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Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread
- Thread starter ttasselm
- Start date
I play tons of whole notes. But I also write songs at 400+ BPM so they look EXTREME (on paper).
lol
deep breath
i like playing a bunch of short fast notes and long slow notes.
it can happen!
Having some fun for sure, but I've been thinking a great deal about this (for my own playing). I'm thinking that learning some Chet Baker and the like will do the trick. I like the idea of transcribing someone who is really patient, to feel how that is under my hands. Also...deep breaths for sure.
Seeing Tim L. play last night was incredibly instructive. There was an amazing moment where he came into the song playing a long whole note, striking the string with his right hand thumb to get a softer sound. It was really powerful. Huge, enveloping sound. Just perfect.
dynamics: what a concept.
the last 10-20 years i’ve been paying a lot of attention to articulation and space. there are a few people in the jazz world who do it quite well; miles and wayne come to mind. one of my mentors once told me that if you only play one note, you gotta make it count.
tbh, there are a lot of younger (well, than me) shredders who can play a lot of notes, but leave zero space, and leave me very cold. hey, listen to bb king and put your back into it, okay?
(I got pretty annoyed recently with TB, but I really appreciate the people in this thread...so thank you for the discussion)
I've been thinking about how to make a single note count with an e. bass...it's been making me think about roundwound strings again. I feel like I've been more effected by less playing more often with the sound of e. bass and roundwounds...just something I've been pondering. Having greater harmonic content is part of it, as well as having more sustain. I think you can pull more sounds out of roundwound strings as well. I'm listening back to mixes this week of my new record....I recorded it all with flats on my Martin Keith semi hollow....sounds amazing, but I keep thinking about being effective with playing less notes on e. bass.......I need to do some experimenting (really would help if we could be out there playing with others for sure!)
For the most part I'm far more impressed when someone says something really profound with very few notes...that's some grown up sh*t right there
Recently I've been working on better time with more notes...just what I've been working on....but now I'm thinking both need to be addressed
Fascinating. For "fewer notes" I think of notes that take up space. So flats are good for that! But also: fuzz can be good for that. It really depends. For my post-rock band, we're not usually insanely busy, but I've been focusing a bit on simplicity as a counterpoint to expanding to 8 strings and carrying some melodies in the guitar range now. (Plus I am thinking in terms of rock melody--so simple phrasing somewhat modelled on what could be sung.)
The last song we wrote I intentionally played the a whole, simple ostinato all the way through. At one point I do it as double stops and kick on the distortion, but goal was to have the song sort of whirl around me while I am the steady thing. That happens in other songs too, but I wanted to really draw it out to its essence for this one. We're now working on another where I'm playing even less but they're big boomy synth notes.
The last song we wrote I intentionally played the a whole, simple ostinato all the way through. At one point I do it as double stops and kick on the distortion, but goal was to have the song sort of whirl around me while I am the steady thing. That happens in other songs too, but I wanted to really draw it out to its essence for this one. We're now working on another where I'm playing even less but they're big boomy synth notes.
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On the less vs. more notes subject, really fast playing has never done a lot for me as a listener other than the "wow" factor of the technical ability required. What resonates more for me musically is something with more space and dynamics, where I can get a chance to really hear the sounds of the notes/chords. And when I'm doing my own thing, I get way more engaged with letting a note ring out and hearing how the sound evolves, particularly with effects involved, than when I try to play a whole lot of notes. In terms of music I create, my interest definitely doesn't lean towards playing fast. Coming to that conclusion is interrelated with accepting that I'm basically playing to an audience of one, even if I publicly release something. And that's okay. I want to create something that I'll dig. Trying to cater to anyone else's preference isn't really good for my mental health.
Anyway, I'm not sure what the point of that was. I guess to bring it back on topic, I'm definitely a rounds guy. When I've tried flats they just feel too dull to my ears.
Anyway, I'm not sure what the point of that was. I guess to bring it back on topic, I'm definitely a rounds guy. When I've tried flats they just feel too dull to my ears.
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
Banish some people to the basement for a few days and they start getting cranky
I'm perfectly fine. Nothing to see here.
