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The development of the jazz guitar and jazz guitar music has been marked by a long string of technical and stylistic innovators! In the post World War I era there appeared the revolutionary solo voice of Lonnie Johnson, one of the largely unheralded guitar players of the twentieth century who would go on to further achievement playing the blues. His one time recording buddy, Eddie Lang, performing under the pseudonym Blind Willie Dunn, advanced the cause of chordal accompaniment as well as single note improvised soloing and is credited with bringing the guitar forward as a legitimate musical instrument. Following in the twenties are the notable soloing and chord melody accomplishments of George Van Eps, Dick McDonough, Carl Kress, and Nick Lucas. The thirties produced the wild gypsy guitar genius Django Reinhardt – a virtuoso whose exciting flights of improvised solos, octaves, and aggressive chording would also have far reaching influence.

The advent of the first commercially viable amplified guitar in 1936 by Gibson Guitar Company led the way for another genius and the acknowledged forefather of modern jazz guitar music, Charlie Christian. Quickly realizing the expanded soloing potential of the electric guitar, Christian sprung extremely sophisticated horn-like lines on his stunned contemporaries while playing in the Benny goodman band. Equally important, he was instrumental in the development of bebop in the forties via his participation in after hours jam sessions at Minton’s in Harlem. Like a shooting star, his talent blazed for a brief period between 1939 and 1942 until he died at the tender age of 25. The number of guitarists who fell under Christian’s guitaristic influence is countless and still multiplying with Johnny Smith, Joe Pass, Oscar Moore, Barney Kessel, George Barnes, Les Paul, Tal Farlow, and Herb Ellis being only some of the most prominent.

The next sylistic leap occurred in the late fifties when rumors of a fantastic new jazz guitarist, performing in obscurity in Indianapolis, made their way east. Wes Montgomery, using his thumb rather than a guitar pick, was absolutely dazzling in his speed, dexterity, and creativity! He knew the Charlie Christian songbook inside and out, but added his own extraordinary octave technique and bop blues sensibility to a style that became the benchmark for virtually all other jazz guitarists. Tired of playing longs hours for short pay in the jazz clubs, Montgomery took a turn towards easy listening arrangements of pop tunes in the mid-sixties, to the consternation of jazz purists, and died too young at the age of 44 in 1968.

Concurrent with Montgomery’s rise in the sixties was the sighting of yet another young man gobbling up acres of guitar fingerboard. Combining the best of Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery, George Benson was literally playing his way out of R&B bands on his way to becoming even bigger and more popular than his predecessors. With superior chops and the longevity to let them develop and mature, he is arguably the most famous jazz guitarist of all time as well as one of the greatest and continues to dazzle guitarists and audiences alike with his incredible guitar playing!

What Types of Bass Guitar are Available?

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There are a number of different types of basses, but the two most common groups are the stand-up basses (or string bass) and bass guitars (both acoustic and electric). Source:http://www.wordshub.com

A stand-up bass is widely used in classical applications and sometimes in blues or jazz bands. It is enormous instrument that the player stands on its end and plays standing up. Increasingly, the stand-up bass is being used in acoustic groups that tend to play more popular music as well. http://www.wordshub.com

More common, however, is the bass guitar. Bass guitars come in two primary variants – the electric bass and the acoustic bass. There are even acoustic-electric bass guitars.

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Electric Bass Guitars http://www.wordshub.com

Electric bass guitars function on the same principle as electric guitars where the body is normally solid, and electronic pickups are used to capture the string vibrations and transmit them to an amplifier which then increases the volume of the signal. Electric bass guitars aremost common in the 4-string variant, but are increasingly being found in 5 and 6 string models. These instruments are still tuned an octave lower, however the additional strings provide the accomplished player with more options for expanding their playing. As noted, electricbasses require bass guitar amplifiers to amplify their signal. Source:http://www.wordshub.com

Acoustic Bass Guitars

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Similar to the acoustic guitar, the acoustic bass guitar has a large sound cavity that is normally constructed of wood and a sound-hole that projects the sound made by plucking or strumming the strings. Acoustic bass guitars are sometimes thought of as impractical to a band as their projection is somewhat limited, however the quality and resonance of the tone is what keeps many bass players interested. Many groups that like to put on an acoustic show will include an acoustic bass, acoustic guitar, and bongos or congas for percussion. You can also mic an acoustic bass if you’re going for an interesting sound. Source:http://www.wordshub.com

Acoustic-Electric Bass Guitars

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Add a piezo or other pickup to an acoustic bass and guess what you’ve got? That’s right, acoustic basses also come in an acoustic-electric variant which really gives you the flexibility to run through a pa system or amplifier, as well as gain the benefits of the acoustic tone. We’ve seen several jazz bands taking this approach, and again, normally amplified bands that appeared on MTV’s series Unplugged. Ideally, this is the model that you would want if you are looking for the benefits of both. Source:http://www.wordshub.com

What Type of Bass Guitar Do I Want?

