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| Patrick Pfeiffer |
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Sourkraut Music
Patrick's AB Page
Lightwave Electronics
"Superimposition"
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Patrick is a bass teacher, jazz performer, and, now, writer. He is the author of Bass Guitar for Dummies and quite a guy, if I do say so myself. Let's see what he has to say.
Note: This interview is not endorsed by ActiveBass.com or its publishers. Only the author and interviewee have input into the content, and opinions may or may not reflect those of ActiveBass.com or its publishers.
ActiveBass.com Unofficial Interviewer: Hi, Patrick, welcome to ActiveBass.com Unofficial Interview #2 and thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for us.
Patrick Pfeiffer: Hi, Aaron, and thank you very much for choosing me to be your next "victim." It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to thank all of the members of ActiveBass.com for being such an incredibly supporting group of bassists.
ABUI: I'm sitting here looking at your book Bass Guitar for Dummies. It's a great book and I (along with many other ABers) have recommended it to a lot of people. What would make a musician want to write a book?
PP: This book was a dream of mine. I’ve always wanted to write the "For Dummies" bass book. I also wrote the book because I felt there was a pressing need for it. I would have liked to have a book such as Bass Guitar for Dummies (perhaps with a different title, but hey...) when I entered college. Don’t tell anyone, but I basically cheated my way into the music program. I could play bass, and I could hear, but I didn’t know what a major third or a locrian scale is. My reading was also well below par (almost non-existent) but I wanted to get into the music program. Once I got accepted, they quickly showed me the ropes, but I never forgot what it felt like not to know.
I designed the book so that anyone who is curious about the bass can get all the information they need just by going to the index and looking it up in the book. I listened to my students over the years (who are probably my greatest teachers) and kept notes on what they wanted to know, what they needed to know, and how to teach it. I also cruised the posts on AB for information about what kind of questions people were asking. And, of course, I remembered my own questions and how I got the answers.
Bass Guitar for Dummies basically covers everything from the very beginning player ("Strings to the outside") to the advanced player ("Groove in the style of Jaco Pastorius"), so everybody will get something out of reading (and playing) it.
I had some great help in writing the book. Crissy Walford and Nick diPierro, two students of mine, helped me immensely in the process, and I don’t think I could have done it without them.
ABUI: What was it like to work with a publisher? How and who got the ball rolling? Did you go to them or did they come to you? How long did the whole thing take?
PP: Working with Wiley’s was great (for the most part). Tracy Boggier, my acquisition editor, and Matt Wagner, my agent, were absolutely marvelous. I also had the pleasure of working with Pam Sourelis, who is a most fascinating individual, and an excellent developmental editor. I wish I could quote some of the comments from the early drafts–it’s a comedy! Later on it got incredibly challenging (and that’s putting it mildly) with all these deadlines and issues arising, but we made it through it! I’m very proud of the book, so we must have done it right.
I’m sure they thought I was a total nut case. They would have these “meetings” over the phone, and I would start out by describing to them what I was wearing to the “meeting.” When they brought in Pam to edit, I wrote her an e-mail telling her “I writes good for you now.” Fortunately Pam just cracked up, she has a sense of humor similar to mine.
Just to give you an idea of the process: The “For Dummies” people contacted me after hearing about me through a student of mine, Marla Marquit-Steuer, who was also involved in the publishing business, to see if I would be interested in this project (they had checked me out first, including my page on ActiveBass). [They had me] write an outline and a sample chapter...[and] tweaked it [to] check out if I could work with their editing. Then they took all of my final submissions to the board, and they approved it. Wiley’s gave me a set of deadlines, some editors, and an advance. I then worked feverishly for an entire year, writing the chapters, getting them developed (clarifying some points and making it flow), rewriting them, getting them edited, rewriting them, going over the “author’s review,” rewriting them, writing and composing the music, graphing it, and recording it for the CD,…and the result is Bass Guitar for Dummies. In case you’re wondering, yes, I kept on teaching and performing through the entire process. I just slept a little less.
