How to Play Fast - Jazz Bass Interview with John Goldsby

►John Goldsby's course on soloing: courses.discoverdoublebass.co...
In this interview with John Goldsby (WDR Big Band), we discuss a really common question that our audience often asks about - playing at fast tempos on the double bass. John gives some really helpful hints and tips on how he approaches practising and performing fast pieces. He then performs a solo rendition of 'Red Cross' by Charlie Parker at the end of the video, which I know you won't want to miss.
If you want to learn more from John, check out his courses exclusively on Discover Double Bass: courses.discoverdoublebass.co...
TIMECODES:
00:00 Interview
00:52 Thought process
01:53 Cherokee demonstration
03:18 Tension
03:52 Technique
06:32 Performance of 'Red Cross' by Charlie Parker
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#TellYourStory
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[@bq4454]

"The money notes"... I love it. My teacher in the late 1970s used that term all the time. I was studying classical bass at the time, but it applies to any genre. The bass just resonates better in the lower registers, plus you have more of the string vibrating. Great videos!

[@RussSargeant]

I love that concept of ‘listening fast’. Really valuable insight and of course INCREDIBLE playing as ever. Thank you John and Discover Double Bass.

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching :-)

[@peteraxelsson5207]

One thing that I think about, in this storm of bassists telling the secrets, is that one legendary bass player once told me : In Europe you seem to count 1234, but when I began playing in the forties, I was told to count " 1,1,1,1 :-)

[@themusiccovenant]

Legendary bassist

[@Pensivata]

That performance. Real sweet...

[@ernststavroblofeld2109]

What a stunning color on that instrument

[@adhanda2017]

Nice SOUND too ... :)

[@MrDaraghkinch]

There is no substitute to knowing the harmony and knowing instrument. Killer technique doesn't go astray either!

[@moyo9995]

Yeah, great video, to play fast you have to be in a chill mood, you have to see the all thing in a panoramic way, you have to be relaxed, and al this things, great job talking about the exercises to make that 👍

[@VallinSFAS]

Quality instruments, killer tone, and great mic/pickups in a resonant environment help a lot. Yes, I've played upright string bass (mostly orchestral) as well.

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

Great points there.

[@frankfmusic9360]

Beautiful playing as always, John!!

[@aceandyrobb]

Great playing from John and another great interview Geoff!

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

Thanks so much Andrew! I'm glad you enjoyed it and hope you are keeping well, cheers Geoff :-)

[@pabloarruda]

MY GOD, WHAT A SOUND!!!!!

[@markbarber7839]

The money notes ! 1st time hearing that but I know what you mean. Thanks for making me laugh

[@tetsuonamba8721]

Very good advice. Thank you, John.

[@scoopmcg]

That was terrific! A valuable lesson and a smoking performance as well

[@adamscott1142]

What lovely advice!

[@lobitzer]

Great solo at the end!

[@Zeesboy]

Excellent. Thanks, guys

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

Glad you enjoyed it! :-)

[@FrancoGrimoldi]

Master of masters!!

[@MDsteeler1]

Great player! 👏

[@andrujazz]

Goldsby, another bass hero and educator, I met a lot of bassists thanks to his book! Thanks a lot, John, thanks a lot Geoff! Btw, Beatiful and clean sound!

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

Thanks for listening and great to hear you enjoy John's Jazz Bass Book as much as I do. There's so much great material in there and I love the mix of history and transcriptions.

[@pederhalvorsen2289]

Great stuff gang!!!

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

Thanks Peder :-)

[@jamesrichardson3322]

John Goldsby is a monster of a bassist!! I have that trouble left hands tense up on real fast tempos . Geoff and John give such fantastic advice. Were was this filmed? Looks like a old church!! It's cool because you could probably hear the bass echo in the room

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

Yes, it's a converted church in Leeds. Very special acoustics and John sounded amazing as always! It was a very memorable day of filming :-)

[@TheWashboardResonators]

Left Bank Church on Cardigan Road, Leeds. Learn lots from these videos and often go there for their amazing coffee!

[@Billtuba]

Is there another John Goldsby course coming out?

