Define a Good Bassist.

[bassist1962]

What makes us say that someone is a good bass player? I am asking because I am currently studying the DB. What I am currently doing is taking what I already know on BG and am applying it to DB. I have problems in the thumb position. This is above the nineth fret on a bass guitar. Thinking of the bassists I have studied that were know for thier bass playing, Paul McCartney seemed to not venture above this area much. I am not looking for an excuse to not play further up on the neck, but just because someone has the ability to play fast melodies high on the neck, does that really mean that they are a virtuoso? Just asking some opinions.

[dhadleyray]

confidence, knowledge, humility, and a good listener.

Someone with **** loads of knowledge, and the confidence to let his playing say it all.

IMO...

[Cory Palmer]

Solid rhythm and intonation. After that a sense of comfort and knowledge about the music they are playing. Understanding how they fit in with other musicians.

[musicman5string]

A good bassist?

Play the right part at the right time with a good sound.

[chasmo]

A good bass sound,solid time,and the ability to improvise bass lines that will make a band sound better than if you weren't there.

[Aaron Saunders]

Originally Posted by chasmo

A good bass sound,solid time,and the ability to improvise bass lines that will make a band sound better than if you weren't there.

Sounds like a pretty solid definition.

[jazzbass72]

Hmm, I remember someone mentioning the three T's? Good time, good taste, good technique.

-Marco

[mje]

Someone other musicians want to hire.

[excane]

The 2 MINIMUM requirements to be a good/great bassist:

1) Play in tune

2) Play in time


Pearls of wisdom.

[musicman5string]

Originally Posted by chasmo

A good bass sound,solid time,and the ability to improvise bass lines that will make a band sound better than if you weren't there.

You don't have to improvise to be considered a good bassist.

[Snakewood]

-quality over quantity
-the turtle beats the hair
-maticulous intonation and very good inner pulse
-technique is not everything, it can always be improved and re-taught
-unsurpassed emotional ties to the music
-not being lazy, researching the music and composer
-the ability to be a role model on and off the stage
-respect for your colleagues and section

[ToR-Tu-Ra]

I was once told that I'm a reliable bass player... Great compliment.

[Karl]

A good bass-player is most of all a good listener. What is being referred to as "good timing" usually means fitting with the drummer, which assumes good timing but also good feeling and constant listening.

Good technique generally means playing in tune, not having trouble with fast tempos and constantly playing with good tone under whatever circumstances.

After all this is what makes you a good bassplayer, someone who will get hired by other musicians.

Being a virtuoso is, imo, a bit more. A virtuoso has an understanding of music far above just his part, giving him opportunity to expand and modify his part. A virtuoso has a technical foundation allowing him to play anything he wants, may it be extremely fast, extremely high or fancy in some other way. A virtuoso is someone whose records are being bought because of his name in the lineup, not only by other bassplayers.

So to me Paul Chambers is no virtuoso but a great bassist while Stan Clarke is a virtuoso but as a bassist not as great as Chambers.

[rprowse]

Originally Posted by excane

The 2 MINIMUM requirements to be a good/great bassist:
1) Play in tune
2) Play in time
Pearls of wisdom.

You've hit the nail right on the head. When I've scuffed up most, one or both of these elements have been involved.

In the original thread statement, playing the range of the bass was questioned. (bassist1962)
Please always strive to be the best that you can, and always strive to know the whole of your instrument... over time.
Who'd want a saxophone player who could only play half the notes on his instrument, or a pianist who only played in C?
Treat the big violin with the respect it deserves.

[bassist1962]

Originally Posted by Karl

A virtuoso has an understanding of music far above just his part, giving him opportunity to expand and modify his part. A virtuoso has a technical foundation allowing him to play anything he wants, may it be extremely fast, extremely high or fancy in some other way. A virtuoso is someone whose records are being bought because of his name in the lineup, not only by other bassplayers.

So to me Paul Chambers is no virtuoso but a great bassist while Stan Clarke is a virtuoso but as a bassist not as great as Chambers.

This leads me to ask whether a bassist/songwriter such as Sting or Paul McCartney could be considered virtuosos. The lines they play are not complex at all, yet some of the music they write is extremely complex. They obviously have an understanding of music above the bass parts, and can expand on the lines they create.

[bassist1962]

Originally Posted by rprowse

In the original thread statement, playing the range of the bass was questioned. (bassist1962)
Please always strive to be the best that you can, and always strive to know the whole of your instrument... over time.
Who'd want a saxophone player who could only play half the notes on his instrument, or a pianist who only played in C?
Treat the big violin with the respect it deserves.

I am trying my best, it's just frustrating because I have concentrated on BG for almost thirty years, and I forgot how physical an instrument DB is. I hear people telling me I play DB well, but because I am not as comfortable with it, I guess I don't see it. So in order to get through the gig, project or whatever I am doing, I have a tendency to stay in the lower registers, and stick to the pearls of wisdom.

[Karl]

It is good that, if you know your intonation/tone/whatever is bad in the upper registers just not to use them until you know you can do well. Just listen to Charlie Haden and you'll know that one can play excelent basslines without any thumb-position or high notes.

But if you tend to have higher notes/faster lines in your head you should polish up your technique as fast as you can, rendering you able to play what you hear.

When I started up playing the bass I of course wasn't any comfortable in thumb-position and my intonation in higher ranges was plain bad, but I wanted to play those high notes and constantly tried to, also on gigs, which led to some horrible lines but also made me learn to play them properly pretty quickly.

I would definitely not count McCartney and Sting as virtuosos. Can't even really tell how good they are as bassists because I really don't know if they are any versatile. But they are good songwriters, maybe virtuoso songwriters (i don't know enough about singwriting and the styles they write to judge them) but I think most people will agree that it would be a careless use of the word virtuoso if you'd call those two bass-virtuosos.

[Aaron Saunders]

Originally Posted by bassist1962

This leads me to ask whether a bassist/songwriter such as Sting or Paul McCartney could be considered virtuosos. The lines they play are not complex at all, yet some of the music they write is extremely complex. They obviously have an understanding of music above the bass parts, and can expand on the lines they create.

Well...no. Virtuosity is an instrument concept, not a composition concept. McCartney is a solid, melodic player, but pretty far away from a virtuoso.

[jallenbass]

Originally Posted by Karl

I would definitely not count McCartney and Sting as virtuosos. Can't even really tell how good they are as bassists because I really don't know if they are any versatile.

IMHO if you are a stylist, as both of these musicians are, you don't need to be versatile. So your ears should easily be able to discern whether these 2 bassists are "good".

[jallenbass]

So from what I have read in this thread a virtuoso is someone who can play fast, high and with complexity. A good player can be a virtuoso or not. Is that the concensus?