An earlier version of this video was uploaded with a screenshot of an adsense earnings report for one of my popular videos. It wasn't enough to buy an overpriced Starbucks coffee drink, but as somebody in the comments mentioned, Google does NOT like when you share this stuff, so I thought it the most prudent to delete it.
google doesn't care about sharing your bottom line. they don't want and is in your agreement, not to share your CPM. you can show everything else, no problem, just not your CPM. Hope that helps.
hahaha i wonder why they'd hate you sharing that information. nothing to do with the fact that if this were any other business it'd be pretty damn illegal to pay someone so little for the amount of work they do and probably the amount of profit google makes off each video
we had a gig once - quite sizable band, 5 or 6 singer, etc. Turns out no one of the organizers took care of setting up a PA or anything or booking a technician. So they evening before I go around borrowing some stuff, setting it up alone. Nothing would work, cables died, power plugs were dead, no charging stations for the cordless mics, etc etc. So somehow I get some kind of sound running on stage and we go up. Of course that leaves no one to take care of the sound while I'm on stage. It was impossible to hear anything on stage, me (base), guitar and drums basically coordinated the rhythm by visually checking the snare strikes. We played some cover music, one of it a fleetwood Mac song. After the gig old man from the audience comes over. He is a huge Fleetwood Mac fan, seen them live a few times and talked to them. (This is in Germany, so serious fan). "I love this band, you have ruined the song. It was so horrible - I don't think I've ever heard something so terrible. You should be ashamed" There were tears amongst the singers.
I laughed my ass off at the Malmsteen joke! 😂 Keep doing more general music stuff. I'm not really a bassist, I'm a guitarist and a drummer, and I love your channel.
The wedding gig story did make me smile. I've been there myself and it's horrible at the time but you just have to soak it up and move on. On the plus side, it makes for a great anecdote. Silver linings.
Hey Adam, I'm a bass player, and I'm "suffering" from aphantasia, I really liked that video about audiation. And I want to tell you that it doesn't affect my ability to recognize chords or intervals. Iv'e really worked on my ear training stuff, but i mainly use words to describe stuff that i hear ( I.E I V/IV IV I(4 6) V I and stuff like that), and i just hum the music to myself whisperingly instead of in my head... and I do get songs stuck in my head, I just start to sing them uncontrollably
Regarding Yngwie Malmsteen, prime Yngwie is WORLDS apart from the washed-up meme he is today. His 1984 live in Japan performance with Alcatrazz is probably my favourite guitar performance of all-time. It's really cool seeing him in a "band" context rather than the "Yngwie Malmsteen Show" he's been running ever since. He had to nail it every single time he got a solo, because he only got one per song haha. Soloing all the time kind of "dilutes his product" so to speak, and now he is just sloppy as all hell. Interestingly, the Alcatrazz Live in Japan 1985 concert features none other than Steve Vai on guitar, and it's a cool comparison to watch the 2 play a similar setlist, in the same band, one year apart, at the same venue! (ok not quite sure about the venue, but it might as well be haha). Beware, there is an embarrasing amount of guitar overdubbing in that video. Yngwie fanboy keyboard warrior out!
I'm a musician myself. Primarily a guitarist (OMG), though I started on drums and can multitask just as yourself. Longtime subscriber as well. Bass is awesome. Your intro is awesome. I get what you're doing. Keep up the good work. Thank you, Adam. I admire the shape of your skull.
Really enjoying your videos, you're a great speaker, great communicator, you're intelligent and eloquent and really a pleasure to watch. Not everything you talk about is within my sphere of experience/interest (I'm a musician in the same way that... um... searching for a metaphor... in the same way that a yak with brain disease is a classical philosopher... man, really need to work on my metaphors...) Uh, what was I saying? Oh, yes, even though I may not be able to fully appreciate everything you talk about, I still get something out of it. That's the sign of a good communicator!
I love your videos, love how you don't go black or white about any suggested question or theory or any music matter, and of course you are a very important motivation factor to me regarding bass Cheers from Syria
Regarding sight reading at video time marking 7:22. To become a good sight reader one must first see each measure as a recognized pattern and insert the pitches in the time to be played. For example, if we see two half notes in a 4/4 measure, the performer knows to perform the pitches for two beats and two beats. Seeing each measure as a rhythmical patter FIRST and placing the pitches within the rhythm radically changes the paradigm of how we read music. Experience players see the rhythm in each measure first and play the pitches in time in that measure. We read one measure at a time as if we were reading words from text. See the rhythm in the measure your are playing but look ahead to the next measure to recognize the next pattern is the key to becoming a great sight reader.
You gave the greatest advice for a working musician in your bit about the bad wedding gig. It cannot be stressed enough to "go with the flow" and maintain a professional attitude. Thanks for sharing your personal experience on this.
I think you might be the cleverest person I have ever seen, or will ever see, on YT. Your musicianship is great but the way you articulate your perspectives, IMHO, is even more impressive. I thank you.
Ha! I've been on that wedding more than once...we should all start contributing to a book of wedding disasters. Like the guy who requested 96 songs for his wedding (yes, the groom, not the bride), and timed it all out to make sure it would fit. Then made sure we didn't eat anything, yelled that we played the 2nd break cd he made on the first break, etc. bandleader finally had to pull him aside and calmly tell him to enjoy his event and let us do our job or we would have to pack up and go. He was a little quieter after that. Oh, and also, he demanded I bring my upright bass, which was in our video but I had sold about a prior to that, so I borrowed one from a friend with no pickup, played blue bossa on it as people walked in (with no pickup...), then leaned it on the amp the rest of the gig. He gave me a huge compliment as I loaded out, saying I rocked on the upright, which he never actually saw me play. Oh, yeah, then as we were getting our soft drinks at the bar (I don't drink but he made sure it was soft drinks only), his friend asked one of us, who happened to be standing next to our singer, who is African-American, why we brought our butler to the gig. Nice! But, nightmare? Nope, because it was only a few hours and that story will live forever! So it was worth the investment. Of course, not being the bandleader, I didn't have to talk with him every day for the year prior to the wedding.... Anyway, maybe I will see you in NYC sometime, this is the first video of yours I've seen but just subscribed. Good stuff!
