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Bass Bootcampby Keith White Bass Bootcamp?........uh amagonnaneeda tent? Maybe. Welcome all to my inaugural column at Bass Sessions. My name is Keith White aka, k-dub keeper o da funk. I reside in hot 'lanta. Yeah, I'm old school since the city is now referred to as the ATL. Somehow that makes me feel like the entire city is a destination rather than a happening' place to live, given that ATL is the reference used by freight carriers and airlines. Plus, if you've ever been in hot 'lanta in August, you know it is just that, HOT! Also, that's what the Allman Brother's called it so I'm stickin' with my homies. I've been playing bass for 36 years, diving fearlessly into all sorts of musical genre's and situations from country, to avant-garde, to studio, and live performance. Also, I've been a closet guitar player for the same amount of years. I prefer to play improvisational music such as jazz, fusion, and funk as I feel that allows one more freedom to express your musical personality. However, if the music is good, I really don't care what I'm playing as long as I'm playing. Uh, I also like to get paid, so whatever puts strings on the bass, right? But enough about me, what's up with all of these bass camps?  OK, more about me. ( sorry ) I've been to three bass camps. Victor Wooten's Bass Nature Camp in September of '03, which is held in Montgomery Bell State Park 40 miles west of Nashville, TN, was my inception into bass campdom. I then attended Steve Bailey's Bass at the Beach in '04, which is held in Myrtle Beach, SC, and I followed that with Gerald Veasley's Bass Bootcamp in March of this year (05), which was held in Wyomissing, PA, near Reading, PA. All of these camps are similar yet dissimilar. They are all dedicated to teaching you bass techniques and music in general. They all have great instructors, some of which are among the world's best bass slingers and drummers (yes, they allow drummers); painful, I know, but a necessity nonetheless. Sometimes, the occasional, gasp, world famous, guitar player may be in attendance as well. You will get to meet bassists from all over the world who play just about as many styles as there are bassists. The skill levels are just as varied. Now, I don't know about you, but hangin' with a bunch of bassists for four or five days, learning from the greats, sounds like a pretty good time to me. And the BASSES!!!! It's a dream come true. Just about every make of bass available has shown up at these camps. And we bassists are in general, the supportive type, so if you want to play your favorite bass that you have yet been able to afford, some cat will probably have one and actually let you play it. That is, after attaching the bib to catch the drool factor. Whichever camp you choose to attend, for a myriad of reasons, it will be well worth your hard earned bread (old school again). Who should attend? You've just started playing bass? Are you good enough to attend? Of course you are! (There's that supportive thing again.) Why not begin what will probably become your life's greatest journey, by learning your craft from jump street from the best players out there? These cats love to teach, and most of them are really good at it. Those of us who have been playing for years can look back down the laboriously traveled road and wish we had this type of opportunity earlier in our careers.  What will you learn? I believe the most important thing you will learn is to have an open mind. Music, and how it is played, is a very personal thing. Everything goes. If it sounds good to you, so be it. Everyone may not like your ideas but that is the beauty of music. It's very subjective. That in itself is why so many genres of music have emerged and evolved. Having an open mind will allow you to accept the teachings of the various instructors, be it technique, theory, rhythmic ideas, practice methods, music according to life, nature, and most importantly for bassists, the GROOVE. I believe it has been said that "you can't hold no groove if you ain't got no pocket." Paraphrased, I'm sure but worth extra points if you can tell me who said that. More to the point, you will learn how to deal with one of the most important elements of what makes a song happen, the ii-V-I progression, which is found in most popular music. You will learn how to groove across this common set of changes. You will learn how to solo across this and other changes using various harmonic ideas that will make your solos and grooves more interesting. You will learn how to be what I like to call "the water in the swimming pool". "What the heck does that mean?" you ask. Imagine you are a highflying soloist about to perform your best triple summersault with a twist. You plant your feet on the end of the springboard and at that very moment you realize that there is no water in the pool. You're going to bus' yo cabesa. That is how a soloist feels when the bassist is off doing his "thang" instead of playing the support role required. This will get you fired about as quickly as anything. These and other very important bassist roles, you will learn at bass camp. Whose camp should I attend? That, I'm not going to tell you. That is your own special preference. What I will do is tell you, once again, that all of these camps are worth the bread. Whatever camp you choose to attend, you will leave with a wealth of knowledge, a plethora of ideas to practice and a sense of camaraderie amongst your fellow bassists that you cannot achieve otherwise, and above all, YOU WILL HAVE FUN. GREAT FUN! All of these camps have their own unique significance. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED! In parting, I will leave you this with this. If you choose Vic's camp, take a tent. It's part of the experience. If you choose Steve's camp, take your A game (you have to audition, don't be intimidated, just do it). If you choose Gerald's camp, expect snow. Just kidding. Being from the south and given the forecast, I expected the worst. However, the weekend was spectacular and so was the camp. All of these cats are stellar, humble individuals with their hearts in the right place. They are all interested in making you the best bassist you can be and they do it with compassion and love. Above all, take an OPEN MIND! Links to the camps:
http://www.victorwooten.com Thanks for your interest. From this column forward, I will be dealing with teaching my version of keeping the groove happening', theory, scales and developing your musical personality. peecnlub, |
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