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02-21-2008, 12:25 AM
| | | | Fundamentals of playing metal?
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A band wants me to fill in for their bassist who doesn't live here anymore and i don't normally play metal but would like to get into it...What are the fundamental things i need to know to be a good metal bassist? |
02-21-2008, 12:32 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: S.E. Connecticut, USA | | | Listen to metal songs that they do.
Then listen to Geezer Butler, Steve Harris, Cliff Burton, you know ...metal players.
Copy them and soon you will be able to play metal.
Music is Music. Only "Styles" are different . Learn the style, play the music. |
02-21-2008, 12:38 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Chicago | | | Downtune your bass atleast a step, and thicker gauges help. |
02-21-2008, 12:40 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: S.E. Connecticut, USA | | | BS |
02-21-2008, 12:55 AM
| | | | any scales that are commonly used or anything like that? |
02-21-2008, 01:19 AM
| | | | diminished and natural minor are probably the most common
you donīt have to downtune necessary if they donīt
playing smoothly with a lot of amplification will help you to keep the speed without problems wiht your tendons, also donīt use a very high position for the bass or your right wrist will suffer |
02-21-2008, 01:25 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sydney | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Funky Fatcat  A band wants me to fill in for their bassist who doesn't live here anymore and i don't normally play metal but would like to get into it...What are the fundamental things i need to know to be a good metal bassist? | The same things you need to be good at any other type of music. Practice, technichal development and professionalism. |
02-21-2008, 11:22 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Kentucky | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Funky Fatcat What are the fundamental things i need to know to be a good metal bassist? | Headbanging, mean faces, and heavy drinking. Everything else is just gravy.  |
02-21-2008, 03:53 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Chicago, IL | | | aeolian phrygian and the uh minor one with the b3 b7 (harmonic or melodic minor)
or you could just play pentatonic minor/blues and just randomly throw in b2/2 or b6/6 to make riffs |
02-21-2008, 04:45 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2004 Location: St. Louis, MO, U.S. | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Funky Fatcat A band wants me to fill in for their bassist who doesn't live here anymore and i don't normally play metal but would like to get into it...What are the fundamental things i need to know to be a good metal bassist? | What kind of metal?
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02-21-2008, 04:52 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Westfield, MA, USA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by lemur821 What kind of metal? | This is a really good question. Radically different advice applies if we are talking about Helloween or Sunn O))). |
02-21-2008, 04:54 PM
| | | | scales? No. Scales are for those jazz posers. The notes you need is open E and open A.
Seriously I play a lot of classic rock (what would have been metal in it's day). The left hand stuff is typically basic. On the other hand our picking hand is going to get a work out. Lots of pedaling root notes, but you need speed and stamina. Concentrate on your picking 8th and 16th notes (and octaves can work nicely).
If you do need a scale it's generally a pentatonic.
Ian |
02-21-2008, 05:04 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sydney | | Quote:
Originally Posted by IanStephenson scales? No. Scales are for those jazz posers. The notes you need is open E and open A.
Seriously I play a lot of classic rock (what would have been metal in it's day). The left hand stuff is typically basic. On the other hand our picking hand is going to get a work out. Lots of pedaling root notes, but you need speed and stamina. Concentrate on your picking 8th and 16th notes (and octaves can work nicely).
If you do need a scale it's generally a pentatonic.
Ian | Oh dear. Follow this advice and you can expect to be mediocre at best. |
02-21-2008, 05:18 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Somewhere in the maritimes. | | Quote:
Originally Posted by projectMalamute This is a really good question. Radically different advice applies if we are talking about Helloween or Sunn O))). | indeed. metal is much to broad to give advice on. we need specifics
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02-23-2008, 12:50 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Chicago, IL | | Quote:
Originally Posted by El-Bob indeed. metal is much to broad to give advice on. we need specifics | speed metal, power metal, metalcore, thrash metal, math metal, doom, grind, black metal, death metal, sludge?
tons of choices.
all that remains to nightwish to zao to slayer to dillenger escape plan to manowar to agoraphobic nosebleed to deathspell omega to at the gates to isis?
it's a big world out there. if you're playing grind. don't worry about the notes. just play loud and fast. take that from someone who's played much grind in his day.
the most troublesome (read: hardest) will be speed, power, math and death. sure part of it will have your touch. bass in metal is as hard as you want to make it, either you can go all john myung style or go simple and fast. |
02-23-2008, 01:27 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bay Area, CA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by IanStephenson scales? No. Scales are for those jazz posers. The notes you need is open E and open A.
Seriously I play a lot of classic rock (what would have been metal in it's day). The left hand stuff is typically basic. On the other hand our picking hand is going to get a work out. Lots of pedaling root notes, but you need speed and stamina. Concentrate on your picking 8th and 16th notes (and octaves can work nicely).
If you do need a scale it's generally a pentatonic.
Ian | HA your kidding right? Depending on the genre, metal bassists have to be some of the most technical, well trained musicians of any genre I've heard. Ever listened to Brain Drill, Origin, Blotted Science, Cannibal Corpse, or Decrepit Birth?
Oh and I'm sorry, Classic rock was not, is not, nor will ever be metal in any way shape or form. |
02-23-2008, 02:42 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Somewhere in the maritimes. | | Quote:
Originally Posted by beforeitsallove speed metal, power metal, metalcore, thrash metal, math metal, doom, grind, black metal, death metal, sludge?
tons of choices.
all that remains to nightwish to zao to slayer to dillenger escape plan to manowar to agoraphobic nosebleed to deathspell omega to at the gates to isis?
it's a big world out there. if you're playing grind. don't worry about the notes. just play loud and fast. take that from someone who's played much grind in his day.
the most troublesome (read: hardest) will be speed, power, math and death. sure part of it will have your touch. bass in metal is as hard as you want to make it, either you can go all john myung style or go simple and fast. |
well said
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02-24-2008, 02:38 PM
| | | Quote:
Originally Posted by gonzoguri diminished and natural minor are probably the most common
you donīt have to downtune necessary if they donīt
playing smoothly with a lot of amplification will help you to keep the speed without problems wiht your tendons, also donīt use a very high position for the bass or your right wrist will suffer | Harmonic Minor and the Phygrian Mode are very metal! 
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02-24-2008, 02:42 PM
| | | | A lot of Death Metal has elements of Jazz and Classical. Just listen to some death metal bands like Death, Atheist, Autopsy, Necrophagist, Nile, Opeth, Cannibal Corpse, Cryptopsy, Cynic, Gorguts, and more. This is all good stuff.
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02-24-2008, 02:43 PM
| | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Foxworthy925 HA your kidding right? Depending on the genre, metal bassists have to be some of the most technical, well trained musicians of any genre I've heard. Ever listened to Brain Drill, Origin, Blotted Science, Cannibal Corpse, or Decrepit Birth?
Oh and I'm sorry, Classic rock was not, is not, nor will ever be metal in any way shape or form. | +1,000,000,000
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