Need stride base practice advise

[timland]

I'm having a difficult time playing high speed stride bases with a feeling of confidence and control.                                                                                                                      Example:  C2 G2 E3  | G3 C4 E4 | G1 | G3 C4 E4 .    MM=160
I've been able to play it 10 times in a row but I never feel like I'm in control.                     
                                                                                                                                             I would appreciate any practice routine or advice someone could offer.


Thanks,
Tim

[ted]

I think most people would have difficulty playing that particular type of pattern at high speed consistently and with decent rhythm, even assuming they could span tenths comfortably. I just tried it now and it's no particular bother but then I play quite a lot of that sort of music.

Funnily enough, I find it easier to play octaves than single notes in stride and ragtime basses, so I would tend to make the G1 a G1  G2 octave. Doing that somehow seems to make the movement more balanced than striking with one finger.

Like anything else, it's just practice though. Rather than play this one figure to death at high speed I would tend to play many similar figures in all keys and positions together with improvised figures in the right hand, perhaps chords broken into double notes a la Waller. It doesn't have to be inspired, just any suitable right hand will do to carry the interest in combination rather than practising a bare stride bass.

You could learn a few of the Waller transcriptions. Their left hands are really quite demanding and this example would probably seem easy by comparison. It does take a long time to acquire a more or less automatic stride left hand though - probably years rather than months for most people.

[pianiststrongbad]

Stride bass is something I have never been phenominal at.  It is a very special skill.  I would recommend the same thing Ted said, don't necessarily play this one passage 200 times, rather play a lot of music like it.  Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, Art Tatum to just name a few.

[timland]

Funnily enough, I find it easier to play octaves than single notes in stride and ragtime basses, so I would tend to make the G1 a G1  G2 octave. Doing that somehow seems to make the movement more balanced than striking with one finger.

When playing single base notes I always touch the octave above with my thumb without playing it. Also instead of thinking G1, I just think of touching G2 with my thumb and 5 ends up on G1. Mentally it seems an octave closer.

Ted,
Are you familiar with any of the traditional jazz courses from the 20's and 30's such Waterman, Shefte or Vincent Lopez? I'm trying to become proficient at all the Maj, Min, Dim7 and Aug 10th bases so I can eventually improvise.  Maybe I should just concentrate on making music with it for now until the 10ths become easier.

[ted]

timland:

Yes, as it happens my father had all the Shefte books. I still have them here, along with a huge heap of sheet music from 1920-1950, from when I cleaned out his house.

I think the Shefte course was very good for some people. Its major flaw was that it concentrated on one particular style of playing; admittedly a very attractive style in the right hands, but one style nonetheless. Its other restriction was that it suggested that playing swing was largely a matter of memorising matter to shovel into the pre-defined chord scheme of a tune. The best improvisers, it seems to me, do not operate in quite this way.

As I said, I just play the octave. There are times single notes sound well to me, but it's a bit hard to make rules about when.

I do not think you should wait until your keyboard vocabulary is large before improvising. Things do not usually work that way. The whole habit of improvisation builds up as you go along, using whatever vocabulary you know, large or small, and each new chord or figure is slowly absorbed into the creative whole. It is a lifelong activity. Music is too big for it to be otherwise. You're never going to reach the end so you might as well start now.

It's the Achilles paradox. "Before I can do X (say improvisation) I must learn more chords. " "Before I learn the chords I must do Y (say practice stride basses)." "Before I do that I must....... " You end up shooting yourself in the foot with the starting pistol.

I have never seen merit in serial learning for this reason. Life is too short. Improvise things you enjoy NOW and let everything else build up as it will over the years.