I was sick to my stomach hearing about your trainwreck of a wedding gig. I've had some that ran a close second, but your nightmare story FTW. Glad you made it out alive even if your amp didn't!!
That wedding gig sounds rough! I've played some shows with similar types of things happening...not at a wedding, though. Great channel, your videos are very inspiring!
Adam do you know a female bass player that graduated from MI in LA in 1989, he name is Diane, from Kentucky, she at the time played a Steinberger headless bass a lot. She is about as pro as it gets, totally committed, never talked about anything but music, basically played and studied, almost every waking moment while in school. I am sure she went far, a total jazz player then. I wondered how far she went over the years. Thought maybe you saw her in top pro jazz gigs in the city.
I thought your answer to the first question was very diplomatic. like, "Hey, we're not all arseholes," but a serious, well-thought out answer for a serious, well-thought out question. Proud to be an American. Subscribed. PS: Have been casually watching for a while- thanks for the free music education to date.
New York (which includes all the boroughs, not just Manhattan) has always been a mecca for "good different", when it comes to musicians. Which is why it's the birthplace of a lot of music styles (trap jazz, house, new jack swing, etc.). You'll find that a lot of these music styles were first heard in NY, 3 to 5 years BEFORE they became "mainstream" internationally. New York is also still one of the only places where you (as a musician or music enthusiast) can personally witness a musician ascend to musical situations they deserve to be in, through the pure magic of "word-of-mouth" :-) There is no "everybody gets a prize" mentality with the NY audience. There is no "get the gig using self-aggrandizement" with jazz (or jazz fusion) cats in NY. The 55 Bar, on Christopher St. in Manhattan, is where every "wannabe playa" can learn the stuff they don't teach in school...including how to leave your ego at the door...while still sharing an apartment with 3-5 other people...girl/boyfriends included :-) Keith Carlock, Tim Lefebvre and Mike Stern played at 55 Bar for years, before they became internationally recognized as "killer playas".
Hi Adam, great channel. Your wedding group need to update your contract and make sure the breaks are clearly spelled out. With my groups I tell the bride and groom we will do three one-hour sets or two 1-1/2 hour sets depending on the flow of the evening and we generally choose that path when the night is in progress. While I agree with the "letting it slide" thing being the easy/professional way to handle things, I don't take kindly to a bride/groom telling me how to pace the show, when to break, etc. If they get onto that path (for instance "WE WANT TO DANCE NOW!" five minutes before the dessert comes out?) I simply remind them that I've been in the business for 20 years and have played hundreds of weddings. Let me do my job and everybody will be happy at the end of the night.
diasslo He plays bass, he just has a very distinct style that fits with Primus' sound very well. I personally don't care if someone isn't playing an instrument the "proper" way as long as it sounds good and they make it work with their music.
Been there on the "don't take a break" thing. We were doing a benefit show,and they wouldn't let us take a break. After 2.5 hrs we finally got to take a quick break.
Hey Adan your 100% correct Drums Should Be Miced and if possible tuned during sound check thru the P.A.!!!! As a Live Sound Engineer in the club scene in the early and mid eight's stage leve was always a problem. It was the garage and basement syndrome. The stage level should be no louder then the drummer. Also guitar amps should be at ear level. The lower the amps the more you have to increase the level to compensate for the proportional drop in level the lower below the ears they are. And the stage level and mains should resonate were they sound as one. Specially if the drummer tunes thru the system. You'll feel and hear a big difference. I've been on stage were all ya hear is swiiiiishhhhhhhhhh and noise no music. And recording thru the board use a mic too. In post you can pan the live and recorded mic for a really nice sound. Peace
Is it possible for you to put timestamps in the description for each question? Like "0:19 international students in Manhattan"? There are many cool stuff you talk about but it's hard to find them again in a 10-15 min video, especially if you don't exactly remember which q&a it was from.
I think solving the tension in a gig that way is a solution, but not a long term one. As a musician I often feel like I am not being given the respect I deserve, just because my job is not seen by other people as a "serious" or even "real" job. As I see it, we must stand for our rights so that people understands that we have them, but not necessarily in a way that creates violent situations.
Adam! What is your approach to transcribing/learning long complicated songs? I'm working with a band that wants to cover Jigsaw Falling Into Place by Radiohead and I'm already having a huge headache with the first minute of the song.
If we could say, merge two people, say, Geddy Lee and Flea, would you allow Geddy Flea to come into existence or do you think he would be too powerful?
I play a smidge of bass (started on it, long ago), but my main instrument is the UKULELE. I watch your vids with that perspective. How much theory do you need to play the ukulele, really? Well, as much or as little as you want! It's really nice with a bass to know why you're not just following the chord roots, so a tiny bit of theory is almost required right from the start, but not really on uke; you can jump in and learn with zero theory. But an uke in standard re-entrant tuning has the G string tuned higher than the next C string. This leads to some odd inversions if you want that root note to be the lowest pitch. When starting out, literally nobody cares; we just play and have fun, and it's peachy. But as I've progressed, and with a dash of bass in my salad, the more I learn about theory, the more I see why some musicians play "unexpected" inversions. Anyway... Love the channel! I learn a lot from every vid! Thanks!
