Jeff Berlin - Bach

[sedonamudsquid]

Really cool! You're amazing!

[SteveHoweJeffBerlin]

Spectacular Marc.

How long did your fingers have to train in the Olympics for?

The fingerings to his solos are very difficult and require

a lot of practice. How does he think this stuff up?

I have a video of me playing (or trying to) the solo from Joe Frazier.

I got it as close as I could, but it is very physically demanding.

Mike

[danbergam]

That piece from Jeff is truly beautiful... and your rendition of it is amazing!

Thank you for sharing!

^_^

[GodsAbe]

CASTLEVANIA GAME ON BASS!!!!! yeahhh!

[groovemak]

incredible! Really...Without words, man!

Simply amazing

Respect

[Jclove7]

C'est fort! C'est très fort!

[spmahcuom]

jeff berlin est un bon bassiste (même si je ne suis pas fan de sa musique) mais je trouve qu'il a toujours eu des goûts de chiottes pour ses compos. Et faire du bach en rock je trouve ça vraiment pas terrible. Idem pour bach en version jazz comme.

[420nyukkafoshizz]

Is there a tab for this?

[xylfox]

Frustrated guitarist? Great Job even!!!

[maddtappin]

Nice chops!

[namesR4tombstones]

Yes, it is amazing.

I wish I could play bass with that amount of skill...

[MarcJohnsonBass]

@MAJORASS68

Salut,

Effectivement c'est moi ;)

Je serai sûrement dans un prochain numéro (peu de chances pour le prochain) Pour le contenu ça sera la surprise :p

[anke6458]

this is fuckin not jeff

[MarcJohnsonBass]

@anke6458

No it's a cover, you're too good, you have not been fooled ^^

[ZappaFan101]

@anke6458

Don't be silly. This is just Jeff without his mustache ;)

[MarcJohnsonBass]

@MAJORASS68 :

Salut content d'être dans tes favoris. Je donne des cours par webcam oui mais pas gratuit ;) Seulement la première demi heure histoire de voir si tout fonctionne bien et si le format convient à l'élève.

@++

Marc

[blunt1]

That is amazing. I have the transcription and dude congrats on this.

[optiline]

Wow.Grande.

[dogoneesi]

WoW!! nice one there!!!! do you have any sheet or tab of that??

[MarcJohnsonBass]

@dogoneesi

ecolebasscool . com Go to "lecons" sections ;)

[MahavishnuBoy]

Chingon!. El solo de bajo es exquisito...

[spoofzilla]

You have a combination of amazing dexterity and amazing musical talent!

[adrian5b]

that piece requires serious stamina

[multitrade]

Hi Marc,

You did a great job with this solo. I have also worked on it years ago and had some success with it, but not as much as you. Did you ever write any tablature for this solo, once you figured it out?

[miles18854]

excelente!!!, do you have the transcription??

=)

[MarcJohnsonBass]

Enjoy ;)

ecolebasscool.free.fr/lecons/b­ach.jpg

[Austinagent1]

Nice Marc! How long did it take you ?

[MarcJohnsonBass]

@Austinagent1

Don't remember exactly many hours for sure. Specially the part between 1:47 and 1:49 ^^

[accordodeicontrari]

really a great performance!

Daniele

bass player of Accordo dei Contrari (italy)

[MarcJohnsonBass]

@accordodeicontrari

Grazie :)

[dunetune42]

Unbelievable effort here. Well done. I remember when I bought this CD many years ago and heard "Joe Frazier, Round II" as well as this tune, I knew Jeff Berlin had a talent and tone unlike anyone. I always thought he played a fretless with the muted tone he had.

Outstanding job here. Thanks for this.

[MarcJohnsonBass]

@dunetune42 : It's who thank you for your comment :)

[zyraxe]

This is my absolute favourite bass solo... It is not the fastest och the most complicated solo, but it just sounds sooo good. Great playing.

[MarcJohnsonBass]

@zyraxe

Thx :)

[MrBidonus]

Oh Yeah,bien joué !

[MarcJohnsonBass]

@MrBidonus

Merci :)

[ZappaFan101]

You, my fellow bassist, have GREAT endurance. And your pickin hand looks so relaxed throughout the video. You did an amazing job!

[MarcJohnsonBass]

@ZappaFan101

Thank you :)

[MrPeppUpunk]

Bravissimo

[kuroda0]

excellent

[teliarab]

great job, this is solo playing so no need for the background music

[mrmike316]

You Rock!!

