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do you fake it?

I

Icey101

Jun 22, 2011
492
10
Australia Victoria
#1
seriously....i am a fake bass player. Learned by reading tabs, have no music theory except a few basics i learned in highschool music, whats that...every good boy deserves fruit?. I only learn the songs the band wants to play and no more,couldnt be bothered, i dont have a good memory and cant recall old songs when someone says can you play this etc, i forget songs immediately when i change bands. I also cant be bothered learning how to slap or pop or to improvise.i also have no idea how to use my plucking hand, sometimes i use my index finger only, sometimes i use two finger style, sometimes i use a pick at the bridge or sometimes up near the neck, i have no idea why i change from song to song..., i have no style and dont really have any influences or try and play like anyone....So Suddenly after playing from all the tabs for years i can now learn a song by ear in about an hour, ive started to hear the notes from the music. I had one bass lesson and said to the dude all i wanted to play is what i am told and stand on stage, he said yeh you can do that alright :rollno:

Yep i'm a fake and love it:D
 
#7
Icey101 said:
I only learn the songs the band wants to play and no more
Click to expand...
Don't worry. Technically, that's not faking it! "Faking" means playing songs you haven't learned and don't know in front of an audience, either with no chart or with just a rudimentary melody-and-chords one (like you'd find in a fake book).

I do that basically every week with a children's choir where I often don't get the list of songs until 30 minutes before the start. I sometimes fake it with my other bands, too, though with those I can't do it very much because the pianist and guitarist are sometimes relying on me to play the song correctly so they can fake it.
 
#10
Everything is cool as long as you play good:)

Not all musicians have to be professionals. If someone wants you playing in his band it means you're good enough for him and he's not looking for anything better...

But, if you ever choose to make this a profession your options will be very limited.
 
#11
Every time you tackle a new number without sheet music in front of you, you're faking it. (IMO if you're playing directly from sheet music, you're playing it the "correct" way.) With most popular music, you're faking something every time you play it, as you're unlikely to play it precisely the same way twice. if you drop a note, you fake your way back in. If you vary the tempo a bit, you're "faking" that.

In most popular music, you're making it up to some degree, major or minor, every time you play it. No problem.
 
#12
Icey101 said:
seriously....i am a fake bass player. Learned by reading tabs, have no music theory except a few basics i learned in highschool music, whats that...every good boy deserves fruit?. I only learn the songs the band wants to play and no more,couldnt be bothered, i dont have a good memory and cant recall old songs when someone says can you play this etc, i forget songs immediately when i change bands. I also cant be bothered learning how to slap or pop or to improvise.i also have no idea how to use my plucking hand, sometimes i use my index finger only, sometimes i use two finger style, sometimes i use a pick at the bridge or sometimes up near the neck, i have no idea why i change from song to song..., i have no style and dont really have any influences or try and play like anyone....So Suddenly after playing from all the tabs for years i can now learn a song by ear in about an hour, ive started to hear the notes from the music. I had one bass lesson and said to the dude all i wanted to play is what i am told and stand on stage, he said yeh you can do that alright :rollno:

Yep i'm a fake and love it:D
Click to expand...

Don't fret it, you will the one to make the million dollars on a Disney Record label, not the theoryheads :D
 
#13
Don't fret it, you will the one to make the million dollars on a Disney Record label, not the theoryheads
Click to expand...

Being a theoryhead is the other extreme... Don't support this either. musicians that only read and do everything "by the book" but can't find themselves if the singer makes a mistake and lose a beat. Listening is the most important thing any good musician should do.

Every time you tackle a new number without sheet music in front of you, you're faking it. (IMO if you're playing directly from sheet music, you're playing it the "correct" way.) With most popular music, you're faking something every time you play it, as you're unlikely to play it precisely the same way twice. if you drop a note, you fake your way back in. If you vary the tempo a bit, you're "faking" that.

In most popular music, you're making it up to some degree, major or minor, every time you play it. No problem.
Click to expand...

Playing by ear and by listening or interpreting a bass line differently is by no means faking. Doing it well requires experience and knowledge of music and ear training.
 
#15
Icey101 said:
seriously....i am a fake bass player. Learned by reading tabs, have no music theory except a few basics i learned in highschool music, whats that...every good boy deserves fruit?. I only learn the songs the band wants to play and no more,couldnt be bothered, i dont have a good memory and cant recall old songs when someone says can you play this etc, i forget songs immediately when i change bands. I also cant be bothered learning how to slap or pop or to improvise.i also have no idea how to use my plucking hand, sometimes i use my index finger only, sometimes i use two finger style, sometimes i use a pick at the bridge or sometimes up near the neck, i have no idea why i change from song to song..., i have no style and dont really have any influences or try and play like anyone....So Suddenly after playing from all the tabs for years i can now learn a song by ear in about an hour, ive started to hear the notes from the music. I had one bass lesson and said to the dude all i wanted to play is what i am told and stand on stage, he said yeh you can do that alright :rollno:

Yep i'm a fake and love it:D
Click to expand...

Aren't you special
Maybe you can start a 12 step support group
 
#16
shtik said:
Being a theoryhead is the other extreme... Don't support this either. musicians that only read and do everything "by the book" but can't find themselves if the singer makes a mistake and lose a beat. Listening is the most important thing any good musician should do.
.
Click to expand...

I thought I was supporting that idea by saying the theoryhead will not being making the dough :D
 
#19
I usually know what I am playing ... but one time I auditioned for a punk band and I began to not care how the audition went ... the I don't give a s### attitude was kicking in .... So I just started playing some fast stuff in the right key ... really faking it but acting like I knew it ... the guys thought I was a virtuso and begged me to join their band ... I declined.

If you ever go to open jams then you have to be able to fake ...
 

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