YouTube bass cover etiquette
 

Hi there. Just got back into playing after a long while back in August and I've been working to relearn songs I used to know and pick up some new stuff. I'm planning to do the bass cover thing on youtube, just to get my name out there and have something to refer people to when I start looking for bands. Here's the thing, historically, I've known mostly metal stuff and, in fact, I'm relearning a lot of Iron Maiden right now. I know myself, and I don't know how I could possibly play along with a song I really like and not move or get into the song somewhat. I'm not saying that I plan to dress in leather or spandex or run around my living room but I've always loved playing live and I love that energy you get. I think it would be impossible to completely contain the occassional headbang or just, how you move your body with a song and I'm scared of looking ridiculous. Is this completely not done or do some people mix a little of that in? Just curious. Thanks and please don't laugh at me.:hiding:

I started learning bass last September. I came from a guitar background, so it's coming to me very quickly. I've used Youtube for a lot of my information and have seen the good, the bad, and everywhere inbetween.

A couple of suggestions.

Make sure you have good quality audio and video. I have seen some video where the left hand blurs between movements and the notes being played are not discernable. One bonus feature that I like is when the bass track is isolated to one side of the stereo track while the music is played on the other.

Try to get a good angle of the fretboard. And as much as you like to swing, I've seen some people dance to the point that you can't see their fingering positions. A good compromise would be to dance and play, then sit and play the passage in slow motion. Another helpful hint would be to play the slow passage with just your index finger. Many bassists appear to be hitting other frets or strings just by the way they cup their hands. It's only after several rewinds and reviews of their right hand plucking and listening to the notes that I understand what they're playing.

I personally don't like tabs because I have a hard time memorizing the bassline if I use them. I find that the song sticks better if I watch the player and listen to the song. Other people might learn differently, but it works for me.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

Really...? It's YOUTUBE. Do you think the average poster on Youtube really worries about looking ridiculous? ;)

In other words - there are no rules to art. Do what feels right. Random internet strangers are going to hate you and criticize you regardless of what you do, so trust your gut and have fun with it.

Please man, HEADBANG.

:bassist:\m/

I have actually wanted to ask questions on the topic of YouTube covers...

I want to do some of those as well in the coming months, to get some feedback and provide a demonstration of my skills (if any). I know when I watch covers, it's really important for the instrument being played to be clear and articulate as well as the song itself.

My planned method for doing this is to record the video while simultaneously recording the bass I'm playing into some sort of production suite like Reason then overdub the video with synced mp3 tracks of both the original song and my recorded bass track. Someone suggested panning the different tracks to different sides, which sounds like a good idea as well.

Is this too complicated? I just want to present myself in the best way possible.

I'm planning on getting into doing some videos too, and this is what I was thinking aswell. To me it seems like the best way to ensure good quality audio.

I like guys who sit and show the whole bass, right hand and left, clearly. Headbanging, devil horns, all that stuff is accepted. I tend to slap the strings muted to add emphasis on a certain beat when I get into something

Here's one I did. Please do better video quality than mine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-uP7DfuF6M

I've seen people do it in khakis and flip flops sitting and I've seen a guy do covers in a tutu and a vinyl horse mask. Do you.

Reason will not do audio recording as far as I know, only MIDI. Reaper will and it's free for 30 days with no disabling afterwards (meaning you never have to pay for it technically, but I still plan to at some point).

I put the .WAV file into Reaper (I don't have the LAME encoder necessary for MP3 files) and then I monitor it. Add a new track, set to record, and monitor that. Then I just record my bass over the song mix it, render it to a .WAV file, and sync it up with my video.

Nice! Opeth is sweet! That looks like a fun one.

Right on, I've never tried recording audio with Reason, I guess I just assumed it could. Thanks for the tips!

Thanks! I love that song. It definitely was fun and took me a long time to get to that point. There are some parts, like the 5/8 diminished syncopated riff that I still haven't nailed.

I got Reason and an M-Audio MIDI controller from a family friend. I assumed, like you, that it would record and that it was a keyboard, not a MIDI Controller.

Needless to say, I learned a lot about MIDI controlling in those weeks

I have to admit I had no idea this was so complicated. I thought you just adjusted your amp and stereo volume and got a decent camera. :atoz:

Haha sounds like it, I probably would have been in the same predicament before I went to college for a year... I had no idea people composed songs purely with midi for anything other than video games...

That would probably work just as well, definitely a lot simpler. I kind of want to push myself to make the highest quality I can for the lowest cost and get better at amateur video editing and stuff, not that this is that intensive but I'm definitely a YouTube noob... I'll probably try this method out first though, haha

That can work but your camera has to have a really good microphone, you have to balance the song and your bass really well, and there's no editing if a track is too loud or something like that. The zoom H1 would be a great candidate for something like that