What is your sound?

zfate · #1 12-02-2007, 02:38 PM

So for the past few months i have had 7+ hours of stage/gig time, Fridays 3 hour nights. and the i am totally racking up experience! it is wonderful. and to the point.

I've noticed, it's Less is more yet you can never have enough. Which really pulls on my musician-ship. To play, not just the right rhythm, melody, or groove, etc... But to be able to play it all, at the right time, place, etc.....! showing that i still have light years to go before i can master this wondrous instrument.

So i've come to the point where i want my main disposition to be playing less, yet be more feet/soul moving than a bucket of flash (which isn't bad,i love flash).

For example Mute Math's song Obsolete... Wow, what a amazing bass line.. simple, yet it's just there.. hit's you good.

Anyone else feeling me? or have any tips on who to listen to,or similar dilemma or should i take this lonely rode and create a new revolution!

mambo4 · #2 12-02-2007, 03:05 PM

"less is more" is one of those things that the greybeards of bass have always passed down...

cowsgomoo · #3 12-02-2007, 04:30 PM

I totally disagree with 'less is more' as a philosophy for bass players, any musician for that matter...

for any style of music there's an appropriate amount of playing... whether that's a minimalistic root every few bars or a complete barrage of 32nd notes

amount of notes is a stylistic choice in the same way timbre and volume are... how strange would it be to say things like 'quiet is best' or 'distorted is right'...? yet we regularly hear 'less is more' without anyone questioning it

I know the people who say 'less is more' probably mean 'don't overplay', but they're not the same

Dave Muscato · #4 12-02-2007, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

amount of notes is a stylistic choice in the same way timbre and volume are... how strange would it be to say things like 'quiet is best' or 'distorted is right'...? yet we regularly hear 'less is more' without anyone questioning it

I think a lot of people question the "less is more" thing. Just ask Bill Dickens. It's about finding your voice. Some people have a lot to say.

BellBottomBlues · #5 12-02-2007, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Muscato

I think a lot of people question the "less is more" thing. Just ask Bill Dickens. It's about finding your voice. Some people have a lot to say.

If its about finding your voice, I think Bill Dickens should shut up

In my experience, point and counter point is one of the fundamentals of bass playing. You don't always have to be playing, and when you do come in, you're all the more noticeable.

The hardest thing for me to do, in terms of bass, was the simple things. I skipped the basics, the big notes, the thumpin' groove. Getting the basics nailed down tight really helped my playing.

Bass, in a band setting, is a support instrument. Its your job to make the song work. If you wanna be a solo artist, like Wooten Jaco etc, get your own band. Therefore, as a supporting artist, its your job to bring everything together and lay down a solid foundation. Laying a solid foundation is something I feel many newer players have trouble with. So do many of the flashier players like Sheehan.

Maybe going back to basics is what you're going for?

sedan_dad · #6 12-02-2007, 05:09 PM

Play for the song and not your ego, or the blonde in the front row with the big "eyes".

zfate · #7 12-03-2007, 12:02 AM

it's Less is more yet... you can never have enough.

Just to point out that i said, yet you can never have enough. so it wasn't about the less is more thing.

everything in moderation.. yeppp

Slax · #8 12-03-2007, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sedan_dad

Play for the song and not your ego, or the blonde in the front row with the big "eyes".

Definite +1 on that one. A while back I used to just play as much complicated stuff as I could fit into a song. (Not all the time, but quite a bit...) I think one of the best self realization lessons I learned to was to just go with what sounded right, even if it wasn't all that hard to play. I can still incorporate some of the flashy stuff when appropriate, and the rest? I can save for practicing on my own.

barbarbass · #9 12-03-2007, 02:41 PM

If I may give a concrete example. There's a local band (here in New Haven) I recently saw doing a cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." Great groove, beautiful bassline -- simple, classic, timeless. They were playing it very straight-up, pretty much exactly like MJ's version.

At one point in the song, towards the end, the bassist 'popped' a note -- (a hammer-on to a high b-flat, because I believe they were playing in b-flat to accommodate their brass section). He didn't slap then pop -- he just 'popped' this one note, the rest of the band suddenly took off. The drummer picked up, the horns roared, the guitarist found a different lick to work on -- everybody got excited. He only did it once, and that was all it took. Suddenly, the room just came alive. It was like, "what the **** was that?"