I have to point out that a lot of the material in the book was based on my own (unpublished) teaching manual. I had the groundwork laid out already, having written the manual for the past three years. It was really a combined four years of active writing, and an unbelievable amount of work. I’m glad it’s done!
ABUI: Both Will Lee and Adam Clayton have put their mark on the book. What's your relationship with both of these wonderful bass players?
PP: Just before the contracts were signed I asked Will Lee if he would write the foreword. Will is one of the absolute greats in the bass world, and I have admired his work for as long as I can remember. We met in a health food place in New York. I was working in the deli (greatest odd-job I ever had…all that food, all for free!) and he was preparing his salad at the salad bar. A friend of mine pointed him out to me and I just walked up to him and told him how much I liked his playing. We just started chatting (he’s super, super nice!) and, as he walked to the checkout counter, he sang the melody to “Freedom Jazz Dance.” I told him “Hey, that’s “Freedom Jazz Dance. I just recorded this with the bass playing the melody!” He said “Oh yeah? I’d like to hear it!” Of course I just happened to have a cassette of it with me, and I handed it to him. He looked seriously at me and said he’ll listen to it and will call me to tell me what he thought of it (my phone number was on the tape). I was totally surprised to come home that night to find a message from him on my answering machine. He liked the tape and wanted me to call him back. I called him back, and he gave me some really useful feedback. That was the beginning of our relationship. He’s really a wonderful guy to know. When he agreed to write the foreword (after reading the book), it was a dream come true for me.
Will has this fabulous “Beatles” band called “The Fab Faux.” We’re both big Beatles fans, which helps. If you’re ever in New York and they play, go and see them. It’s as if you’re seeing the Beatles live (they just look a little different). Absolutely awesome!
Adam Clayton came into my life in the mid-nineties. He was taking lessons from Katie Agresta, (a famous vocal teacher whom I have the pleasure to work with, she’s one of my very best friends) and she told him about me. Adam came upstairs and “interviewed” me to see what I could teach him. He decided to give it a shot. We ended up working together for about two years, I think. He’s an excellent bassist and a wonderful human being. He’d master the hardest lessons in the course of a week. He is incredibly focused and determined. One time there was a monsoon-like thunderstorm in New York right around his lesson time. I thought for sure he’d call and tell me “Look, this weather is ridiculous; let’s reschedule.” Instead, the doorbell rings at his lesson time, and he stands there, drenched to the bone, I’m talking soaked, and all he says is (in his Irish accent): “Couldn’t get a cab, didn’t want to miss my lesson…can I hang my shirt somewhere?” Man, that floored me, and I realized why some people (like him) “make it.” They simply let nothing come between them and what they’re determined to do. That was a great lesson for me!
Adam invites Lisa (my wife) and me to the U2 concerts when they’re in the area, and let me tell you, they put on a great show! Adam called from Dublin recently to congratulate me on the book and to wish me well with it after he endorsed it.
It’s an incredible privilege to have both Will Lee and Adam Clayton endorsing Bass Guitar for Dummies. Both of these guys are incredible!
ABUI: Enough of the book. Let's talk about your band Phoenix. How about an introduction to the band and some history?
PP: Phoenix is my own band, a Jazz/R&B/Fusion project. “Phoenix” is the legendary bird that rises out of its own ashes, and it’s an appropriate name for this group. I formed a[nother] band in New York when I first got there. We were a group of friends who would get together once a week and play, and then we’d perform every other month or so. It was great, and I loved it. I put the whole thing together, got the people together, etc. I went to Germany for a couple of weeks on vacation, and when I got back, I found myself fired out of my own group. That was one of the absolute lowpoints of my life. Not only did I lose my band (which fell apart two months later), but I also lost my friends. It was sad. Then a friend of mine encouraged me to get another band together for a benefit. He got in touch with Paul Griffin (he’s the “James Jamerson” of keyboardists) to see if Paul would be interested in playing with me. To my incredible surprise Paul agreed to it, and with a new drummer and a new sax player I formed the band “Phoenix.”
