I'm a one string bassist

[capncal]

you are limiting your bass, your personal style as well as your music simply by using the E string only. you are physically limited in the range of notes and the order in which you can play them. you might have to move your hand way up to the 12th fret then way back down to the 3rd. that's a long way to go if you're playing with any kind of speed. where as with proper (more conventional) technique, you may not have to move your hand position at all to move from one octave to the next.

that being said, it's your world brother. The Presidents of the United States of America dude plays just two strings. in fact, his bass only has two strings!

knock yourself out. but know that you are limiting your potential by not learning proper technique.

[HolmeBass]

Pointing out that only playing a given part of a song on one string is limiting and a technically self-defeating approach is not snobbish, it is accurate information. No one who has criticized you for doing that is a snob, you need to get over that. If you're going to play bass your way no matter what, fine, but don't call people who are telling you there is an easier, better way to play snobs for telling you the truth. Being correct and pointing out deficiencies in a given approach does not make one a snob. Your attitude needs serious improvement.

[Fergie Fulton]

Originally Posted by capncal

you are limiting your bass, your personal style as well as your music simply by using the E string only. you are physically limited in the range of notes and the order in which you can play them. you might have to move your hand way up to the 12th fret then way back down to the 3rd. that's a long way to go if you're playing with any kind of speed. where as with proper (more conventional) technique, you may not have to move your hand position at all to move from one octave to the next.

that being said, it's your world brother. The Presidents of the United States of America dude plays just two strings. in fact, his bass only has two strings!

knock yourself out. but know that you are limiting your potential by not learning proper technique.

Limiting your potential.......strange phrase to apply when millions of people never bother to realise there potential and are happy with their limits as it brings the results they want.

So do i assume eveyone is typing on their keyboards with all one finger per key, so as to make the most of the keyboard design and layout and minimise un-nessesary movemnt..... a balanced healthy hand use with the wrists being straight, joints comfortably supported, postue correct so as to limit injury or are they limiting themselves to one or two fingers per hand when they ty......wait....all that can apply to playing a bass.....so if it is that such a big deal to play a bass then it must be to type?...or is it not?...........context is everything.

[capncal]

Originally Posted by Fergie Fulton

Limiting your potential.......strange phrase to apply when millions of people never bother to realise there potential and are happy with their limits as it brings the results they want.

So do i assume eveyone is typing on their keyboards with all one finger per key, so as to make the most of the keyboard design and layout and minimise un-nessesary movemnt..... a balanced healthy hand use with the wrists being straight, joints comfortably supported, postue correct so as to limit injury or are they limiting themselves to one or two fingers per hand when they ty......wait....all that can apply to playing a bass.....so if it is that such a big deal to play a bass then it must be to type?...or is it not?...........context is everything.

betcha i can type faster than any one fingered man in history.

[Fergie Fulton]

Originally Posted by capncal

betcha i can type faster than any one fingered man in history.

LOL I'm sure you can.....but surely the point is not how fast you can type, but what you type?

[SquierJazz72]

but surely the point is not how fast you can type, but what you type?

Fair enough. To each their own.

I just feel it may hurt him in the end. If what he's doing is working for now, for what he plays, good enough. But he says he's not comfortable crossing strings, hence he only plays along one string at a time.

I do feel, and maybe I'm caring too much on his behalf, that if he is going to learn to play more traditionally, as he himself, did mention along the way, it should be sooner, rather than later.

Otherwise, he'll possibly have a much harder time changing it later on, if he decides he wants to explore other styles.

To me, when you do something because you can't do it any other way, it is a limitation.

[Fergie Fulton]

Originally Posted by SquierJazz72

Fair enough. To each their own.

I just feel it may hurt him in the end. If what he's doing is working for now, for what he plays, good enough. But he says he's not comfortable crossing strings, hence he only plays along one string at a time.

I do feel, and maybe I'm caring too much on his behalf, that if he is going to learn to play more traditionally, as he himself, did mention along the way, it should be sooner, rather than later.

Otherwise, he'll possibly have a much harder time changing it later on, if he decides he wants to explore other styles.

To me, when you do something because you can't do it any other way, it is a limitation.

Like taking the time to type correct.

You are of course right.....I am just pointing out that what we (musicians and bass players) don't care about that much is what other do care about...a lot, hence the learning to type and learning to play cross reference.
Do you think there is someone on a novel writing web site getting flamed because they type only with their index fingers?

[SquierJazz72]

Do you think there is someone on a novel writing web site getting flamed because they type only with their index fingers?

Again, I get you.

I can only approach it from how I feel. For me, discomfort is more a challenge to push past.

I don't like slap and pop, for myself. Never comfortable doing it. To me, that was a reason to push past that and learn it anyway. One more tool in the box, for one. And my decision NOT to play that way is simply a choice. But I can do it.

