Embarrassing question re end-of-song-exuberance

[schmig]

Hi all,

I've been hanging around here for years asking the occassional question, have often considered asking this...here we go.

I play with a locally popular blues/rockabilly/country/rock act, the kind that gets people drunk/dancing. While I don't rate myself as a bassist, I've been holding my own. Looking around at the other players around the city, while I can largely match them for your standard dancy/walking blues, there is one respect in which even the most basic bassists seem to trump me.

Bear with me!

Last week I injured my wrist and a friend (bassist turned guitarist) subbed for me. I had a chance to watch our own tunes played by someone else, which was excellent. Once again however I noticed my bane.

It is the end of song flourish on the bass. You know what I mean; frequently some noodling around, rooted on the fifth, a growing crescendo, before crashing onto the "one", and the song finishing.

Can anyone please give me some advice on doing this? I am a largely "staccato" player, the best compliment I tend to get is that I "really do my job as a bassist"...underpinning and sticking to the drums. The lead guitarist usually tells me, "I didn't notice you during the gig, you did a great job etc". Which is what I like to hear - this is how I want to play the instrument.

But again, last week I watched this guy produce some nice flourishes at the end of the tunes. How do you folks think about these flourishes?

- Play pentatonic over 2 octaves, starting from the flat 7th below the root, playing through the third a few times before sliding to the 5th etc??

I have a mental block here and perhaps am just too limited as a musician. That said my ear/memory/rhythm are good, you can drop me into a tune and I'll be on it within a bar or two.

I just want that fancy end of tune flourish......

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[DJS]

I'm no expert by any means, but if you can walk, just do a longer, more energetic walk at the end of the song. Going up and down the pentatonic scale is probably a great way to do this. The trick is sticking the landing, of course.

[JimmyM]

it all depends on the song what notes you should play. using riffs based on the blues scale and not just straight walks are sometimes pretty cool. you should listen to songs with flourishes you like and just start lifting them note for note until you come up with ideas on your own.

[SurferJoe46]

I usually only noodle when the drummer won't stop - but not much. Maybe I hit a couple of notes or a chorded sustain - but that's it.

Many times he will hit a few more thunderous rounds to 'wind-down' the song - but I think it's a sign of non-professional brinkmanship --- or he wasn't weaned until he was a teenager.

I think WC Fields said something like: "The opera was good; they all ended on the same note".

Come to think of it - it might've been Groucho Marx.

[pbass2]

You sound like a solid and tasteful player--I wouldn't worry about it.
But if you really wanna flail around during the outro like that just play some riffs like you're soloing as fast and recklessly as you can--take off your "good taste" hat for those mere seconds (but be sure and put it back on!).
I suspect your tendency towards taste and supporting the band will lead you to something BETTER than that though. If a big outro is building, and everybody else is wanking off willy-nilly, if YOU build the big crescendo under them with a big bold cushion it will be much more impressive than just noodling. Practice creating a "swell" by pedaling fast 32 notes or whatever--hold down a big chord and pedal the low note and start adding in the others as it builds--that sorta thing--maybe you're doing that already . . .

[okcrum]

Nothing embarrassing about that. Lots of good suggestions already.

If your right hand technique is fast enough, you can pedal a note fast picking, and slow walk or take a flat 7 and wait for the finish.

You could also double stop or chord at the end, letting a few of those ring as you head for the root.

Copping some recorded endings is a great starting point.

[bongomania]

Another bit to try is to take the last chord of the tune and strum it a couple times at the end.

[schmig]

Thanks for the advice thus far everyone. Normally at the end of a tune I feel a compulsion to finish a major third above everyone else..something to do with listening to too much '88 Zappa recordings.

Specifically though what I'm talking about are the very busy runs you'll see guys doing...like a slightly slowed down guitar solo. Mostly I'll see guys going up to the higher registers at the peak of the crescendo before coming down. What I can discern so far, and again I've always been a very "staccato" player, is the likes of:

5 -> slide through #4 to 4 for bluesy feel -> minor 3 -> quickly to 1 -> m3 again, maybe flying up into the octave about for more of the same etc.

