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Are you a bass player? Poll...

Are you a bass player?

  • Yes, I consider myself to be a bass player.

    Votes: 122 75.8%

  • No, I just play some bass.

    Votes: 24 14.9%

  • I like carrots because they have lots of Vitamin A.

    Votes: 15 9.3%
  • Total voters
    161
#62
1. Read music? Yup - bass clef only tho
2. Charts? Absolooty
3. Come up with a good bassline in a few minutes? Yup
4. Play most gigs without rehearsal? Can do
5. Go on tour with a band you've never heard about, first show tonight? I'd give it my best
6. Go on tour with Mariah Carey after one rehearsal? If I had to
7. Play a salsa gig tonight? Yup
8. Go in a studio session and be comfortable recording songs you never listened to in less than 15 minutes? Done that
9. Play with your band if your male singer got sick and there's a girl singing tonight and you need to transpose all the songs on the gig? Could do

I have have been in a lot of these situations, except backing Mariah!
It can be a test of nerve and skill, but just give it your best!
 
#63
I play a functional, sometimes key role in various bands, am in demand to fill in or do one-off gigs, and other bass players that know me don't talk about how much I blow behind my back. Based on that criteria, I'd say I'm a bass player.

Based on the poll, I voted carrots.
 
#64
1. Read music?Yes.
2. Charts?Yes
3. Come up with a good bassline in a few minutes?Yes
4. Play most gigs without rehearsal?Yes
5. Go on tour with a band you've never heard about, first show tonight?Yes
6. Go on tour with Mariah Carey after one rehearsal?Yes
7. Play a salsa gig tonight?I could but,would not so,NO
8. Go in a studio session and be comfortable recording songs you never listened to in less than 15 minutes?Yes
9. Play with your band if your male singer got sick and there's a girl singing tonight and you need to transpose all the songs on the gig?Could but,would not so,NO.

The answers to 7 and 9 are No because 7-not into Salsa 8-not My job!I don't think it makes Me any less of a Bass player though! :cool::bassist:
 
#66
allexcosta said:
Yes, I added that when I realized that the way I put the words together bothered some folks. Guess didn't work too well... :D

It's all good, though... Meant no offense, honestly...
Click to expand...

no... it does work. i read your post before you had changed it. every time i came back to the thread i just went to posts i hadn't read yet remembering what i had read. so i was going on a context without the final sentence. if that sentence would have been there at the beginning it would have changed the way i read it. i was just making sure i didn't miss something.

now that i don't hate you :D i can see this being a good discussion. but again, making such a distinction is a little tough. let me think a little and i'll come back to this thread. gotta wrap my mind around and make sure i don't sound like an idiot.... ah, what am i worried about? that could never happen. :eyebrow:
 
#67
Are you able to:

-
  1. Read music? Yes.
  2. Charts? Never have. Usually have sheet music or nothing.
  3. Come up with a good bassline in a few minutes? Sure, I think so
  4. Play most gigs without rehearsal? Depends on what you mean here. New songs without band rehearsal? That wouldn't be a good idea in most instances.
  5. Go on tour with a band you've never heard about, first show tonight? If I had time to listen to their songs first
  6. Go on tour with Mariah Carey after one rehearsal? No problem
  7. Play a salsa gig tonight? Probably not. Not familiar with that kind of music
  8. Go in a studio session and be comfortable recording songs you never listened to in less than 15 minutes? In most cases, yes unless they're really technical bass parts.
  9. Play with your band if your male singer got sick and there's a girl singing tonight and you need to transpose all the songs on the gig? Sure
 
#68
dean owens said:
:rollno::rollno: silly girl. don't you know from the original post that you have no talent, you're wasting your time, you're not good - at least not as good as the OP, and that all you do is mindlessly pluck on some strings? shoot, you might not even know the names of those strings... are they even in tune? i bet you even have to use a tuner to tune them. :scowl: :eyebrow:
Click to expand...

