Too Much Groove!?

mikeypbass · #1 03-14-2008, 08:41 PM

Well today in band class at school, we played a disney piece, muy simple, so i got kinda bored and really started to groove, then later i found out i was being laughed at by the drummers for really groovin to a disney suite... did I just break some golden law of grooving to concert band tunes? What Gives?

AlphaMale · #2 03-14-2008, 08:54 PM

Who cares, play bass for what you think makes the music better and not other peoples approval.

JmJ · #3 03-14-2008, 09:00 PM

True enough. Its best to put your soul into everything you play or just stay home.

ChrisG19 · #4 03-14-2008, 09:01 PM

You can't hide from the Groove. You never know when it will strike.

Marcury · #5 03-14-2008, 09:13 PM

What do drummers know about the groove?

**john turner** · #6 03-14-2008, 09:34 PM

this would be more appropriate in miscellaneous. please post in the proper forum - basses is about instrument specific issues and questions.

moomoocajoo · #7 03-15-2008, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcury

What do drummers know about the groove?

+1

BassChuck · #8 03-15-2008, 07:14 AM

Were you dancing? You know.... there's a Seinfeld episode about dancing?

**Pacman** · #9 03-15-2008, 08:55 AM

I play in a concert band (professionally), and really up the groove factor all the time. It's appreciated by the musicians. And the drummer.

bassteban · #10 03-15-2008, 09:16 AM

This reminds me of the first school dance I attended. My entourage of geek friends & I clustered together & laughed at the brave souls who would actually dare to dance w/a girl. It was our only defence.

Steve · #11 03-15-2008, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeypbass

did I just break some golden law of grooving to concert band tunes? What Gives?

That's not you breaking a law, that's a drummer raising the stupid bar a little.

i_got_a_mohawk · #12 03-15-2008, 09:57 AM

The drummer probably wasnt laughing at you, he was probably laughing at his shadow or something. They can be a bit simple at times

Matt Till · #13 03-15-2008, 10:07 AM

Am I alone in thinking maybe you should just play what's appropriate for the song and not... adding groove to disney songs.

**Pacman** · #14 03-15-2008, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Till

Am I alone in thinking maybe you should just play what's appropriate for the song and not... adding groove to disney songs.

Am I alone in thinking it appropriate for any song to groove?

i_got_a_mohawk · #15 03-15-2008, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Till

Am I alone in thinking maybe you should just play what's appropriate for the song and not... adding groove to disney songs.

Hey, come on, Mickey got soul

Crazyeelboy · #16 03-16-2008, 01:37 AM

Mikeypbass - why are you worried about being laughed at by guys in band class? Groove when you want and don't worry about these guys.

ElMon · #17 03-16-2008, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pacman

Am I alone in thinking it appropriate for any song to groove?

No you are not! Just don't tell that to a musical theatre troup in a Community College. I actually was asked to 'tone it down' in a production, and after turning down my volume, it was explained that my playing was too rythmic. I tried to clarify, and asked "is it too busy....too many notes?"...."No, you sound great, its just it 'grooves' too much where it should just blend in with the piano"........

So, not wanting to blow what was a great paying gig, I added no rythmic inflections on the parts. I just 'played the footballs' so to speak....and they loved it. It showed me that there are certain gigs, thankfully a small minority, where the bass truly has to disappear behind the rest of the ensemble to sound 'right' to those paying you. It was hard to 'turn off the funk spigot' though. I forget the name of the production now, but it had some juicy little bits. I try to avoid Vo-Tech community theatre now, so I'm fully recovered

**Pacman** · #18 03-16-2008, 12:25 PM

Hey, when bread's on the line, you do what the person paying you says. But that don't make it right.

bassist15 · #19 03-16-2008, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Till

Am I alone in thinking maybe you should just play what's appropriate for the song and not... adding groove to disney songs.

+1
I play in the concert band at school and some of the stuff really bores me but I play what Im supposed to be playing. The music is already written out so no matter how boring you are supposed to play the music on the sheet.

**Pacman** · #20 03-16-2008, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassist15

+1
I play in the concert band at school and some of the stuff really bores me but I play what Im supposed to be playing. The music is already written out so no matter how boring you are supposed to play the music on the sheet.

Actually, that's not entirely true. In school, maybe. But as you gain experience, you can add to, or take away from, a part (assuming here that we're talking about electric bass and not double bass). This is part of the contemporary bassists job - making the chart work in a real-world scenario.

I honestly can't remember the last time I played exactly what was on the chart, in that situation.