What People Want In Their Bass Player - Episode 2, Saxophonist Bob Reynolds

[Intenzity]

Yes, it is that time again, time to hear from those non-bass playing folks about what they think a "good" bass player is. As if their opinions mattered, jeez. It's not like they are the ones hiring us or anything.

This episode - Bob Reynolds, saxophonist for (amongst others) John Mayer & Janek Gwizdala.

Bob shares with us his thoughts on both electric and upright bass playing, and talks about what he listens for while soloing.

It's honest.

It's concise.

It's intense.

And it's right here:

What People Want In Their Bass Player - Episode 2, Bob Reynolds

Read the whole thing. As many times as you want. I recommend daily readings, and prescribe twice daily mandatory readings on the days of big important gigs.

Also, browse Basso Ridiculoso for all kinds of other bass related diversions.

[JimiLL]

Link doesnt work

[Intenzity]

Huh..blogger must have been having a fit for a second there.

Works okay now.

http://bassoridiculoso.blogspot.com/...ss-player.html

[JimiLL]

"Not that I'm the greatest bass player out there, but I know how to make other people sound good."

So true

[JTE]

That's some of the most useful and career enhancing advice any musician could get. Thanks for this! It reminds of an interview Bass Player did with Rickey Minor, published in the November 2004 issue. He said "Also, players should have a good sound. I always say I can get used to a big neck or a heavy bass, but I can’t get used to a bad sound. I’ve dealt with happening bassists whose instruments sound like twangy banjos.

Rickey has recently assembled touring units for Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Usher, the Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera, and Mary J. Blige. A result of this process is that he’s constantly auditioning young musicians.

John

[Gab124]

Fantastic - wish it were a longer article.

[hennessybass]

great thread! Loved episode 1, too. You should find a way to link episode 1 & 2. Maybe a link to the TB episode 1 thread in the opening post of episode 2... just a suggestion.

Between 1 and 2 I can already see some common themes developing about what others want in a bass player...

[Intenzity]

Ask and ye shall receive!

http://bassoridiculoso.blogspot.com/search/label/What%20People%20Want

That page will have all the "What People Want" articles on it. Right now, only 2, but as there are more you can read just those articles at that link.

I will also put a link to the first one on the current one.

[Justin Tuskey]

such a good read. reinforces the many things I've been striving for as a bass player. thanks for the post!

[chadhargis]

Loved that article.

I've long believed that a bass player is NOT a guitar player. While I can appreciate solos complete with chords and such, there is nothing more pleasing to me that long, deep, big tones anchoring the bottom end of a song.

Some of the best bass lines in history are very simplistic. Think Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay" or U2's "With or Without You".

There are songs where the bass takes part of the lead, yet remains simple, powerful, and rythmic. The beginning of the Exile song, "Kiss You All Over" comes to mind.

As a bass player, I love acrobatic type playing by folks like Victor Wooten, but the average listener doesn't want the bass player front and center slapping and popping over their favorite songs. They want to "feel" us as much as they hear us.

[JTE]

Originally Posted by chadhargis

Loved that article.

I've long believed that a bass player is NOT a guitar player. While I can appreciate solos complete with chords and such, there is nothing more pleasing to me that long, deep, big tones anchoring the bottom end of a song.

Some of the best bass lines in history are very simplistic. Think Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay" or U2's "With or Without You".

There are songs where the bass takes part of the lead, yet remains simple, powerful, and rythmic. The beginning of the Exile song, "Kiss You All Over" comes to mind.

As a bass player, I love acrobatic type playing by folks like Victor Wooten, but the average listener doesn't want the bass player front and center slapping and popping over their favorite songs. They want to "feel" us as much as they hear us.

Well, the thing is that too often people on TB make artificial distinctions based on superfluous dichotomies. Slapping, chords, popping, etc. are only techniques. They aren't the problem. Pops work great for setting the tone of a song- where'd Boz Skagg's "Lowdown" be without those overdubbed pops from David Hungate? And what drive would Sly & The Family Stone's "Thank You (Falletine Me Be Mice Elf, Again)" be without Larry's slaps? The argument that we should play for the song looses it's direct utility when it's shrouded in what might be a blanket condemnation of techniques.

It's about the music, and adventuresome bass playing can and often does serve the song. And mindless root thumping can and often is just as stultifying to the groove as mindless slapping and double-thumbing. I think we need to be careful not to denigrate approaches based on non-musical reasons.

I love Tim Drummond's bass to Neil Young's "Out On The Weekend"- the root on one, let it ring for the whole measure. But that works for THAT song. It'd be terrible on Jack Bruce's "White Room" or on Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody To Love".

John

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by JTE

what drive would Sly & The Family Stone's "Thank You (Falletine Me Be Mice Elf, Again)" be without Larry's slaps?

apologies for the Thread Deraillment, but fwiw, I would opine that Larry Graham could have played that same bassline with fingers, or a pick, or a freakin' crescent wrench, and it would be just as compelling; it's his note placement that makes "Thank You" such an awesome groove imho.

[dvh]

Originally Posted by JTE

Well, the thing is that too often people on TB make artificial distinctions based on superfluous dichotomies. Slapping, chords, popping, etc. are only techniques. They aren't the problem. Pops work great for setting the tone of a song- where'd Boz Skagg's "Lowdown" be without those overdubbed pops from David Hungate? And what drive would Sly & The Family Stone's "Thank You (Falletine Me Be Mice Elf, Again)" be without Larry's slaps? The argument that we should play for the song looses it's direct utility when it's shrouded in what might be a blanket condemnation of techniques.

