Go HERE and buy Austin Kleon’s new book “STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST” It only costs like 10 bucks, 6 bucks, takes less time to read than watching an episode of CSI and your creative soul will thank you for it.

image; :austin kleon (stolen but credited)

For those with a bit more tolerance for context and back story heres why this book is important to me.

First – we need to step back to 2004. I was an occasional weekend bass playing noodler with no plan, band, vision, or purpose.

I also had angst. Creative angst. While my day job offered more creative opportunity than most day jobs – it wasn’t enough. Still, I never took the idea of bass playing all that seriously.

At that time Seth Godin had linked to a site he was involved in called Change This. It was there I first discovered Hugh Macleod’s “manifesto” How To Be Creative.

I devoured that manifesto. It spoke directly to the guy/gal that had put their “dreams” aside for more practical concerns and found themselves feeling empty because of it. Hello.

Within minutes of reading it I knew the cause of my angst. I wanted my crayons back. (go read the manifesto – or the book it eventually became) For me the crayons was my bass.

It was then I hunted down a bass teacher and began the process of formal study and the pursuit of quenching the angst. It worked.

The bullet point version of the next 5 years is this: 11 months of normal bassist type study, then I starting playing/writing as a solo bassist, entered a solo bass competition, won, made a solo bass record, toured around a bit, got some recognition and then – well. Then I realized. All the fuel burned up.

I didn’t realize it at the time – but what was really propelling me through years of daily practice was the need to prove something to myself. Once I felt I had proven what I set out to prove to myself – the fire kinda went out.

As far as bass playing goes right now – I feel like I’m back to where I was in 2004 before reading Hugh’s manifesto. Angsty.

And thats where Steal Like An Artist comes in.

Not playing for *2 years I lost touch with the inspiration – creation process with my music.

I forgot that everything I did musically was an adaptation of the work of others. And their work was adaptations of works of others. I remember (now) talking to people at clinics about what I called “inspirational lineage” encouraging students to not just study their heroes – but to study their heroes, heroes – and so on. Trace it all back. Nothing is original – we all stand on the shoulders of others.

All these truths I once knew and accepted had become obscured under a delusion.

The delusion: That only truly “new to the world” works are worth doing.

This is the most powerful reason I’ve not played seriously for the past few years. Every time I pick up the instrument I hear stuff I’ve heard before (from both me and others) and it just seemed like “why bother”.

Steal Like An Artist lays waste to that delusion very efficiently. And for me it’s the kick in the balls I need.

Years ago I read an interview with Pat Metheny bassist Steve Rodby. In it he talked about the Jaco era and that no matter how much he wanted to play fretess bass – he wouldn’t dare because Jaco so dominated the perception of the instrument he’d easily be perceived as a copy cat. Jeff Berlin has said similar things about slapping tapping, 5 strings 6 strings, metronomes, composed solos . . . . derp

I remember thinking how sad that was.

But I just realized I’ve fallen pray to that very same affliction. Everything I’ve played in the past few years that gave even the slightest hint of it’s inspiration – I’d throw away. Again – how sad.

The point is – I totally forgot how to steal like an artist.

thanks for the reminder Austin – terrific book!

a few quotes:

WHAT IS ORIGINALITY? UNDETECTED PLAGIARISM – William Ralph Inge

THOSE THAT DO NO WANT TO IMITATE ANYTHING, PRODUCE NOTHING. – Salvidor Dali

*(when I say “not playing” – I mean no disciplined, daily hours of work & practice towards improving my craft. I’d still noodle on weekends for an hour or so)

pss – It might be interesting to learn that I first “discovered” the amazing guitar work of Preston Reed by a blog post from Hugh Macleod. From Preston I discovered Kaki King, Michael Hedges and that whole world. Those artists along with Egberto Gismonti and Gabriela Montero formed much of the “inspiration” for Outre.

I know what “good/great” looks & sounds like. I also know when my ability doesn’t get me there.

Here – radio guy Ira Glass addresses the issue.

Yes. Practice. Make lots of stuff. Shitty stuff. Fail. A lot. It’s the only way to close the gap and eventually make good stuff.

On the same issue – another article about an Architecture Professor dropping the wisdom:

“Only 10% of what you create is going to be worth looking at. So you better create a lot of things. Don’t make only 10 things and risk having only 1 thing to show. Make a hundred so you can choose your best 10.”