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While this can certainly be a very personal choice, you’re probably going to want to start with an electric bass guitar. This variant is the most widely used, it’s the easiest to play, andmost common. Also, if you are a beginner, we’d recommend you stick with a 4 string model to learn and improve on. Sometimes it’s better to keep things simple, and the 4 string electric bass is the way to go. http://www.wordshub.com

If you are tempted by the idea of an acoustic bass, we’d highly recommend you at least go with an acoustic-electric, and preferably, one with as large a surface area as possible on the body. This will help project when you’re not amplified and at least the instrument will have the electronics built in if you ever decide you need to plug it in. http://www.wordshub.com

What About 5 String and 6 String Bass Guitars? WordsHub.com

Unless you’re an accomplished bass player, we’d recommend you stay away from anything higher than 4 strings. It’s better to keep it simple, and with more strings, comes more complication. Additionally, 5 and 6 stringbasses can be harder to play and have a much wider fretboard, which can be a challenge for small or inexperienced hands. Unless you’re comfortable and have been playing a while, we wouldn’t recommend it. On the other hand, if you are an experienced bassist, you may want to consider a 5 or 6 string bass. The instrument will give you more range and flexibility to showcase your talents, and also provide more ranges and octaves for you to work with in your playing. Bass soloing has really caught on in the last few decades and to really impress, it’s better to have the additional strings and range. http://www.wordshub.com

What About “Scale”? Source:http://www.wordshub.com

Scale is used to indentify the length of the bass from the nut to the bridge. Obviously the longer the distance the more vibration you can expect and therefore longer length strings can allow you to play much deeper tones. While most bass guitars are about 34 inches long, there are incrementally shorter and longer varieties that are much a matter of personal choice. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that as your scale length grows, so does the amount of flexibility needed to accurately play those notes. That’s right, with scale increases, come increases in distance between the frets – so be careful, although it might seem cool and challenging to play a longer scale bass, you could end up looking sloppy in your style if take this route. WordsHub.com

What Are Some Of The Most Popular Bass Guitar Brands?

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If you’ve spent any amount of time looking at bass guitars, you’ve probably noticed a preponderance of the Fender P and J models. Available in both American and internally made models, these electricbasses have almost become the standard others have been measured by. Don’t limit your choices though! Other manufacturers make great basses as well, including Gibson, Epiphone, Dean, and Warwick on the high end. Source:http://www.wordshub.com

Where do I fine more tips for Buying Bass Guitars? WordsHub.com

For bass guitar reviews of specific brands, please visit the bass guitars page on MusicGearReview. This is a site by musicians and for musicians with over 10,000 music equipment reviews submitted by real musicians to help you research before you buy or make a purchase. We provide tips from our readers as well as for them. Source:http://www.wordshub.com

www.vmusicbook.com sells an e-book, which provides solutions for most issues that unsigned musicians experience.

VmusicBook was created for those who wish to set up and successfully run an independent music business, especially for the URBAN markets such as Hip-Hop, R&B, Drum & Bass and all other Dance genres including UK Grime.

VmusicBook is one of the first music resources of its kind. It is said to be the most comprehensive and detailed directories sold online giving you direct access to 100s of important contacts.

VmusicBook is an invaluable business tool for unsigned talent looking to turn their talents or skills into a legal business. No matter what you do if it is creative and entertaining then this is without doubt for you.

The VmusicBook was made for unsigned artists and musicians, label owners, music producers, songwriters, engineers and mangers. Get your music or songs into television, films and commercials.

An independent record label is a brand that is not patronized by or funded by any major record labels like the Universal, EMI or SonyBMG. If you want to start your own Record Label to introduce fresh talents in the music industry, remember that this can be a very difficult task and there will be no such thing as an overnight success when you start your own record label venture.

You will need the following requirements to start your own record label. Firstly, you should have talent to recognize great music as well as potential artists. Then you need to have basic knowledge regarding the marketing process, business negotiation, book keeping product and development. Moreover, the most important thing of all is to have great patience and confidence.

Start your own Record Label

If you are planning to start your own Record Label, try to follow the step-by-step guidelines that are given below;

Make your plans

The most important thing for starting any new work is to do accurate planning. Planning is the first step towards achieving any goal. You have to make approximate estimates about the type of music you want to sell and fix up a price for it. If you plan to employ independent music artists, then you have to know how much their payments would cost you. After allocating their payments and the estimating these costs, you should also know how much profit you would end up making for each CD that you sell. You have to estimate all these figures roughly and make changes in them, before actually implementing this plan.

Budget your ventures

The second crucial step to start your own Record Label is to plan out a budget implementation strategy. You need to be clear about the level of finance you will require to start your own record label along with appropriate financial resources. Try to conjure up different means and sources from where you can get sufficient funds to start your own record label business. You can approach banks, your friends, your business partners or use your own money to invest in this type of business.

The recording process

The recording process requires you to think about different avenues available to you in your area. You can purchase software for recordings, editing, converting and analyzing your music at an affordable price. Set your small studio or think of other cheap ventures that you can use to record music in order to start your own record label.

Distributing your music

You can distribute your music by making agreements with the existing music companies. Pre-determine the amount that you will need to pay these companies as well as your artists while distributing your music.

Naming and promoting your label

Another important step to start your own Record Label is selecting a proper name for your recording company. Such names should be catchy yet reliable. This is one of the most important steps when you plan to start your own record label. You can promote your label by maintaining contacts with people who are already in this industry, make deals with the growing and major companies, promoters, radio stations and distributors. This process takes time, so you will have to persevere if you want to come out as a winner in the end.

Once you are sure of how to start your own record label, remember to be contact with a number of people in the same field and always hire those people who share your vision and passion for music. With sincere efforts and a few smart moves, you will soon be able to successfully start your own record label venture.

Coutesy of www.vmusicbook.com ?VmusicBook, Inc. 2008