turn up--and play less aggressively

[scottfeldstein]

I have been thinking about turning up my amp and playing less aggressively.

When I was a kid, I barely had enough amp under me to cut through my garageband pals with their little combo guitar amps--so I had to play aggressively. The amp was already at its maximum. Banging away at the strings was the last ditch effort to take it to "11."

Later on, when I had better and louder rigs at my disposal, it was still a hard habit to break. Also, I began to be sensitive to the fact that I had volume spikes that needed some softening. Like when switching from finger style to slap. So I would finger aggressively to bring it up to the slap level. And I would turn down to make sure the slaps weren't too jarring.

Now in my wise old age I'm thinking... I have a big enough rig to be heard. And I have a compressor to level out volume spikes adequately. Why am I still turning the amp up to 5 and fingering my strings like a rock climber fingers cliff cracks? Why don't I turn the amp up to 6 and relax a little? Play with a little more restraint and control?

I'm going to give it a try.

Half of you are going "duh!--but the other half is probably going "gee, maybe I should do that too." Don't lie.

[oldcatfish]

I tried it...but went back to the aggressive style. I just seem to lock into a groove much better that way. I play guitar and drums better with an aggressive style too. I have the action on all of my stringed instruments higher than most people prefer--but it works for me.

Honestly, it would be better to make the amp do the work though...less fatigue, more potential speed, etc. Hopefully it works better for you.

[Floyd Eye]

I came to that conclusion quite awhile back. Though I still tend to play aggressively so it was a delicate balance, especially when you consider that the over all volume level changes on any given night. Guitar players are notorious for not maintaining steady volume levels and sound guys and equipment differences vary. One thing that helped me though was figuring out the right way to set my OD pedal ( I play a Ric with Rotos) so that when I play more aggressively I have more grit without turning anything up and likewise when I play less aggressively it sits nicer in the mix when I am not looking for grit.


If that makes any sense to anyone.

[CapeScrod]

Originally Posted by oldcatfish

I tried it...but went back to the aggressive style. I just seem to lock into a groove much better that way.

Same here, less aggressively to me means changing the way I attack the strings, and attacking the strings aggressively is me all the way!

[mambo4]

It makes a big difference with sustained notes.
If you pluck aggressively the attack of the note is much louder than the decay.
Pluck softly +turning up gives you a more even volume over the duration of a note, as it decays. Like using compression , makes it "fatter" in a way.

Not better or worse, just different.

[carlthegroover]

Dude, if y'er not playing hard, y'er not rockin'!!!

Seriously, though, since I play mostly rock, aggresive plucking in certain parts of a song make me feel so great! And I'd bet the audience would also heat up by drastic changes in dynamics.

Of course, that also means to restrain yourself from plucking aggresively throughout the whole damn song! Now that is kinda wrong in my book. And it also buries the singer, which is kinda stupid in my book.

Also, as other poster said, I get a better sense of the groove when I play aggresively, but even within one bar I have been playing around with accents and stuff. I didn't do that before and now I realize how plain it sounded when plucking the very same way through the whole song.

Summary: I've found it's best to control plucking strength depending on the sections of the song. Not a huge discovery for an experienced musician. But for me it's recent, and I love it.

[gumbynotpokey]

I have done this too for the last few years. I now much prefer to give myself the headroom and control it all with right hand attack. I find it improves a number of things, actually.

[callusthumb]

There's more of a human quality when you're just wailing. I tend to reserve it for when I have the spotlight vs, just beating my bass the whole song. It's like saying, "hey there's a person here!"

[Rockin Mike]

Originally Posted by mambo4

It makes a big difference with sustained notes.
If you pluck aggressively the attack of the note is much louder than the decay.
Pluck softly +turning up gives you a more even volume over the duration of a note, as it decays. Like using compression , makes it "fatter" in a way.

Not better or worse, just different.

agreed, and aggressive playing can also cause fret buzz which will shorten the sustain.

[Russell L]

Originally Posted by scottfeldstein

I have been thinking about turning up my amp and playing less aggressively.

When I was a kid, I barely had enough amp under me to cut through my garageband pals with their little combo guitar amps--so I had to play aggressively. The amp was already at its maximum. Banging away at the strings was the last ditch effort to take it to "11."

Later on, when I had better and louder rigs at my disposal, it was still a hard habit to break. Also, I began to be sensitive to the fact that I had volume spikes that needed some softening. Like when switching from finger style to slap. So I would finger aggressively to bring it up to the slap level. And I would turn down to make sure the slaps weren't too jarring.

Now in my wise old age I'm thinking... I have a big enough rig to be heard. And I have a compressor to level out volume spikes adequately. Why am I still turning the amp up to 5 and fingering my strings like a rock climber fingers cliff cracks? Why don't I turn the amp up to 6 and relax a little? Play with a little more restraint and control?

I'm going to give it a try.

Half of you are going "duh!--but the other half is probably going "gee, maybe I should do that too." Don't lie.