Don’t know about you – but when I put all this good advise together it nets out thusly:

Go make 100 pieces of shitty art so you can you make 10 pieces good art.  Only 10% of it will be worth looking at – but go ahead and put the other 90% on the internet anyway.  Then spam all your friends & followers about it.

Kidding.  Kind of.  Total sidebar to the point of this post- but I do think there’s too much sharing of mediocre stuff online. Wow – that probably makes me sound old.

That said – I’ve been really negligent in even producing my 100 pieces of shitty music.

So, I’m off to attend to that.

I just bought a Lefty 4 string Resonator Bass from fellow Lefty Bassist Steve Uccello. Well, I haven’t actually paid for it yet – but I intend to! Don’t worry Steve! update: Totally paid for it.

It’s a Regal – so, it’s a lower end model. But Steve installed a Headway pickup system in it which dramatically helps the tone.

The action feels like it’s a mile off the fretboard compared to my Pedulla and MTD basses. Which is fine, actually. I’ve been taming my fidgety “players” fingers and nothing slows over-playing down like an instrument that’s fucking hard to play.

The bridge isn’t adjustable and the neck is already pretty straight – so – that’s just the way the bass is.

Why Reso?

I’ve wanted an acoustic bass for a while and dig the way the Reso sounds. This was a reasonable price for a typically tough to find LEFTY acoustic bass.

How does it sound?

I plugged it in and a little tune popped right out of it! Posted above.

There’s some Pedulla fretless in this track too – but it’s pretty clear what the Reso sounds like from this.

I recorded the Reso direct through a LA-610 pre, plus a stereo mic to capture some room sound off it. The main resonator is covered up from the inside (steve did that to prevent feedback on stage) I left the main Reso covered and pulled covers off the 2 little sound holes. Which seems fine to me.

Over all it sounds pretty good – definitely a nice color to have on the palette.

In this recording I’m using it mainly as a melodic instrument – so I rolled the low-end off on the Headway EQ to make room for the Pedulla Bass part in this track.

But, when played flat – this definately sounds like an acoustic BASS.

I’m on the hunt for a lefty acoustic fretless 5. Got a fix on one? – please lemme know!

Enjoy!

Truth is – much of the commercial music recorded today is of the click, by the click, for the click. Does that fact make it inferior to previous “pop” music that were performed without a click?

That’s the implication of Revisiting The Click Track with a few graphics that show tempo deviation over time in popular music tracks. In the post they stack a Britney Spears track up against the Police.

Is the Police track a better song because it was performed live and had a fluid and dynamic tempo?

Sometimes – yes. Other times – machine like tempo IS part of the music.

For me – the key is not in creating another dogmatic ISM – CLICK IS EVIL / CLICK IS GOD. That’s useless to me. The key is knowing WHY you are using a click, what it’s going to do to the music – assess if that is actually something you want in the music.

A lot of music is recorded piece by piece – remotely. In those cases locking down a tempo map is helpful in getting separately recorded parts to match up. But again – I have to point out. What is the music’s intention?

If you’re playing the kind of music that is typically associated with live performance – and you’re locking it down to 110.5 bpm from beginning to end – it’s going to FEEL stiff particularly if you have NO instrument floating around the rigid tempo map to distract the listener from lock-step tempo. Much of Pop music is excellent at avoiding this while still kneeling at the alter of powerful rhythm.

That said – depending on the KIND of music we’re recording – the click doesn’t have to sit at a single value the entire composition. In every Digital Audio Workstation many composers are drawing fluid and dynamic tempos values into their click tracks to capture a more “live” feel. Or – basing their tempo maps off of freely recorded material. Making the machine – in essence – conform to the musician’s performance.

This certainly takes more time, planning and skill – but the results are far more effective in selling the “musicians are playing this” vibe.

On my album Outre for example – there’s lots of… well, let’s be kind and call it “rubato”. Lots of speed up and slow down. Lots of tacking an extra beat or 2 at the end of phrases – to subtracting a beat here or there. Or as it may appear to the casual listener – no click track.

I’ve heard other solo bass / solo instrumental recordings that most certainly used a click. Sometimes it totally worked (particularly if the piece is based on it’s steady rhythmic power) and other times it felt confined and stiff.

Which is better? I would have hated Outre with a click track. It wouldn’t feel right. To me. That was my aesthetic choice. And I’ll say the choice was not based on any variation of the question – will using a click make me sound like a better musician?

Click/no click is a decision for me – not a rule. It’s about feel.