What are your thoughts on transcription? Are you like Beeny Green who thinks it should absolutely be the foundation of your playing or more like a Stefon Harris who thinks that, although it is a good exercise, you should be creating your own lines based on your emotional connection to the notes you're playing. (I saw him at a camp once, It was super interesting to be able to ask him questions because he's a little different from the mainstream.)
I once saw a Satriani video that included Vai and Malmsteen. Though I'm not necessarily a Satriani OR a Steve Vai fan I appreciated their musical communication with one another. Malmsteen on the other hand was noodling over Satriani and Vai the entire time. It wasn't so much of an opportunity for him to communicate with other highly skilled guitarists as it was an hour for him to basically say, "look at me! look at what I can still do! I can still shred! Isn't that cool?" This is All while Satriani and Vai were doing a pretty cool question/answer style jam. I felt embarrassed for whoever booked Malmsteen.
hey adam, dont know if you already answered this, but do you use the default sounds in sibelius, or some external samples (something like noteperformer)? because that pizzicato upright bass sounds sooooo bad lol
Interesting question about the soloist. I think at a very fundamental level, classical virtuosity wasn't very different from 80s guitar virtuosity. Both were a spectacle of not only tremendous skill but also musicality and inventiveness (which Malmsteen lacks :O).
7 років тому
What's your take on slowing down music to transcribe them? Would you consider it cheating?
Even though bass lessons seem to be the core of what you teach, your lessons have also helped with my musicianship as well(I guess you can assume I'm not a bassist). Keep it up ^.^
Regarding female bassists, (or female whatevers) in my experience the vast majority of seasoned pros really could not care less whether a fellow player is male or female, as long as they can play and get the job done. If you find yourself working with "musicians" who are condescending, it is because they have their own issues. Easiest thing is to go work with someone else. Of course there will be audience members who will say things like "You play pretty good for a girl," and/or other similar potentially offensive things, some of which are much worse. What one should always remember, though, is whether an audience member damns or praises, their opinion really doesn't carry much weight. In most cases they are out listening to you because they can't play themselves, and as such probably really don't really even hear music very well. All entertainers, male or female, should learn the art of being polite in the face of rudeness, and how to get away from a rude person without causing offense. In many cases, said person will not even realize they are being rude.
Female bassists get a bad rap because every damn one of them is sleeping with someone in the band...possible exceptions are KIm Deal and those in all girl bands
Yeah, I've always noticed the audience and the media making a bigger deal out of something like a female bassist/guitarist or a non-white musician in a typically white genre than the musicians themselves.
So what if there's one guy in an an otherwise all-female band? Does he get a bad rep for sleeping with one of them?+Kami Lee And also, why do you guys always have to bring race into this when it's not relevant? Women. Are Not. A Minority. Why does no-one get that?
Haha, as much as I like his music, you may have a point about Malmsteen! Jason Becker is where it's really at for me though :) Really like your videos, keep the intro. Even if you did only talk from the perspective of a bassist, there's still allot for everyone to learn here.
There are some noteworthy female bassists out there however, like Tina Weymouth from Talking Heads, Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth, Kim Deal from Pixies, and Debbie Googe from My Bloody Valentine.
Do you ever feel like electric bass players get less attention in the jazz scene as the upright bass has been a dominant instrument in the genre for decades? I'd love to find a jazz group to jam with, but I'm still kind of held back by the fact that I only play bass guitar, and I have this, possibly misguided, idea that serious jazz groups would rather find an upright bass player. Thank you for the content and congrats on the successfull patreon!
The weird thing about playing the cello (and I always wished to play bass, but circumstances prevented that) is that is manages to compromise nearly perfectly between being a bass instrument and being able to play lower pitch chords. I suppose that the increased popularity of using the instrument in multiple genres originates from this and that bowing the instrument allows for things that are impossible to do practically on guitar, such as quickly turning from a heavy rhythm metal instrument to an acoustic guitar or as a de facto bass. It has potential to fill a gap and revigorate musicians who are isolated like myself from others who listen to cheaply made hip hop music, but use elements from that to create music of a new type: CeMeTro, Classical (Using the cello as it’s range covers all needed registers)/Electronic Metal which combines all 3 extremes of sonic assault and speed from metal, inhuman and cheap production qualities from electronic music, and technical superiority from classical music in a fashion that does not create an elite type of genre involuntarily.
God, there's nothing worse than playing a song no one knows how to play. I actually walked off stage *once* halfway through the song Round and Round by Ratt. It was the last song thankfully but I've never been so pissed off in my musical life. If you're on stage and this shit is about to happen to you I recommend getting off the stage before your drummer starts counting off the beat.
Hey Adam, I'm fascinated by music theory. Frankly, it seems like the closest thing to magic we have in this world. I want to learn more about theory, but I can't play an instrument (I plan to take piano lessons when money is less tight) so will my study be hindered by that? I imagine you learned theory and performance more or less concurrently. I'm learning a lot from your videos and I'm glad I found this channel!
why don't you do some interviews with female bassists and ask them? Also, you know two female bassists in DC who are working regularly and well-respected in the provincial nation's capitol. Flora Lucini, who works in NYC too and Nicole Saphos, young but upcoming.
Hi Adam, do you know about the band Adult Jazz? I strongly recommend you their first album Gist Is, i feel like it is a truly innovative record, I would like to hear you think about it:) Cheers!
Hey, Adam. I'm relatively new to your channel. I appreciate everything you do and I've learned a butt load from your videos about Theory and all that extra awesome stuff. I have a sorta kinda weird question: Do you HAVE to be a musician to attend Berklee? I feel like I know the answer to this, but I wanted to be definitely sure about it. I'm a vocalist in a metal band with absolutely no guitar, bass, keyboard, theremin, or any other instrument knowledge, but I'd like to know more about theory, general music knowledge, and music history. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much, broham mcchicken nugget.
