Dear Reader,
Here I will answer some of your most frequent questions. Please use the comments section on this post to submit your questions. I will also try adding some subjects that I have been answering to on my YouTube channel. Thank you.
Dear Reader,
Here I will answer some of your most frequent questions. Please use the comments section on this post to submit your questions. I will also try adding some subjects that I have been answering to on my YouTube channel. Thank you.
Miguel Falcão (miguelbass) 
can you send me some yes tab in pdf???
Can you talk about the style/size/brand of strings you use on your Ric for your Chris Squire covers? I’d also like to know what kind of pick you prefer.
Hi Rich, pls take a look here https://miguelbass.com/2010/02/04/faq-2-how-do-i-get-my-bass-sound/
I talk about strings and picks. Let me know if you have more questions.
man great job , do only domusic for your job?
Hello Jon – In fact I am amateur. Music is not my job. Thank you very much!
cheers
Hi Miguel,
I used to play piano, and after listening to great bass players like Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, Tony Levin etc, suddenly I want to learn bass to. So I’d like to ask you 2 questions:
1. Do I have to learn guitar first before bass?
2. Maybe you could share some tips on how to learn bass on your own?
Thank you. BTW, I just saw you playing Machine Messiah on Youtube, and it is impressive. :D
Hello Andre,
First, thank you very much for watching the videos, and taking the time to comment!
My opinion is that you don’t need to learn the guitar first – that is not to say “don’t do it”. You can even learn both instruments but if you like the bass, go for what you like!
In a few words I can tell you about my own experience – I have always tried to learn with the bass players I like, using my ears to play along with the songs I like, to jam with the recordings and eventually learn the basslines and take some of those influences to play on my own stuff. There are of course many ways to start learning an instrument. If you feel good with this approach you will know that you are having fun and progressing. Now there is so many material available on the internet, youtube videos, lessons, tutorials etc… your musical taste and good sense will guide you choosing what is more interesting for you. Of course if you would like to ask me for anything, I will try to help! Enjoy your playing!
Hi Miguel,
I used to play piano, and after listening to great bass players like Tony Levin, Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, etc suddenly I want to learn bass to. So I’d like to ask you 2 questions:
1. Do I need to learn guitar first before bass?
2. Could you share some tips on how to learn bass on your own?
Thank you. BTW, your Machine Messiah’s cover is impressive :D
Miguel, love the videos. Are you currently in a band and playing in Portugal?
Cheers
Andrew, I have been playing occasionally with a band in a more punk-rock style. – we have very few gigs, nothing professional – just for fun between old friend. Thanks for writing!
Hey Miguel,
I don’t think you’ve covered the song, but do you know the effect that Chris uses on the bass solo in the first movement of Ritual?
The effect is the fuzz, namely the Gibson Maestro Brassmaster. it is also important to notice that Chris is playing octaves and, reportedly, the fuzz effect is applied to the bridge pickup only. thanks for writing!
The question I have asked myself several times since watching you for the first time about a year ago is: “Will he ever do Ritual?”
First off, I want to thank you so much for the energy you have spent in creating such amazing videos. They are as entertaining as they are educational, and I have improved more as a bassist over the last year from watching you play Chris’s baselines than I have in over a decade. I started playing bass at age 15, and within a year had found YES and fallen in love with Squire’s bass and vocals. And, while I practiced hard and allowed only the most challenging of bass players to influence me, there were pieces of his that remained beyond my skill level. I would listen to a song like Turn Of The Century, thinking that I would never be able to master it; his solo in Ritual as featured on the live collection Yesshows would make me stop playing along to the track and simply sit there, stunned and stumped.
That was 30 years ago.
You changed all that for me with your videos. Along with Gizmo (the other ‘YESguy’ bassist here on Youtube) you provided the opportunity for me to learn songs I had sadly assumed were forever beyond my ability. I am still a little amazed at how easy Turn Of The Century actually is to play, and Awaken is probably my favorite of your videos. However, with the exception of The Remebering, you seem to stay away from Tales. The Revealing Science Of God and Ritual are both absent from the realm of miguelbass, and I can’t imagine why. And while Gizmo has done the first track on Tales, even he has not attempted Ritual. Over the last year, thanks to your excellent work, I have been able to greatly improve my picking ability (your video for Sound Chaser was very educational) in an effort to master that solo in Ritual (the live version). I would say its one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, and progress is painstaking.
Anyway, I really just wanted to thank you for all your hard work, and to ask if you intended on putting up a video for Ritual at some point? I know that you must have thoughts on the subject, and perhaps answered my question before. I feel that if anyone can do it, it’s you. Your skill and love for YES are unparalleled, and I believe you are the right man for the job.
You are one of my favorite musicians!
Thank you again for what you have done, it changed the way I play music!
May fortune smile upon you always,
Brook Wallace
Fresno, CA U.S.A.
Dear Brook, thank you very much for your carefully written message and words of encouragement. I’m sorry to have delayed the answer!
I have been studying “Revealing” for some time, but this of course a big piece and somehow I never got the time to really finish it. Songs from “Tales” indeed present the extra challenge of being able to absorb, even if temporarily, such a big chunk of music – in every aspect. For “The Remembering” I spend a good part of a Summer holiday, just listening and trying to learn the notes, and then of course, there is making the actual audio and video recordings, and finally editing everything. All Tales songs are something that I aim to complete somehow. Since this year I have begun to take life as a musician only, and, if I thought that I have more time for music in general, there are now other aspects of practical life that I depend on music to fulfill them. I started to offer Skype lessons for my audience in the internet and I also teach music locally – So I have to invest mainly in that now.
I hope you are still following me on social media! Now I have Instagram, besides Facebook, and that’s where I’m more active lately. Hope to the you there too!
Thank you! And all the best to you and your bass playing!
Miguel
Hi Brook, thank you for your kindest words about my videos. I think I had replied to you else where but I am unable to track what I have written.
I invite you to reach me on my miguelbass facebook channel where I post my regular updates and meet all friend discussing all things Chris, Yes and Bass,
Hope you are well and safe.
Miguel