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Janek Gwizdala Chelsea Stevens Chelsea Stevens Chelsea Stevens Chelsea Stevens Chelsea Stevens

BASS PLAYER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY

all the

good stuff HOW I PRACTICE

Copyright © 2017 by Janek Gwizdala, LLC All rights reserved

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction …………………………………………………………… 6 Inside the Practice Room ………………………………………….… 7



Part ONE: fundamental technique

The Warmup…………………………………………………….. 10 Descending ii-V-I ………………………………………………. 11 Diminished to Minor……………………………………………. 12 Major and Diminished………………………………………….. 14 Major and Diminished 2……………………………………..... 16 String Crossing………………………………………………….. 18 String Crossing Variation……………………………………..... 19 Major Scale Exercise 1………………………………………….. 20 Major Scale Exercise 2………………………………………….. 22 Major Scale Exercise 3………………………………………….. 26 Major Scale Exercise 4………………………………………….. 30 Two-Octave Major 7 Arpeggios……………………………..... 34 Two-Octave Major 7 Arpeggios Variation…………………..... 36



Part TWO: building vocabulary

Minor Four-Note Exercise…………………………………….... 40 Descending Minor Exercise……………………………………. 41 Melodic Minor Vocabulary Exercise…………………………... 44 Major Triads on Dominant Chords……………………………. 46 Major Triads on Dominant Chords 2………………………….. 48 Major Triads Pairs……………………………………………….. 50 Ten-Note Cell……………………………………………………. 51 Arpeggiated Whole-Tone Scale……………………………….. 52



Part THREE: rhythmic density

Augmented/Whole-Tone Fragment………………………….. 54 Eighth-Note Triplets……………………………………………. 55 Sixteenth Notes…………………………………………………. 56 Sixteenth Note Triplets…………………………………………. 57

appendix Tab: Fundamental Technique…………………………………. 59 Tab: Building Vocabulary..……………………………………... 89 Tab: Rhythmic Development………………………………...... 103 Treble Clef: Fundamental Technique………………………… 109 Treble Clef: Building Vocabulary..……………………………. 139 Treble Clef: Rhythmic Development…………………………. 153

6

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION Despite the fact that this is technically a book about music, I don’t agree with the method of discussing music using nothing but the written word. Music is something you ultimately hear, perform, and generally communicate with in and of itself. Writing a book, however, gets this information into your hands, and it gives me the chance to write a single paragraph like this so I can encourage you to listen more than you play, play more than you read, and immerse yourself in the language of music just as you were immersed in your native language when you were an infant. That immersion is the reason you speak so fluently now, and music is no different. As long as you’re inspired by what you listen to, everything you want to learn (and everything you are supposed to learn) will come to you effortlessly. The more you learn how to learn, how to practice, and how to be in the moment, the word “effortless” won’t even begin to describe the future of your musical ability. In this book, I’ve tried to include all the things I might say and all the musical examples I’d give you if you were sitting here with me, asking me what I’ve learned over the past 20 years playing bass. The musical examples will act as your newly minted practice routine, many of which will soon become old friends; and the text will act as a guide, helping you structure your practice and showing you how to learn better and discover more. This, for me, is all the good stuff. Editors note: If you purchased a physical copy of this book through Amazon and want to take advantage of the accompanying instructional video material, please visit the store at www.janekgwizdala.com to download the digital DVD for a small additional charge.

INSIDE THE PRACTICE ROOM

7

INSIDE THE PRACTICE ROOM No matter what material you choose as your warm-up when you first pick up the instrument, it’s important to start from the most relaxed place you can. If that means sitting in silence and gathering your thoughts for a couple minutes before you even start the warm-up, do it. Getting centered will give you a far more productive practice session than jumping right in with no relaxation, no mental stability, and no preparation for what you’re about to work on. I’ve found that simply by being prepared in every way possible, I can turn just 30 minutes of practice into some of the most productive work I can possibly do. Try to formulate a short checklist of things you do before you start to warm up and practice. Mine looks something like this: 1. Eliminate Distractions. I make sure that my phone is switched to silent mode, and is out of sight. 2. De-stress. I sit in my practice chair for a moment and listen to my breathing, making sure it’s under control and that I’m not about to bring the stress of everyday life into my music. 3. Check in with your muscles. I am aware of my hands, arms, shoulders, neck and upper body, which will be the main physical components of playing my instrument, and make sure I’m physically ready to play. It is completely okay to decide against practicing if you feel any physical pain at all. Practicing while in pain will only worsen your condition. 4. Visualize. Before I even pick up the bass, I visualize the first notes of music I’m going to use as a warm-up. I think about how they’re going to sound and how I want them to sound. 5. Plan ahead. Having given myself the best chance of success by visualizing much of what I’m going to do ahead of time, I then begin to play music.

