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Bass lines that almost everybody plays wrong...

#244
Yeah roots people...roots. If your not sure of a line then just play sparingly a single or double note root. It'll usually be good enough to prevent any oinkers that might grate on the audience.

Mind you, there'll always be someone out there who will notice your economic note delivery.......
 
#247
BassoProf said:
If "wrong" = "not like on the record" I play most thing wrong. I'm a bass player, not a karaoke machine FFS! Can't you just play what you think fits with what the rest of your band is playing?

How many bands play their own stuff live exactly the same as on record? Don't things develop with time, don't you get new insights? Don't you go to gigs to hear a new take on an old favourite? Why not stay home and listen to a CD and drink reasonably priced beer? They'll always get it "right" then...
Click to expand...

BassoProf, I agree with you about 90% of the time. Certain signature licks or melodic motifs are so critical to the identity of the tune that they need to be played correctly.

I just had this "discussion" with the guitarist in our little group as we were starting to work out Feist's "Mushaboom" for guitar/bass/mandolin/zendrum with four-part vocal harmony. If you know the tune, it's got a very structural and (to my ears) critical acoustic guitar figure that really sort of defines the whole character of the piece. Because our guitarist is terrible at hearing such things and reporducing them note-for-note, he suggested we abandon that little riff and "make it our own." And I said, "Hey, even Devo left the guitar riff in 'Satisfaction.' Certain things are simply not negotiable."

But I think there are lots of opportunities for bass players to "play it right" or "play something else," and still have the song's identity survive. To take the OP's example, if the bassist is going to follow the horn line of "I Feel Good," s/he MUST play the half step. However, as others have pointed out, there are different bass approaches on different recordings of JB performing this tune... so even the notoriously inflexible slave-master himself was willing to allow some variation.
 
#250
All the posters here are talking about the notes to a bass part. A player rushing a Sam and Dave, James Brown, Stevie Ray, Ray Charles, etc., tune is just as wrong as if he was in the wrong key.

I played yesterday with a group that is doing some old R&B and the guitar player & drummer, on just about every tune, were pushing it. Way too much coffee or something. No feel for the song at all, like one of the members will get a prize for finishing the tune first. Drove me nuts.

If you don't have the groove, you are just as wrong as if you're playing the wrong song.
 
#252
Tull's Locomotive breath.
Its not that difficult but most players (including later Tull bassists) seem to flub it...
Jefferey Hammond did not play like a bass player. He played like an artist!

cause 'e was!

emac.
 
#253
I try to play basslines as close to the original as possible. But sometimes you have to make up for a missing intrument or weak playing on someone elses part.
The key is to make sure it is recognizable even if you are making it your own.
I can't stand tenuous playing.......I'd rather not play it at all than do a "half fast" rendition.
Didja ever hear a bassist that plays like he is apologizing? Can't stand it.......
 
#256
Talent = the ability play so the listener recognizes the song to any of a varying degree (arrangement) vs the ability to on some level make the listener react as if he is hearing the song for the first time, performed live, right there in front of his face with an equal or better level of enjoyment compared to the original. We are not karaoke machines. I am satisfied if the listen does not recognize the song by title at all as long as they enjoy it.
 
#257
azureblue said:
All the posters here are talking about the notes to a bass part. A player rushing a Sam and Dave, James Brown, Stevie Ray, Ray Charles, etc., tune is just as wrong as if he was in the wrong key.

I played yesterday with a group that is doing some old R&B and the guitar player & drummer, on just about every tune, were pushing it. Way too much coffee or something. No feel for the song at all, like one of the members will get a prize for finishing the tune first. Drove me nuts.

If you don't have the groove, you are just as wrong as if you're playing the wrong song.
Click to expand...

I've played with about 30 drummers in 45 years, and maybe 5 of them could play laid back. Most played way too fast, way too much.
 

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