PC: Which
instruments do you actually use?PC: Which
instruments do you actually use?
JT: My own bass is a Music Man. I have rediscovered in it all that I liked about the old Fenders. By way of an amplifier, I use a small Ampeg B 15 M that I like very much. This is a valve amp and on stage I use a big STV, also by Ampeg, which I take with me. I added a master volume control to the back of the amp, which allows me to boost the sound without increasing the volume too much. This gives me a "fat", "terrifying" sound, very easy to play. You must use the pressure of your fingers, not force, pressure... Some bass players prefer to play further toward the fretboard. Me, I like the standard position, deep-rooted contact.
PC: Do you use pedals to change your sound?
JT: Oh yes! At the moment I am working on a prototype synth for guitar, the ORS; it's a big change from using bass only. You must experiment, using it, to find the sounds that you want. Some sounds are dull, and some you need to switch off the oscillator or play fewer notes. I am anxious to remember my cello playing technique to help me master it.
PC: Could you tell me about some of the important moments in your musical development?
JT: Firstly, it was classical; when I was young I studied the piano, rudiments of music, orchestration, harmony, everything that makes up a basic understanding of music. But most importantly, I was taught at a Russian school, without wanting to sound "clique-ee", Russian schools are great because they concentrate on the sense of touch, the fingers. Like holding an egg, that is how you must use your fingers. You must develop a sensitive touch to become more understanding when playing the instrument. This is still one of my preoccupations, the pressure of my fingers, the sensations.
PC: Why did you choose to play bass?
JT: I started playing double bass and Cello at the same time as the Electric bass, in order to replace a friend who was leaving for the U.S.A. This was in a dance hall band, with whom I stayed for several months. After this, I left music to concentrate on mathematics, and then back to music, I was then faced with a choice: it's difficult enough to become proficient on one instrument, you can't just learn all the instruments, so I chose to concentrate on bass. And then, one evening, in a club in Marseille where I went to listen to jazz, I met the pianist Stu DaSilva, who helped me decide what I wanted to do. And so I went to live in the country where I practised only bass for two years.
PC: Do you tune your bass in a special way?
JT: Yes, in the beginning I tuned it to E, G, A, D instead of E, A, D, G which restored the dominant fifth, the universal tuning. It wasn't much later that I found a manufacturer who could supply me with the low pitched "C" strings, so I am now tuning in C, G, D, A.
PC:Two years playing bass, that represents an amazing amount of work.
JT: I have always had a taste for work I can work the whole day, even to the point of giddiness. That's not to say that everyone needs to put in that much effort in order to become proficient. Every possible way is there for the taking. But I believe that, in any case, you must put in some effort. There are some who say: "Hendrix did not have a technique"... yet, he was occasionally playing in an almost comatose state, and he still knew where to find his notes. Perhaps he did not have the traditional working technique, but he had spent days and days on his instrument. In music, nothing comes naturally, everything is a device, a trick learnt in apprenticeship. take a James Brown bass part for example: it's apparently very simple, but get down to that swing, the blowing, then you can detect the work involved. After all the effort you are able to get there from your feeling....
PC: Can you define this idea of the "non-natural"?
JT: For sure. Let's take two examples: the ear and the hand. Some people have an absolute ear (perfect pitch), like me. That's to say that if I hear a note, I can say - Yes, that's an "A" or a "G", etc. When I listen to music, I hear the notes by their relationship to middle C. I say to myself: "Hold a C which becomes E"... Other people have a relative ear, that's to say that they hear one note in relation to the next They say to themselves, that one goes up and that one goes down, etc. But the two ways of hearing are indispensable. It works so that, according to your abilities, you work in the appropriate sense. The hand is an atrophied, unbalanced machine. The grip (that's to say the thumb and index finger) is overdeveloped in relation to the other fingers. Because of that you work craftily, against nature. There's an exercise that will develop the independence and control of the fingers. Spread the hand in a fan, the gap between each finger being equal. Then, one after another, bring back each of the fingers towards the palm, keeping all the rest immobile. After that, do it again with two fingers, in varying associations. This is not easy, and it takes time to achieve this control. But whether you use this method or another, it is necessary to arrive at precise control of the hand. I have myself slept for a long time with gloves on, into which I have sewn corks in order to keep my fingers separated while I sleep...