Or they make some of the best music the world has ever heard...Banish some people to the basement for a few days and they start getting cranky
this is stuff i think about a fair amount, so i'll probably talk about it too much.
all of the following has (almost) zero to do with playing anything resembling "normal" bass playing.
for me, playing a lot of notes can be useful, as can playing not many at all—or not playing any at all. it comes down to intent and what one is trying to convey. some of which gets into conveying emotion (or emotive states) on electric bass, which (imo) is no easy feat (but one that i practice/attempt all the time).
further, i don't think of fewer notes meaning "taking up more space" (big fat notes); to me it's about placement, inflection, articulation, duration . . . attitude, perhaps. (what's that miles davis quote? "it's not the note, it's the attitude of the m-f'er who plays it"?)
[and maybe it's harder to play one note in a bar *just so* than it is to play a lot?]
imo, different things require a different attack, placement in time/space, timbral approach.
so, you want to sound like thunder claps on the horizon? i think big ponderous, low notes with some swell and a fair amount of duration.
buzzing bees? blurry fast, high notes in close proximity.
birds? fast hammered trills of around a third (give or take).
etc.
summing up (?), it might be about thinking compositionally . . .
all of the following has (almost) zero to do with playing anything resembling "normal" bass playing.
for me, playing a lot of notes can be useful, as can playing not many at all—or not playing any at all. it comes down to intent and what one is trying to convey. some of which gets into conveying emotion (or emotive states) on electric bass, which (imo) is no easy feat (but one that i practice/attempt all the time).
further, i don't think of fewer notes meaning "taking up more space" (big fat notes); to me it's about placement, inflection, articulation, duration . . . attitude, perhaps. (what's that miles davis quote? "it's not the note, it's the attitude of the m-f'er who plays it"?)
[and maybe it's harder to play one note in a bar *just so* than it is to play a lot?]
imo, different things require a different attack, placement in time/space, timbral approach.
so, you want to sound like thunder claps on the horizon? i think big ponderous, low notes with some swell and a fair amount of duration.
buzzing bees? blurry fast, high notes in close proximity.
birds? fast hammered trills of around a third (give or take).
etc.
summing up (?), it might be about thinking compositionally . . .
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
Nice! Agreed.
I’m not sure when I snapped, but I started out playing prog/art rock and at some point started getting away from ‘musician music.’ Where our motivation is just to impress fellow musicians. The goal being to try to be a good player, but not in a ‘look at me’ kinda way. Of course we should strive to improve so we can pull off all the emotive things mentioned in your post.
But I’m about to play a 4 hour country gig so what do I know?!
and i have zero gigs, so i know less!
(just my opinion ofcourse, ymmv )
Wow, you all are going deep! Got me thinking, will inflict my thoughts on you later. For now, I'm listening to "Friendship" by Ash Ra Tempel - how was I not aware of this album?!! Manuel Göttsching & Klaus Schulze, together again - 20+ years ago?!!
Also, I don't mean to change the subject, but I brought up reverb before (I have a blueSky which is great for just "reverb" but would kind of like something more extreme). One vote came in for the Empress Reverb. Any thoughts on the Eventide Space, EarthQuaker Devices Avalanche Run, or the one I'm currently most interested in, the Meris Mercury 7? I ask because my local synth shop (?!!) is offering them at 10% off til the end of the year. Don't need to rush into anything, but sometimes a sale can help nudge you in the "right" direction...
(Edited to add Mercury 7)
Also, I don't mean to change the subject, but I brought up reverb before (I have a blueSky which is great for just "reverb" but would kind of like something more extreme). One vote came in for the Empress Reverb. Any thoughts on the Eventide Space, EarthQuaker Devices Avalanche Run, or the one I'm currently most interested in, the Meris Mercury 7? I ask because my local synth shop (?!!) is offering them at 10% off til the end of the year. Don't need to rush into anything, but sometimes a sale can help nudge you in the "right" direction...
(Edited to add Mercury 7)
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I forget if that was me, but I do enjoy that reverb pedal. Good variety of sounds. The shimmer and ghost modes are good.
