Bass solos. Well, do you?

[woodyng2]

I knew i was in trouble as a soloist when i flubbed the bass solo in "brown eyed girl",....of course that was many decades ago.....i still prefer coming up with interesting melodic counterpoint lines during entire songs,rather than doing "solos".

 

[bikeplate]

I get them often. I'll play something soloish that still grooves within the context of the song. Typically the drummer remains playing the beat or at least time on the hi hat. I don't go off on a tangent or clear the room or dancefloor

 

[bobba66]

When there's only three of you every song has a solo, whether you plan it that way or not.

 

[blue4]

Not really for me, although I enjoy listening to them sometimes. What imagination I have is for the fills.

 

[mongo2]

And...in a perfect world...

 

[Relsom]

Not much soloing, though have played solos that were written (or improvised) parts of the original recording, and sometimes not originally a bass solo. For instance, since we didn't have keys, I would play Keith Emerson's solo in From The Beginning on Bass.

 

[GIBrat51]

For me? #6 - definitely #6. I play what the song requires - no more, no less. If it's something like the Animals' We Gotta Get Out of This Place, and you consider the opening bars a bass solo - then yes, I guess I do... But, very little of what I play even goes that far. And when I was in a band, I tried to stay back by the drummer, maintain the groove, and preferably be as unnoticed as possible - personality defect, I guess. But, me, out front, playing a real solo? I'd probably pass out...We had one song that required me up next to the rhythm guitarist, and (shudder) singing into his mike, too. I hated that...

 

[Michedelic]

When I sit in at my friend's blues jam, I don't mind doing an expressive one for a chorus, maybe two(although at that point I'm looking at the drummer for his stink-eye of disapproval). The only two long ones that I think were valid were on upright and in jazz...




I'm sure there's more that I haven't heard, but overall I like to stick with the KISS credo, 'keep it simple, stupid", or else it will go something like this...


A man goes on a vacation to a tropical island. As soon as the plane lands, he gets off and hears drumming. At first, he thinks, “This is pretty cool”. He ends up going to a luau and hears the drumming. He eats lunch and hears the drums. He goes to the beach and hears the drums. He tries to sleep, but can’t because of the constant drumming.

The drumming goes on for four days. The guy has to go down to the front desk because he can’t sleep. He asks the manager “What is the deal with these drums! Make them stop. I haven’t got any sleep this whole week!”

The manager of the hotel says “No. Drums don’t stop. You don’t want the drums to stop, sir.”

“Why?”

“Because when drums stop… Bass solo begins!”

Anywaaaay.....

What I enjoy the most, playing or listening to, are brief showcasing 'breakdowns', just get in and get out to remind the audience that you're there, and not belabor the point. Like JPJ's two moments in Zep's "Good Times Bad Times", or one of my favorites from early Blue Oyster Cult(at 3:03)...

(every time I go see Mike Watt play, he trots out a cover of this)
or this intro, which is not exactly a naked bass line setting up the groove like "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place", "Badge", "Lost Woman" or "Billy Jean"...

or the slow burn 'solo within a song' here at 1:32...

which is a slight homage to this breakdown(at 3:05)...

Because at the end of the day, the sad truth is nobody in the audience(besides your significant other)cares how awesome you are.

 

[Michedelic]

Oh, and the solo in "My Generation"(and its poorer cousin in "Call Me Lightning")gets a pass. "The Real Me" exists in its own universe.

 

[JTE]

Yep, and not just the little composed ones like "Brown Eyed Girl" or "I'll Take You There". It's not about showing off, certainly not about physical chops, but it can be about exploring the music. Of course, in my 30+ years of gigging, I've never been unfortunate enough to be subjected the silliness that the people who hear a band only want to hear a regurgitation of a particular recording so playing covers is covering, not recreating to me.

 

[Passinwind]

You?

Not gigging any more these days, but for the last decade or so when I still was a typical show included at least 20-25 solos, one to three choruses in length usually.

 

[picko]

Just the obligatory wankery when our singer introduces the band. That's it.

 

[ac11367]

3. A couple of licks when the singer introduces the band.

#3 fits my situation. I have 3 prearranged slap patterns to choose from to play to the drum beat. There is no spontaneity at all with my approach to bass solos.

 

[ONYX]

As the only bass player in the band, I'm always soloing.

 

[FirewalZ]

There are generally two spots throughout the night where our guitar player will give me the "nod"......I try to keep things on the shorter side and stick with one of two approaches, melody embellishments and/or funky rhythmic vamp.

 

[fretlessguy]

I will leave soloing to folks much better than I. What I do could in a solo would best be described as a crime. I like my clean record.

 

[fdeck]

Yes, typically in every song. But it's jazz. Audience reaction is typically favorable.

 

[chungweishan]

My band only allows the "lead guitarist" to solo. The only time I do get a pseudo-solo is during Red Hot Chili Pepper's "Aeroplane" and this is exactly what happens every time:
1. I play something not like the recording, because I don't learn other folk's solos (that can turn out to be good or bad).
2. Drummer is still playing too busy (ghost-notes on snare, destroying grooves with too many bass drum kicks).
3. Guitarist is just audibly practicing his solo that happens after mine.

Every.... time. Had to get that complaint off my chest.

We don't do drum solos either. Nor does the singer/guitarist play solos. Personally, I'd like to hear them do it just to know if they can.
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I come from that Jazz Combo background when everyone gets a turn if they want it. And everyone else adapts and listens to support that solo.

As mentioned, the current band I'm in just does covers, and they really don't have a lot of musical imagination. If I really wanted to solo again, I'd just join another band. Which I think about a lot nowadays.

I don't solo just due to circumstances. I can solo if I had to. I don't mind hearing bass solos. Instruments are instruments.

 

[Hot Rats]

I've thrown about 80 notes into the middle of Brown Eyed Girl's bass break......does that count as a solo?

 

[Aberdumbie]

I've thrown about 80 notes into the middle of Brown Eyed Girl's bass break......does that count as a solo?

As I recall that break is about four bars... If you got a flurry of eighty notes in there.... I vote yes.... Either that or you have twenty-five fingers...