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

Yes, it's likely to be out in early 2022. Our most recent course by John Goldsby is Tell Your Story: Soloing concepts for the jazz bassist. courses.discoverdoublebass.com/p/tell-your-story

[@giannidalessio1100]

Hi Geoff. When John plays Parker solo I watched that he uses sometime three fingers. What do you thing about this kind of pizzicato technique?

[@DiscoverDoubleBass]

It works great for some players. I personally use two, but it's a viable option for sure.

[@edwither8284]

slap it

[@markbarber7839]

Another thing....better have those calases well developed for that fast plucking

[@cascanicoff5763]

This is a money video

[@grahamallen2938]

erm.... I think my Bass is broken........

[@bezuglich]

Wow that was useless.That's it? It's a complex topic - really, a mystery, but not much addressed here in 9 minutes. I guess it stays a big secret, as almost no one covers it. I mean, I get it - this is just a trailer for the paid course.

[@ianmackenzie686]

What secret? No secret, just practice. Walk before you run, run before sprinting. No secret but also no shortcuts. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

[@jlmoses16]

Keep watching those KZbin videos. I'm sure one of them will be sure to dump the "fast-playing pixie dust" on you that you're looking for.

[@markfretless]

@bezulglich Humble suggestion, offered respectfully: follow JG's advice about feeling the tempo, assuming it's in 4/4, in whole notes...Hence, his counting of 1 of each bar. Start with a simple form, like a blues in a familiar key or a two chord modal tune like Impressions, and if you need to, literally compose a bass line that covers one chorus of the tune, using good voice leading and a smooth intervallic contour. Start at a moderate tempo, say 160 bpm, but have the clicks on either 2 and 4 or 1 and 3, and play the line. Incrementally( by how many bpm each time is up to your discretion) increase the tempo(only after nailing the line perfectly in each given tempo) The idea is to play the line in a totally relaxed manner, without rushing or dragging. Be patient! Playing a composed line means that you ARE NOT thinking about note choices or scuffling with position shifts. See if you can work up the composed line to 240 bpm, playing it smoothly and flawlessly. From there, you can explore a couple of options: write out another course or two courses of a walking line, bring the tempo back down, and repeat the process until you can play those 2 or 3 choruses at 240 bpm relaxed, without mistakes. Again, the point is to stick with ONE SONG, and build this skill up by adding small bits of new information...Once you can do all of that(3 choruses of a composed walking line played flawlessly and totally relaxed), use LESS metronome information, meaning: have the metronome click once every 4 beats...On beat 1. Then only on beat 2. Then only on beat 3. Then only on beat 4. Once you have THAT dialed in(it might take days, weeks, or months; just press on patiently), have that same kind of 1 beat information click every 2 MEASURES, so that there is even more silence between the metronome clicks. This gets you thinking/hearing/playing in the long phrases that Mr. Goldby talks about and demonstrates. It's absolutely essential that you record yourself doing this so that you can hear what you are or aren't doing regarding playing good notes and good time-a phone or a cheap digital recorder or a tablet is fine, as long as you can clearly hear yourself and the metronome click... Obviously,the better you get at this, you can 1)get away from composed lines 2) move beyond 240 bpm... If you have a drummer that you can practice this kind of playing with, play with him/her! Conceptually, this process applies to any style of fast playing: start at a moderate tempo with small, pre-determined chunks of information, and gradually increase the tempo with that small bit of information...and then build the skill by adding new, small bits of musical information...Transcribing and/or learning by ear bass lines you like, even 1 or 2 or 4 measure phrases, helps immensely as well... I hope that helps! Cheers✌🏾

[@adhanda2017]

go back to your fender..

[@bezuglich]

@@markfretless OK thanks belatedly for that - it makes the case for writing out your own lines, as opposed to "Just play what you feel, man." But how you transition to full improvising at100 mph, how you overcome mentally hitting a wall at, say, 200 bpm - when your brain and your fingers part ways - how you visualize lines a measure, two measures ahead, or create an arc/wave of notes stretching over, say, the four-measure sections found in "Cherokee," how you develop modern lines that are more Miroslav and less rehashed Ray Brown - I'd love to see these considerations addressed somewhere other than my own attempts.