He didn't play another fill for the rest of the song, but there was something so badass about that one note. It was all he had to say, I guess.

TrevorOfDoom · #10 12-03-2007, 02:49 PM

"less is more"

interesting. i can dig this, at times. in the band i'm auditioning for, it's simple lines, mostly root notes, some walking. that's just what they need. the band i just left was almost nothing but following the guitar with unison riffs. when i play churchs, i used to just hold down the bottom. very much so less is more. but now i try and overplay (i've been listening to way too much Bruce Thomas). thing is, when i overplay (in my mind, at least), most people comment on my nice melodic touch. it's strange to me, but i'm still working on my voice. i think it's good to go to both extremes, see which one fits better, then find a happy place in the middle. some people can make overplaying sound sooooo good (Bruce Thomas, again), while some guys are just spot on with the less is more approach. which one works for you, that's the question.

silvertone · #11 12-03-2007, 02:59 PM

As George Porter says - "The Funk is in knowing when not to play...."

TS
www.WorldWideTed.com

zfate · #12 12-04-2007, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silvertone

As George Porter says - "The Funk is in knowing when not to play...."

TS
www.WorldWideTed.com

+1

mmmm

mutedeity · #13 12-04-2007, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Muscato

I think a lot of people question the "less is more" thing. Just ask Bill Dickens. It's about finding your voice. Some people have a lot to say.

Ahh, you said it all just there in far fewer words than I might have used. Ironic, huh?

KsToaDangr · #14 12-04-2007, 11:00 AM

the last band i recorded with definately had a "play what sounds good with the music" feeling to the basslines. the 1st track on the CD was a straight foward keyboard & guitar driven song where i was just playing root notes. the 2nd track was bass driven...i was playing 8th notes while the guitarist was playing 1/4 notes every other 8th note. Theres a big difference between playing the rhythm and playing a melody on the bass, but i think most bass players should play what sounds good not only to themselves, but in reference with the rest of the music.

Phalex · #15 12-04-2007, 11:05 AM

The best advice I ever got from a grizzled old bass player: Keep it LOW.

thesteve · #16 12-04-2007, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barbarbass

He didn't play another fill for the rest of the song, but there was something so badass about that one note. It was all he had to say, I guess.

I think this nails it...I save my flash (what little flash I have) for practice...sometimes I'll do something that just sparks the other guys in my band and I'll keep those for when we perform...otherwise it just gets dumped.

tZer · #17 12-04-2007, 11:33 AM

Regarding, "less is more" - this is a reaction to the tendency for immature players to feel that they need to be playing lots of fancy fills and riffs at the sacrifice of their role in the song as a whole. In other words, feeling that unless they are on full-tilt all the time, no one will appreciate what they are doing - which is a self-defeating concept.

While I agree that no one pithy little pseudo-philosophical statement is a be-all-end-all solution to being an effective bass player, "less is more" is a good starting point.

I've been recording my bands and music projects for the last few years now and in my personal analysis, I always find that I should have followed the "less is more" idea. Coming from a "Geddy Lee/Chris Squire" inspired background, my formative years were filled with "more is more" bass playing examples. Now that I am older and finding that I love funk, blues, soul, and other less "flash-filled" bass parts, it helps me to be conscious of "less is more" as a personal control valve.

In no way do I feel it is the only way to approach a part. I also am a firm believer in "play what the song needs" - which could very well be a "more is more" line. But "less is more" is a very good way to go when in doubt.

papajune · #18 12-04-2007, 11:50 AM

SSSSMMMAAAACCCCCKKKKKKK!

Thats the sound of Miles slapping all you who say 'less is more' is a bad thing!

When your young and learning your gonna be flashy, when your learned in the ways of what gets you gigs then you'll know when to use it.

The smart man prides himself in his knowledge and shares it with all who he encounters, the wise man bites his tongue and speaks only when necessary. now take the pebble from my hand bi$%^es.

Oh and Mute Math is phenomenal!!