Jo Bench of Bolt Thrower. Yngwie is hella one dimensional, but some of the stuff he does in his small sand box is great like Black Star. Like some people who are very dimensional begin just digging holes in their small sand box, Yngwie likes to build sand castles in his small box.
Anything to look for when buying an upright I want to make sure it's a quality instrument. I'm going to buy it from the house of musical tradition in takoma park you've probably heard of it considering you're from silver spring
I also think something that factors into there being few female bass players is just the nature of the instrument. It's a large, heavy instrument, and people with large hands and more arm muscle will benefit more playing it. These are things *most* women don't have naturally, thus I think there's a bit of a physical limitation. I can't even imagine trying to play a precision bass with small hands/fingers.
oh man!! you may find this strange. Im an advanced student cellist getting ready to goto school majoring in cello performance. I HATE CLASSICAL MUSIC!! (I tolerate it to learn the instrument) I am willing to play most other genres: latin, easy listening, jazz, dark music (along the lines of evanescence, Maisy kay etc) but i just dont care for classical music except for some Bach pieces. So after listening to your answer on the modern vs classical... well i feel like Im about to get into a lot of crap when I start school!!😞 ill just meditate on apocaliptica. Im also a student bassist.
Hey, greetings from eastern Spain, awesome videos and content, as always. One question. I've learnt to play piano, guitar and bass guitar all by myself and I have basic knowledge of music theory and music reading, but it's a very, very, very basic level. I once tried entering at music school some years ago but I couldn't made it because of age (younger people have preference and I tried to enter piano in the most basic level, so it was busy). The thing is my motivation for learning music theory has grown (not gonna lie, your videos have helped) and I don't know what to do since I'm about to enter university next year and I'm a bit of locked. Is it a good idea to learn theory by myself as I've been doing or I should head to some teacher/trying to reenter music school? Keep up the good work. (btw sorry for my horrible English.)
Hey Adam, love the vids. My question is just about your knowledge and capability of funk and slap bass? Do you ever practice it? I feel like it’s such a deep technique and there’s so many different styles and parts to it.
Question! Any opinion about exposing kids to more advanced theory concepts early? I taught my 4 year old sister to sing Vi-Hart's "12-tone" twinkle twinkle little star arrangement, and she loved it. She has perfect pitch so finding those "out of key" notes comes fairly naturally to her. And I taught her several of my original piano compositions, usually with tons of accidentals and time signature changes... and her mother was horrified. That being said, she also forbids me to play Charles Mingus records for lil' sis', so it's whatever.
THANK YOU! Malmsteen is so one-dimensional. Sure, the stuff he does takes an incredible amount of technical skill, but he brings no emotionality to a piece. He plays the notes, but gives the song no room to breathe. The only difference between him and my DAW is the much better guitar sound (seriously, I have never gotten a convincing guitar sound out of a DAW lol).
Nice work, *_g e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n g ._*
definitely best one of the comments. Especially given he follows that with a request for actual advice.
Neely: how passive agressive is youtube?
Commenters: yes
I wonder if the commenter (3:31) was a non-native speaker and meant “nice work all across the board.” The comma before “that” looks like ESL too
@@SgtMacskaim an esl student too. I can confirm that we make a ton of these mistakes
An earlier version of this video was uploaded with a screenshot of an adsense earnings report for one of my popular videos. It wasn't enough to buy an overpriced Starbucks coffee drink, but as somebody in the comments mentioned, Google does NOT like when you share this stuff, so I thought it the most prudent to delete it.
it was somewhere in between 4 and 5 dollars. there, google. I'm still being vague.
google doesn't care about sharing your bottom line. they don't want and is in your agreement, not to share your CPM. you can show everything else, no problem, just not your CPM. Hope that helps.
hahaha i wonder why they'd hate you sharing that information. nothing to do with the fact that if this were any other business it'd be pretty damn illegal to pay someone so little for the amount of work they do and probably the amount of profit google makes off each video
Adam you're only half a year older than me what the hell you gotta be a genius
Way to sell out, man! 😂🤣😂🤣 That’s a ton of work for $5. Thanks for doing it man...
that bass lesson intro is fcking dope. Don't stop with it. I've shown a couple of my friends your videos, in part, for that intro :)
also is that a new sungazer song at the end there? sounds rad...
the intros are probably 40% of why I watch this channel
Yeah I don't care if the videos are about bass or not, the intro is totally boss.
The intro is my favourite one on UA-cam.
omg that worst wedding gig story
Imagine her poor husband.
we had a gig once - quite sizable band, 5 or 6 singer, etc. Turns out no one of the organizers took care of setting up a PA or anything or booking a technician. So they evening before I go around borrowing some stuff, setting it up alone. Nothing would work, cables died, power plugs were dead, no charging stations for the cordless mics, etc etc. So somehow I get some kind of sound running on stage and we go up. Of course that leaves no one to take care of the sound while I'm on stage. It was impossible to hear anything on stage, me (base), guitar and drums basically coordinated the rhythm by visually checking the snare strikes. We played some cover music, one of it a fleetwood Mac song. After the gig old man from the audience comes over. He is a huge Fleetwood Mac fan, seen them live a few times and talked to them. (This is in Germany, so serious fan). "I love this band, you have ruined the song. It was so horrible - I don't think I've ever heard something so terrible. You should be ashamed"
There were tears amongst the singers.
I've played a wedding gig, where the groom's brother got into a fight, but hit the wrong person. 😅 That's really a party-killer.
From my experience the Bass is actually the instrument with the highest female representation except for vocals.
Amones-Ray that's true, also where I live (Modena, Italy) there are many female bassists
Or piano/keys.
yup, that and keys. but guitar and drums are seriously under-represented
Kira Roessler, almost all bassists for the smashing Pumpkins, Kim Gordon, Kim from Pixies, the bassist for Superchunk, the bassist for Jawbox.... Yeah
Well maybe in pop/rock but I've definitely met way more female harp, piano and violin players irl than male players of those instruments.
