All the Better Stuff

To my favorite creatures, Cole and Charlotte, for their odd habits and adorable head-butts that ll my life with joy and love.

Concepts & Compositions: Janek Gwizdala Cover Art: Chelsea Stevens Graphic Design: Chelsea Stevens Layout: Chelsea Stevens Music Copywork: Chelsea Stevens Copyediting: Chelsea Stevens

To my favorite creatures, Cole and Charlotte, for their odd habits and adorable head-butts that ll my life with joy and love.

Concepts & Compositions: Janek Gwizdala Cover Art: Chelsea Stevens Graphic Design: Chelsea Stevens Layout: Chelsea Stevens Music Copywork: Chelsea Stevens Copyediting: Chelsea Stevens

BASS PLAYER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY

all the b e t t er stuff PRACTICE KNOWS NO LIMITS

Copyright © 2017 by Janek Gwizdala, LLC All rights reserved

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction …………………………………………………………… 6 Inside the Practice Room ………………………………………….… 7

Part ONE: MAJOR PRACTICE Major Shapes 1 ……………………………………………….... Major Shapes 2 ………………………………………………... Major Shapes 3 ………………………………………………... Major Shapes 4 ………………………………………………... Major Pentatonic Repeated Note Exercise…………………... Major Chromatic Approach 1 ……………………………….... Major Chromatic Approach 2 ……………………………….... Major Chromatic Approach 3 ……………………………….... Major Chromatic Approach 4 ……………………………….... Major Chromatic Approach 5 ……………………………….... Major Chromatic Approach 6 ……………………………….... Major Chromatic Approach Etude …………………………....

10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32

Part TWO: MINOR PRACTICE Minor Shapes ………………………………………………….. Melodic Minor Altered ……………………………………….. Minor & Diminished …………………………………………… Minor Pentatonic Repeated Note Exercise………………….. Minor Chromatic Approach 1 ……………………………….... Minor Chromatic Approach 2 ……………………………….... Minor Chromatic Approach 3 ……………………………….... Octave Minor Chord-Tone Approach………………………… Minor Chromatic Approach Etude…………………………….

34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50

Part THREE: CREATING SHAPES Augmented Exercise …………………………………………… 52 1-5-9 Aeolian …………………………………………………… 54 1-5-9 Dorian …………………………………………………….. 56 1-5-9 Lydian ……………………………………………………... 58 1-5-9 Augmented …………………………….………………… 60 Angular Etude …………………………………………………… 62

appendix Tab: Major Practice…………………..…………………………. 63 Tab: Minor Practice..…………………………………………..... 87 Tab: Creating Shapes……………………………………........... 105 Treble Clef : Major Practice ……………………………………. 117 Treble Clef : Minor Practice ……………………………………. 141 Treble Clef : Creating Shapes ………………………………….. 159

6

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION The entire purpose of this and all of the books I write is to shed some light on my process as a musician. All the Better Stuff picks up where All the Good Stuff left off, and really gets inside my daily routine. When you want good technique, when you want to improve your playing and open up more musical possibilities for yourself, there’s nowhere to hide when it comes to doing the work. This book can act as a guide to help you understand what is necessary to rene your learning process, and get the most out of your music. These exercises are by no means the be-all and end-all of musical study. They just happen to be what I’ve developed for myself, in some cases over years, and in others very recently. One of the most important keys to staying motivated and keeping the material you’re working on fresh is to always be looking for new ideas to add to your routine. The rst two examples in this book, for instance, are brand new—a simple, evolved development of major shapes I’ve been playing for years, that are still able to help me increase my ability and consistency in the fundamentals of the instrument. Remember, none of us are ever at the end. We’re never too good to learn. The process is never-ending and forever-evolving. And when we sharpen the right learning tools, we’ll never be able to run out of things to work on and ways to get better. Editors note: If you purchased a physical copy of this book through Amazon and want to take advantage of the accompanying instructional video material, please visit the store at www.janekgwizdala.com to download the digital DVD for a small additional charge.

