This is the way Ray Brown recommended bass players learn tunes. He had us sing melodies while playing time at a masterclass I attending in 1976. It remains the best advice i ever got from any teacher.

Man, I've been needing this video for 25 years. Thanks for the clear demo and for singing the melodies!

"...was like the bass gently accompanying a tune, which now and then ran up unexpectedly into the melody."--Virginia Woolf, TO THE LIGHTHOUSE. Since, we're referencing quotes!

Only 900-1000 haha. This is a great video. I think I'll record myself playing the roots and then play the melody along with the recording.

Yes! This is a wonderful lesson! Very much appreciate it!

Dude! This! This Fantastic perspective-shifting explanation/lesson is something I've needed to hear for years! Thank you.

Excellent video, mate

So good & useful! Thank you.

7pm. 1/8/23 I really appreciate your clarity and insights, and I wholeheartedly agree with your premise. Keep those videos coming. I’m particularly interested in the relationship between your classical training and your jazz life.

This is one of the most useful video I have ever seen

Wow, great … super helpful!!

will try

Perfect!!!

This is great great content

if anyone's interested in hearing counterpoint basslines for improvised music check out Brazilian Choro - Pixinguinha or the 7-string guitar players on Jacob do Bandolim's recordings.

Another serving of fresh dopesauce from Cole Davis' 24-hour Basso Profundo Diner!😎🤗💖 Hey...potential tune title...😉

Excellent Cole! thank you very much for your contribution. By the way, what set of strings do you use? All the best.

Joe Solomon teaches "learn the melody, sing the melody" that what Lennie Tristano taught him and Joe teaches me. If I know the melody to a song I dont even need to know the chords now I can play it.

great video

This was taught me by an amazing musician/composer called Claude Werner I was in his band and he mentored me and got do this. I now study privately with Larry Grenadier and Ben Wolfe and they are really big in to this approach. In fact Ben is teaching this tune to me in any key by singing the melody and playing the root notes. I can actually do it no tricks just intervallic relationships. I’m sure you’ve studied with Ben at Julliard. This works obviously as you have an astonishing command of your instrument

acctualy transcribing a good solo is also a great way to master a tune

OMG what an incredible lesson! So simply said but to the point and the tone of that bass . I haven’t a bass Sound that good except for Of course for Mister McBride’s Where do I send the check for such a great lesson

Damn……this is one of the epiphanies I Of life……wow…thank you !

Certainly helpful idea. I have a question: are you memorizing the chord changes to play the roots, using your ear to hear the chord changes to play the roots, or a combination of both?

Interesting! 😉

Your bass sounds fantastic. Can I ask what strings you use?

oh you went to juilliard, thats why you dont know what I superlocrian scale is good for you hahahah keep up man!

Stupid question ... how do you know what the root is without knowing the chord?

That flex ahaha "ONLY 900 to a 1000 tunes", but great content as usual Cole, keep it up !

am i high or is this a loop

U look like PMC

Yo. I'm old as fuck and I could prolly be your grampa. Here's the thing: I fucking hate standards. Never liked 'em and don't find value in 'em as something legit to play. The only reason why these old pop tunes became standards is because, for some reason, musicians started believing in what jazz critics and jazz record execs told them to play. And so, you got this whole thing of cats playing old shit because those arseholes wanted to hear 'em. It's not uncommon for a record company would sign a cat to a deal and just before you're recording your debut some motherfucker sends you a list of tunes, of standards to play at the date. Cyrus Chestnutt mentioned something like this on a jazz radio interview many years ago. Chestnutt also mentioned that the record companies and ticket-selling venues were colluding the fix prices for their product. I especially hate the HARMONIC ANALYSES of these tunes. Look, these tunes are American pop hits from the 1920 through 1960 ear (really until mid-60's before Miles went elektrik). And the tunes are basically the same fucking changes for like 6 songs. The only thing that's different is the melody and the key. Oh yeah...there's also the stylistic variation too (swing, fast bop, waltz, ballad..). So...if you want to play standards you only have to know two things: the melody and the key you are playing in that night. That's it. You can literally play a whole set of tunes with different melodies and in a few different styles using only 1-6-2-5. Or...you can play 1-4-5 12 bar blues, etc.. Playing standards (corny old pop tunes) is a joke, man. Hell...you could play the same solo but in different keys on these tunes. What's the point of jazz, then, if standards suck (too many cats place WAY TOO MUCH EMPHASIS)? Answer: write your own fucking tunes and keep expanding the envelope. Did I mention that standards suck?