8

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

9

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE I think a lot of people see exercises, hear the word “practice,” and immediately think it’s all about building bigger, faster, and stronger chops or technique. But to me, the true definition of having amazing technique is the ability to execute a musical idea, no matter how simple or complex, and to be able to flawlessly convey that emotion to an audience. Having great technique is not about playing fast or slapping five notes at a time. A great technician is someone who can tell you a story and keep your attention and curiosity piqued. When I’m listening to music and am completely immersed in someone’s playing, hanging on every note and wanting to hear more, I admire their technique in this sense of the word. People who have spent a lot of time working on basic motor skills on their instrument might be faster, louder, and higher than anyone else, but it is basic motor skills and repetition nonetheless; there is no thought, no emotion, and no actual technique going into their performance. The ability to play with intensity and emotion at a slow tempo and a low volume is far more moving than any shredding could ever be. As soon as my listening tastes began to change, so did my playing. Rather than doing more musical “weightlifting” exercises, I wanted to find more harmonic and melodic fragments and shapes to practice; I wanted to continue expanding my physical ability with the instrument while increasing my pallet of sounds, shapes, and colors. I wanted to better express what I was feeling. What I’m sharing with you now are the exercises and shapes that have immeasurably improved my fluidity with not just my bass, but with harmony, melody, and composition. For me, this is what comprises fundamental technique.

10

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

the warm up I take a simple four-note diminished chord somewhere low on the neck, just before it starts sounding too muddy. In this example, we begin on A# diminished. I then play the chord eight times, moving chromatically in half-steps, with a definite gap or breathing space between each chord. I’ve written them as staccato to accentuate that aspect of the exercise. It’s the constant small motion in the left hand—lifting the fingers off the fretboard just slightly to help create the staccato articulation—that begins to warm up the fretting hand and get the blood flowing. Then I’m using my thumb and three fingers on my other hand to pluck the chord, which immediately gets the blood flowing and warms up that hand.

11

Descending ii-v-i This descending ii-v exercise is a perfect example of something I couldn’t play when I first tried. I had to find a solution. I heard this basic shape for the first time on a bootleg of a Michael Brecker clinic, and adapted it to fit my needs. It wasn’t actually the notes that had the biggest impact on my playing—it was the fact that I was so inspired when I heard it, I was fueled for weeks to work on it, and have continued to adapt and develop it to this day.

12

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

diminished to minor By playing diminished shapes over dominant chords, and being aware of the four starting points in this example (major third, fifth, flat 7, and flat 9), you’ll be training your ear to recognize dozens of V-I cadences, tons of beautiful melody notes, and how they relate to each chord in every key. Not only is it important to practice this and all musical phrases in all 12 keys, but it’s crucial that you use all four fingers on your fretting hand as starting points. This will help you develop a far greater understanding of the fingerboard. Make sure you can play this exercise starting on each finger of your fretting hand. Some positions will make more sense than others, but having all that variety and all those options at your disposal makes a huge difference to your overall ability as a musician. Always try and explore your own fingerings for these exercises—personalize the experience as much as possible!

13

14

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

major and diminished Don’t overlook the major counterpart of those minor-diminished exercises. It took me a long time to realize that I could—or should—be doing just as much work with this diminished-resolving to-major exercise as I had been doing with minor key centers.

15

16

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

major and diminished 2

17

18

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

string crossing I’m fortunate someone told me early on, long before I would have figured it out for myself, that string crossing is probably the hardest technical thing to do on bass or any stringed instrument. I sat down, looked at the fingerboard, and tried to figure out how I could strengthen my ability to get across the neck while improving independence and strength in all my fingers on my fretting hand. This string-crossing exercise, the result of that pondering, has become one of the cornerstones of my technical maintenance method. Not only are you crossing all four strings both ascending and descending, but you’re forcing yourself to playing a good portion of this exercise with your ring and pinky fingers, typically the weakest links on the fretting hand.

