The simple things...

[TheWoodShed]

Howdy Justin,

I have been enamored with relatively simple bass lines recently. Right now, it is Silversun Pickups Panic Switch.

A bit of background: I am a 42 year old bassist from Ohio. I saw Billy Sheehan in concert playing with Via with DLR. Changed my life, so I became a shredder type. I like the harder stuff. Funny thing is that I never really flowed to solo content like Jaco or Clark. I love thier lines and appreciate thier work, but I liked that stuff usually when it only fit well within the song. The song is where it is at, is what was always important. You can have the most intricate line, and t still means nothing if it doesn't complement, flow and fit well within the song.

So fast forward a quarter of a century. A year ago I am diagnosed with diabetes. I have neuropatahy, and my hands are effected as well. Can't play that stuff anymore, BUT it has been a gift. I hear a song like I referenced. not hard for me to play at all, but I appreciate the intricacies of the bass line...the groove. The small things. Not to mention it defines the flow of the entire song in my opinion.

So, have you ever had a relatively simple line grab you like this? I would like to know what songs they were. and a reference to the group and whatnot.

Thank you sir!

[e.maynard]

Not to bum rush this but....
For purity, simplicity and complete graciousness on the bass Tina Weymouth is the one to aspire to.

Anything on Remain In Light is so spot on and timeless it makes me stop in my tracks every time.

[jmjbassplayer]

Mr. WoodShed,

Thank you SO VERY MUCH for telling us the story of your musical timeline. I am very sorry to hear about your Diabetes, my heart goes out to you. But I am also quite inspired and amazed at how you have turned that into a blessing from a musical standpoint. The small things, as you say. They are profound.

Yes, I can think of myriad examples of this, and how the simple affects me similarly. I have spoken about this in other threads, but let me just reference a few that immediately come to mind, just off the top. Lines that wield incredible power, and take relatively minimal musicianship to play. Repetitive, or otherwise. Here's a smattering. (This could go on to be a list many thousands of songs long):

Tom Tom Club: Genius of Love
Beatles: Taxman
Miracles: Heard It Through The Grapevine
Van Halen: Running With The Devil
PIL: Public Image

It just goes on and on and on and on.

My hat is off to you, sir. All the best for all of your musical pursuits!
JMJ

[jmjbassplayer]

Originally Posted by e.maynard

Not to bum rush this but....
For purity, simplicity and complete graciousness on the bass Tina Weymouth is the one to aspire to.

Anything on Remain In Light is so spot on and timeless it makes me stop in my tracks every time.

I posted my post at the same time a e.maynard, and I have to say: IT'S ALL ABOUT TINA WEYMOUTH. "Remain In Light" is a very, very heavy duty benchmark. Hear hear!

JMJ

[TheWoodShed]

Except for the Van Halen (but hey, I had hair down to my butt when I graduated in '86 so any self respecting child of the 80's hair metal scene hasn't played VH?) these are pretty much new groups to me. I know of Weymouth through the more popular riffs she was involved in, but I don't know her work.

This is a new area for me. I am an old codger who likes the more progressive, harder stuff. Never ruled out ANY genre of music per se (hey, I even played in a bluegrass band as I LOVE that music), there was always just "good" and "bad" for me- never close-minded. But this thing has allowed my ear to wander a bit more, I think. That's good.

You seemed to be the resident expert on this, and I appreciate the input. I will explore these suggestions that you offered. Make me a "jam tape" from iTunes and learn the songs for the heckuva it.


Oh, and I have also garnered a new appreciation for passive basses, especially T-Birds thanks to this song. Studying the intricacies have allowed me to focus on the tone as well. I may even buy a passive bass, I don't know. I play an Acacia Custom 4 that I named "Neo" (because it is "The One" as I sold my Alembic, '74 P and Steinberger I had at the time) Wish I had that '74 P bass now though, but maybe I'll just grab me a T-bird. Used to play Victory basses, might be similar.

Okay...I am rambling. Thanks JMJ. Someday if you are ever touring in the Columbus Ohio Area, I'll have to buy you a pint.

[jk3]

i toss in:

Cliff Williams of AC/DC

thunderstruck
shook me all night long
the furor (Ballbreaker album)


Dusty Hill of ZZ Top

Gimme all your lovin

[shriekback]

Perhaps I could stir this up a bit:

It seems to me that what is being characterized here as "simple" or requiring only "minimal musicianship" are actually the most difficult aspects of playing an instrument really well. They may not fall within what might be regarded as one's "chops", but they are what transform the playing of an instrument (no matter what instrument and no matter how fast or in how complicated a time signature) into music.

Since Tina Weymouth has already been mentioned, let's take her for an example. She may not spray 1/64th notes all over the place in 7/8 time, but her sense of rhythm and pace, her attention to dynamics, her use of the space between notes to build tensions and release them, is marvelous and an ability vastly more rare. The subtle variations in even her most apparently repetitive lines are part of what make Talking Heads songs so captivating, even after many listenings (the rest of the band was mighty good too, of course, and none of them, save perhaps Adrian Belew, would stagger anyone with their instrumental athleticism either).

One could really argue the same thing in respect to many noteworthy players, including the one who hosts this forum. If I were the praying sort, I would ask only for taste, feel, something to communicate and the courage to do so. Perfected technique may come to the aid of these efforts at times, but without them, it will produce only rubbish.

I am not asserting that anyone here has suggested otherwise. I would just put forward that we ought to consider such things as dynamics and feel to be the very heart of "musicianship" and regard technique as relatively incidental.

[JimmyM]

ya, i love notey players sometimes, but you can tell which ones have a background in fundamentals and which don't. a quick look around youtube proves that. break out that metronome and don't let it get past 75 bpm for 15 minutes a day for a year.

[gillento]

don't confuse "minimal musicianship" with "minimal technical skills"