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Bass lines that make you yawn

abotaun

abotaun

Dec 8, 2007
98
98
#1
I thought about asking for other people's experiences with this after hearing How Long by Ace on the radio and thinking that it would be painful to play live. I guess there is some movement in the chorus, but otherwise I think it would feel like a long song for the bass player.

Any other songs that you would have you daydreaming as you played?

 
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#10
IMO, most bass lines extracted from a song and played soloed make me yawn.

Intricate, very complex, skilled and "jaw-dropping" lines by bass guitar gods can be so over whelming that they too can make me yawn.

Slapping all by itself is very boring and rattling noisy and makes me yawn.

When bass is played in a song or band scenario...............it is exciting. Low frequency is exciting to hear in a song.

By itself, soloed, the bass is boring. Relatively speaking.



 
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#15
one of my bands is a 7pc. instrumental jazz outfit. but even in that ensemble = the bass is not always required/expected to deliver much more than low-end support. some tunes make the horn player(s) the feature, or the guitar, or keys, drums. i'm the main writer and the arranger for the band so i could easily feature myself on just about everything. but at the end of the day, with the audience in mind: why not intermingle some "boring" stuff with the 'show-off' stuff? for a 3-4 hour gig, the "boring" stuff lets me rest some, and more importantly it is a 'background' for the flashier playing i do on some tunes which actually feature my instrument. 'contrast' is a good thing, IMO.

when i listen to music/tunes = i don't just pay attention to the bassline. in fact: i don't care much about most basslines because they are just a starting point, anyway. sometimes i use the original bassline as is (more or less), and sometimes those original basslines have nothing to do with the final arrangement we play.

"boring" basslines often serve a purpose for the crowd, the band, and the player. and sometimes: they are the signature 'hook' in the playdown.

my .02 :)
 
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#20
bassdude51 said:
IMO, most bass lines extracted from a song and played soloed make me yawn.

Intricate, very complex, skilled and "jaw-dropping" lines by bass guitar gods can be so over whelming that they too can make me yawn.

Slapping all by itself is very boring and rattling noisy and makes me yawn.

When bass is played in a song or band scenario...............it is exciting. Low frequency is exciting to hear in a song.

By itself, soloed, the bass is boring. Relatively speaking.



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I'll play "For Whom The Bell Tolls," "Peace Sells," and the beginning of "Pulling Teeth" all I want. I usually shred some fast SRV when I'm checking out a guitar or some fast chickin' pickin'
 

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