No lies, I absolutely subscribed to you because of that Adam Neely bass lesson intro thing.
I laughed my ass off at the Malmsteen joke! 😂
Keep doing more general music stuff. I'm not really a bassist, I'm a guitarist and a drummer, and I love your channel.
The wedding gig story did make me smile. I've been there myself and it's horrible at the time but you just have to soak it up and move on. On the plus side, it makes for a great anecdote. Silver linings.
how dare you insult yngwie malmsteen reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
i do
I mean. Hes a jerk!! (And he dont like donuts), but he's a fucking god in the guitar.
REEEEEEE
I dohnt eat donits!!!
Hey Adam,
I'm a bass player, and I'm "suffering" from aphantasia,
I really liked that video about audiation.
And I want to tell you that it doesn't affect my ability to recognize chords or intervals.
Iv'e really worked on my ear training stuff, but i mainly use words to describe stuff that i hear ( I.E I V/IV IV I(4 6) V I and stuff like that), and i just hum the music to myself whisperingly instead of in my head...
and I do get songs stuck in my head, I just start to sing them uncontrollably
Woo Samurai Guitarist! I love that channel too! I also love your bass intro keep up the awesome work Mr. Neely!
Regarding Yngwie Malmsteen, prime Yngwie is WORLDS apart from the washed-up meme he is today.
His 1984 live in Japan performance with Alcatrazz is probably my favourite guitar performance of all-time. It's really cool seeing him in a "band" context rather than the "Yngwie Malmsteen Show" he's been running ever since. He had to nail it every single time he got a solo, because he only got one per song haha. Soloing all the time kind of "dilutes his product" so to speak, and now he is just sloppy as all hell.
Interestingly, the Alcatrazz Live in Japan 1985 concert features none other than Steve Vai on guitar, and it's a cool comparison to watch the 2 play a similar setlist, in the same band, one year apart, at the same venue! (ok not quite sure about the venue, but it might as well be haha). Beware, there is an embarrasing amount of guitar overdubbing in that video.
Yngwie fanboy keyboard warrior out!
I'm a musician myself. Primarily a guitarist (OMG), though I started on drums and can multitask just as yourself. Longtime subscriber as well. Bass is awesome. Your intro is awesome. I get what you're doing. Keep up the good work. Thank you, Adam. I admire the shape of your skull.
Really enjoying your videos, you're a great speaker, great communicator, you're intelligent and eloquent and really a pleasure to watch. Not everything you talk about is within my sphere of experience/interest (I'm a musician in the same way that... um... searching for a metaphor... in the same way that a yak with brain disease is a classical philosopher... man, really need to work on my metaphors...) Uh, what was I saying? Oh, yes, even though I may not be able to fully appreciate everything you talk about, I still get something out of it. That's the sign of a good communicator!
I love your videos, love how you don't go black or white about any suggested question or theory or any music matter, and of course you are a very important motivation factor to me regarding bass
Cheers from Syria
Adam: now that we are 21, we can legally drink Alkohol
Bottle: already almost empty
Regarding sight reading at video time marking 7:22. To become a good sight reader one must first see each measure as a recognized pattern and insert the pitches in the time to be played. For example, if we see two half notes in a 4/4 measure, the performer knows to perform the pitches for two beats and two beats. Seeing each measure as a rhythmical patter FIRST and placing the pitches within the rhythm radically changes the paradigm of how we read music. Experience players see the rhythm in each measure first and play the pitches in time in that measure. We read one measure at a time as if we were reading words from text. See the rhythm in the measure your are playing but look ahead to the next measure to recognize the next pattern is the key to becoming a great sight reader.
that intro is quite possibly the best UA-cam intro in existence. short and awesome.
Adam, you're one of the coolest people on youtube. Thanks for the videos!
I pity the man who had to marry that bride.
malmsteen in a nutshell: dominant phrygian
looool that story about the mustang switching back to the extreme metal setting sounds terrifying, but hilarious at the same time!
Nice shout out to Samuraiguitarist, I follow both of you because you both put out consistent and really informative videos.
You gave the greatest advice for a working musician in your bit about the bad wedding gig. It cannot be stressed enough to "go with the flow" and maintain a professional attitude. Thanks for sharing your personal experience on this.
I think you might be the cleverest person I have ever seen, or will ever see, on YT. Your musicianship is great but the way you articulate your perspectives, IMHO, is even more impressive. I thank you.
That intro is the best thing about this channel, and I mean that in the best way possible.
Ha! I've been on that wedding more than once...we should all start contributing to a book of wedding disasters. Like the guy who requested 96 songs for his wedding (yes, the groom, not the bride), and timed it all out to make sure it would fit. Then made sure we didn't eat anything, yelled that we played the 2nd break cd he made on the first break, etc. bandleader finally had to pull him aside and calmly tell him to enjoy his event and let us do our job or we would have to pack up and go. He was a little quieter after that. Oh, and also, he demanded I bring my upright bass, which was in our video but I had sold about a prior to that, so I borrowed one from a friend with no pickup, played blue bossa on it as people walked in (with no pickup...), then leaned it on the amp the rest of the gig. He gave me a huge compliment as I loaded out, saying I rocked on the upright, which he never actually saw me play.
Oh, yeah, then as we were getting our soft drinks at the bar (I don't drink but he made sure it was soft drinks only), his friend asked one of us, who happened to be standing next to our singer, who is African-American, why we brought our butler to the gig. Nice!
But, nightmare? Nope, because it was only a few hours and that story will live forever! So it was worth the investment. Of course, not being the bandleader, I didn't have to talk with him every day for the year prior to the wedding....