19

string crossing variation There’s no reason you have to stick to half-steps alone, either. Employing the same position and finger-per-fret concept, you can play whole steps between your first & third fingers and your second & fourth fingers. You can also do minor thirds between your first and fourth fingers. There are two basic technical elements to be aware of when playing these exercises. First, when playing in the lower register, the fretting hand is further away from the body, and it’s therefore more technically demanding on the arm and shoulder to continually practice in lower positions. Secondly, as you get higher up on the neck, the action of your instrument will be higher than in the lower register, so although your fretting is now closer to your body—which relieves stress on the shoulder and arm—the fingers have to work just a little bit harder to press down the strings and make a good sound.

20

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

The next few musical examples, which draw on material I learned from Hanon’s The Virtuoso Pianist, use some very basic major scale material divided into simple four-note cells. To get away from the Hanon and really make the exercise unique to me, I vary the endings.

Major scale exercise 1 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

21

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

22

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

Major scale exercise 2 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

23

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

24

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

25

A Major

D Major

G Major

26

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

Major scale exercise 3 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

27

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

28

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

29

A Major

D Major

G Major

30

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

Major scale exercise 4 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

31

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

32

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

33

A Major

D Major

G Major

34

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

two-octave major 7 arpeggios It seems preposterously simple, but the benefits derived from running these shapes all over the neck are huge. Playing something that contains simple technical elements, like position shifts—and playing it in all 12 keys—immensely helped my fluidity on the instrument.

C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

35

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

36

PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

two-octave major 7 arpeggios variation I also love taking this major 7 arpeggio exercise and playing every note twice. If my plucking hand is particularly out of shape, cold, or just in need of more warming up than usual, I’ll put this exercise in my warm-up routine at a really slow tempo.

C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

37

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

38

PART TWO: BUILDING VOCABULARY

39

PART TWO: BUILDING VOCABULARY In my earlier years, I learned as much as I could from listening to and transcribing records, where I would notate and learn entire solos. Now, it only takes a few notes or a short phrase to populate my practice routine with a brand new exercise. Like a lot of the ideas in this section of the book, I’ll find one thing in a recording that I maybe didn’t understand right away and needed to repeat over and over to learn, or something that I simply couldn’t execute as fast as I wanted to, and I’ll build an exercise out of it. I’ll work it around the instrument, often moving it in half steps, whole steps, and minor thirds, as well as taking it through the cycle of fifths. This way, I’m sure that I’m not leaving any area of the instrument untouched, and therefore leaving no weaknesses in my playing.

40

PART TWO: BUILDING VOCABULARY

minor four-note exercise This is a very common phrase that I’ve transcribed from Art Pepper, John Coltrane, Lee Morgan, and Clifford Brown solos in some form or another. These guys don’t necessarily play it in the same pattern I’m using in my practice routine, but this basic shape can be heard on many classic recordings. I’m giving it to you here descending in half steps, but I highly recommend you work on descending and ascending in half steps, whole steps, and minor thirds.

41

descending minor exercise To inject some rhythmic interest into the phrase, I came up with a line using the same basic minor shape but in groupings of ten notes, descending in whole steps.

42

PART TWO: BUILDING VOCABULARY

melodic minor triplet exercise This melodic minor shape outlines all the triads within the melodic minor scale, which we’ll build upon throughout the next few exercises.

C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

43

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

44

PART TWO: BUILDING VOCABULARY

melodic minor vocabulary exercise To expand it, I began experimenting with displacing the rhythm of the line (starting out on the “and of 1” here, for instance), moving away from triplets and giving it a swung 8th-note feel.

C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

45

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

46

PART TWO: BUILDING VOCABULARY

MAJOR TRIADS ON DOMINANT CHORDS Now we can begin applying these theoretical exercises to real musical situations. This exercise works on the concept of playing major triads in minor third intervals over dominant chords: essentially, using the root or melodic motion of a diminished arpeggio and populating each four-note cell with an arpeggiated major triad. In the case of the G7alt chord in the opening key center in this exercise, the four resulting triads are G, Bb, Db, and E. I’m using each triad in its second inversion and arpeggiating them in groups of four. This gives us the major third of each triad as the melody note. When you analyze these triads and take a look at what notes you end up playing, they can all be tied to either chord tones or tensions within the G7 altered chord.

