It's all in the face...

Since I recently aquired my 8 string I have had the temptation to give up the bass (possibly for lent :) )and concentrate on being a jazz guitarist!!! However, I have come to terms with the fact that this is never going to happen as my face just won't do what its meant to...















This facial talent must be something they learn at Berklee or other music schools in the US. It doesn't seem to be on my curriculum at Birmingham unfortunately. All these photos were expertly captured by ex professional musician and now photographer Dragan Tasic. Check out his link; he has hundreds of great jazz and blues musicians in his archives.

Thing's I am working on (Transcriptions should be up this week):

• Common bass and diad shapes for 8 string
• All Blues including melody
• A transcription of Charlie Hunter's playing on D'Angelo's Spanish Joint
• A few easy jazz-blues 12 bar progressions (with and without walking bass) using the common diad shapes for people to get under their fingers

Fancy a pint down the Battle Cruiser!

Firstly, a question: I am putting tab with the 8 string transcriptions aswell, but would you also like to see recommended left hand fingerings? (i.e. should I play the bass nite with 1st or 2nd finger) or is this obvious enough or easy enough for people to work out? Let me know and I can go back and amend the sheets or just start doing this from now on. Or even if you are having serious issues with a piece ask me. I should have time to explain in detail a bit more how I play it.

Other ideas welcome...midi files? audio? video demonstrations? If I can do it, I will give it a go if it is going to help the new 8 stringers out there.

Moving on, for those in the world that may not know Cockney rhyming slang, a 'Battle Cruiser' is another way of saying 'Boozer' or pub. A place where many evenings and weekends are wasted while supping a nice cool alcoholic beverage or ten! This also happens to be the title of the next piece I am putting up for you:

Boozer - John Scofield (8 String)
Boozer - John Scofield (Lead Sheet)
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I promise I will start doing more songs of other albums soon, it's just I really do like these grooves. I have now played then with the keyboardist from my organ 'trio!?', and he still can't get over the fact that it sounds like two people playing the parts. So if you are struggling, keep working at it. The results will be worth it.

Sorry it's been a few days since the last post, but I have been practicing really hard on the 8. I came across a book called 'Pedal exercises for the electronic organ' by Rimac Hinter in my local library and I have been trying to apply some of them to the 8 string, with mixed results. What better way to imitate organ players, than actually learning how they did! When i get at least a sheet of these exercises workable I will put them up, as I know a few people just want some easy parts and shapes to get under their fingers, rather than the mass-syncopation of some of the tunes I have put up! :)

Until next time...

Transcribe the whole album!? Maybe I should the grooves are just too good!

So, how did you find the previous Scofield transcriptions!?

I have now got them going on...except Protocol! Then again it was mainly done as a finger work out for this new beast to get some independence between fingers on both hands.

From one newcomer to another on the 8-string, these transcriptions really aren't that hard to play as longs as you take it very very slow, master one beat at a time and move on. If that beat isn't working, try another. The more you do it, the more the syncopations seem natural.

So I thought I would stay with the theme and do another John Scofield tune off A Go Go. They are good because the tunes are fun to play, the parts groove and even though Medeski, Martin and Wood are playing their ass' off, it's Scofield's playing that just tops it off!

So here it is Hottentot. Fairly easy to play as on 8 string as there is very little interplay between the two parts:

Hottentot - John Scofield
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Incidently, did you know that Hottentot comes from the name given to the Khoikhoi ("men of men") who are a historical division of the Khoisan ethnic group of southwestern Africa, closely related to the Bushmen. It means "stutterer" in the white colonists' northern dialect of Dutch, and is a name that is nowadays considered offensive by the Oxford Dictionary of South African English. You didn't know that!? I wonder it Scofield did when he named it.

I also thought, on top of putting the 8 string transcriptions up, i may aswell do lead sheets incase there are some non-8 stringers out there (I would be interested to know actually how many 8 stringers there are!? comment me saying "I'm an 8-stringer and deserve double the gig paycheck!") or other instrumentalists who are interest in playing these tunes!

So lead sheets for tunes so far:

A Go Go - John Scofield (Lead Sheet)

Chank - John Scofield (Lead Sheet)

Hottentot - John Scofield (Lead Sheet)

Protocol - John Scofield (Lead Sheet)

Have fun and let me know how you are getting on with them!

Finally 'she' is here...some things for you to play aswell!

So here we are...over a week since I last posted. Why you ask?

The reason for this site is to follow my progress on the 8 string guitar and to inform others by discuss concepts that apply to it.

So it finally arrived on friday morning at 10am. You should know, up until this point it seemed to be missing somewhere over the Atlantic. USPS="It was sent and should be in the UK." Parcelforce="It hasn't been received, it can't have been sent!". Needless to say, I almost had a heart attack, but she is here now.

You could look a few posts back, but I want another excuse to post a picture of 'her'

My Wes Lambe guitar is....."Jackie Brown!" (The name my flat mate Trondur came up with the name for 'her'. It had to be a girls name, it was brown. It sounded good to me; Pam Grier's career was revitalised because of Jackie Brown, so the hope is mine will aswell. Also, this beauty is one bad mother!)


I have honestly never played an instrument of this build quality, it's excellent. I haven't really put it down since it arrived. So let begin the learning, here are a few transcriptions I have done for 8 string:

A Go Go - John Scofield
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Chank - John Scofield
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Protocol - John Scofield

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