Weird Scenario

stevecool_skint · #1 04-19-2006, 04:12 AM

I shall explain ....

..... I am sure that this happens all the time but it felt very strange indeed.

My band are due to play a wedding at the end of April but due to them changing the date I am away on holiday when we are due to play. Having said that our singer (pain in the arse - but another thread altogether) has roped in a friend to cover on bass. Nothing untoward so far .... I play bass in a simple solid way as we are all about getting drunken people to dance around. I play at an intermediate level and I know my way around the fretboard etc. I am showing this bass player how to play some of the songs and he starts telling me that how I have played them for the last 5 years is WRONG!!!

I have never once had anyone say that to me but seeing as it comes from another Bass player it has knocked my confidence!!!!!! Anyone else had anything similar - should I hang up my Jazz and leave the room in shame????

invader3k · #2 04-19-2006, 06:25 AM

Let it roll off your back. There's more than one way to play any bassline. Don't worry what other people think of your playing (especially other bass players). If the crowds are into it and your style works with your band, then you are doing everything right.

Lazylion · #3 04-19-2006, 08:01 AM

Many times I've heard an original recording of a tune I'd been playing, and noticed something different. Probably the best example IME is Bob Seger's bar standard "Old Time Rock & Roll". Played it a million times w/walking bass, then I heard it on the radio. Normally I would have switched stations immediately (sorry Bob!), but this time I listened. Damn if the bass wasn't doing quarter notes on the root. About as simple/boring as you can get. Next gig I played it that way, and when we finished, the drummer hollered out "That sucked!!" I had to agree, even though it was true to the record. Haven't tried that again since.
So give yourself some slack. As long as you're not missing a signature riff, you're cool. Have you had any other complaints?
Another thing, most recordings have extra tracks of guitar, keys, backup singers etc. Unless you have 15 people in your band to recreate these parts live, it won't hurt to busy up your part a little to fill in. Notice, I say "a little". You'll want to avoid the "guitar player on bass" syndrome!

stevecool_skint · #4 04-19-2006, 08:22 AM

I appreciate your comments folks! I have always believed that the Bass should be there to fill out the tunes and at the end of the day it should be the backbone of the tunes.

It just got to me that this was a guest in the room and he was altering things that I felt 'didn't need altering'

..... i feel a bit better about things - i'll trawl the local river form my Jazz!

BassManPatsFan · #5 04-19-2006, 08:48 AM

Unless it's an essential bass line (Ain't too proud to beg or Under Pressure or something...), I think you have as much freedom as you want to play it how you want. Stick to the chord changes, and maybe decide on a general feel with your band, but after that you should have room to have some fun. If he wants to play the lines exactly like they are on the record, so be it. Just know no one will be coming up to him after the wedding to praise his originality and musicality.
-Alex

Joe Nerve · #6 04-19-2006, 09:04 AM

Sounds like it stung because all the while you thought you WERE playing the songs correctly. Little ego shattering hearing it from another BP.

I think stuff like this helps me. I've learned songs wrong, and then they'd put the tab in a magazine and I'd go DOH!!! (I never used internet tab, but trust the stuff they put in the books and mags from time to time). The more this happens the better I get at being able to pull the correct lines out of songs. The more covers you learn the easier it gets also. I think you have to learn to swallow this stuff and think along the lines of, "hey, I just became a better player."

Not to derail this thread, but we have a new guitarist playing with us with the group bumblefoot I play with. He's a very well schooled, very talented guy. The other day we rehearsed in my house for the first time and he sees I have a DB (that I can't really play all that well) against my wall. "Hey cool!" He says and starts playing the thing like it's nobody's business. I mean this guy knew his sheet. While on the inside I was feeling like woody allen, I've learned to just flow with it. I do what I do and nobody can do it like I do, they do what they do - and everything's cool. Makes me work a whole lot harder also.

scorpionldr · #7 04-19-2006, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevecool_skint

I shall explain ....

..... I am sure that this happens all the time but it felt very strange indeed.

My band are due to play a wedding at the end of April but due to them changing the date I am away on holiday when we are due to play. Having said that our singer (pain in the arse - but another thread altogether) has roped in a friend to cover on bass. Nothing untoward so far .... I play bass in a simple solid way as we are all about getting drunken people to dance around. I play at an intermediate level and I know my way around the fretboard etc. I am showing this bass player how to play some of the songs and he starts telling me that how I have played them for the last 5 years is WRONG!!!

I have never once had anyone say that to me but seeing as it comes from another Bass player it has knocked my confidence!!!!!! Anyone else had anything similar - should I hang up my Jazz and leave the room in shame????

hmmm.....not really sure whether or not to take this one seriously. I had an experience where I was told by a guy who had 8 years on me that I sucked, and I hadn't heard anything about him in any other bands he was playing in to this day. on the other hand I've heard the words "horrible tone/rhythm" flow like water from other sax players' mouths, and I am finally on my way to recovering from that through hard work because I discovered they were right.....just take your time, maybe see how the band likes his doodle of the picture. if it doesn't look right, don't change it.

invader3k · #8 04-20-2006, 06:30 AM

One thing too...believe it or not, it's OK to play a song differently from the recorded version. Frankly, a lot of songs, especially some older classic rock songs, have some really boring or unmemorable bass lines (like the Seger song mentioned above). In a live setting, it's your job to keep the crowd on their feet and grooving to the tunes, and if changing the bass line accomplishes that, then so be it.