Anyway, maybe I will see you in NYC sometime, this is the first video of yours I've seen but just subscribed. Good stuff!
I like the hint of meshuggah at the end there, classy move Adam
Thank god, I've been trying to find that song for quite some time, would you happen to know the name?
Women bassists: Lisa Dowling, string bass, electric bass, guitarron. Top chops. New York City bassed, last time I checked!
Lmao haha I imagine that extreme metal preset on that Fender Mustang 😂😹
I was sick to my stomach hearing about your trainwreck of a wedding gig. I've had some that ran a close second, but your nightmare story FTW. Glad you made it out alive even if your amp didn't!!
That wedding gig sounds rough! I've played some shows with similar types of things happening...not at a wedding, though. Great channel, your videos are very inspiring!
The band called Elephant Gym is math rock and it has a sensational female bassist.
Adam do you know a female bass player that graduated from MI in LA in 1989, he name is Diane, from Kentucky, she at the time played a Steinberger headless bass a lot. She is about as pro as it gets, totally committed, never talked about anything but music, basically played and studied, almost every waking moment while in school. I am sure she went far, a total jazz player then. I wondered how far she went over the years. Thought maybe you saw her in top pro jazz gigs in the city.
OMG Did u actually mention Samuraiguitarist?
I am watching both of your videos for about a month and love you both...thats really awesome
Just found your channel and have watched 3 videos. Mind = Blown Keep up the great work!
I thought your answer to the first question was very diplomatic. like, "Hey, we're not all arseholes," but a serious, well-thought out answer for a serious, well-thought out question. Proud to be an American. Subscribed. PS: Have been casually watching for a while- thanks for the free music education to date.
Thank you for answering my questions, I am truly honored.
i honestly just clicked on another one of your videos so i could watch the intro again
and i like them
Keeping the "on stage volume low," what a concept. If only you could convince my band mates.....
Can you do a video on polystylism? Or common mediant chords? Seriously anything that has Schnittke in it would be good, people are missing out
New York (which includes all the boroughs, not just Manhattan) has always been a mecca for "good different", when it comes to musicians. Which is why it's the birthplace of a lot of music styles (trap jazz, house, new jack swing, etc.). You'll find that a lot of these music styles were first heard in NY, 3 to 5 years BEFORE they became "mainstream" internationally.
New York is also still one of the only places where you (as a musician or music enthusiast) can personally witness a musician ascend to musical situations they deserve to be in, through the pure magic of "word-of-mouth" :-) There is no "everybody gets a prize" mentality with the NY audience. There is no "get the gig using self-aggrandizement" with jazz (or jazz fusion) cats in NY.
The 55 Bar, on Christopher St. in Manhattan, is where every "wannabe playa" can learn the stuff they don't teach in school...including how to leave your ego at the door...while still sharing an apartment with 3-5 other people...girl/boyfriends included :-) Keith Carlock, Tim Lefebvre and Mike Stern played at 55 Bar for years, before they became internationally recognized as "killer playas".
What are your views on Primus/Les Claypool
I love Claypool and Neely, but I like to think it triggers him super hard, lol.
Great video as usual. Just wanted to thank you for mentionin Shubh Saran: I really like his stuff!
love that intro ..... and yes I'm a keyboard player and love that you cover music in general not just bass
Hi Adam, great channel.
Your wedding group need to update your contract and make sure the breaks are clearly spelled out. With my groups I tell the bride and groom we will do three one-hour sets or two 1-1/2 hour sets depending on the flow of the evening and we generally choose that path when the night is in progress.
While I agree with the "letting it slide" thing being the easy/professional way to handle things, I don't take kindly to a bride/groom telling me how to pace the show, when to break, etc. If they get onto that path (for instance "WE WANT TO DANCE NOW!" five minutes before the dessert comes out?) I simply remind them that I've been in the business for 20 years and have played hundreds of weddings. Let me do my job and everybody will be happy at the end of the night.
What do you think about players like Les Claypool? I've heard a lot of bass players who says that he doesn't play bass, he plays banjo lol
diasslo He plays bass, he just has a very distinct style that fits with Primus' sound very well. I personally don't care if someone isn't playing an instrument the "proper" way as long as it sounds good and they make it work with their music.
the upward inflection at 10:38 killed me
Check out Carol Kaye, considered by many as the greatest bass player of all time. She was part of the famous Wrecking Crew
Been there on the "don't take a break" thing. We were doing a benefit show,and they wouldn't let us take a break. After 2.5 hrs we finally got to take a quick break.
Nataly Dawn. I like her music, particularly in Pomplamoose.
Hey Adam great video ! And that wedding gig.. Damn. PS : you forgot the link for the samuraiguitarist vid ;)
Hey Adan your 100% correct Drums Should Be Miced and if possible tuned during sound check thru the P.A.!!!! As a Live Sound Engineer in the club scene in the early and mid eight's stage leve was always a problem. It was the garage and basement syndrome. The stage level should be no louder then the drummer. Also guitar amps should be at ear level. The lower the amps the more you have to increase the level to compensate for the proportional drop in level the lower below the ears they are. And the stage level and mains should resonate were they sound as one. Specially if the drummer tunes thru the system. You'll feel and hear a big difference. I've been on stage were all ya hear is swiiiiishhhhhhhhhh and noise no music. And recording thru the board use a mic too. In post you can pan the live and recorded mic for a really nice sound. Peace
Is it possible for you to put timestamps in the description for each question? Like "0:19 international students in Manhattan"? There are many cool stuff you talk about but it's hard to find them again in a 10-15 min video, especially if you don't exactly remember which q&a it was from.
Found Adam for the music theory, definitely subbed for the BASS intro
I think solving the tension in a gig that way is a solution, but not a long term one.