Paul Griffin gave me an incredible boost in my confidence level when I needed it most. He’s the guy who played on Don McClean’s “American Pie,” a bunch of Aretha Franklin hits, and on Steely Dan’s “Aja” Album, just to name a few. He recorded with Chuck Rainey and Bernard Purdie numerous hits in the 60’s and 70’s in New York City. He passed away a couple of years ago, but I’ll never forget the passion and the music that this man brought to the bandstand. Bass Guitar for Dummies is dedicated to him (and to Lisa).
The present form of Phoenix includes David Meade, an incredible drummer (he recorded the drum-tracks on Bass Guitar for Dummies and is my counterpart in the Rhythm Section Clinics in New York), Brian Sears on sax (we call him “Elephant Man”–when you hear him on the CD or live, you’ll know why), and Lou DiNatale (he’s also the keyboard player on Bass Guitar for Dummies). They are all fantastic musicians.
The plans are right now for one of our funny friends to land a talk show so we can be the house band. If that doesn’t pan out, we’d be perfectly happy playing the jazz festivals and recording a follow-up CD to Fruits and Nuts (the Jaco medley we have planned is out of this world, and we have more than enough original compositions to fill a second CD).
ABUI: Are you working on any other projects? Appeared on any other albums?
PP: I’m always working on other projects, both performing and recording. I love playing all kinds of music, and enjoy it all from a bass player’s perspective. I also play weddings and functions in the New York area. It gives me the unique opportunity to play all styles of music from the 30’s through the present in the course of a single night. I mean, really, what a great workout, and you get paid for it!
I’m on several albums, but I didn’t really keep track of them (not that they are so numerous, I just never know what ended up where). The first album I was on was an “Arizona Sounds” album in the early 80’s…and yes it’s vinyl.
ABUI: What's your practice technique? Any practice advice for others?
PP: I usually practice first thing in the morning. I get up early in the morning and drag myself into the bass-corner, tune up, plug in, and start by doing intonation exercises over the entire range of one of my fretless 6-string basses. As I slowly emerge out of my post-slumber stupor, I warm up my right hand with accent, rhythm, and string-crossing exercises. After that I give some major attention to the left hand with permutations, string-crossings, and chromatic scales. Then I start putting it all together with etudes for chords, arpeggios (major, minor, dominant, and half-diminished over all three octaves in twelve keys) and super-impositions (chords within chords). Next come scales, all the main modes and pentatonic scales, twelve keys, full range. Finally it’s time for scales in thirds (a speed exercise) in twelve keys, again full range. This process takes an hour. After that I usually play some Jaco tunes (Teen Town and Donna Lee) and I finish with “Amazing Grace” and a tune (“LAH”) dedicated to Lisa. After that I’m off to play and teach for the rest of the day (and night), or practice a tune (or tunes) that I'm working on.
On days (once in a great while) when I’m just not in the mood, I play an abbreviated warm-up. It includes right-hand string crossing, left-hand permutations, super-impositions, and scales in thirds. This version takes only about 15-20 minutes, but it keeps me in shape (and I always feel better afterwards). If I’m going somewhere early in the morning (like an all-day yoga seminar starting at 6:30am in upstate New York), I get up early enough to do a warm-up first thing (albeit usually the short version…at 3:30am).
So I’m a bit eccentric about my practicing, but it works for me. Try putting in about 5-10 minutes a day, every day. Do this for three weeks. I bet you won’t stop after the three weeks are up. It’s absolutely addicting…and it feels great.
ABUI: Gear time. I'm sure you have about 27384920 basses and 8492 amps sitting around the house and studio along with 859 other pieces of other gear, but what's your favorite?
