what are some "tricks"

[brungus]

such as spinning the guitar around yourself, i need some to make playing more interesting.

[3 crotch grabs]

sound decent.

[Bad Brains]

make up your own, it'd be more interesting then doing something someone else does.

I know victor Wooten twrils the bass around him in circles, which is cool. You'd probably need a lot of room to do that, wouldn't wanna peg someone.

[The Golden Boy]

OOOHHHHH!!!

Once, I saw this bass player. He was, like, pretending he was really drunk. He was, like, pretending to play all crappy and then he, like, pretended to trip over his cord while stepping backwards. Then he pretended to, like, fall off the stage, which was about 4-3 feet high. If I wouldn't have known better, you couldn't fake that sound of air getting shoved out of your lungs like he did, oh and I don't know how he got that great sound of his head hitting concrete. It sounded so real!!

Or maybe it wasn't a trick and he was just a drunk...

[canopener]

Originally Posted by brungus

i need some to make playing more interesting.

Practicing music will make your playing more interesting.

[canopener]

Originally Posted by The Golden Boy

OOOHHHHH!!!

Once, I saw this bass player. He was, like, pretending he was really drunk. He was, like, pretending to play all crappy and then he, like, pretended to trip over his cord while stepping backwards. Then he pretended to, like, fall off the stage, which was about 4-3 feet high. If I wouldn't have known better, you couldn't fake that sound of air getting shoved out of your lungs like he did, oh and I don't know how he got that great sound of his head hitting concrete. It sounded so real!!

Or maybe it wasn't a trick and he was just a drunk...

Pfft. Must've been a trick.

[baba]

Hang your bass as low as possible and look upset. Incessantly pound the root note. This is a show stopper for sure.

[rickbass]

Do you have an opportunity to do bass solos that sound hot ???

One of my "tricks" is to spike my volume/have the guys at the board push it, fall to my knees and let it rip.

I've got a solo I do on "Crossroads" that is really just junk to any knowledgeable bassist, but it really impresses the audience..........they think I'm playing my ass off.....and if there's a lighting guy who can shoot a spotlight can on me, it's all the better.

Is that the kind of "tricks" you're talking about or are you thinking more about technique tricks, like machine gun triplets ???

[brungus]

Originally Posted by rickbass

Do you have an opportunity to do bass solos that sound hot ???

One of my "tricks" is to spike my volume/have the guys at the board push it, fall to my knees and let it rip.

I've got a solo I do on "Crossroads" that is really just junk to any knowledgeable bassist, but it really impresses the audience..........they think I'm playing my ass off.....and if there's a lighting guy who can shoot a spotlight can on me, it's all the better.

Is that the kind of "tricks" you're talking about or are you thinking more about technique tricks, like machine gun triplets ???

yea, i mean like spinning it around your neck, or flipping your bass around.

[rickbass]

Originally Posted by brungus

yea, i mean like spinning it around your neck, or flipping your bass around.

Well, that's cool, too.

Audiences couldn't give a flying "(expletive deleted)" about the perfect arches in your fretting fingers or the perfection in your right hand palm mute.

They want a show that makes them forget that, in real life, they are data input clerks at the state license bureau .

[ONYX]

1) Check out any video from any 80's era "hair" band.

2) Watch the guitar player.

3) After you stop your uncontrollable laughter, practice the same acrobatics on bass, albeit with more taste ( and restraint) !!

[mark beem]

Originally Posted by ONYX

1) Check out any video from any 80's era "hair" band.

2) Watch the guitar player.

3) After you stop your uncontrollable laughter, practice the same acrobatics on bass, albeit with more taste ( and restraint) !!

Good tip!!!!

[Benjamin Strange]

When I get really good and drunk onstage, I like to swallow the neck of my bass. It's a pretty neat trick, which for some strange reason anytime I play in San Francisco the crowd goes NUTS!

I wouldn't recommend trying this trick without a headless bass, mind you. That could be dangerous.

[3 crotch grabs]

just play that goofy ashbory thing.

[rockindoc]

Originally Posted by baba

Incessantly pound the root. This is a show stopper for sure.

Indeed!

[bryan bailey]

Play your bass with a knife, or a sword, or a saw.

You know, do like you would with a bow, only something really sharp.

[Boplicity]

Billy Sheehan, when in Mr.Big, used to play his bass with a Makita drill for one song. But, oh, by the way, one time the drill got caught in his hair and tangled up his blond mane all the way to the scalp. He and the guitarist--Paul Gilbert, a monster guitarist, had to duck behind Billy's Ampeg bass stack and try to undo the mess and all the while never let the audience know anything had gone wrong!

[brungus]

Originally Posted by Boplicity

Billy Sheehan, when in Mr.Big, used to play his bass with a Makita drill for one song. But, oh, by the way, one time the drill got caught in his hair and tangled up his blond mane all the way to the scalp. He and the guitarist--Paul Gilbert, a monster guitarist, had to duck behind Billy's Ampeg bass stack and try to undo the mess and all the while never let the audience know anything had gone wrong!

how do you play with a drill?!

[Boplicity]

I forgot this important "trick." Geddy Lee would play bass AND keyboard...not at the same time of course! He would sling the bass over his back while he played the keyboard. I have also seen Dave LaRue do the same thing.

You could also attempt what I have seen one of the Iron Maiden guitarists do. He had an acoustic guitar mounted on a stand and played an acoustic passage with it, then stepped away and played his electric guitar which had been hanging from a strap as usual. At the end of the song, he returned to the acoustic guitar on the stand. If you have an acoustic-electric bass plus your electric bass, you could do that too...maybe play a solo with the acoustic. If I am not mistaken, I did see Chris Squier do that at a Yes concert.

Do like Michael Manring and play TWO basses at the same time, one fretted and one fretless.


Of course all these "stunts" require considerable skill and consummate musicianship.

[Boplicity]

Dang! Forgive me. I forgot one more.

Play the bass with your teeth. One of the glam guitarists used to do that. If you have strong teeth, you might try that on your bass during a bass solo. (Don't sue me if you try it and chip your teeth.)