47

Here are the chord tones and tensions these triads give you over a dominant chord. All the single notes written in this example are in relation to G7alt, not in relation to each preceding triad.

48

PART TWO: BUILDING VOCABULARY

MAJOR TRIADS ON DOMINANT CHORDS 2 With this next triad exercise, I’m again arpeggiating the triads into four-note cells, but this time I’m running just two tonal centers through all three basic inversions. It doesn’t matter which inversion or position I start in—the goal is to work these shapes over as much of the instrument as possible. The two triads are based off the flat 5 and flat 6 degrees of the altered chord. In the opening example these are Db and Eb over G7alt that eventually resolves to Cmin.

49

50

PART TWO: BUILDING VOCABULARY

MAJOR TRIADS pairs This next fragmented idea is another example of how a small adjustment can make something simple like two major triads sound totally different. I’m basically taking two notes from our previous exercises out of the pattern, but when I was working on this iteration of the triads, I was thinking more about the interval between the top and bottom notes. Look at the pattern in terms of the triad rather than the linear idea, and you’ll notice that it’s just missing the middle note of each voicing. If you were to play these notes as a chord, your triad becomes a two-note double-stop, and when you break them up like we’re doing here, in eighth notes, you get a new shape to experiment with over a dominant chord.

51

ten-note cell I came up with this idea when I was finding that groupings of ten were not a strong part of my rhythmic vocabulary. Bear in mind that it was definitely more of a rhythmically driven phrase as opposed to something I was singing in the shower one day! It’s grouped in a 3-3-4 pattern, just one of the many ways of breaking up a rhythm involving ten notes or pulses, and the melodic content dictates that. I hear it as two three-note cells of a whole step followed by a 4th and then the outline of a minor 7 arpeggio.

52

PART TWO: BUILDING VOCABULARY

arpeggiated whole-tone scale When you arpeggiate the whole-tone scale, it produces augmented triads (major triads with a raised 5th), and that alone creates a great set of shapes to get you familiar with this sound.

53

PART THREE: RHYTHMIC DENSITY I think of rhythmic density as a range of rhythms from very sparse (whole notes or half note triplets, for instance) all the way up to 16th and 32nd notes. These four examples start out in the 8th note department, and then make their way through 8th note triplets and 16th notes, before getting to the very challenging 16th note triplets. The complexity will come not only from changing rhythmic densities, but the musical phrase itself is a grouping of ten notes. This gives you double the amount of challenges as you have to figure out which notes are going to be on the strong beats of the bar, and change the way you feel the same phrase as the rhythm becomes more dense. I would recommend starting out with just a single note and move through the same rhythmic progression of these exercises, or even just tapping them on the table with your hands so you have the sound of the rhythms in your head. Slow is the name of the game here—so set your metronome around 60 bpm to start out, and good luck!

54

PART THREE: RHYTHMIC DENSITY

augmented/whole tone fragment This entire phrase, derived from the whole-tone scale, incorporates augmented triads. I wanted to move around the instrument with a phrase that combined linear and arpeggiated ideas, and this was what I came up with. This exercise really got fun for me when I began to compress the rhythmic density of the line. Since I began this idea using 8th notes, I set my metronome at 60 bpm and began accelerating the idea through the rhythmic density scale, one step at a time.

55

eighth-note triplets One of the biggest rewards of running through these four versions of the same exercise in sequence is the ability to be able to switch between levels of rhythmic density. First, I made the melodic and harmonic aspects of the phrase secondary by playing them so much that they were ingrained in my muscle memory—I no longer needed to be conscious of where my fingers had to be at any given time —and then I prioritized the rhythm. Perhaps it’s the complete opposite for you—your rhythm is super strong but your melodic content needs some work. It really doesn’t matter which way you’re approaching it as long as you’re conscious of the issue and are striving to find a solution to it.

