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Phucked Phreak Production Vol 14
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*708/945-3665** **Saturday April 20, 1991** **Vol #14*
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* Learning Rock Bass - The Excalibur Method (PT.1) *
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* Written By: Excalibur *
** **
* CopyMUCH 1991 (M) Phucked Phreak Productions *
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--> Yah, so I/we skipped #13. It's an unlucky number! :)
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibitting the free excercise thereof; or abbridging the freedom of
speech or of the press; or of the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Goverment for a redress of grievances"
Under the above Law set forth in the First Amendment To The Constution
Of The United States Of America, The Author releases this work into the
pubic domain for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
**INTRO**
Ok, one of our fellow PPP members knew I played bass. I've been playing
for about six years now. Anyway, he wanted to learn to play bass, also.
One day, he made a casual post asking me "how to tune the damn thing."
Well, my reply was about 5k worth. It made his head spin <har> or so he
says. Anyway, a dude named WiseGuy said, "Why don't you put some gphiles
out on the subject?" Yah, why not? So, here it is: part one of my bass
expertise all typed up and put into electronic form. Nifty, eh?
Party on, dudes.
**VOL # 14**
I am going to go out on a limb here and assume that if you are reading this
file, then you must know what a bass is... and, of course, HAVE one. If
anyone is interested, I can put out a file detailing different types of
bass guitars, amps, pedals, and other equipment. But, for now, get out yer
bass, plug it in, and read along.
Tuning - not a Japanese love song.
You do NOT want to tune from another instrument unless you have perfect
pitch. Best thing for you to do is to get an electronic tuner from the
music store..make SURE it will work for bass.. ask them. Sometimes they
are custom made for six string guitars. Secondly, if you are poor like me,
walk into your local musical instrument store, and ask for a tuning fork
in the key of A... that is, if you cannot afford an electronic tuner. I
tune with a tuning fork all the time. I will explain.
The four strings, from top (lowest sound) to bottom (highest sound), that
is, the top of the neck, toward your face, and the bottom of the neck,
toward the floor, are: E, A, D, G. Hit the fifth fret on the first three
strings, and it will give you the next highest string note, but at a boomier
sound, i.e. hold the fifth fret on the E string, and it will be an A note,
same as hitting the open A string, but it will sound bassier because of the
bigger string. <Helpful in those band situations where the bass REALLY has
to stand out.> So you will be able to finger the notes on the fret board, I
will explain this. <Incidentally, when fingering notes on the fret board,
hold the string down right ABOVE the fret, NOT right ON the fret. If you
do it ON the fret, you will get a dead/buzzing sound.>
The notes forming a scale on each string follow a pattern. This is true for
ANY MAJOR scale (not minor, or any of the other seven scales) and ANY note
you start with. The pattern is: whole step, whole, half, whole, whole,
whole, half, where a whole step is movement up the neck of two frets, and a
half step is movement up the neck of one fret. Here is a simple C Major
scale. Try it. It should sound nice and normal.
Each string is numbered. E=1, A=2, D=3, G=4. Fret progression for Cmajor
scale, string/fret: 2/3, 3/0, 3/2, 3/3, 4/0, 4/2, 4/4, 4/5. Notes played
respectively: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. You could also play this entire
scale on the second string only, following the pattern I told you about
above. Just start on 2/3 and follow the pattern, staying on the same string:
W, W, H, W, W, W, H. It should sound exactly the same as the above multi-
string scale <that is... if your bass is in tune.>
Now that you know where the strings and notes are (yes, this IS leading to
something), I can tell you how to tune your bass. Put your finger on the
3rd string (the D string) right DIRECTLY ABOVE the 7th fret. Do NOT press
down on the string, but instead, just barely touch it by resting your finger
lightly on the string. Pluck the string with your other hand. You should
hear a pleasant "ding" sound... like a bell. That is the A harmonic (don't
ask... it doesn't matter right now). <You can also try harmonics on the 4th,
5th, 7th, 12th, and 20th frets... on each string. The 4th is a little
harder to get, but the others are easy.> While that note is ringing, bang
your tuning fork against something hard, like your knee... or your head,
to get a good ring out of it. Hold it above that third string near a pickup
so you can hear it all through your amp. The sound from the fork, and the
sound from the string should be exactly the same. Listen closely.... and
tune your bass, SLOWLY, until the sounds match. If the note is close, but
not perfect, you will here a funny sound when the harmonic and tuning fork
are ringing together. It sounds like <don't laugh... it really does>
"wawawawawawawa." The faster the wa's, the farther away you are from the
true note. Turn your machine head slowly until the wa's get slower... then
stop all together. The harmonic and the tuning fork will then be in perfect
synch and the third string will be tuned.
Now, put the tuning fork down. Hit the harmonic on the 7th fret of the
fourth string, let it ring, and hit the harmonic on the 5th fret of the third
string and let it ring. Follow the same procedure with the wa's, but DON'T
RETUNE THE 3rd STRING! Tune the fourth string to MATCH the third string.
When that's done, go to the 7th fret of the 3rd string and the 5th fret of
the 2nd string and follow the same procedure, tuning the 2nd string to match
the third string. Then use the same procedure for the 1st string by hitting
the harmonic on the 7th fret of the 2nd string and the 5th fret of the 1st
string. Now your bass is tuned.
However, as I have said, NO ONE tunes from other instruments such as
keyboards unless they have perfect pitch... and not many do.
At any rate, if you do get an electronic tuner, it is pretty self
explanitory, but I never trust the things. Also, keep in mind that you
should NOT, under any circumstances, "tighten" your bass strings to tightly.
The strings are very strong, and the neck is also, but "tight" strings will
certain put undue stress on the neck and the nut (that little part at the
top of the neck where it is attached to the head... the WEAKEST part of the
entire bass as all the stress is put there... be careful.. one bang in the
wrong place, and bammo.. detached head).
Now, go back and try that CMajor scale. It should sound perfect.
At any rate, so endeth your first bass lesson of the Excalibur method.
That'll be $7.50 please.
These are the basics. I suggest you print this stuff out, and keep it...
hang it up somewhere near your amp, stuff it in your bass case... it's good
reference.
=========================================================================
Addendum
--------
[:Board...:] For Sale
[:Number..:] 127 of 128
[:Subject.:] stuff
[:To......:] all/major havok
[:From....:] Excalibur (#155)
[:Date....:] April 17, 1991 @ 05:05:11 PM
[:Bytes...:] 253
MH says: Excalibur, why do I get the sinking feeling that you wear a black
leather studded collar, and tote a bullwhip wherever you go?
Excalibur sez: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but whips and chains
excite me. Thanks for the compliment.
[:Next :][: B2 #127 of 128 :]
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