[BassBirder]

A parte capire il perchè di tutto ciò...sembra che sia stuccato pure nel suo di dietro. E sonate sciolti e divertitevi !

[accordodeicontrari]

@BassBirder: ha parlato il fenomeno...fallo te se sei capace.

[linkabombs]

YES!!

[airraidsiren82]

my god!!! excelent

[MarcJohnsonBass]

@airraidsiren82

Thx :)

[multitrade]

@MarcJohnsonBass Hi Marc

[multitrade]

@MarcJohnsonBass 

[spoofzilla]

That's some of the smoothest bass playing I've even seen, nice clean notes that transition perfectly from one to the next. and of course...great song!!

[marcellearnstorock]

the Greatest part is at the bass solo... weww

[RSVforMe]

Awesome; Tres Formidable

[tomatopie34]

Well done! I played this tune in a combo class in college, but I was on guitar. As ridiculous as the guitar part was, the bass part was just silly, and you nailed it. Nice. I don't know how to say kick ass in French.

[GaryNull]

When are going to post more Jeff Berlin?

No more excuses.

[mbcrra]

Very good. Well done, excellent.

[DaveGrossmanSoloBass]

Excellent!

[artash1]

Artash1.BRAVO!!!

[SeanathenII]

wow your a really great player mate. i bet even Jeff would be impressed

[MarcJohnsonBass]

Thank you, but I'm not sure of this lol

[Tristanlom]

Ah oki ! Tu saurais où je pourrais me le procurer ? Merci ;)

[MarcJohnsonBass]

heu y a une mule qui je présume doit le transporter mais pour faire vivre les musiciens je te recommande d'acheter l'album "Pump it"

[Tristanlom]

Excellent :P

Pourrez tu m'envoyer la musique en elle même ( sans la basse ) s'il te plait ? ^^ Merci ;) Et encore bien joué ^^

[MarcJohnsonBass]

Merci

Je ne l'ai pas, c'est le morceau original, je joue par dessus c'est tout. ;)

[GaryNull]

Congratulations on even having the balls to attempt a Jeff Berlin solo.

I was a fan way back when with the first 3 Bruford albums.

I've almost mastered the solo on Joe Frasier (and main theme) but can't seem to play it "with ease".

If anyone out there thinks playing Jeff's stuff is "something they think they could do", . . you'll be in for some disapointment.

But I would highly recommed it. You'll learn some very interesting stuff.

[MarcJohnsonBass]

Thank you, and yes it's really interesting, lot of work but it worth it.

May be I'll do, the solo of Manos de Piedra and Joe Frazier some day. Now I'm working on other things :)

[Rumpelstilsky]

BRAVO !!!

[xenotoxette]

Damn, I was trying to play this in first position instead of where you are. Nice playing.

Can I ask where you got the backing track?

[MarcJohnsonBass]

It's not a backing track, I just play over the original track :)

[minorprophet2]

What kind of bass are you using? Looks like a Peavy Cirus (sp?)

[Yoochuu]

Spectooooooooooooor !

[xenotoxette]

Thought it was a Fodera...

[GaryNull]

>> What kind of bass are you using?

Are you kidding me?

He's playing a fucking amazing solo.

He would sound good on an Estaban Bass, . . if there is such a thing, lol.

[MarcJohnsonBass]

lol thank you

and yes it's a Spector Bass NS4-US

[minorprophet2]

I wasn't commenting on his solo, although it was really good. In no way was I insinuating that it was the bass that made it sound good either. I was however curious to what brand of bass he was using. I thought it had a very distinct and clear sound. So thanks for the comment.

[goulet22]

spector

[stiiii]

troooooooop fort !!

[chopin999]

you are my new hero ;)

[mantrabass28]

Waaaooohh, magnifique, vraiment magnifique!

Dis moi avec un travail pareil il te reste encore de la place dans le cerveau pour le langage!!lol

Bravo

[CavalierPosilli]

Just amazing, great job!!!

[Chromatype]

I used part of this to teach my advanced guitar students pitch pivot concepts. Great playing!

[superjeje58]

j'aime beaucoup, dommage que le son de ta guitare ne soit pas un peut plus fort ;)

[BassFunk15]

its cool, theres just no feel involved at all lol. try incorporating some dynamic changes in different sections.

[tbcass]

Bach tends to be very cerebral. Much was written for harpsichord which has no dynamic range. This was played as written.

[canvoodoo]

fantastic

[pabliyin29]

Amazing job! Btw, stuart spector is great bass.