LOL!! I do so know the names of the strings; E A T...carrots...

when i run into someone who plays bass i feel an instant connection (fraternity like) and love to talk to them about what they play, the amps they're using, what they're learning and so on. i guess i'm naive, but i assumed that same thing of other bassists - especially here on TB. guess not. i wonder how many people think i'm just taking up space here and should move on because i'm not a real bassist? wow.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with your comments there. This forum has bass players from one level extreme to the next and everything in between. Its the love of the lowend that brings us here and Im not sure what Im trying to say but so what there are some more musically inclined here and others. So what there are some more technically trained than others. Under most circumstances I don't see the need to separate the players from the plinkers...

allexcosta said:
There's no such a thing as "read tabs"... I mean, to play TABS, you need to know the song, and if you know the song, well... You know the song... Tabs are worthless...
Click to expand...

Excuse me? 'Read' was the quickest way to put it. How else was I suppose to term it? And yea, there ARE people who can't /read/ tabs out there, Ive run across a few. Look, I'm not the best at picking it up by ear and I know that falls back to my lack of 'technical' training (ie music/theory etc) but I can pick it up by ear with some work. Tabs are a great shortcut and tabs are great to 'write' down your original material if you can't read/write music. But I suppose this is all moot as I'm not considered a 'bass player' by your mind set??? I'll remember that next time a band comes to ME asking me to be their bass player. :ninja:

Geddyfleaharris said:
Discussion -

I know this is the internet so I won't assume arrogance with the above statement. I don't use tabs myself. However if tabs gets someone interested and keeps them interested in playing because they can play a song they like in a short time frame how can they be worthless? Not everyone has access to or the finances available to take lessons when getting started. I know a lot of young people who have started playing with tabs simply because it is a great place to start.
Click to expand...

+1000

When I first started playing all I was handed by the parental units was the bass, amp, cord and nothing else. No lessons, no books, no nothing. But over the years Ive had several very knowledgeable people try till theyve pulled their hair out to teach me how to read music...it just doesn't get through to me. I must have some mental block or something so tabs are a godsend to me. I finally hook up to, or get a band going, what if Im the only one who can't read music? How would I learn my parts in the song list? Its called Tabs, baby. LOL I think there are many truly gifted players out there of any instrument, not just bass, that have been held back because they somehow can't grasp the fundamentals of reading music and such. Tabs has been a player saver all the way around IMO.

I believe that most of the questions in the OP should be directed to session/hired hand type players. I can read some music but not where I can just jump in and play to sheet music. I can read charts but don't generally have to. But play a salsa? Forget it. Play with Maria Carey? Forget it. But do I have any desire to do those things? No. I like playing in bands and being a part of the band. I have had leaders from touring bands (we opened for them) tell me that they were very impressed with my bass playing. Because I can't play a salsa but do get the odd compliment on my playing does that make me a "bass player" or a "bassist"? I don't know.

I guess different skill sets for different situations. :hmm:

I do like developing my skills and would like to learn more about reading sheet music. I just have to juggle that into an already tight schedule.
Click to expand...

I have no desire to want to play with Carey. I have no interest in salsa and WHY would I /want/ to put myself in a position with a new band, no practice, first night, on a gig? Who needs the hassle I say...I still feel I am a bass player, or bassist as you term better, not someone who plays [around] on a bass. I am working on my lack of tech training though and am working on learning theory. And everything Im learning is opening the door wider for, dare I say, the ability I have already.

Peace.
 
#69
StarscreamG1 said:
I have no desire to want to play with Carey. I have no interest in salsa and WHY would I /want/ to put myself in a position with a new band, no practice, first night, on a gig? Who needs the hassle I say...I still feel I am a bass player, or bassist as you term better, not someone who plays [around] on a bass. I am working on my lack of tech training though and am working on learning theory. And everything Im learning is opening the door wider for, dare I say, the ability I have already.

Peace.
Click to expand...

Just FYI. There seems to be confusion about the Mariah Carey and the Salsa question.

What he is trying to communicate with the Mariah Carey question has nothing to do with whether you 'like' Mariah Carey's music. It has to do with the ability to learn a difficult book in a demanding situation with limited rehearsal time and play complex parts without reading them in a short period of time.

Regarding Salsa, the point is (I think), can you play a number of different styles legitimately?

If we all take the defensiveness out of the discussion, it's actually a nice list to match your skills up to. Very few would be able to say 'yes' to every category, but if you take it in the spirit with which it was posted, it is kind of a nice way to place yourself along the continuum of hobbyist to weekend warrior to semi-pro to pro to 'top of your game'.

