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Am I overplaying?
- Thread starter Manuel101
- Start date
As others have said, drop the slides (maybe replace them with a fill, just not as often) and focus on the groove. I liked your playing in the second song better.To spice it up a little, you could maybe not ghost the ponches, but let the note ring.
The first and your solo bass cover just doesn't really groove to me. Unfortunately, others have to help you with that, as I lack a lot of groove myself
The first and your solo bass cover just doesn't really groove to me. Unfortunately, others have to help you with that, as I lack a lot of groove myself
I also dig it. I'm not a merengue cat, but I'd pay to see this band. While I personally like the bassline (even the glisses in the intro), the good and bad thing about being a sideman is that 'he who pays the piper, calls the tune'. If the boss says you should play simpler, you shouldn't question it. Just play simpler. If it gets 'too simple' for your interest, quit and start a competing band with yourself as the leader. Then you can let 'the market' decide which is objectively better ;-)
Again you are not familiar with the scene I am supposed to do certain things that are expected of me in these bands they give a cd with their music and you emulate their sound i will obviously try to interject as much of me as possible but I can't get out of the expected sound and style of the bandAs others have said, drop the slides and focus on the groove. I liked your playing in the second song better.
The first and your solo bass cover just doesn't really groove to me. Unfortunately, others have to help you with that, as I lack a lot of groove myself
Case in point this is one of the most well known merengue artists in the world "Ramon Orlando" I was called to play with his band (which was a dream come true for me) we did not rehearse at all. Believe it or not I was expected to know all of his songs (since he is so well known) and I had to be familiar with his sounds and recognizable licks
He figures in the cd he has the bass drum which takes of some slack of the bass but live we don't have a kick drum so I must emulate it as much as possible. When we play live is all about danceability if you will
When I get home I'll upload the studio version of one of his songs and one of us playing it live so you can see what I mean
I think it sounds good but when it comes to Latin music you want to try and keep it as traditional as possible. Adding slides and pops just may be too much. The bass is the driving force in Salsa and Merengue as opposed to the drums/percussion. I personally was looking for more of that. Some of that was missing. Need to hear that driving pulse.
Thanks for the clip! Nice stuff!
Regardless of whether or not you think you or anyone on TB thinks you are overplaying, if the boss thinks you are overplaying, then you are overplaying...
Regardless of whether or not you think you or anyone on TB thinks you are overplaying, if the boss thinks you are overplaying, then you are overplaying...
Personally, I'm not a fan of all the slides, but if that's the "thing" that song has going for it, then you have to respect that. I don't think people would be telling you "stop sliding so much" if you had uploaded a cover of Come Together, for instance.
The only critique I would have is to watch where your notes END. Especially in the first verse, you occasionally let the notes ring out too long and it almost throws off the groove a little bit. There's some famous player who said where your notes end is 90% of groove, and it's true.
That being said, I don't see how it's possible for you to be playing any LESS, so I don't think you're in danger of over playing. Again, personal taste, but I would actually like to hear more actual notes and less of the "ponche" or whatever. (I'd suggest a compressor unit, pedal or rack, to bring those out more, BTW.)
But I'm a notorious overplayer, so take that with a grain of salt.
The only critique I would have is to watch where your notes END. Especially in the first verse, you occasionally let the notes ring out too long and it almost throws off the groove a little bit. There's some famous player who said where your notes end is 90% of groove, and it's true.
That being said, I don't see how it's possible for you to be playing any LESS, so I don't think you're in danger of over playing. Again, personal taste, but I would actually like to hear more actual notes and less of the "ponche" or whatever. (I'd suggest a compressor unit, pedal or rack, to bring those out more, BTW.)
But I'm a notorious overplayer, so take that with a grain of salt.
For what it's worth, I have always believed in "playing for the song". And while I could have probably increased my "rep" amongst bassists by shredding incredible riffs, I chose not to, only if the song demands this. That is one reason I'm a "go-to" player for a few of my old band-mates when they record certain songs. Everyone on this site is going to give you THEIR opinion on what you could or should have played - I will not do that. Just keep in mind what the song really needs. Your playing for the band and the song, not yourself (unless that particular music requires a certain type of bass sound). Listen to experienced musicians, learn to take criticism without getting resentments, and always think about what the song is asking for. i say that as a musician who plays several instruments, so to me when I play bass, I'm not out to shine, I'm out to make the song shine!
well guess where I got the idea to hold the note so long? Yeah you guessed it from the damn cd lol. I thought that's what he wanted lol. But also we didn't rehearse so I had no idea of what he would want before we recorded this. Also about the slides, they do it a lot in this sub genre of merengue so it's natural to the style.
I've read every post in this thread. Here's what I see:
OP: am I overplaying?
Response 1: no. OP response - thanks.
Response 2: yes, because... - OP response - no I'm not, because...
It's great to ask for feedback, but lame to argue with it when you get it.
OP: am I overplaying?
Response 1: no. OP response - thanks.
Response 2: yes, because... - OP response - no I'm not, because...
It's great to ask for feedback, but lame to argue with it when you get it.
I don't think you are terrible overplaying. I agree with the glissando's, they get annoying very fast. It is a bit too much at times and i didn't really care for the intro, overall I liked it.
Please show me exactly where I wrote that I wasnt overplaying. The second response said that the intro was distasteful and I wrote that I personally liked it. Last time I checked overplaying and distasteful are not the same thing so please at least be accurate in your assessment. I even wrote that this was not my (or the band's) best performance
I don't know the genre, but the bass does stand out from the rhythm section. My take is that the tone of your Smith might be too modern - too cutting and growly, with too much sustain and not enough thump on the attack. To my ear that makes it sound a bit crowded even when you aren't playing too many notes. If your notes had more fundamental and less modern growl, and each note attacked and got out of the way (as opposed to sustaining so much), it would sound more like what I would expect.
Maybe what I'm describing is not the proper sound for the genre, but I still think what your uncle is reacting to is largely the tone, attack, and note length, not the number of notes.
Maybe what I'm describing is not the proper sound for the genre, but I still think what your uncle is reacting to is largely the tone, attack, and note length, not the number of notes.
That looked and sounded like a lot of fun.
Is it normal for the notes to sustain for so long in this type of music? Don't get me wrong. I like long note sustain in some music, but it seemed a little out of place in your video.
Is it normal for the notes to sustain for so long in this type of music? Don't get me wrong. I like long note sustain in some music, but it seemed a little out of place in your video.
I thought the same thing as LowDown as I was reading through this.
You keep correcting people and telling them they don't understand the genre. Why ask for honest feedback when you don't have the confidence to hear it. It seems nearly mastrubatory.
