SUMMARY
Today is all about the base! This includes and adventure through a history lesson and MIDI mastery.
CLASSROOM
How Bass Works (47 minutes)
- Cinematic music uses a long and low base note to start the piece. It gives the piece its style and its shape.
- Tonality is a old term that describes western music.
- Basic cords use the tonic as the bottom note. Theas could be called the roots.
- In the 17 and 18 century, the base became essential. Except they didn’t have a slandered base interment. Then pipe organs were created.
- (they felt “god” or the rumble of a base line for the first time)
- The pip organs showed that a base interments needs to be at least on octave lower then other interments.
- The pitch was measured by feet, named after the length of the pipes.
- Parts of pipe organ pieces were played with the players feet.
- In jazz, the base tuba took on the base line.
- The base has the most influence on the development of music.
- The base would normally move in the opposite direction of the melody.
- You can find satisfying cord relationships with this mirroring technique.
- A walking base is just a scale
- Scales are very useful for jazz base lines.
- A chromatic scale is even better for a base line because of its darker mood.
- A ground base is a base line that repeats. its used in modern music but no one cares to call it that.
- Listen to Stevie wonder they wont go when I go!
- Inversion is when you change which note is in the triad.
- Base gets its own part in the 19th century. its seen in the waltz.
- With little base runs, the piece was able to transition or reset. This was called a base link.
- It was also seen in marching band music.
- Tuba- mobile low end.
- The base solo was also called the base rift or run.
- The funk brothers (James Jamerson) had a big part in modern base.
- The re-synthesizer was able to play low notes that were only played on the organ
- Because of the new lower notes, people were able to feel the base.
- Base has taken over the melody and rhythm.
LAB
How to write Chromatic Notes in Hookpad (some bass lines are based on chromatic scale)
3 ways to use Hookpad’s MIDI drag-drop feature
I’m so excited that I can use sharps and flats in hook pad. I love using random sharps and flats in my music (I forgot what its called but I think it starts with an H). It wasn’t to hard to figure out, but I wonder if you could do the same thing with the cords on the bottom. Putting the MIDI file in sound trap wasn’t hard either. I thought it would be uploaded like a audio recording where you couldn’t change or do anything with it. To my surprise I was wrong.
PRACTICE ROOM
How To Add Bass Notes [Guitar Strumming Lessons] by Tomas Michaud
guitar TABS for his exercise (PDF)
This was hard but fun. I’m used to finder picking with my thumb so it would be hard to try this and finger pick at the same time.
Profile in Excellence
- Check out these two videos about amazing bass player Carol Kaye
Profile in Excellence
- Check out these videos about the best bass player, ever, James Jamerson
- What really made James Jamerson so great?
- Visual of James Jamerson’s bass line for the Stevie Wonder song –For Once In My LifeScreenshot from Vulf at YouTube
OUTSIDE / JOURNAL / IDEAS
Carol Kaye and James Jamerson’s Profiles in Excellent. These are two bass players are credited with creating some of the best bass lines! Then go for a walk and think of the funky work they created.
Quizlet on Bass Composition Techniques flashcards
I love the bass line in the song “seven nation army” by white stripes. baaa ba bum bum bum bummm bum. Not only is the bass line catchy, but it supports all the other interments. I wonder what makes this line so iconic. its only simple quarter notes and a few whole notes. maybe its the simplicity of it that makes it so good.
STUDIO
I wanted to try the idea of a simple bass line. In order to do that, I just plucked the open E and first finger first threat and made a patter of jumping back and forth. Then I went up the finger board and back down. that’s what I ended up coming up with.
CONTROL ROOM
I had a bit of trouble recording. So far I’m not sure on what the actual problem is, but we think it has to do with the computer. what is the problem? whenever I record there’s a clicky noise jumping around in the audio when I play it back. ignoring that, recording and setting up the iRig went well.
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
Today was all about da bass (like the song). Their was an issue when recording, and we went through the motions to fix it, but its still clicking. its not the worst thing in the world, I can ignore it, I just wanted to write what happened. other than that, every thing else worked fine. the iRig was easy enough to set up and the guitar remains in its beautiful glory. I liked the use of MIDI and James Jameson was really cool to lesion to.
ACTIVITY EVALUATION
Content (The WHAT)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 9/10
I liked hearing about those amazing bass players : James Jamerson, Carol Kaye
Process (The HOW)
Rating: OK – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – HIGHLY ENGAGED
Rating: 9/10
I was the most engaged when we had the small group to discussed and try to solve a problem with a guitar