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Great Bassists with "BAD" Technique
- Thread starter -=DanAtkinson=-
- Start date
doug wimbish plays with just his pointer finger on his right hand and to be honest sometimes i think he's faster than me with two fingers.
I've watched videos and I've noticed he lifts his hand far off the strings (left hand). I tried mimicking it and it took more energy that could be used while playing. Mind you it ends up looking like he's feeling the power of the song a bit more. Here is the example I was thinking of --> ()
But if you think about all the bass players that have "bad" technique, they're some of the best!
Geddy Lee criticizes his own technique (referring to the issue of Bass Player magazine, I think it was) but yet, we all know Geddy is amazing!
Stanley Clarke in another issue of Bass Player (again, not sure) comments on how he knows he has bad technique and bad habits while playing and that, when recording for SMV, he noticed that Victor Wooten and Marcus Miller have developed the same bad habits, undoubtedly from studying his playing and looking up to him as an influence.
James Jamerson, as mentioned, used only one finger for plucking. Yet, how famous is he?
I agree with what was said somewhere above that bad technique doesn't exist, it's just "different technique".
I dont really dig the bassists listed so I dont really have much to say.
I wouldn't say jamerson had bad technique it was a tone and attack he was going for and also he came from upright to electric and at the time it was a new instrument.
JPJ for example had been playing it for a while and their is no excuse not to follow "finger per fret" or "hands as semitones" it will only make it easyer, but then again its led zeppelin their too amazing for that! (their is a tad bit of sarcasm).
I wouldn't say jamerson had bad technique it was a tone and attack he was going for and also he came from upright to electric and at the time it was a new instrument.
JPJ for example had been playing it for a while and their is no excuse not to follow "finger per fret" or "hands as semitones" it will only make it easyer, but then again its led zeppelin their too amazing for that! (their is a tad bit of sarcasm).
I second this thought.
My take on proper technique is that it's NEVER superfluous to know how to play an instrument properly with proper technique; neither is it the 11th commandment. The pro's outweigh the cons, but if one's happy with the results of "badly" learned playing, far be it from me to prescriptively diagnose the issue.
All the famous bassist mentioned dont have bad technique,its SUPPOSEDLY improper.Who cares how it looks when theyre playing?As long as the end result is a good sounding track that they lay down.EVERYONE,I MEAN EVERYONE on this forum ,name ONE bassist that has ABSOLUTLEY FLAWLESS TECHNIQUE.Im not talking the best technique,Im talking FLAWLESS. I personally listen to a sh!tload of bassist with a varying array of styles and Ive come up with a conclusion.All of them are human(with the exception Victor.haha).I personally think if you are physically comfortable playing your instrument and what you are playing sounds good to you and your bands ear,then you have good technique.But I do agree if you play yor instrument the right way(ie.,proper technique),you are able to do more musically with it.Yes ,Jamerson might have had bad technique,but,DAMN!!I sure wish I had his feel and absolute mastery of the all elusive thing us bassist are after.THE ALMIGHTY GROOVE.Then again,it all comes down to this,I could be wrong,remember were only human.
Be careful not to excuse bad technique by calling it different. There are unorthodox players that have great and unorthodox technique, though. Here is an example of bad technique (I'm not making a judgement on the player himself, just trying to give an example here):
A bad technique involves an inability to apply your technical skills in a way that enables you to convey your musical idea as naturally as possible.
A musician, obviously, should play at their best all the time. They might not play their best all the time, but they should (that's not to say that a musician is punishable by death if he doesn't, but a musician should be as good as they can be, all arrogance aside). If not this, then a musician must have a technique that enables them to be as great as they can be.
That doesn't mean anyone can be perfect, and that doesn't mean you should try to be competitive. Technique is never perfect; a good bassist can still have flaws when playing with a good technique, and there's always more to learn. The point is, it's important to convey your musical ideas as best as possible.
I saw Tony Franklin do some wild side-to-side bends on his fretless P.
(For those of you who dont know about fretless bass technique, its very bad to bend side to side, because it tears into the fingerboard. You are supposed to bend up and down, parallel to the strings.)
Jaco did the same thing a few times, but then again, Jaco had an epoxied board to take all the abuse.
(For those of you who dont know about fretless bass technique, its very bad to bend side to side, because it tears into the fingerboard. You are supposed to bend up and down, parallel to the strings.)
Jaco did the same thing a few times, but then again, Jaco had an epoxied board to take all the abuse.
Fieldy...
His technique is pretty whacked up, but it obviously works for him cause he's rolling in the dough.
His technique is pretty whacked up, but it obviously works for him cause he's rolling in the dough.
Really? I don't think I've ever seen Doug use less than six fingers on his right hand!
How can you say somebody has "bad" technique? Because it's different from yours? We're all individuals and I'm sure some people do things differently from others. I question the original posters bad technique of judging others' technique.
If a certain style of technique causes permanent injury, I think it's safe to call it bad technique. Not everyone's body shares same geometry, however.
Agreed. I was watching some of his live stuff, and let his technique is just absolutely mind boggling. I just cant wrap my head around how he manages to bring his hands into these positions that allow him to basically have a seizure with bass in hand and still produce amazing music...
The way he does his flamenco strumming is just wildly precise... The man has talent on loan from God.
Heheh. Some will walk away from this thread having missed the true message, which is obvious: technique is always vastly secondary to musicality.
Nobody cares about a bassist's technique except other bassists, a rather narrow target market. The rest just care how he sounded and felt.
Nobody cares about a bassist's technique except other bassists, a rather narrow target market. The rest just care how he sounded and felt.
Justin Chancellor? Really? I've never noticed. He still puts out some amazing stuff though.
And on the note of "good" technique, I'd say these next two vids have some of the most precise technique accomplishable.
I always thought those guys who played with their basses on their chests just look dorky as hell. I tried playing that way once and it was horribly uncomfortable unless I was playing on the 7th fret or higher. I like my picking-hand wrist to be level with my belt-buckle. That's comfortable to me.
Most of they guys I grew up listening to played it low. Not hanging at your knees low, but centered at the waist. And that bass just looked cool that way and made me want to be that guy.
Most of they guys I grew up listening to played it low. Not hanging at your knees low, but centered at the waist. And that bass just looked cool that way and made me want to be that guy.
