Blogging About Bass
Last night, after an intense day of learning, I decided to stay in my room for the evening to review all that I had learned and work on the song I plan to play Friday night at The Rutledge. The first two days of camp were jammed so full of information I really needed to take some time to process it all. When I finally decided to turn in for the night I found myself lying in bed running through the modes, so I guess you could say I had a very musical day!
Wow! Today was only the second day of Roy Vogt’s Bass Boot Camp and my mind is crammed so full of information, it’s going to take me a month to process it all. My day started out with an intense session on understanding modes with Anthony Wellington. Anthony used his 7 string bass to demonstrate an easy way to learn mode patterns, after which he had us all take a turn working through the modes, on the 7 string! This was the first time any of us had even held a 7 string bass, but with Anthony’s instruction, we all ended up playing it fairly effortlessly. I still can’t believe I was using modes to solo over chords playing a 7 string today. Incredible!!
I'm back in Nashville this week for Roy Vogt's TMBG Bass Boot Camp and we had a stellar first day. Roy, Adam Nitti & Anthony Wellington gave us each a quick evaluation this morning to get an idea of our skill levels, then quickly split us up into 3 groups of 4. From there each group split off with a different instructor to work on a variety of topics.
Today was our first official day of classes for Roy Vogt’s Fantasy Bass Boot Camp. Classes run from 9am to 5pm each day, with 3 classes running simultaneously. This morning we were divided into three groups, which I believe were based on where we are currently at in our progression with the Teach Me Bass Guitar course. I ended up with 4 other campers in a theory class with Adam Nitti all day. Adam reviewed the Major Scale with us then reviewed Modes and how they relate to the Major Scale. We spent the rest of the day exploring modes and how they can be used. For me this was perfect timing as I have been working on modes as part of Lesson 13 of TMBG. Going in I had a basic understanding of what the Modes are, but that was about it. Adam did a great job of explaining how we should be practicing them and how we can use them when playing, especially when improvising. Adam is a great teacher and our small class size afforded each of us a good amount of individual attention. I definitely have a greater understanding of Modes now and how I can use them, plus feel much more confident in my ability to play a short solo at The Rutledge on Thursday evening. This is just the first day of classes and I already feel like I have learned so much! I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.