INSIDE THE PRACTICE ROOM

7

INSIDE THE PRACTICE ROOM As you dive into this book, I would ask you to keep in mind the following things:

Record yourself practicing. The tape doesn’t lie! We can get immediate feedback while practicing simply by listening back to what we just played. As long as we ask the tough questions, like, “how is my time?” “How is my sound?” “Am I really executing the idea as well as I would like?” and are totally honest with ourselves when we answer, then we can accelerate our learning process and see an immediate impact on our playing.

Have a metronome handy. This is an extremely useful tool to give yourself a little discipline when working on a new idea. There is a tendency to rush with new material, and the metronome will be your trafc cop keeping you within the speed limit. Develop your own ideas. Use the exercises in this book until they’re completely worn out!

But don’t forget to also develop your own. You only have to alter one or two notes in any of these ideas, and they become a completely new sound and direction to explore.

Don’t overplay. We’ve all heard the crazy stories of musicians who practice for ten to twelve hours a day, right? I was even one of those musicians early on in my career. But make sure you’re being realistic with how you budget your practice time. You would be amazed at how much progress you can make with a shorter amount of time spent per day, but increased consistency over days, weeks, and months. When my schedule is jam packed, and I “have no time to practice,” I set myself goals of just ten minutes a day for two weeks with something I really need to work on, and have seen huge gains as a result.

Practice when you’re relaxed and inspired. I always get the most out of my practice routine when I’m relaxed and inspired. If either of these things are missing, it’s more productive to do something else rather than force the issue.

Time and sound over everything. I can’t reiterate this enough. There is nothing more identiable in someone’s playing than these two elements, and the more aware you are of developing and shaping them, the sooner you will nd your voice as a musician.

8

PART ONE: MAJOR PRACTICE

9

PART ONE: MAJOR PRACTICE Solidify your knowledge of major tonalities throughout your entire instrument with these challenging exercises throughout Part One. Work your way up to the Major Chromatic Approach Etude on page 32 to see how far you’ve come.

10


The idea behind these rst ve exercises is to have some variation in length, motion, and intensity of technical demands. Repeat each key center more than once before moving on, until you have the shaped memorized in your ngers.

MAJOR SHAPES 1 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

11

Db Major

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

12


Major shapes 2 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

13

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

14



F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

15

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

16



F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

17

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

18


major PENTATONIC REPEATED NOTE C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

19

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

20


Here are six chromatic approach exercises based in major tonalities to get you really dialed in with tight ngerings. They are not easy by any stretch of the imagination, especially when you want to eventually have the ability to wind up the tempo. They form a huge foundation of my daily practice routine, and are always one of my favorite go-to ideas whenever I’m stuck for something to practice. The etude at the end of this section combines a host of the ideas we’ve looked at so far in the book, and should serve as a starting point for you to create your own short compositions based around these exercises.

major CHROMATIC approach exercise 1 C Major

F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

21

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

22



F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

23

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

24



F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

25

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

26



F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

27

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

28



F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

29

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

30



F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

31

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

32


major CHROMATIC approach etude

33

PART TWO: MINOR PRACTICE We’ll jump straight into minor practice with the rst three exercises, which cycle through harmonic minor, melodic minor, and minor/diminished tonalities. You might recognize the melodic minor exercise from “All the Good Stuff,” but we’ve developed the idea in a harmonic context, which will assist you in playing altered vocabulary by playing the melodic minor scale up a half-step from the root of any dominant chord. Then, just as we had the chromatic approach exercises to major tonalities, here are several similar ideas but based in minor. Be sure to learn each shape well enough to be able to play them up the octave when possible, where they will t more comfortably in your ngers. We nish off the chapter with a melodic etude implementing the simplest chord-tone and approach-note concepts to create beautiful melodies. Once you’ve mastered this etude, I encourage you to write your own compositions based on the ideas in this section.

