds tight and clean as we wish, and most tradicional Cabinets simply can't handle efficiently frequencies that low.

But I really doubt that he would tell Marcus Miller - or Anthony Jackson - that they shouldn't play the 5th string because it is wrong, nauseating or something worst. I also don't think he could deny his keyboardist going down there (by the way, I'm pretty shure he uses frequencies below 41Hz in his arrangements - not on Bass, but he certainly uses it).

If you agree with me on this, means that you agree avoiding using more than 4 strings is just a matter of taste.

mario_farufyno · « **Reply #17 on:** December 28, 2008, 06:16:25 PM »

Wade, I can't imagine you vomiting just because heard an organist using his bass pedals (that can go to a low A!)...

(;-P)

oujeebass · « **Reply #18 on:** December 28, 2008, 06:33:49 PM »

Ha, Ha, The nausea isn't a matter of taste. It would be a physical reaction. I actually like the facility that a low B provides. I am sure Stanley was speaking in the terms of the time in which more and more low Bs were flopping when he said that. The frequency is only half the equation. The waveform is the other.

mario_farufyno · « **Reply #19 on:** December 28, 2008, 07:31:51 PM »

Nauseating isn't the wavelenght... In fact, I'm shure that is some players that could makes Stanley sick! (like myself... Ha, Ha, Ha)

terryc · « **Reply #20 on:** December 29, 2008, 02:26:45 AM »

What about an octave pedal or dropping the E to D
(as per Hipshot).
I transposed 'I Wish' to F# for that reason, Stevie does like his E flat keys.

bassman68 · « **Reply #21 on:** December 29, 2008, 03:10:09 AM »

Stevie Wonder, Jackson 5/Michael jackson etc all seem to favour E flat, I've sometimes wondered if it had to do with the brass sections & B flat horns?

mario_farufyno · « **Reply #22 on:** December 29, 2008, 10:48:40 PM »

I'm pretty shure this is the main reason for choosing so odd keys for the rest of us that play a instrument tuned in C.

(Message edited by mario farufyno on December 29, 2008)

Bradley Young · « **Reply #23 on:** December 30, 2008, 10:07:48 AM »

I might offer an alternate explanation:

Many of the bands listed got their start in church, and a lot of gospel songs are in flat keys (F / Bb / Eb / Ab) (aka 1 flat/2/3/4 flats).

So much so, that I've met a bunch of organists/ pianists in church that couldn't play in D at all.

I go to a Pentecostal church, maybe it's different elsewhere.

dadabass2001 · « **Reply #24 on:** December 30, 2008, 04:08:30 PM »

I've heard that the much of life on Earth is in Dflat (songs of whales for instance).

see Common Ground by Paul Winter Consort, from the mid 70's

Mike

LMiwa · « **Reply #25 on:** December 30, 2008, 05:57:06 PM »

Yes, most Gospel music (no matter the denomination) is played in flats. And most players will play songs written in sharps down a half step in the equivalent flat key (e.g. D is played in Db).

Since I play almost exclusively in such situations, I long ago got used to tuning my basses 1/2 step down. Open strings thus become Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb which works out very nicely for playing exclusively in flats!

mario_farufyno · « **Reply #26 on:** December 31, 2008, 05:36:57 AM »

Wow, that's deep Mike!

I'll put my Humpback Whale record on CD player right now...

mario_farufyno · « **Reply #27 on:** December 31, 2008, 05:48:40 AM »

Guys, this doesn't exactly explain why someone chooses Flat keys. I still think the reason to pick flat keys on church is the use of Brass Sections on gospel music, doesn't it?

Is this way because God (as whales) talks flat?

Or is this a usage to facilitate writing to Horns?

Because I've just met people who favored using Flat Keys in Bands that ostensively used Horn Sections (even if they just used that way in the past)...

olieoliver · « **Reply #28 on:** December 31, 2008, 06:02:49 AM »

Hi guys,
I ask ask my cousin (our pianist at our church)this very question once, why she most of her music in Bb or Eb. She said it was easier to play on piano than say maybe E, A or B.

I check out your website Mario, very nice and I like the music a lot.

OO

mario_farufyno · « **Reply #29 on:** January 01, 2009, 05:36:36 AM »

Oh, thanks Olie. You're kind...

You're right, certain digiting paterns makes playing easier, specially to keys and horns. And seems that if it is good for them, it'll prevail. It is a matter of who is easier to change.

One time I complained about that because it made harder to us on Strings to play, but when I saw Sax Player's difficult to do it fast and clean, I decided to change myself. Nowadays, I also tend to avoid using open strings to no get used to do it in ways that will makes me difficult to change keys if needed.