Do "Pro-Bassists" Ever Mess Up?

[organworthyplayer337]

I was just thinking as I was wastching some live performances (on SNL, Late Night... etc) and listening to the bass lines closely and it all sounds pretty darn perfect to me.... it makes me wonder, is there some sort of magic potion out there that allows a player to play a song perfectly?

If so, I sure need some! Cause it's never happened to me before!!!

 

[Nev375]

I saw Geddy screw up a bass line at a Rush show in Portland. He smiled and kinda mock banged the side of his head and kept going.

So yeah, it happens to the best of us.

 

[Grumry]

It's not about when you mess up, but how you react to it.

 

[Hotblack]

Hear a wrong note? Have another beer. Hear two wrong notes? It's not wrong, it's jazz.

 

[BAG]

I always think that about a friend of mine. She is without doubt one of the best bass players i've ever seen or heard. She is short, has the shortest stumpy little fingers that have no business being around a bass, loves a doobie before gigs, plays in numerous different bands with very different styles and yet I can only recall hearing her hit an obvious bum note once ever.

I only wish I could be half as good as her.

 

[andruca]

I saw many, from Geddy (here & there) to Macca (abbondantly) screw up in live performances. Not an issue itself really, I'd rather hear them screw up for days than get asleep from 1 minute of Wooten. You can't have one Macca out of 1000 Wootens. Many can play great. OTOH making great heart touching music that makes sense is a much scarcer talent, just another league.

 

[mrufino1]

I was just thinking as I was wastching some live performances (on SNL, Late Night... etc) and listening to the bass lines closely and it all sounds pretty darn perfect to me.... it makes me wonder, is there some sort of magic potion out there that allows a player to play a song perfectly?

If so, I sure need some! Cause it's never happened to me before!!!

Yes, it's called hours and hours (and hours) of practice. Depending on the artist, it may also be called "pre-recorded track," but there's tons of amazing players out there.

Also keep in mind part of a pop gig like you talk about on SNL, etc. Is playing the exact part every time, which is a different skill set from constantly coming up with variations such as in a jazz situation or Jam band. Neither skill set is better, easier, etc, just different.

Check out the justin Timberlake concert video on Netflix. Even if you hate his music, the band will absolutely floor you.

 

[IanA]

The short answer is yes, they tend to cover it up well and move on.
I know a couple of pro players, and while they are very good they do make the odd mistake...they are only human after all!

 

[Daz JP]

I always think that about a friend of mine. She is without doubt one of the best bass players i've ever seen or heard. She is short, has the shortest stumpy little fingers that have no business being around a bass, loves a doobie before gigs, plays in numerous different bands with very different styles and yet I can only recall hearing her hit an obvious bum note once ever.

I only wish I could be half as good as her.

How short would your fingers be if you were half as good as her?!

But yes - they all make a mistake (sometimes), but are either so cool and smooth you barely notice, or make a joke of it, rather than demand the song be restarted or kick something over (cough, singers.), or have no idea what they've done until the rest of the band come in a bar 'late,' (cough, guitarist)

 

[mrufino1]

Oh, and I should mention that I had the opportunity to meet Anthony Jackson after a Michel Camilo gig at the blue note, and Anthony Jackson was angry (in a playful way), saying, "I told you I simply can't play a walking bassline that fast. I told you not to do that song. I got totally lost and I'm just glad we were all able to finish at the same time." It was at that point that I realized that everybody is human. It doesn't mean that he didn't put the work in, he still the greatest bass player I've ever seen in my life, however mistakes happen.

Now that he is fighting his health issues I only hope there's an opportunity to see him make a mistake again.

 

[MCS4]

Your own mistakes seem like a bigger deal to you because you know exactly how the bass part is supposed to go but the audience does not (unless it is a very obvious and famous part in a cover tune).

If you pick a favorite band whose songs you know well and find a full live concert video, odds are you'll notice a small flub or two... but you'll also notice how the bassist handles it (probably by not acknowledging it at all), how minimal the impact is on the show, and how easily it can either be entirely missed or perceived as intentional.

 

[bassbully]

I think it was Willie Nelson who once said "show me a musician who never makes mistakes and they have a job in my band".

 

[Dougie44]

The short answer is yes, they tend to cover it up well and move on.
I know a couple of pro players, and while they are very good they do make the odd mistake...they are only human after all!

Mistakes can be classified as a variation of the tune. Can't imagine how the drummer can play a cover tune, would be hard to tell if he made mistakes IMO

 

[bassbully]

It's not about when you mess up, but how you react to it.

Or how you cover it up

 

[Doner Designs]

I saw Geddy screw up a bass line at a Rush show in Portland. He smiled and kinda mock banged the side of his head and kept going.

So yeah, it happens to the best of us.

Exactly what my teacher told me. Smile and act like you are having fun. That's why they call it playing.

 

[aaronious]

" If you hit a wrong note, it's the next note you play that determines if it's good or bad"
- Miles Davis

 

[Drzejzi]

When Les Claypool mess' up, he usually stops and says something like: "I've f***ed this one up"

 

[Axstar]

JPJ messes up right there on Good Times Bad Times.

 

[A.K.]

They definitely make mistakes, but they recover quickly and move on.

Then again, Scott Travis of Judas Priest says he's never heard Ian Hill make a single mistake in 25 years of playing together.

 

[Andrew Post]

I was just thinking as I was wastching some live performances (on SNL, Late Night... etc) and listening to the bass lines closely and it all sounds pretty darn perfect to me.... it makes me wonder, is there some sort of magic potion out there that allows a player to play a song perfectly?

If so, I sure need some! Cause it's never happened to me before!!!

Well, on the first song ("So What") on the classic Miles Davis album "Kind of "Blue," bassist Paul Chambers -- one of the greats -- plays a bum note or two.