As a musician I often feel like I am not being given the respect I deserve, just because my job is not seen by other people as a "serious" or even "real" job. As I see it, we must stand for our rights so that people understands that we have them, but not necessarily in a way that creates violent situations.
definitely keep the bass content coming!
Oh no...I think I have a hard core crush! Man crush Monday? All super intelligent answers! Thanks for seeing things this way, and for your answers! :)
Oh God, as soon as you said “Fender Mustang” I saw where that was going. I have done that more than once with mine, fortunately at home not at a gig.
Makes sense. John Petrucci lives in New York
Adam! What is your approach to transcribing/learning long complicated songs? I'm working with a band that wants to cover Jigsaw Falling Into Place by Radiohead and I'm already having a huge headache with the first minute of the song.
If we could say, merge two people, say, Geddy Lee and Flea, would you allow Geddy Flea to come into existence or do you think he would be too powerful?
So chill, I dig you.
Tina Weymouth. Carol Kaye. Tal Wilkenfeld. Esperanza Spaulding. June Millington. Claudia Schiffer.
I play a smidge of bass (started on it, long ago), but my main instrument is the UKULELE.
I watch your vids with that perspective. How much theory do you need to play the ukulele, really? Well, as much or as little as you want! It's really nice with a bass to know why you're not just following the chord roots, so a tiny bit of theory is almost required right from the start, but not really on uke; you can jump in and learn with zero theory. But an uke in standard re-entrant tuning has the G string tuned higher than the next C string. This leads to some odd inversions if you want that root note to be the lowest pitch. When starting out, literally nobody cares; we just play and have fun, and it's peachy. But as I've progressed, and with a dash of bass in my salad, the more I learn about theory, the more I see why some musicians play "unexpected" inversions.
Anyway...
Love the channel! I learn a lot from every vid! Thanks!
What are your thoughts on transcription? Are you like Beeny Green who thinks it should absolutely be the foundation of your playing or more like a Stefon Harris who thinks that, although it is a good exercise, you should be creating your own lines based on your emotional connection to the notes you're playing. (I saw him at a camp once, It was super interesting to be able to ask him questions because he's a little different from the mainstream.)
I once saw a Satriani video that included Vai and Malmsteen.
Though I'm not necessarily a Satriani OR a Steve Vai fan I appreciated their musical communication with one another.
Malmsteen on the other hand was noodling over Satriani and Vai the entire time. It wasn't so much of an opportunity for him to communicate with other highly skilled guitarists as it was an hour for him to basically say, "look at me! look at what I can still do! I can still shred! Isn't that cool?" This is All while Satriani and Vai were doing a pretty cool question/answer style jam.
I felt embarrassed for whoever booked Malmsteen.
hey adam, dont know if you already answered this, but do you use the default sounds in sibelius, or some external samples (something like noteperformer)? because that pizzicato upright bass sounds sooooo bad lol
Interesting question about the soloist. I think at a very fundamental level, classical virtuosity wasn't very different from 80s guitar virtuosity. Both were a spectacle of not only tremendous skill but also musicality and inventiveness (which Malmsteen lacks :O).
What's your take on slowing down music to transcribe them? Would you consider it cheating?
Seab Yseult of White Zombie wrote of how at some shows whilst coming onstage is stopped by people
thinking that she was a groupie.
Even though bass lessons seem to be the core of what you teach, your lessons have also helped with my musicianship as well(I guess you can assume I'm not a bassist). Keep it up ^.^
Regarding female bassists, (or female whatevers) in my experience the vast majority of seasoned pros really could not care less whether a fellow player is male or female, as long as they can play and get the job done. If you find yourself working with "musicians" who are condescending, it is because they have their own issues. Easiest thing is to go work with someone else.
Of course there will be audience members who will say things like "You play pretty good for a girl," and/or other similar potentially offensive things, some of which are much worse. What one should always remember, though, is whether an audience member damns or praises, their opinion really doesn't carry much weight. In most cases they are out listening to you because they can't play themselves, and as such probably really don't really even hear music very well.
All entertainers, male or female, should learn the art of being polite in the face of rudeness, and how to get away from a rude person without causing offense. In many cases, said person will not even realize they are being rude.
Female bassists get a bad rap because every damn one of them is sleeping with someone in the band...possible exceptions are KIm Deal and those in all girl bands
so if the male players are sleeping with the female in the band they don't get a bad rap or look down upon just because its expected of them?
If you are judging musicians by who they sleep with, that means you can't tell (or don't care) if they play well.
Yeah, I've always noticed the audience and the media making a bigger deal out of something like a female bassist/guitarist or a non-white musician in a typically white genre than the musicians themselves.
So what if there's one guy in an an otherwise all-female band? Does he get a bad rep for sleeping with one of them?+Kami Lee And also, why do you guys always have to bring race into this when it's not relevant? Women. Are Not. A Minority. Why does no-one get that?
Haha, as much as I like his music, you may have a point about Malmsteen! Jason Becker is where it's really at for me though :) Really like your videos, keep the intro. Even if you did only talk from the perspective of a bassist, there's still allot for everyone to learn here.
There are some noteworthy female bassists out there however, like Tina Weymouth from Talking Heads, Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth, Kim Deal from Pixies, and Debbie Googe from My Bloody Valentine.
Do you ever feel like electric bass players get less attention in the jazz scene as the upright bass has been a dominant instrument in the genre for decades? I'd love to find a jazz group to jam with, but I'm still kind of held back by the fact that I only play bass guitar, and I have this, possibly misguided, idea that serious jazz groups would rather find an upright bass player.