56

PART THREE: RHYTHMIC DENSITY

sixteenth notes

57

sixteenth-note triplets

58

APPENDIX

59

APPENDIX: TAB FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

60

APPENDIX

the warm up

61

Descending ii-v-i

62

APPENDIX

diminished to minor

63

64

APPENDIX

major and diminished

65

66

APPENDIX

major and diminished 2

67

68

APPENDIX

string crossing

69

string crossing variation

70

APPENDIX

Major scale exercise 1 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

71

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

72

APPENDIX

Major scale exercise 2 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

73

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

74

APPENDIX

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

75

A Major

D Major

G Major

76

APPENDIX

Major scale exercise 3 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

77

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

78

APPENDIX

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

79

A Major

D Major

G Major

80

APPENDIX

Major scale exercise 4 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

81

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

82

APPENDIX

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

83

A Major

D Major

G Major

84

APPENDIX

two-octave major 7 arpeggios C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

85

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

86

APPENDIX

two-octave major 7 arpeggios variation C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

87

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

88

APPENDIX

89

APPENDIX: TAB BUILDING VOCABULARY

90

APPENDIX

minor four-note exercise

91

descending minor exercise

92

APPENDIX

melodic minor triplet exercise C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

93

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

94

APPENDIX

melodic minor vocabulary exercise C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

95

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

96

APPENDIX

MAJOR TRIADS ON DOMINANT CHORDS

97

98

APPENDIX

MAJOR TRIADS ON DOMINANT CHORDS 2

99

100

APPENDIX

MAJOR TRIADS pairs

101

ten-note cell

102

APPENDIX

arpeggiated whole-tone scale

103

APPENDIX: TAB RHYTHMIC DEVELOPMENT

104

APPENDIX

augmented/whole tone fragment

105

eighth-note triplets

106

APPENDIX

sixteenth notes

107

sixteenth-note triplets

108

APPENDIX

109

APPENDIX: TREBLE CLEF FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUE

110

APPENDIX

the warm up

111

Descending ii-v-i

112

APPENDIX

diminished to minor

113

114

APPENDIX

major and diminished

115

116

APPENDIX

major and diminished 2

117

118

APPENDIX

string crossing

119

string crossing variation

120

APPENDIX

Major scale exercise 1 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

121

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

122

APPENDIX

Major scale exercise 2 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

123

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

124

APPENDIX

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

125

A Major

D Major

G Major

126

APPENDIX

Major scale exercise 3 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

127

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

128

APPENDIX

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

129

A Major

D Major

G Major

130

APPENDIX

Major scale exercise 4 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

131

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

132

APPENDIX

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

133

A Major

D Major

G Major

134

APPENDIX

two-octave major 7 arpeggios C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

135

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

136

APPENDIX

two-octave major 7 arpeggios variation C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

137

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

138

APPENDIX

139

APPENDIX: TREBLE CLEF BUILDING VOCABULARY

140

APPENDIX

minor four-note exercise

141

descending minor exercise

142

APPENDIX

melodic minor triplet exercise C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

143

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

144

APPENDIX

melodic minor vocabulary exercise C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

145

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

146

APPENDIX

MAJOR TRIADS ON DOMINANT CHORDS

147

148

APPENDIX

MAJOR TRIADS ON DOMINANT CHORDS 2

149

150

APPENDIX

MAJOR TRIADS pairs

151

ten-note cell

152

APPENDIX

arpeggiated whole-tone scale

153

APPENDIX: TREBLE CLEF RHYTHMIC DENSITY

154

APPENDIX

augmented/whole tone fragment

155

eighth-note triplets

156

APPENDIX

sixteenth notes

157

sixteenth-note triplets

about the author

London-born, US-based bass player and record producer Janek Gwizdala has been on the international music scene for over twenty years, touring as a band leader and working as musical director or sideman with some of the most respected names in the industry. These include: Randy Brecker, Hiram Bullock, Mike Stern, John Mayer, Airto Moreira, Chuck Loeb, Peter Erskine, Flora Purim, Pat Metheny, Billy Cobham, Bob James, John Patitucci, Bob Mintzer, Marcus Miller, Jojo Mayer, Paul Shafer, Dennis Chambers, Gary Novak and Wayne Krantz. As a recording artist and band leader, Janek has released eight albums as a leader; as an author, published four critically acclaimed books; and has toured the world extensively with music while also touring as a lecturer and clinician at the world’s leading educational establishments.

also by janek gwizdala

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