Sometimes using a click gives a piece the feel it needs – other times it locks it in – confines it – makes it rigid and stiff. Let it also be said that playing to a click is a skill – one that has to be developed. Playing with feel over a click is possible and lots of people are doing it.

Almost everything I’ve done since Outre has been based on a click or a tempo map. If I return to solo material I will base my click/no click decision on the nature of the music.

I consider using ANY kind of rythmic guide as no different than “using a click”.

That means my solo piece Satori with it’s looped percussion parts is being played to click. Using delays to set a rhythmic value or tempo is using a click.  Recording loops that have a 1 –  is using a click.

Again thee’s nothing wrong with playing to a click. And that’s my point – most music today is played to some sort of rigid rythmic framework.

We might not have called it a click in the past – but it’s functionally the same.

Click or no click? Let the music answer the question.

I already have a regular profile that I never promoted or even really use that much. But a lot of bass payers have found that profile and “friended” me. Thanks.

To date I’ve accepted pretty much every bassist/musician as a friend.

But my profile timeline is kind of a shit show now – filed with stuff from people that I don’t even know. No offense.

If you’ve friended me on Facebook – please LIKE the Jeff Schmidt Bassist Page – that’s where I’ll be posting about my music work.

You can still be my friend on my regular profile – but I’ll be restricting my personal posts to only people I’ve met and have had conversations with. I know. Total douche.

You don’t REALLY want to read me bitching about work – do you? Exactly.

Hit LIKE on my Band Profile please

thanks

word

I believe I can be forgiven though – as I’ve never attempted to play that song. Wedding bands the world over have probably been driven to commit heinous crimes trying to figure out that one chord.

Anyway – here’s a video (it’s only audio) where the chord’s exact structure is discovered from the original master tapes and then reproduced. Yeah!

George: 12 string – F chord w/ G on top and Bottom and an extra C next to low G

Paul: Bass – D

John: D sus 4

Can anyone EVER play that chord voicing and NOT be copying The Beatles?

fraid not. I wonder if anyone has used that voicing in any other popular music recording that wasn’t a cover version.

Clever kidz them Beatles.

According to this Boston Herald article (and who would know better about emerging diy trends than a fucking newspaper) some band in boston decided to release on home labeled, recorded cassette because they wanted something physical to sell at gigs.

“In an age when nearly every song can be streamed or stolen online, a physical release has an increased heft to it.

Buying something lovingly homemade is a commitment, a compact between band and listener that goes beyond “Thanks for the show, maybe I’ll check you out online.”

I totally get that. I feel that way also. It’s why I made a special home-made release of The Jesus Fist Tapes to sell at gigs. The packaging alone helped it sell out (there’s only 3 left on CD Baby)

Even funnier was an interview I gave as “Ruiner Severhead” where I, er, Ruiner said he wanted to release “The Tapes” on cassette so people were forced to listen to the whole thing from beginning to end.

A joke.

But now . . . .

The soundtrack to the first film had a terrific vibe and inventive instrumentation. The second film is coming out soon and so will it’s soundtrack.

I just caught this video about the making of the soundtrack for the second Holmes film. I found it inspiring enough to share.

PART 1

PART 2

Like the first – I’ll likely ignore the film (at least till it hits cable or netflix) but I rarely fail to find inspiration in a Hans Zimmer score.

For me, Zimmer’s genius is in his orchestration. He often writes a fairly simple leitmotif – but takes it to a place totally “zimmer-esque” with his orchestration and instrumentation. He’s a master at blending instruments and sounds you’d never think could fit together.

For the tech minded – each guy is running his own Ableton Live rig with FCB1010 Foot controller and Korg nanoKontrollers. Their machines are all sync’d up – so they loop their own instruments – process the loops and improv while staying in sync with each other. Clever.

I don’t really get jazzed by DJs firing off clips in Ableton Live – but these guys clear the hurdle for me because they’re creating and re-purposing a lot of their musical material live on the spot. Plus – the cats can clearly play.

I attended a masterclass given by the Cellist in this group tonight (Cosmo D) – he played solo with his Ableton Live Rig. Kinda like this – but instead of pretty graphics his Ableton Live set was on a huge screen for all to see. It was inspiring.

hope a little inspiration rubs off on you too.

word

most “state of the music industry” rants bore me. this bit by henry rollins also falls into cliche (mtv sucks… auto-tune sucks)

But he had one train of thought that made me laugh and smile in agreement. starts about 1:40

un-loved corporate music. nuff said.