I sure couldn't answer 'yes' to everything, and as was posted before, you can obviously answer 'no' to virtually every question and still have a lot of fun, and work and sound good, etc., etc.
 
#72
Darkstrike said:
I do that all the time, one you hit the notes, within seconds I can swing right back into the rythem.


Real handy actually,
Click to expand...

Same here. I'll forget the notes I came up with before I ever forget the rhythm, since that's a huge part of what I'm trying to accomplish. I jot down tabs all the time. If I show something to a guitarist and I want him to remember it later, I'll write it down with a few words about the rhythm. Even they don't forget.
 
#73
KJung said:
Just FYI. There seems to be confusion about the Mariah Carey and the Salsa question.

What he is trying to communicate with the Mariah Carey question has nothing to do with whether you 'like' Mariah Carey's music. It has to do with the ability to learn a difficult book in a demanding situation with limited rehearsal time and play complex parts without reading them in a short period of time.

Regarding Salsa, the point is (I think), can you play a number of different styles legitimately?

If we all take the defensiveness out of the discussion, it's actually a nice list to match your skills up to. Very few would be able to say 'yes' to every category, but if you take it in the spirit with which it was posted, it is kind of a nice way to place yourself along the continuum of hobbyist to weekend warrior to semi-pro to pro to 'top of your game'.

I sure couldn't answer 'yes' to everything, and as was posted before, you can obviously answer 'no' to virtually every question and still have a lot of fun, and work and sound good, etc., etc.
Click to expand...

Yea the defensiveness should be out of this and I apologize sincerely for what [of it] I brought to this. I do have issues with /myself/ because I haven't hooked up with a band and gigged/recorded -- something -- anything yet and I got a bit fired up over the questions asked. Sorry, its a sore spot with me personally. :atoz: I know what I can do on a bass but because I haven't got anything band wise to show for it, I dunno, it just makes me feel I'm nothing on a bass to be honest yet I /know/ thats not true. Hell, by others reactions to my playing I know its not true. But thats how I feel, it goes in a vicious circle with me :(

allexcosta said:
No, they are not...

Better get an mp3 recorder...

How in heaven can you remember what you wrote in a notation that ONLY writes notes, without rhythm? How can that happen?
Click to expand...

Thats easy. I do understand time signatures and you can put them on the start of the tab.Seriously, why not? You can also indicate rhythm in /how/ the notes are positioned on the tab staff. ;) And I too will forget the notes way before I forget the rhythm though sometimes I can forget both. When that happens if I play the notes, for me, the rhythm shows itself in the notes, plus understanding the thought processes behind my style helps too .... I hope someone can see what Im saying there. :p
 
#74
StarscreamG1 said:
Thats easy. I do understand time signatures and you can put them on the start of the tab.Seriously, why not? You can also indicate rhythm in /how/ the notes are positioned on the tab staff. ;) And I too will forget the notes way before I forget the rhythm though sometimes I can forget both. When that happens if I play the notes, for me, the rhythm shows itself in the notes, plus understanding the thought processes behind my style helps too .... I hope someone can see what Im saying there. :p
Click to expand...

Well, if it works for you...
Myself I've never even seen a TAB in a regular band situation in 20+ years playing music. Ever...
Guess I've never seen a TAB in my entire life...
 
#77
I don't quite get what the OP is trying to say, or get us to say.

Seems like a subtle (or not so subtle) attempt to get a flame war going, especially the digging out of tabs which r a tool to help learn a song, no more, no less.

Seems like all he's asking is "r u a session player or not"

Bit judgemental and arrogant with it!
 
#78
Godbody said:
Well, kinda hard to criticize em if you've never seen em. If you never have to, that's pretty cool. For the rest of us, they're handy tools.
Click to expand...

I know what they are. You draw the neck, strings and numbers that mean the frets... Seen them online...

I thought it was too obvious that TABs are worthless TO ME, IMO, YMMV, etc...

2.gif
 
#80
Joey3313 said:
Such an elegant post. You should be a poet.

"If you know the song...you know the song".

Genius.
Click to expand...

Thanks, but you forgot the "well..." It's there to add a hint of what we call sarcasm, which despite being what many consider the lowest or simplest form of humor, is well used everywhere...

It's very clever to change the meaning of what someone says by cutting and re-arranging words. Congrats!! :D
 

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