Thank you for the content and congrats on the successfull patreon!
as far as a wedding song, its not a good sign when the bride is asking for 'i want you to want me'
The weird thing about playing the cello (and I always wished to play bass, but circumstances prevented that) is that is manages to compromise nearly perfectly between being a bass instrument and being able to play lower pitch chords. I suppose that the increased popularity of using the instrument in multiple genres originates from this and that bowing the instrument allows for things that are impossible to do practically on guitar, such as quickly turning from a heavy rhythm metal instrument to an acoustic guitar or as a de facto bass. It has potential to fill a gap and revigorate musicians who are isolated like myself from others who listen to cheaply made hip hop music, but use elements from that to create music of a new type: CeMeTro, Classical (Using the cello as it’s range covers all needed registers)/Electronic Metal which combines all 3 extremes of sonic assault and speed from metal, inhuman and cheap production qualities from electronic music, and technical superiority from classical music in a fashion that does not create an elite type of genre involuntarily.
God, there's nothing worse than playing a song no one knows how to play. I actually walked off stage *once* halfway through the song Round and Round by Ratt. It was the last song thankfully but I've never been so pissed off in my musical life. If you're on stage and this shit is about to happen to you I recommend getting off the stage before your drummer starts counting off the beat.
Hahaha, I laughed so loudly at the Sweet Home Alabama metal cover.
Keep up the great work. Love it.
Fender Mustang amp, I feel you. Such a nightmare.
Hey Adam,
I'm fascinated by music theory. Frankly, it seems like the closest thing to magic we have in this world. I want to learn more about theory, but I can't play an instrument (I plan to take piano lessons when money is less tight) so will my study be hindered by that? I imagine you learned theory and performance more or less concurrently. I'm learning a lot from your videos and I'm glad I found this channel!
why don't you do some interviews with female bassists and ask them? Also, you know two female bassists in DC who are working regularly and well-respected in the provincial nation's capitol. Flora Lucini, who works in NYC too and Nicole Saphos, young but upcoming.
Cate Frazier-Neely that would be really cool
that wedding story was the best.
Hi Adam, do you know about the band Adult Jazz? I strongly recommend you their first album Gist Is, i feel like it is a truly innovative record, I would like to hear you think about it:) Cheers!
Hey, Adam. I'm relatively new to your channel. I appreciate everything you do and I've learned a butt load from your videos about Theory and all that extra awesome stuff.
I have a sorta kinda weird question:
Do you HAVE to be a musician to attend Berklee? I feel like I know the answer to this, but I wanted to be definitely sure about it. I'm a vocalist in a metal band with absolutely no guitar, bass, keyboard, theremin, or any other instrument knowledge, but I'd like to know more about theory, general music knowledge, and music history. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much, broham mcchicken nugget.
Jo Bench of Bolt Thrower. Yngwie is hella one dimensional, but some of the stuff he does in his small sand box is great like Black Star. Like some people who are very dimensional begin just digging holes in their small sand box, Yngwie likes to build sand castles in his small box.
Anything to look for when buying an upright I want to make sure it's a quality instrument. I'm going to buy it from the house of musical tradition in takoma park you've probably heard of it considering you're from silver spring
Have you listened to Royal Blood? Do you like the idea of a two-piece featuring a bass and drums?
shoutout to Jessica from Bent Knee!!! incredible bassist & amazing band
I also think something that factors into there being few female bass players is just the nature of the instrument. It's a large, heavy instrument, and people with large hands and more arm muscle will benefit more playing it. These are things *most* women don't have naturally, thus I think there's a bit of a physical limitation. I can't even imagine trying to play a precision bass with small hands/fingers.
oh man!! you may find this strange. Im an advanced student cellist getting ready to goto school majoring in cello performance. I HATE CLASSICAL MUSIC!! (I tolerate it to learn the instrument) I am willing to play most other genres: latin, easy listening, jazz, dark music (along the lines of evanescence, Maisy kay etc) but i just dont care for classical music except for some Bach pieces. So after listening to your answer on the modern vs classical... well i feel like Im about to get into a lot of crap when I start school!!😞 ill just meditate on apocaliptica. Im also a student bassist.
What kind of lights are you using? Do you recommend them?
Hey, greetings from eastern Spain, awesome videos and content, as always. One question. I've learnt to play piano, guitar and bass guitar all by myself and I have basic knowledge of music theory and music reading, but it's a very, very, very basic level. I once tried entering at music school some years ago but I couldn't made it because of age (younger people have preference and I tried to enter piano in the most basic level, so it was busy). The thing is my motivation for learning music theory has grown (not gonna lie, your videos have helped) and I don't know what to do since I'm about to enter university next year and I'm a bit of locked. Is it a good idea to learn theory by myself as I've been doing or I should head to some teacher/trying to reenter music school? Keep up the good work.
(btw sorry for my horrible English.)
Hey Adam, love the vids. My question is just about your knowledge and capability of funk and slap bass? Do you ever practice it? I feel like it’s such a deep technique and there’s so many different styles and parts to it.
Question! Any opinion about exposing kids to more advanced theory concepts early? I taught my 4 year old sister to sing Vi-Hart's "12-tone" twinkle twinkle little star arrangement, and she loved it. She has perfect pitch so finding those "out of key" notes comes fairly naturally to her. And I taught her several of my original piano compositions, usually with tons of accidentals and time signature changes... and her mother was horrified. That being said, she also forbids me to play Charles Mingus records for lil' sis', so it's whatever.
Don't forget about Carol Kaye, one of the greatest rock/pop bassists of all time!
Bahaha! I was triggered by the malsteen comment, but was completely defused by the fanatic spoof pop up. Well played adem.
THANK YOU! Malmsteen is so one-dimensional. Sure, the stuff he does takes an incredible amount of technical skill, but he brings no emotionality to a piece. He plays the notes, but gives the song no room to breathe. The only difference between him and my DAW is the much better guitar sound (seriously, I have never gotten a convincing guitar sound out of a DAW lol).