It's about the music, and adventuresome bass playing can and often does serve the song. And mindless root thumping can and often is just as stultifying to the groove as mindless slapping and double-thumbing. I think we need to be careful not to denigrate approaches based on non-musical reasons.

I love Tim Drummond's bass to Neil Young's "Out On The Weekend"- the root on one, let it ring for the whole measure. But that works for THAT song. It'd be terrible on Jack Bruce's "White Room" or on Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody To Love".

John

Right on! Simplistic lines sometimes work, sometimes not.

[chadhargis]

Don't get me wrong, I love a good bassline. The Boz Skaggs tune is a good example. I don't slap and pop (because I suck at it, not because I don't like it), but I can play that song fairly well.

But I believe a simple bass line will ALWAYS "work". It might not be the best choice, but it will always satisify the role of the bass in a song (reggae might be an exception). The role of the bass is to provide two primary things:

1) Bass provides the rhythmic foundation.
2) Bass provides the harmonic foundation.

If a bassist plays root notes, in time, they may never win a Grammy, but they could be considered a functional bass player.

I compare it to driving a car. If you get in your car and drive carefully to your destination without incident, then you can be considered a "good driver". Conversely, if you are Mario Andretti, you can make the same drive many times faster, complete with burnouts, power slides, drifting, etc. But in the end, you wind up in the same place.

I will always strive to be the best player I can be. I know that I'll never be Geddy Lee, Billy Sheehan, Vic Wooten, etc...but the article referenced above states something that should make players like me feel better in our quest. We don't HAVE to be as good as those guys. We can be a "good" bass player by sticking to the fundamentals and supporting the rest of the band.

[Intenzity]

I think all this stuff you guys are discussing comes under the "tunes" category Bob talks about. It is not just about knowing tunes, but knowing what is appropriate to play and when, on all the different kinds of tunes.

Sometimes that is just whole notes and a simple triad based line, and sometimes it can be something more complicated. But it takes a certain amount of musical maturity to know the difference. And that maturity I think is what is the key, and understanding/remembering what the role of the bass is, even in these days of chops miesters, you still have to fulfill a specific musical role for the band to sound good. Getting that idea gets to the the truth of the matter (harsh as it may be to some folks) is that a lot of soloists and singers don't care about the Wooten/Garrison/Dickens licks we have learned, they just don't, they want a solid fat simple bass line that makes them sound good and supports them being the center of attention like they expect

The guys that do that, well, they have been working and recording for 40 years - Duck Dunn, Willie Weeks, guys like that. Its also why I think players like Tal Wakenfield and Esperanza are so unusual, at their young age to be able to have that maturity playing wise is pretty incredible. Its not just that they have crazy chops, there are 100 guys that can tear off any lick either of them have played, it is the fact that they can turn them off and on in the right place at the right time and support the entire band. Do that, and people will dig your bass playing.

[DWBass]

Originally Posted by Intenzity

The guys that do that, well, they have been working and recording for 40 years - Duck Dunn, Willie Weeks, guys like that. Its also why I think players like Tal Wakenfield and Esperanza are so unusual, at their young age to be able to have that maturity playing wise is pretty incredible. Its not just that they have crazy chops, there are 100 guys that can tear off any lick either of them have played, it is the fact that they can turn them off and on in the right place at the right time and support the entire band. Do that, and people will dig your bass playing.

So true but a lot of YOUNG cats don't want to hear this! Always justifying busy and inappropriate playing!

[JTE]

Originally Posted by Intenzity

And that maturity I think is what is the key, and understanding/remembering what the role of the bass is, even in these days of chops miesters, you still have to fulfill a specific musical role for the band to sound good.

Agreed, but HOW one fulfills that role shouldn't be limited by technique. While I do tend to fall more into the Tim Drummond, Duck Dunn, Emory Gordy school when I play, that's because the music I tend to play works better that way. But if I'm playing something more like the Sly Stone song I mentioned earlier, "Strawberry Letter 22", "Get The Funk Out My Face", etc. just hitting big fat notes on one ain't gonna cut it.

I'm just trying to point out that a lot of these discussions fall into people who espouse playing sparsely equating anything else as wrong and always inappropriate outside of a soloist concept. Music is just too big for a "one size fits all" approach.

Originally Posted by Intenzity

Its not just that they have crazy chops, ... it is the fact that they can turn them off and on in the right place at the right time and support the entire band. Do that, and people will dig your bass playing.

Like Leland Sklar who has all the chops in the world, and the good sense to only use them when it advances the music. And that goes hand-in-hand with the maturity. Understanding the power of the bass in music so one can craft what makes the music work best- and if that means the bass line is simple, OK. If that means the bass line is more active and requires more physical skills than "Good Hearted Woman", then the bassist needs to be able to execute. It all starts with having good ideas!

John

[janekbass]

Hey Guys,

Bob just posted an album made while he was at Berklee over 10 years ago which is pretty burning, and as a special hidden bonus for anyone downloading the complete album he's included track from a show in NYC last month , that features me and Keith Carlock!

check it out at: http://bobreynolds.bandcamp.com/

Janek

FYI: it's only available for 48hrs and will expire at midnight on sunday March 6th EST