PP: Actually I don’t have that many basses anymore. I had great instruments (custom made, and then modified by Jaco’s bass guy, Kevin Kaufman). When I switched to six-string basses and I met Michael Tobias (of MTD basses, for Michael Tobias Design), I put everything into his hands. Michael is the kind of luthier who puts as much passion into building his instruments as we do into playing them. He would sit in front of me and watch me play, take the bass, make an adjustment, file down a spot on the neck, give it back, and keep this going for hours until he is satisfied with the instrument. He is a great bass-builder, in my opinion the absolute best, and he’s a great guy besides. All I asked for was a 6-string bass with 24 frets that covers all styles (the sound is determined by the wood he uses, so the style is important to know). He built me such an incredible instrument (6-string fretted) that I immediately ordered a fretless version as well.
The problem was that Michael convinced me to go with a 35” scale. For a fretless player coming from a 34” scale neck this can be quite traumatic. Your hands have to adjust to a whole new scale system to play in tune. I decided to make the switch, ordered another fretless 6-string (an absolute prototype with Lightwave electronics) and sold my other basses to my students (at cost, of course). I felt that the basses needed to be played and appreciated; they were just too good to stand in a corner without attention. They are now in the best of hands (and I get to see them on a regular basis). I now own three MTD basses (one fretted, two fretless), which are my “Concert & Session” basses. I also have Lincoln Goine’s old bass (it’s on the cover of “Afro-Cuban Rhythms for Bass and Drums”), which is a fretted 4-string customized ESP and is used by my students. I have a beautiful upright bass (custom made by Benedikt Lang), which I don’t play anymore, and an old beat-up Framus acoustic bass guitar. That’s it for the basses.
In the amp department, I finally fulfilled a longtime dream of mine and had two Walter Woods amps built for me (one at a time). They are amazing, seven-and-a-half pounds, 1200watts, and clean, crisp sound. Walter is somewhere in the California desert and turns his phone on whenever he’s ready for more orders. Once he’s full, the phone is off! He’s a genius in the amp department, and a great cat to chat with (if you call him when the phone is on).
The speakers I use are Euphonic Audio 2X10, two of them (500watts each). I also have a 1x10 for small gigs. They are beautiful and have a great sound. With this combination I am covered for virtually any gig that comes my way.
I have a little Ampeg 1x15 and a Nemesis 2x10 in the studio for teaching. I also have a couple of old Roland 707 drum machines that I teach with, but for my own workout I usually just use a regular metronome.
ABUI: We all know you're a teacher. What styles do you teach to what skill level players?
PP: I consider myself a teacher and performer, and I have an equal passion for both teaching and performing. In my own studies I’ve come across only a couple of teachers who could do both well, and I always aspired to that. I absolutely love to see my students grow and succeed as bass players, and to bring their own contribution to the instrument, and I take my responsibilities as their mentor very, very seriously.
I’ve taught Alec John Such (of Jon Bon Jovi), Mark Wike (of the Bogmen), Damon Martin (of Naked), and, of course, Adam Clayton (of U2). There are some more, who are marvelous players but are not as easily recognized, except in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area. I have students from as far away as LA and Canada (although they don’t come on a weekly basis).
I teach every style of bass playing. I get my students familiar with all styles by introducing them to the dominant players in each style (Paul McCartney, James Jamerson, Jaco Pastorius, Geddy Lee, Cliff Burton, Richard Bona, Lincoln Goines, Bob Babbitt, Francis Rocco Prestia, Chuck Rainey, Adam Clayton, John Paul Jones, Joe Osborn, Chris Squire, Bootsy Collins, Donald Duck Dunn, Robbie Shakespeare, George Porter, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, Will Lee, Marcus Miller, Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten…the list goes on and on and expands constantly). We study how the grooves for each style are constructed, what notes and what rhythms these players are likely to use, and how they will treat the duration of a note. Then we may play a tune and approach it the way these guys would if they were playing it. It’s great, because the same song gets a whole new character, just by changing the bass line.