In defense of playing along one string, I converted the beginning of the bass line to Another One Bites the Dust to the E string only. Some long jumps there. Can it be done and sound okay? Yes. Would I make a habit of it? Since I can cross strings, the answer is a resounding hell no!

[beggar98]

At some point, everyone will run into something they want to play but they can't because their current technical proficiency isn't advanced enough. For someone who isn't able to adequately shift between strings, that ceiling is a lot lower. If you never want to play anything above that level, fine, you should ignore anyone who says its wrong. At the end of the day, you're only limiting your own ability. How very punk.

[sludgelord3000]

Frankly, I wish more bass players would stick to one string.

[Russell L]

Can't have any harmony with just one string.

[Not yet]

16 pgs, really?

[Kenzy]

Originally Posted by Not yet

16 pgs, really?

But wait, there's more! The OP has been gone since around page 3.

[SquierJazz72]

I like my dead horses well beaten, and medium rare.

[JimiLL]

I came in waayyy to late for this. Obvious troll is obvious

[Kenzy]

Originally Posted by JimiLL

I came in waayyy to late for this. Obvious troll is obvious

Just as I suggested on page 1

Originally Posted by Kenzy

lolomgbass4lyfe (lol. omg. bass. 4. lyfe...) joined this month. Just saying, everyone...

Maybe his next question will be, "What is the best bass for metal????"

[Immigrant]

He replied too many times in the first few pages to qualify as an actual troll, unless he puts more effort into it than most. It's probably more like this:

He's a young guy, maybe around 14 years old. He wants to learn bass but has no real direction and his limited influences don't push him to learn more (yet). Being such a young age, he's ready to stand up for his convictions, however misguided they might seem to the Jaco-praising, Vic-emulating denizens of TB.

So he goes on TB and a bunch of pricks (self included) jump on his case and he gets turned off by TBers and TB.

We should be proud.

[Joey3313]

Originally Posted by Immigrant

He replied too many times in the first few pages to qualify as an actual troll, unless he puts more effort into it than most. It's probably more like this:

He's a young guy, maybe around 14 years old. He wants to learn bass but has no real direction and his limited influences don't push him to learn more (yet). Being such a young age, he's ready to stand up for his convictions, however misguided they might seem to the Jaco-praising, Vic-emulating denizens of TB.

So he goes on TB and a bunch of pricks (self included) jump on his case and he gets turned off by TBers and TB.

We should be proud.

I dunno, I see it a bit differently.

I consider TB to be a place with a collective ton of knowledge. Just about any notion of bass-playing has been tackled here at some point, so you can just about always find tips/tricks/pointers to do what you do better. All of said pointers require effort and practice and conscious thought.

Now, based on what I read of the OP's post, he doesn't seem exactly interested in learning or applying many of these notions. His argument seems to be (and anyone who reads this, please correct me if I am mistaken), "I'm comfortable with my skill and style, I just want acceptance from other bass players".

What that tells me is that he isn't on here to be informed or to learn, he wants to change the collective minds of bass players/musicians to be more welcoming to his shortcomings.

It's like someone going to college, and instead of making a point of learning, they argue that the knowledge they already have should be sufficient.

Were his goal to learn to be a better, more well rounded bass player, he'd likely still be here. The fact that he came in and stated, "this is what I know, this is all I really want to know, you all need to accept it," leaves me thinking we didn't lose much. Rarely is ever does this place turn away people with an actual desire to learn and ask questions.

As far as the age factor...do we really know? I may have missed that part.

[Fergie Fulton]

Originally Posted by Joey3313

I dunno, I see it a bit differently.

I consider TB to be a place with a collective ton of knowledge. Just about any notion of bass-playing has been tackled here at some point, so you can just about always find tips/tricks/pointers to do what you do better. All of said pointers require effort and practice and conscious thought.

Now, based on what I read of the OP's post, he doesn't seem exactly interested in learning or applying many of these notions. His argument seems to be (and anyone who reads this, please correct me if I am mistaken), "I'm comfortable with my skill and style, I just want acceptance from other bass players".

What that tells me is that he isn't on here to be informed or to learn, he wants to change the collective minds of bass players/musicians to be more welcoming to his shortcomings.

It's like someone going to college, and instead of making a point of learning, they argue that the knowledge they already have should be sufficient.

Were his goal to learn to be a better, more well rounded bass player, he'd likely still be here. The fact that he came in and stated, "this is what I know, this is all I really want to know, you all need to accept it," leaves me thinking we didn't lose much. Rarely is ever does this place turn away people with an actual desire to learn and ask questions.

As far as the age factor...do we really know? I may have missed that part.