34

PART TWO: MINOR PRACTICE

minor shapes A Minor

D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

35

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

36


melodic minor/altered exercise Ab7 Altered

Db7 Altered

Gb7 Altered

B7 Altered

E7 Altered

A7 Altered

37

D7 Altered

G7 Altered

C7 Altered

F7 Altered

Bb7 Altered

Eb7 Altered

38


minor to diminished A Minor

D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

39

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

40


mINOr PENTATONIC REPEATED NOTE A Minor

D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

41

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

42


minor chromatic approach 1 A Minor

D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

43

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

44



D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

45

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

46



D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

47

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

48


octave minor chord tone approach A Minor

D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

49

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

50


minor chromatic approach etude

51

PART THREE: CREATING SHAPES Part Three delves into more complicated shapes, introducing modes and tonalities that will prove to be more technically demanding. We open with an augmented idea, followed by a series of exercises based on the root, fth, and ninth. This 1-5-9 shape is derived from one of the most famous guitar lines in music history, pioneered by the Police’s Andy Summers in “Message in a Bottle.” This shape will open up an innite amount of possibilites as we cycle through Aeolian, Dorian, Lydian, and Augmented tonalities employing the same pattern. There are a myriad of possible combinations between one, ve, and nine, so go the extra mile by writing and implementing your own patterns as well. Test your exibility and mastery of the exercises with our nal Angular Exercise on page 62.