[Ffwee]

Well done my friend! That riff starting at 1:47 has always fascinated me - and you nailed it!

[gantzmetallica]

this is the best that i have seen ...

[mycopro]

Well done.

[oOLingor]

so nice

[JeZien]

Very nice

[ShredderOfHellview]

Perfect!

[mrzzzin]

Great work! I'd love to have a transcription of that solo. Jeff Berlin is a gorgious musician!

[mrzzzin]

Oops! GorgEous

[roldabones]

I hate you... :) Just kidding. This is awesome! Very fluid. Congrats.

[Monton85]

I played this on the piano, never on the bass. I should play this

[xenotoxette]

This was great, and Berlin is surely the Malmsteen of bass.

[SkipElliottBowman]

It doesn't do much for me. Lots of notes played with great articulation, yes, but where is the depth, the poetry, where are the emotive qualities that made JS Bach's music last for almost 400 years? Certainly not that rock drum beat.

You have great technique, but the focus in this vid is on the notes and not the beauty of music. I'd love to hear one of your originals, because this didn't do much for me.

I'm a 25-year JB fan and "Pump It!" didn't do much for me when it was released, either.

[bassplayer4445]

Very good job. Keep it up.

[GaryNull]

This looks fun to play. I gotta try this.

My fingers are still recovering from

learning Joe Frasier, the main theme and solo.

Wow,. . you want to try something hard try that - playing as the same tempo as the record.

[YourNamex]

Wow! U are skilled! 5/5

[ddragsco]

wow men si crazy! gooooooooood technic!

[papinchulin]

Great I Love it.

[KraayZeeEyez]

I lov3e bach! I play toccata and fugue on "orgel" right know ;)

good jobb! :)

[rakai1234]

what's the title of this song?

[MarcJohnsonBass]

It's called "Bach" :)

[JeZien]

The song is originally written by back

Jeff made a bassguitar-version

[MarcJohnsonBass]

Yes It's the "C minor Prelude"

[GaryNull]

Can you play the tune "Joe Frasier"?

If anyone can play it (at the correct tempo) I'd be amazed.

[MarcJohnsonBass]

I'm working on an another Jeff's solo. Maybe after it ;)

[ojebrown]

Hello Marc,

thanks for your response. Your left hand looks very effective. I also have studied this song and have had some problems with some lines.

To see another player perform the recorded solo was very helpful. If you have more material please go forward with it !!!

Happy new year.

Olli

[ojebrown]

Wow, good job.

Is this your own fingering or have you seen

the Jeffs performance?

[MarcJohnsonBass]

This is my fingering, I never saw Jeff playing this tune.

[olibar]

Quand je te vois jouer ça je me dis que 20000 prayers ne sera pas longtemps un "problème" pour toi ;-)

[badhoven1]

Good job !

[lpjiang]

Wow, I'm really impressed!

I studied bass with Jeff for one year, and I can't even play through half of the song...

[MarcJohnsonBass]

How lucky you are to have studied with such a great bass player ! Thanks :)

[GaryNull]

If you watch Jeff play on some of these videos, you'll notice he moves his thumb down to the A or D string when playing notes on the D or G string. I think he does this to mute the string so it doesn't make any unwanted noises. Why does Jeff do this?

[MarcJohnsonBass]

May be this is the reason, somes I do the same thing but it's because I used to play on a 6 strings bass and it's more confortable to put my thumb lower than the B or E string.

[ddistco]

Marc, that was awesome. Plaing Jeff Berlins Bach is a really tough one buddy - Bravo Are you in NY?

[MarcJohnsonBass]

Thanks, but no I'm in France in a town called Lille.

[pepec511]

Is that a Bach C minor prelude? What is that? And where can I get it transcribed?

[MarcJohnsonBass]

yes it is. You can find it at powertab archive.

[mycopro]

Very nice....learning Jeff's stuff is not easy. Great work.

[titidecalm]

hé mon pote c'est pas mal ca!!!

[GaryNull]

nice . . get more Jeff Berlin stuff up!

[tucciotucci]

very very very good...damn difficoult, expecially at 1:49...it took me 10 years to play it...LESS the 1:49 part :((

bravo

[noctemIV]

very nice,! i think that it would be easier if you use your 5 string bass

[ddistco]

Regardless MArc is bad and it was effortless. You know that you can see players struggle when doing incredibly fast lines. Marc didn't seem like he was streching one bit. I'm impressed and hope that you continue playing and make many recordings Marc.