Pretty much can see it that way, maybe they were nieve in thinking that their idea would get some praise, or even applauded for being so basic in approach to playing music. But I also say another side, a side that never really get going on TB, a side where he gets hammered, and hammered good.

Sometimes we have to view posts like this in the actions of children, pat them on the back a tell them they done right or "yeah that the way"...when clearly it is not. Since music is an art, only the player can define how or hers limitation, not someone else, the player has to actually come up against the limitations, not so much see they are limited, but accept and believe they are limited.

If the number of strings are going to define limitations, then I am limited because I play a four string bass, not a five string, and even more limited because I do not play a six string or more bass.
I get there can be extremes in this and using one string may be seen as that.
For limitations search Youtube for Bill Clements...I hear no limitations, I could see one, but Bill would soon prove me wrong and challenge my own perception of what is limitation.

But music is art as well and in that arena comes perspective, what we perceive as being correct or not correct, has worth has not worth, etc.

In the art world paintings of a single dominant colour trade on the limitation of colour, so abstract and expressionism sprung up as a genre.

For a musician, that could be as music using limitation, such as punk did in the 70s, or if you are a composer maybe branding chimes.....think Intel when you fire up windows, those few notes stay with you. In the film world two motes from Jaws does it, as do the chimes from, Close Encounters. These stay with us and create an association that we always relate back to when we hear those limited tones, trademarks need limitation, so association for it to work is instant.

As I said I see the point, but did anyone try and see his, rather than try and force theirs on him.
Yes what everyone says is valid about limiting yourself, or maybe it being a troll etc...but in the end none of us really can say what is valid and what is not, so does valid support expanding limits or just seeing the obvious?........ When I look at my messed up bed I see a messed up bed to tidy, but Artist Tracy Emin saw art, and as such presented it so and got on the short list for the Turner Prize, and eventually sold it to Charles Saatchi for £150'000.

Here it is you decide

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/art...min_my_bed.htm

Like I said, i am not defending/condemning any one persons comments or views on the OP, even though what the OP posted was was argumentative and presumptuous, but being a "punk" in the real sense of the musical genre, he is going to set the cats among the pigeons, and is out to rile "the establishment" where ever he finds them, and he found it here.......just saying.

[Joey3313]

Originally Posted by Fergie Fulton

Pretty much can see it that way, maybe they were nieve in thinking that their idea would get some praise, or even applauded for being so basic in approach to playing music. But I also say another side, a side that never really get going on TB, a side where he gets hammered, and hammered good.

Sometimes we have to view posts like this in the actions of children, pat them on the back a tell them they done right or "yeah that the way"...when clearly it is not. Since music is an art, only the player can define how or hers limitation, not someone else, the player has to actually come up against the limitations, not so much see they are limited, but accept and believe they are limited.

If the number of strings are going to define limitations, then I am limited because I play a four string bass, not a five string, and even more limited because I do not play a six string or more bass.
I get there can be extremes in this and using one string may be seen as that.
For limitations search Youtube for Bill Clements...I hear no limitations, I could see one, but Bill would soon prove me wrong and challenge my own perception of what is limitation.

But music is art as well and in that arena comes perspective, what we perceive as being correct or not correct, has worth has not worth, etc.

In the art world paintings of a single dominant colour trade on the limitation of colour, so abstract and expressionism sprung up as a genre.

For a musician, that could be as music using limitation, such as punk did in the 70s, or if you are a composer maybe branding chimes.....think Intel when you fire up windows, those few notes stay with you. In the film world two motes from Jaws does it, as do the chimes from, Close Encounters. These stay with us and create an association that we always relate back to when we hear those limited tones, trademarks need limitation, so association for it to work is instant.

As I said I see the point, but did anyone try and see his, rather than try and force theirs on him.
Yes what everyone says is valid about limiting yourself, or maybe it being a troll etc...but in the end none of us really can say what is valid and what is not, so does valid support expanding limits or just seeing the obvious?........ When I look at my messed up bed I see a messed up bed to tidy, but Artist Tracy Emin saw art, and as such presented it so and got on the short list for the Turner Prize, and eventually sold it to Charles Saatchi for £150'000.

Here it is you decide

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/art...min_my_bed.htm

Like I said, i am not defending/condemning any one persons comments or views on the OP, even though what the OP posted was was argumentative and presumptuous, but being a "punk" in the real sense of the musical genre, he is going to set the cats among the pigeons, and is out to rile "the establishment" where ever he finds them, and he found it here.......just saying.

I am familiar with the bed in question.

And while I agree that the skill of artist is not necessarily related to the quality of art produced, we also have to consider that a large amount of what we do as bass players isn't creation, it's recreation.

While anything the OP would create on a single string could be more than sufficient, it because more and more difficult to try and replicate/cover any other material with that sort of limitation.

But yeah, very interesting point.

Shame we wasted all this thought on a troll. :P