basic music theory | The Musicians blog

Tempo of Music…

Tempo continues to come-up in discussions amongst band members. I’ve noticed that when I play live the average listener wont notice a slight tempo change, as long as you’re all still following each other. Musicians might notice, but if you try to force the other player back to tempo it tends to hurt the song rather than help it. I stumbled across a couple of comments on a Bass forum thread and was appreciative of their notations (no music pun intended)…
Ron-

(via an interesting discussion on the TalkBass forum between, SevenYearsDown and Jack Clark)
I was a “rock slab” guy for years who transitioned to upright about 5 years ago. I play in an old time string band now. Someone already described what beat you should be countering on so I wont go into that…
read their two comments on this thread here ->
https://www.talkbass.com/forum/f179/tips-holding-tempo-992386/#postcount14704771

Revisting Shredding Fusion Genious, Hugh Ferguson…

Although it was the early part of 2012 when fusion guitar extraordinaire, Hugh Ferguson passed-away… it just seemed like a good time to revisit his wonderful writings and sounds. The first article I found was from a Truth in Shredding blog, which spends some time devoted to Hugh’s past. The other site I found fascinating was the actual (still exists as of today) Hugh Ferguson .net website. The section I really found intriguing was his ‘ask’ section of the blog. The questions were the type that real players would ask, eg., gear, recording, sounds, scales, etc (you know, deeper stuff)…
Ron-

(by Laurie Monk via, Truth in Shredding blog)
Hugh started his career in music on the drums at the age of six, playing his first concert at eight. Originally from the Boston area, he grew up in a musical family with two older guitar-playing brothers. Switching to guitar at eleven. Hugh grew up with the sounds of rock and roll through the 60’s and early 70’s. By the ripe old age of 14 he was already playing the Boston Club scene…
>read more here->
https://www.truthinshredding.com/2013/07/hugh-ferguson-bostonian-legato-legend.html

AND, be sure to read this section of ‘Ask Hugh’ on Hugh Ferguson’s blog… good, deep musician questions and answers to be had…
https://www.hughferguson.net/ask_hugh.php

4 Good Bass Guitar Practice Routines…

These very same tips for practicing and expanding on the Bass Guitar can be applied to your guitar and keyboard. A reminder of the basics is handy now and then to remain tuned-up on our instruments…
Ron-

(By Robert Paul – via Street Articles)
Ever wonder what you should be practicing? Is what I’m practicing really helping me become a better player? Very good questions to be asking yourself. If you’re serious about developing your skill as a bass player, a good practice routine is essential…
Get the ‘4’ Bass Guitar Practice Elements here ->

https://www.streetarticles.com/music-instruction/4-elements-to-a-healthy-bass-guitar-practice-routine

Thelonious Monk and Gerry Mulligan Remastered…

Associated with the Cool Jazz Period of the mid 50s, Thelonious Monk and Gerry Mulligan had a ‘cool’ thing going… and lucky for us a re-mastered edition has been released, inclusive of a bonus studio track. Cool, man.
Ron

(By David Bowling – via BlogCritics)
Pianist Thelonious Monk and baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan came together in 1957 to record Mulligan Meets Monk. That album has now been reissued as a part of the ongoing Original Jazz Classics Remasters Series…

Drummer in the Band…

Would you consider the drummer the backbone of the band? Obviously, these statements could be applied to all instruments, but it is arguably more of a truism (in general) when applied to drummers. I have to give the drummer in a band credit for their, forever being a part of the groove… I mean, none stop involvement gives them an important position in the group’s partnership…
Ron

(By Erik Stams… Rhythm Magz. via Music Radar)
By providing secure time, dynamic intensity and the right feel a drummer can make a song come to life. Why else would producers continue to use live drummers when everything else is programmed?…

More Here…
https://www.musicradar.com/news/drums/why-drummers-really-are-the-backbone-of-the-band-580362

Musician Making it on the Web or, Royalties only?…

The basic theory of selling your music online remains a touch cloudy to some. It appears that the (subjective) concern of Royalty based musicians has some conflict with the otherwise tactful Internet approach, along with it’s important tender relied on by non-royalty-producing singers, songwriter and players.
Ron

(by Rocco Pendola… via post on The Street)
Many wildly successful artists, who could very easily rest on the laurels of their past and/or present royalty checks, look past the antiquated system for other ways to sell records, generate revenue and connect with fans. Meantime, a handful of musicians…

This story continues (go down a few paragraphs) here…
https://www.thestreet.com/stocks/general/11981670.html

Keeping Time and Playing by Feel in Music…

Keeping time and playing by feel… continues to be a fair conversation amongst musicians…
I personally see where ‘both’ have their merits in playing music. A grove can be an ever elusive dance. Being ‘locked-down’ using a metronome can also have its ups and downs!
Ron

(… provided by Whisky Sage)
“Playing by feel,” or trying to express emotion is the primary concern of music. Music itself an expressive form, so it’s nigh impossible to play or experience it without any sort of feelings involved…”
… read more here:
https://blognamedmort.com/2013/07/11/playing-by-time-is-what-counts/

Guitar Chords and Scales guide…

I was going through one of my files 
the other day and ran across this small
pamphlet for musicians. 

It's a guitar note and chord musical 
reference guide...

And I want you to have it at no charge!

Just click on image above or hop-over here to download...
https://www.musicdials.com/MusicDialsReferenceGuide.pdf
(btw, no email opt-in required)

This free booklet includes; Key Signatures and 
the Circles of Fifths, how to play chords 
in accompaniment, playing chord extensions, 
melody and lead notes, scale references, 
and much more.

Enjoy your complimentary pdf download as 
my 20th Anniversary Music Dials gift to you!

... yep, it's free!

Until next time, Jam On!

Ron Greene