Despite being in the final stages of the Giant Steps book, working on logistics for the new album sessions in Argentina and the Pre-Sale, and getting ready to start the Vital Information 40th Anniversary tour in less that two weeks, there’s always time to learn something new!
I’ve had this collection of excerpts from an old Woody Shaw clinic for many years now, and it has served as a great source of inspiration whenever I want to switch gears and work on something technically demanding.
In this clip from my practice session today I take Woody’s idea of an ascending major pentatonic and a descending major arpeggio a fourth away, and then move it around the instrument as much as I can.
It’s exactly the same at first as I try to figure out a fingering and articulation that works, and then I start breaking it up and changing it to a pattern of 7 instead of 8.
The real work is in the details with something like this. It’s a challenge because of how intervalic it is and the fact that it’s coming from a vastly different instrument. You can hear me trying to get the combination of hammers, pulls, and plucks right for each version of the shape.
To get it to where I want it will probably take a few weeks, and then it’s a matter of forgetting about it altogether and waiting for it come out naturally in my playing. That will happen more efficiently if I’m also listening to this style of playing just as much as I’m working on it in my practice routine.
The time away from the instrument is just as, if not more, important than the time we spend with the bass in our hands.
Don’t forget the Pre-Sale for the new album is going on right now, and if you’re a pedal nerd and haven’t seen my “pedals vs multi fx” video yet, check it out below. It has a free HX Stomp patch that I give away at the end of the video.
Cheers,
Janek