52

PART THREE: CREATING SHAPES

augmented exercise C Augmented

F Augmented

Bb Augmented

Eb Augmented

Ab Augmented

Db Augmented

53

Gb Augmented

B Augmented

E Augmented

A Augmented

D Augmented

G Augmented

54


1-5-9 Aeolian A Aeolian

D Aeolian

G Aeolian

C Aeolian

F Aeolian

Bb Aeolian

55

Eb Aeolian

G# Aeolian

C# Aeolian

F# Aeolian

B Aeolian

E Aeolian

56


1-5-9 DORIAN D Dorian

G Dorian

C Dorian

F Dorian

Bb Dorian

Eb Dorian

57

Ab Dorian

C# Dorian

F# Dorian

B Dorian

E Dorian

A Dorian

58


1-5-9 LYDIAN F Lydian

Bb Lydian

Eb Lydian

Ab Lydian

Db Lydian

Gb Lydian

59

Cb Lydian

E Lydian

A Lydian

D Lydian

G Lydian

C Lydian

60


1-5-9 Augmented C Augmented

F Augmented

Bb Augmented

Eb Augmented

Ab Augmented

Db Augmented

61

Gb Augmented

B Augmented

E Augmented

A Augmented

D Augmented

G Augmented

62


angular exercise

63

APPENDIX: TAB MAJOR PRACTICE

64

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

65

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

66

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

67

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

68

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

69

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

70

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

71

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

72

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

73

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

74

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

75

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

76

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

77

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

78

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

79

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

80

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

81

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

82

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

83

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

84

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

85

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

86

APPENDIX


87

APPENDIX: TAB MINOR PRACTICE

88

APPENDIX


D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

89

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

90

APPENDIX


Db7 Altered

Gb7 Altered

B7 Altered

E7 Altered

A7 Altered

91

D7 Altered

G7 Altered

C7 Altered

F7 Altered

Bb7 Altered

Eb7 Altered

92

APPENDIX


D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

93

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

94

APPENDIX

mINOR PENTATONIC REPEATED NOTE A Minor

D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

95

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

96

APPENDIX


D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

97

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

98

APPENDIX


D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

99

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

100

APPENDIX


D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

101

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

102

APPENDIX


D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

103

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

104

APPENDIX


105

APPENDIX: TAB CREATING SHAPES

106

APPENDIX


F Augmented

Bb Augmented

Eb Augmented

Ab Augmented

Db Augmented

107

Gb Augmented

B Augmented

E Augmented

A Augmented

D Augmented

G Augmented

108

APPENDIX


D Aeolian

G Aeolian

C Aeolian

F Aeolian

Bb Aeolian

109

Eb Aeolian

G# Aeolian

C# Aeolian

F# Aeolian

B Aeolian

E Aeolian

110

APPENDIX


G Dorian

C Dorian

F Dorian

Bb Dorian

Eb Dorian

111

Ab Dorian

C# Dorian

F# Dorian

B Dorian

E Dorian

A Dorian

112

APPENDIX


Bb Lydian

Eb Lydian

Ab Lydian

Db Lydian

Gb Lydian

113

Cb Lydian

E Lydian

A Lydian

D Lydian

G Lydian

C Lydian

114

APPENDIX


F Augmented

Bb Augmented

Eb Augmented

Ab Augmented

Db Augmented

115

Gb Augmented

B Augmented

E Augmented

A Augmented

D Augmented

G Augmented

116

APPENDIX

angular exercise

117

APPENDIX: TREBLE CLEF MAJOR PRACTICE

118

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

119

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

120

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

121

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

122

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

123

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

124

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

125

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

126

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

127

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

128

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

129

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

130

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

131

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

132

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

133

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

134

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

135

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

136

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

137

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

138

APPENDIX


F Major

Bb Major

Eb Major

Ab Major

Db Major

139

Gb Major

B Major

E Major

A Major

D Major

G Major

140

APPENDIX


141

APPENDIX: TREBLE CLEF MINOR PRACTICE

142

APPENDIX


D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

143

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

144

APPENDIX


Db7 Altered

Gb7 Altered

B7 Altered

E7 Altered

A7 Altered

145

D7 Altered

G7 Altered

C7 Altered

F7 Altered

Bb7 Altered

Eb7 Altered

146

APPENDIX


D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

147

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

148

APPENDIX

mINOR PENTATONIC REPEATED NOTE A Minor

D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

149

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

150

APPENDIX


D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

151

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

152

APPENDIX


D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

153

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

154

APPENDIX


D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

155

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

156

APPENDIX


D Minor

G Minor

C Minor

F Minor

Bb Minor

157

Eb Minor

G# Minor

C# Minor

F# Minor

B Minor

E Minor

158

APPENDIX


159

APPENDIX: TREBLE CLEF CREATING SHAPES

160

APPENDIX


F Augmented

Bb Augmented

Eb Augmented

Ab Augmented

Db Augmented

161

Gb Augmented

B Augmented

E Augmented

A Augmented

D Augmented

G Augmented

162

APPENDIX


D Aeolian

G Aeolian

C Aeolian

F Aeolian

Bb Aeolian

163

Eb Aeolian

G# Aeolian

C# Aeolian

F# Aeolian

B Aeolian

E Aeolian

164

APPENDIX


G Dorian

C Dorian

F Dorian

Bb Dorian

Eb Dorian

165

Ab Dorian

C# Dorian

F# Dorian

B Dorian

E Dorian

A Dorian

166

APPENDIX


Bb Lydian

Eb Lydian

Ab Lydian

Db Lydian

Gb Lydian

167

Cb Lydian

E Lydian

A Lydian

D Lydian

G Lydian

C Lydian

168

APPENDIX


F Augmented

Bb Augmented

Eb Augmented

Ab Augmented

Db Augmented

169

Gb Augmented

B Augmented

E Augmented

A Augmented

D Augmented

G Augmented

170

APPENDIX

angular exercise

171

about the author

London-born, US-based bass player and record producer Janek Gwizdala has been on the international music scene for over twenty years, touring as a band leader and working as musical director or sideman with some of the most respected names in the industry. These include: Randy Brecker, Hiram Bullock, Mike Stern, John Mayer, Airto Moreira, Chuck Loeb, Peter Erskine, Flora Purim, Pat Metheny, Billy Cobham, Bob James, John Patitucci, Bob Mintzer, Marcus Miller, Jojo Mayer, Paul Shafer, Dennis Chambers, Gary Novak and Wayne Krantz. As a recording artist and band leader, Janek has released eight albums as a leader; as an author, published four critically acclaimed books; and has toured the world extensively with music while also touring as a lecturer and clinician at the world’s leading educational establishments.

All the Better Stuff

Recommend Documents