Lots of folks with 'opinions' around here. Take it with a grain of salt. If what you play works with your band.....you are a competent bass player. Michael Anthony (formerly of Van Halen) made a damn good living playing root notes.
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Am I an "incompetent" bass player?
- Thread starter Broke
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Here is a song from our latest show: Forgive the singers ass
I think I understand what you are trying to say, but man... I think you can make it rock a little more if you put more effort into it.
Are you having a good time? Are your band mates complaining? Do you care about what other people think/believe?
Were I you, I'd be asking myself the above questions.
Were I you, I'd be asking myself the above questions.
I would think that you, of all people, would know that Michael Anthony was way more than a root man.
In most musical situations, as a bass player, you want to be emphasizing the root notes. You're what holds the song together, you're what defines the chords of everyone else. The trick with jazz/blues/other walking lines is playing around the root in creative ways that actually still do emphasize the root. It's just more subtle. It's up to you whether you want to do that stuff. By my standards, if you can keep decent time and identify the root notes, you're a competent player.
Other than Sir Paul, JPJ, and maybe a couple others, all the richest bass players in the world are "incompetent". What is the last thing you notice in a U2 song? The drums. And that's only because you don't notice the bass line at all. Foo fighters? Coldplay?
Disco has some of the best, funkiest bass lines out there. The most successful band in the genre (BG's) are like the only ones with boring, awful bass lines.
Disco has some of the best, funkiest bass lines out there. The most successful band in the genre (BG's) are like the only ones with boring, awful bass lines.
It is clear to me from reading this thread that you are looking to improve your bass playing. I did not get a sense of what, if any, actual instruction you have received. I did not start learning to play bass until I was 60. This is how I did it:
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This is a 20 lesson video course that covers the very basics through advanced theory and techniques. It is not, by any means, your only option but it is what got me started and I can recommend it. A Google search for Bass Lessons would probably result in a multitude of options, some of them free. Good luck on your journey. By the way, you are already doing one of the most important things. You are playing with other musicians.
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This is a 20 lesson video course that covers the very basics through advanced theory and techniques. It is not, by any means, your only option but it is what got me started and I can recommend it. A Google search for Bass Lessons would probably result in a multitude of options, some of them free. Good luck on your journey. By the way, you are already doing one of the most important things. You are playing with other musicians.
Absolutely. But he got paid oodles for playing roots. He's a fine bassist.
(sorry if this has been posted...I'm too lazy to read much more)
We should start an incompetent bassist club. "My name is **** and I'm an incompetent bassist who needs a keyboard player to cover me up." If anybody does this I claim member number 666 as my own territory.
We should start an incompetent bassist club. "My name is **** and I'm an incompetent bassist who needs a keyboard player to cover me up." If anybody does this I claim member number 666 as my own territory.
No. You make that root note part of the drummer's foot and you're as competent as anyone else out there.
I was a drummer from around 8years old into my 20's and started a family .I didnt touch a thing with music again until 52 I order a cheap bass online and started to watch YouTube videos .You can learn enough from that to understand the number system . Joined a band and could get by. Then about a year ago I found a local bass teacher and stayed taking weekly lessons. Best money I ever spent .I can get tired of a band and find auditions for a bass player on various websites walk into it and get offered the big at least 80% of the time. My suggestion is to take some lessons specific to bass .It makes every thing about it way more enjoyable when you understand what it is your doing .The basics aren't nearly as hard as you think.
If your timing isn't grotesque you're doing fine for what you're doing, especially if your fun is transferred to the people you're playing for.
I'd learn some basic scales and then work to figure how they fit into what you're playing. That will open up what you're doing quite a lot.
Just remember, unless you're really confident in what you're trying to pull, you'll pretty much always hit the root note on the 1 count.
I'd learn some basic scales and then work to figure how they fit into what you're playing. That will open up what you're doing quite a lot.
Just remember, unless you're really confident in what you're trying to pull, you'll pretty much always hit the root note on the 1 count.
I think you would get it if somebody demonstrated it for you. You just don't understand the lingo right now. Ever thought of taking some lessons? A little theory might clear some things up for you. In the mean time, keep playing and have fun.
Competency is not an either or proposition.There are degrees of competency; if your playing is appropriate to the material you're doing then you're competent. If not, then you need to advance your skills. It's a progressive thing. Every single player who ever played was at some point less competent than you are now.
I had an ex-band member that joined a new band and they had an interesting bassist. I played a vintage Fender fretless Jazz bass. The thing is he played nothing but quarter-note root notes no matter the song! It was really interesting to hear them do Sweet Home Alabama with him pounding away on straight quarter-notes. If the rest of the band had any criticism I never heard about it.
As to the OP, I would try to give a listen to some of the bass lines of the covers you're doing. Very few songs are recorded with nothing but root notes.
As to the OP, I would try to give a listen to some of the bass lines of the covers you're doing. Very few songs are recorded with nothing but root notes.
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So somebody you don't know who doesn't know you said a thing that's entirely his or her opinion and was not directed at you. Why do you care what that person thinks?
Hitting roots (in time) is 85% of being a good bass player. If that's all you do, you're already ahead of a lot of other folks. It's entirely up to you if you want to do other things that will close that 15% gap. Do them or don't do them. And don't look to anyone online to validate who you are as a player or a person.
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