TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction...3 The Great Link Challenge - Win A Transcription!...4 Transcription - Street Life - The Crusaders...6 The Membership Ezine...12 Online Bass Lessons...14 About The Author...15 2 Free Ezine February 2010 how-to-play-bass.com
INTRODUCTION Welcome to March s Issue of the free how-to-play-bass ezine. You ll notice I say free - if you re new to the Ezine you may not know but there is also a weekly ezine available on a subscription basis, that is packed with content similar to this ezine. Only there s more. And it s weekly. I ve written about it later in the Ezine so you can check it out for yourself. This Issue of the Ezine features a transcription from my gig book. (My gig book is notes and transcriptions going back 20 years or so...). Whilst we re on the subject of my other life outside of running the www. how-to-play-bass.com website I ve got a small favour to ask you. I run a high end function band in the UK. We ve just had a 3 minute presentation video put together - could you go take a look at it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxhjb8tex5e And if you ve got any feedback please use the contact form on the website and let me know. Oh, and if you wanna give us a 5 ***** rating I won t complain! Have a great week, and enjoy. Paul 3 Free Ezine February 2010 how-to-play-bass.com
THE GREAT LINK CHALLENGE - WIN A TRANSCRIPTION One of the ways people find my site is through Google. And one of the ways for my site to rank more highly in Google is to get inbound links. So if you have your own website or blog and want to throw a link on it to me I ll repay the favour with a free transcription. First some rules: 1) The link has to be on a website or a blog. Not in a comments section on a blog. Or on a Forum post in one of the bass forums. Website or Blog only. 2) The link has to have what s called Anchor Text. So if you have a look at this screen capture picture of the blogroll on my Deliberate Practice blog you ll see that the link to my website comes from the Anchor Text that says HOW TO PLAY BASS. 4 Free Ezine February 2010 how-to-play-bass.com
Or the link on that blog roll that goes to the sales page for my Bass Hanon package says...unsurprisingly Bass Hanon. There are 3 pages I m looking to get links for - here they are along with their anchor text. http://www.how-to-play-bass.com (Anchor Text: how to play bass) http://www.how-to-play-bass.com/bass-hanon.html (Anchor Text: bass hanon) http://www.how-to-play-bass.com/online-bass-lessons.html (Anchor Text: online bass lessons) 3) When you ve posted me a link, email me the URL of the page with the link on and the transcription you d like. Once I ve checked the link I ll email you the PDF. Sounds simple? it is. 4) Here are the transcriptions you can choose from in exchange for a link: Sweet Home Alabama, Moondance, Beat It, Billie Jean, You re My Everything, Fever In The Funkhouse (James Jamerson), Run To You, Hemispheres by Rush (yep that s over 14 minutes of great bass work BUT no tab yet!), Radio Radio (Elvis Costello), Rock N Roll Dreams Come Through (Jim Steinman - wicked bass line!). And yes you can get more than 1 link to get more than 1 transcription. So link away my friends - and I like forward to getting your emails! (IF YOU WANT TO DO THIS AND ARE NOT SURE ABOUT HOW TO DO ANCHOR TEXT THEN EMAIL ME!!! USING THE CONTACT FORM) 5 Free Ezine February 2010 how-to-play-bass.com
TRANSCRIPTION TO STREET LIFE by THE CRUSADERS Following on from last month s funk fest we re going to look at another tune with a great funky vibe - Street Life by The Crusaders. I ve transcribed about two minutes of the tune for you - but with this two minutes you can play through the entire 11 minute original version if you want to! The reason I transcribed the main sections and not the solos was that your homework is to get the main sections down and then playalong with the original (great sax solo in the original, by one of our own...mr Welton Felder who played the bass most famously on I Want You Back by the Jackson 5) and throw in some variations of your own. You ll have a lot of fun doing that. The transcription lays out like this: Section A: Intro bars with all instruments 1.31 Section B: 1.41 Section C: Pre-Chorus 1-1.58 Section D - Verse 2.17 Section E - Pre-Chorus 2-2.34 Section F - Chorus 2.52 From the end of the transcription you should be able to hear the different sections and play the appropriate parts - remembering to throw in some variations of course. The transciption is presented in notation only, and then notation with bass tab. Tabbed positions marked out are where I d probably play it... but you may want to experiment depending on your fingering system, hand size and scale of your bass. 6 Free Ezine February 2010 how-to-play-bass.com
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THE MEMBERSHIP EZINE As I wrote in the introduction there is also a Membership Ezine. This is available weekly and is similar to this Ezine, but has more content. Here s the link to the Membership Ezine Page on the website: http://www.how-to-play-bass.com/membership-ezine.html Issue 1 is available on the website to download as a sample. You can find it on the page above. So you can see the kind of content that s featured in the Membership Package, and judge for yourself whether you will get value for the fee, here s a rundown of the last few weeks: Issue 27 - Today Transcription to Bat Out Of Hell. Beginner s Corner - Can t Stand Up For Falling Down - Elvis Costello. Sight Reading Column 26. Issue 26-26th Feb Transcription to Stars by Simply Red (great bass line). Beginner s Corner - Let s Groove by Earth Wind and Fire. Sight Reading Column 25. Issue 25-19th Feb Transcription to Easy Lover by Phil Bailey and some other guy who sings for Genesis. Beginner s Corner - Cover Me by Bruce Springsteen. Sight Reading Column 24 12 Free Ezine February 2010 how-to-play-bass.com
Issue 24-12th Feb Transciptions to September by Earth Wind and Fire. Beginner s Corner - Baggy Trousers by Madness. Sight Reading Column 23 Issue 23-5th Feb Transcription to Bastille Day by Rush. Beginner s Corner - Rescue Me - Fontella Bass. Just to re-emphasise, with the Subscription Ezine you get an issue every week. Each issue contains at least 1 transcription. Plus a Beginner s Corner lesson. Plus articles. Plus the Sight Reading Column (which is extremely detailed). Plus each month you get a tutorial video to download too. 13 Free Ezine February 2010 how-to-play-bass.com
ONLINE BASS LESSONS There are still spaces open in my Online Bass Lessons Program. So if you re a beginner and struggling to make any progress please feel free to drop me an email and let me know, and maybe my detailed, structured bass lesson plan might be the solution you need to make the progress on the bass guitar that you want to make. You can find more details on the website: http://www.how-to-play-bass.com/online-bass-lessons.html 14 Free Ezine February 2010 how-to-play-bass.com