It's very guitardy playing, but I feel I lack it, everyone else seems to whip it out here and there...

[mkrtu9]

If I'm not noodling around I will just play a the chord and use four fingers as fast and reckless as possible w/o sounding like crap.

sounds like you may be putting too much thought into it. I don't even think of theory, I just play whatever. Then again, may be I don't put enough thought into it

[MalcolmAmos]

I don't make a big thing of it. When we tag the last line of the verse/chorus to end the song - I just chromatically walk up the string I'm on - usually 4 notes then jump over to the E string and walk back down to the root. That little chromatic walk is timed to where we all get back to the root at the same time.

Have not thought of it before but I do seem to be on the 3rd string when I start the chromatic walk up - I guess I'm on the 5th degree and take off from there - of course that makes the jump to the 4th string and the chromatic walk back to the tonic possible.

[Phalex]

I'm not so sure the "Stadium Ending" is always a good thing. I tend to use it a lot. I was in a band that had a moratorium on stadium endings once. I pretty much run a scale roundy round, and hit the root when the drummer does his big finishing thing.

[jnuts1]

just make some noise is the key you're in & watch the drummer for the final crash. if the guitarists are burning through the scale i burn too. that's what i do & it works every time. almost

[DJS]

You could just set your bass on fire, hit it with a cordless drill and eventually smash it.



But seriously - listen and borrow from some endings that you like.

[Kawai-chang]

3 backflips to a layout, stick the landing, do that "arms raised hand flippy" thing, and don't forget to stick your butt out.

[codeinedreams]

you mean something like this?? (assuming it's in E)
-it works better if you slide up to that 11 right there
(don't know the notation for that)
..7 9 9-11 9 7.........................
9................9 8 7 5...7 5......
............................7.....7 5..
........................................7 6 5 3...0 and then slide up to the 12, hold it, then hit it again for the stinger. just an idea!
(lucky for you I have insomnia)

[schmig]

Folks, ye are amazing. Codeinedreams, I'll have a look at that this evening, thank you very much!

[Audiophage]

V7 licks ad nauseum.

[notdavey]

If Tommy Shannon from Double Trouble doesn't need to flourish at the end of the song, I think your fine if it's not your thing. Just rocking a simple box pattern or just alternating on the 1-5-8 with style should be enough.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by schmig

Hi all,

I've been hanging around here for years asking the occassional question, have often considered asking this...here we go.

I play with a locally popular blues/rockabilly/country/rock act, the kind that gets people drunk/dancing. While I don't rate myself as a bassist, I've been holding my own. Looking around at the other players around the city, while I can largely match them for your standard dancy/walking blues, there is one respect in which even the most basic bassists seem to trump me.

Bear with me!

Last week I injured my wrist and a friend (bassist turned guitarist) subbed for me. I had a chance to watch our own tunes played by someone else, which was excellent. Once again however I noticed my bane.

It is the end of song flourish on the bass. You know what I mean; frequently some noodling around, rooted on the fifth, a growing crescendo, before crashing onto the "one", and the song finishing.

Can anyone please give me some advice on doing this? I am a largely "staccato" player, the best compliment I tend to get is that I "really do my job as a bassist"...underpinning and sticking to the drums. The lead guitarist usually tells me, "I didn't notice you during the gig, you did a great job etc". Which is what I like to hear - this is how I want to play the instrument.

But again, last week I watched this guy produce some nice flourishes at the end of the tunes. How do you folks think about these flourishes?

- Play pentatonic over 2 octaves, starting from the flat 7th below the root, playing through the third a few times before sliding to the 5th etc??

I have a mental block here and perhaps am just too limited as a musician. That said my ear/memory/rhythm are good, you can drop me into a tune and I'll be on it within a bar or two.

I just want that fancy end of tune flourish......

Thanks in advance for any advice.

the jamerson book has a quote that i find interesting......one guy talked about how jj would set your ear up to make you think he was going to x,but he would go somewhere else instead,but land you right back in the saddle on the one.....adding flourishes in places where you dont always expect them can be cool,and often everyone is stepping on each other at the same part of the song and it's better if at least someone plays it straight up....ymmv tho'