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Busy bass playing

Mantis Tobaggan

Mantis Tobaggan

Sep 9, 2015
6,564
14,647
St. Petersburg, FL
www.westerveltlawfirm.com
#1
I play bass primarily. However, I also play guitar and drums.

My experience playing bass basically went like this:

I had played trombone in middle school and high school band. I started bass at 15 and had no guitar experience. I took six months of lessons and started playing in a band. I'm 44 now. I am just a hobbyist who loves playing music.

I tried to get better and better, but I did not appreciate simplicity in bass playing. I never wanted to play the same note twice, I wanted to walk around and show my chops constantly.

After years of doing this, I felt I was hitting a plateau. I finally learned to appreciate simplicity, and it opened up the instrument so much to me.

I think if I started on guitar, I may have appreciated this sooner, but I wanted to be a dedicated bass player. My biggest regret in my playing is not learning the value of simple playing sooner. A friend came over to jam and was playing bass so busy that it reminded me. It crowds everyone out. When I am playing guitar, and the bass is busy, I feel relegated to pretty simple rhythm playing. Which is fine. BUT, it is best to serve the song, get playful when it is appropriate. Holding down the groove is the most important lane. Give the song room to breathe. Let the other players play too and only get busy when it best serves the song. Simplicity is a bass player's best friend.

JMHO
 
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#2
How spare or how busy, and all points in between, should be determined by the music you're playing and how the other musicians are playing it. If you're playing in a duo or trio, "busy" is often useful. If you're with other "busy" players, dial it back. There is a big difference, however, between "tastefully busy" and "wankage."

As an aspiring orchestral bassist, I've discovered that even orchestral composers often write too many notes (IMO) for the bass, or give the basses what they've already written for the cellos. I tend to fix it by analyzing the music, determining what the important notes are, and "pruning" notes which don't contribute.
 
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#5
Playing instrument is like holding a speech. There are places where one puts pause in order to emphasize what was said, or prepare listeners for next thought. Good musicians know this and have good feel for this leaving space.
So in the end, it is not about how many words (notes) you use, it's how you place them.
You could be playing a little and still be borring, or playing a lot and be interesting.
 
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#6
There’s no best and music is a team sport. Any musician who isn’t serving the song is hurting the song. Sometimes one needs to step out and play at a high level. That’s fine as long as the whole team is on board, example, a lead or solo (Listen to Art Blakey and Reggie Workman). Sometimes a very adept player can overplay and seem isolated from the rest of the group (Pat Metheny seems to record tracks before hearing the other tracks).
In all cases it’s best to serve a song. Play a solo when it is appropriate. Or support another solo. Or drive the bus so a singer or other player can shine.
 
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#11
I think it's worth mentioning there's also a simplicity in well-composed complexity. Most wouldn't necessarily call Jaco's version of Donna Lee "simple", yet, it's not overplaying. But that's got a lot to do with Charlie Parker and Jaco's genius in making musical statements. Jaco's version isn't overplaying because there's nothing you can remove to make it a better version of itself.

But that's Jaco. Most bassists who play too many notes aren't adding a perfect mix of complexity; they're just playing a lot of notes. :angel::whistle:

And not only does overplaying crowd out the other instruments, it crowds out the listener. They have no anchor for the song. The rest of the arrangement and instrumentation has no foundation.

I like to say if i can achieve in one note what it takes someone else three notes to achieve, that one note is three times as valuable to the song. But i like to say a lot of things and listening to what i say can prove dangerous. :p:laugh:

But yeah, there's something wonderful about figuring out exactly what the song needs, and playing that, no more, no less. And that's kinda true for any instrument. (Now if i can just convince the eternally-soloing guitarists at the local jam session the same thing i'd probably play more songs at the jam with them.) ;):roflmao:
 
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#15
This may sound pompous (and help to swell the membership of my "fan club" here), but when I was playing guitar, I was still paying a lot of attention to the bass.

When I was dragooned into playing the bass, we were doing some Rush and Iron Maiden songs which I set out to learn note-for-note. With both of these bands, it's a fine line between over-playing and serving the song correctly.

I will admit that for a time, I "attacked" any song I played on the bass coming from the busy playing side of things, but when I just started "feeling the music", I would settle into the proper groove and build/play my bass lines accordingly.
 
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#16
AGCurry said:
How spare or how busy, and all points in between, should be determined by the music you're playing and how the other musicians are playing it. If you're playing in a duo or trio, "busy" is often useful. If you're with other "busy" players, dial it back. There is a big difference, however, between "tastefully busy" and "wankage."

As an aspiring orchestral bassist, I've discovered that even orchestral composers often write too many notes (IMO) for the bass, or give the basses what they've already written for the cellos. I tend to fix it by analyzing the music, determining what the important notes are, and "pruning" notes which don't contribute.
Click to expand...
 
#17
I completely agree with A.G.
Jaco was certainly busy as was Jack Bruce, Geddy Lee is the epitome of busy, Marcus Miller, John Pattituci, etc. etc. It's the rule of what the style of music requires not the rule of simple vs. "basic".

I've had bosses that wanted it kept simple and others that didn't. I seek out situations where I can play "me" while still playing what the music requires. Also coming from an orchestral background and Big Band Jazz, I prefer to play as "busy" as befits the music as long as I keep a good groove too. I've turned down a lot of Root Five "oompah bass parts" because I'd be bored to tears-unless it paid well. YMMV as always.
 
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#18
Play the line that fits the song. I abhor the idea that the bass should always be 'simple' and never contribute anything other than supporting the harmony. Imagine how boring Motown and jazz would be if that was the default approach. Busy can be great as long as it enhances the song. Taste is key!

I recently saw Polyphia live and was pretty disappointed the bass player did nothing of interest their entire set. The guitarists and drummer were going nuts playing a lot of interesting stuff... I don't think the bassist played anything above the 4th fret. I'm sure that's just the vibe they were going for but it felt severely lacking compared to the rest of the band.
 
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