I also teach soloing. In this case I draw mostly from horn players, like Charlie Parker. The concept is what’s important in both groove playing and soloing. If you play Jaco solos exactly transcribed, you’ll be a great Jaco-clone, but if you use Jaco’s concept for soloing and inject your own notes, you’ll find your own unique voice in a Jaco style and thus add your own contribution to the body of bass music.
The levels I teach are usually intermediate to very advanced. In fact, a lot of the students I get are already full-fledged professionals who are “stuck” and have no other place to turn to. I do get absolute beginners from time to time, and I respect them just as much. It’s great to start someone out all fresh and bright eyed.
I’ve been teaching since the late 70’s (although back then I hardly knew what I was doing). You really have to grow into it, hear yourself talk, and explain things to someone who has no clue about what you’re talking about. I encourage all of my students to teach. You learn more from teaching than from studying.
My teaching studio is on the upper west side in Manhattan. It’s part of the Katie Agresta Studio, and we’ve been doing this since 1986. Katie always claims she’s jealous of my working with even-tempered, cool bassists while she’s working with temperamental singers (well, some of them are very cool, too).
ABUI: What do you want all of your students to get out of a (or all) lesson(s)?
PP: My students always hear a lot of positive reinforcement. Enjoy it! Be yourself! Play like you mean it! Bring passion to the instrument! If you get the gig, get it because they’re looking for your sound! If you lose a gig, lose it because you played the way you felt it, not because you were trying to give them what you thought they wanted…and always, always be nice and positive! When someone sees a bass player being a great person, it reflects on the whole bass community. In a way we’re all ambassadors of bass.
ABUI: Any advice for the person looking to pick up or just picking up the bass?
PP: Keep the strings to the outside!
Seriously, warm up! It’s a very physical instrument and you have to approach it like you would approach an athletic discipline. Listen to great bass lines in all styles (James Brown, Motown, Beatles, Fusion, and so on). Approach music with respect and with love, it’ll do wonders for you!
And while you’re at it, pick up a copy of Bass Guitar For Dummies, ignore the title (definitely don’t take that personal), and enjoy!
ABUI: What do you do when it's time to put down the bass?
PP: When it’s time to put down the bass I like spending time with Lisa. I also like to read. I’ve got a passion for books! I usually read four at a time in two languages [German and English]. I just can’t get enough.
ABUI: Married? Kids? Abducted by aliens? Physical abnormalities? Random stuff you want to say? Tell us some things about your personal life.
PP: I am extremely happily married to Lisa, an absolutely wonderful angel. I met her on the streets of Manhattan, and fell in love with her at first sight. Her version of this meeting is a bit longer (the female version, every detail) but that’s about it. When I met her I hadn’t composed in ten years, and then all of the sudden the music was just pouring out of me, as if someone had opened a floodgate. Believe in love, believe in love at first sight, it exists, and it’s well worth waiting for. Lisa is studying for her private pilot license, and I’ll be joining her in that endeavor as soon as I have a little bit more time. We’re both involved with yoga.
No kids, none are planned. We had LuLu, our cat, but she passed away during the time I wrote Bass Guitar For Dummies.
ABUI: Do you have any webpages you would like to plug? Any articles on magazines or websites (AB or not) that you would like to plug?
PP: Oh boy, where do I start? First of all (in an act of shameless self-promotion) check out my website. I have links on there to some of my favorite bass players. If you check out their websites, you realize how much of them you’ve heard without realizing it. I’m also in the process of putting up a “Groove of the Week” and a “Solo Lick of the Week” for anyone to check out. My favorite bass site is, of course, ActiveBass[!]. I’ve met such nice bassists on there; it’s a pleasure to be a member. Other than that, websites on the internet change so quickly that it’s really hard to recommend a website without fear of it being gone by the time you try to log on, but there are some good ones out there.
ABUI: Thanks a heap for talking to us, Patrick. We definitely look forward to other musical and literary endeavors.
PP: Thank you, Aaron! This was fun! Be well, and may your bass lines be heard by millions of fans!