I think this means that you are becoming a better bassist. However, you will find that there is a happy medium in there. Just last night I had the volume up in order to articulate better, but had to turn it back a tad so I could hit the notes JUST hard enough to get the right effect.

But, yeah, many things will improve in your playing by turning up some and having more finesses in your finger work. Keep doing it and eventually you will get hooked on it and start to notice little nuances that you never could've felt otherwise. Your dynamics will also improve.

[Ace Marconi]

Hi Scott!

I think you're onto something. I've certainly found that one of the keys to controlling band dynamics is to be able to change volume from note to note. I do use a compressor, adjusted so that it starts limiting at about the point where the bass is at about 85% volume, playing medium with a pick, or gravedigging with the fingers. Then I dial the bass back to about 75%, and set the amp for stage volume.

The band is used to hearing me, and if I quiet down, they do too. For the quiet ballads I can sound soulful, turn up a bit for the rockers, and still have a bit extra horsepower left for the low D in copperhead. All without touching the amp - I use a digital wireless, and I'm often nowhere near the amp.

Now if I get really wild with the pick, or bong a note by accident, the compressor stops me from breaking things. Best of all worlds, IMHO.

[JohnMCA72]

I've always been an "aggressive" player, & I take it as a compliment when somebody calls me that! Lately, though, I've been finding myself playing with a lighter touch sometimes, with the volume adjusted up a bit to compensate. It all depends on the music, & what type of sound & feel it needs.

[hernameisrio]

I recently started digging in too hard due to getting drowned out by a guitarist. I turned up, told him to turn down, and faced away from his amp. Once I could hear myself, problem solved. I feel better when I play with a light touch...I feel less tense and can focus more easily.

[bolophonic]

Being able to play loudly with very little effort is key. That way you can always dig in when you need to, but you have enough room to lay back when you need to.

[pert-urb]

I discovered that its important for me to have someplace to go without limiting myself to notes. Some seasoned players taught me that playing with a range of dynamics is like playing another instrument--even to the extent that "space" is an instrument.

Think of those tunes that really don't start rocking until the bass comes in. When it finally comes in, if it is at full strength, there's no place else to go but down.

+1 on the "turn up and play lighter" concept.

I challenge myself in these ways Shen practicing:

- play lightly at consistent levels. Then increase speed without increasing volume.
- play strong and increase speed while articulating each note.
- practice playing with four distinct dynamic levels.
- mix the above techniques and discover new opportunities for expression.
- apply the above to a song and see where I am challenged to adapt.

$.02

[makkE]

Used to dig in hard - then realized that "volume up - lighter touch" worked much better.

It's not that I am brushing strings like a feather now. Probably still play in the middleground.

But it's been helping me heaps to lighten up my touch a little.
Less fatique. Can work smoothly when needed. Tone and intonation is better (I was digging in too much, my notes got sharp). Allowed me to use floating thumb instead of anchoring - more consistent tone, easier muting, faster string skipping.

Best thing is, that it has enabled me to actually employ dynamics as a form of expression. If you always grind away on the limit, you won't have any headroom left.

It might be awkward at first, but it's totally worth it.
At first I feared I would loose my groove, punch, agressiveness. But once you are comfortable with a lighter touch, you can play just the same feel/tightness/groove. It's just happening at lower, less fatiguing levels. You will not loose any drive. Don't be afraid - just give it time to break in and don't sweat it.

At first, for about 2-3 months, I would accidentally dig in hard again - but your amp sounding like a fart and puzzled looks from your bandmates will soon put you into place, everytime you dig in too hard again.

What also helped me was to play with headphones, at levels where digging in too hard would almost be painful. It's a bit like electric shock therapy

[scottfeldstein]

Originally Posted by Russell L

you will find that there is a happy medium in there. Just last night I had the volume up in order to articulate better, but had to turn it back a tad so I could hit the notes JUST hard enough to get the right effect.

Lots of commenters here referring to this "Goldilocks" principle. There's extremes: really high volume played very lightly, and really low volume played spastically--and then there's a lot of really useful points in the middle. Getting it "just right" is what it's about, I think.

And so, reinterpreting my OP: I think I realized that I've been on the plays-too-hard-and-could-turn-up-some side of the equation. Time to make a moderate adjustment the other way to find the sweet spot.

[kesslari]

Gary Willis advocates exactly what you're saying, and has for a long time.
Very smart cat, that Willis...

[Ric5]

I'm a fan of playing hard like this ...

white room-cream(bass solo 08 jack bruce) - YouTube

[TripleDouble]

+1 Kesslari

Gary Willis gave a master class that I attended maybe around 1994, and this was a point he made that stuck with me. It showed up in his 101 Bass Tips book too, which has a lot of cool ideas in it. And yeah, having an amp that accommodates this is not the problem it once was.

Guitarist John Abercrombie, who plays with his thumb now instead of a pick, does this too. His amp is turned up silly loud, and he plays incredibly lightly.