Application of Natural and Artificial Harmonics - When Applied to Solo Electric Bass Arrangements
I had always been enamored by the late Jaco Pastoriusās use of both natural and artificial harmonics, the most commonly referenced composition being āA Portrait of Tracyā which has been a staple amongst bass players interested in learning the technique and his music. It seems like every bass player I know can play the opening bars of Jacoās solo electric bass masterpiece. I myself dabbled in learning the piece, but I never had enough of a reason to retain it fully and found little opportunity to use what I had learned, but that was soon to change....
Image taken from Josh Cohen's Bach "Prelude InĀ C-Major - for Solo Electric Bass"
Ā Ā Ā It wasnāt until I had the idea to attempt J.S. Bachās āPrelude In C-Majorā using all natural and artificial harmonics that I truly began to understand this technique and the various applications it could have in the art of solo electric bass. On my first attempt at arranging the prelude I almost decided to give up thinking that the technique was beyond my abilities and that I would need to stay away from it for a few more years before progressing to such an ambitious task. After what seemed like an eternity of negative thoughts I decided that I would spend a few hours working out the first four bars and then getting them up to a reasonable speed and only then if I was happy with the result would I continue onward. Needless to say after an afternoon of hard work with the metronome and finding the perfect placement to allow the harmonics to ring out I achieved what I had set out to do and the result was four bars of deeply emotive dream-like music just as Bach had intended. Great!....so now I just needed another eight afternoons to complete my work....ugh. Well, luckily as I progressed I developed a knack for it and within a few more afternoons at work I had decoded the entire piece using natural and artificial harmonics and just needed to raise the tempo and fluidity of my playing.
Image taken from Josh Cohen's Bach "Prelude InĀ C-Major - for Solo Electric Bass"
Below is the end result of all my hard work as it was recorded on my solo bass video tour through Redwood National Park and Yosemite National Park.
BachāsĀ āPrelude In C-Major - Solo Electric Bassā - http://youtu.be/6EaTems2LNs
In case you were wondering a little bit more about how to play artificial harmonics below is an amazing article written by Donovan Stokes for No TrebleĀ that explains the basics.
http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2013/04/08/artificial-harmonics-the-basics/
Alright, now that you understand more about the technique we can move on to....
HOW TO PLAY MY ARRANGEMENT OF BACHāS āPRELUDE IN C-MAJORā
Well Iām not going to give away all the secrets just yet, but here is a short excerpt from my transcription for the first 8 bars.
Image taken from Josh Cohen's Bach "Prelude InĀ C-Major - for Solo Electric Bass"
I hope that all you bass cats found this blog post informative, interesting and more than that inspiring for you to pursue your own solo bass arrangements and compositions. Keep on exploring the new possibilities....
Please share and stay tunedā¦.
Website: themusicofjoshcohen.com
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CREDITS:
Photography by: Micah Seth Dubinsky & Dan Joseph Cohen
Bass Luthier: Ken Smith
My solo bass album "Out of the Bassment" will be released in September so stay tuned..
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Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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