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Help Me Analyze Rick Danko's Playing

S

stonda

Jul 20, 2010
4
1
#1
Hello everyone,

reading all the other posts about and on Mr. Danko, I've decided to start a new one. And I would like you guys to share your knowledge with everyone here and help to spread the word about this first class bassist.

I would like you to share here tabs on the songs he played on. There are virtually none on the internet (shame). But not the usual crap how good/bad he was because he was awesome and we all know why, right?

But do we really? I saw that people (the bass players in particular) tend to look at him in a good or a less good way as being the simple player, the one without much knowledge as regards theory, etc. That's why I would like you to post here some tabs, or scores for everyone to learn from this guy's approach (as the video he made is unfortunately for beginners only), because only by transcription of his lines one can understand the complexity of his playing, his superb knowledge of harmony and and impeccable sense of time creating a sound which when I heard for the first time I swore that should I only learn one bassist's style, it would be his, no other bassist struck me with such intensity.

To put it simply, this guy is Aston Barrett of American country, soul and foremost funk playing, because:

First, he feels rhythm like only a professional after like 15 and more years of playing can, he can play anywhere, ahead, behind, on the top of the beat, he can identify any 16th note within the bar he wants to play and he will do anytime even thought the rest of the band plays straight (check out e.g. King Harvest Has Surely Come). You know, I believe he did no play much notes because (or maybe one of the reasons for that would be) he understood how much fun is to "play" with the rhythm as the bass player, how you can change the sense of groove, because only the less becomes more, or as he said, what is not there is more important than what you play. Just the rhythm part makes him a funkateer on line with Jamerson, Bootsy, Graham, Miller...

Next, he can add a sense of a moving harmony only with one note playing. Check, for example Unfaithful Servant. If you let me know which chords are in the chorus, I'll be grateful, I still haven't deciphered some parts of it. Plus he uses chordal approach, his starting point being triads, but starting on 3rd, 5th of the chord (check the Servant again). It is so refreshing in times when everyone learns scales with no relation to the chords (harmony). He makes such interesting bass lines only knowing the voice leading chord tone to root, root to chord tone etc. That implies great knowledge of harmony.

And last, the tone. Holy ****, how did he make such a deep bottomed, rounded, punchy sound with a pick? Sometimes you cannot tell what is the bass drum and what the bass guitar.

If these reasons are not enough for you, check out Neil Young's Revolution Blues from the On the Beach album <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZdPts3gEjg>. As much as I love Crazy Horse, this just kicks ass, with Rick's slides adding that eerie something to the already dense, almost horror like atmosphere of the song...

Looking forward to your findings, I will soon post mine. To remind you, it don't have to be the whole song, but let's share just things which attracts you, like the rhythmical breaks, voice leading, counterpoint he uses, etc. If you have all songs, it would be wonderful, but my point is to enlighten everyone here what makes him such a special guy and that by listening and transcribing him you can learn a lot about being a great musician.
 
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#3
+1 Rick was an absolute master of space and feel. I was fortunate to see him with Dylan in 1974. He really used major pentatonic fills and syncopations well. My favorite line he played was Stage Fright although King Harvest is a standout, too. I hear his influence all over Americana.
 
#4
stonda said:
And last, the tone. Holy ****, how did he make such a deep bottomed, rounded, punchy sound with a pick? Sometimes you cannot tell what is the bass drum and what the bass guitar.
Click to expand...
that's actually pretty easy compared to your other questions...flatwounds, picking by the neck, with a tone that took off the treble enough to get rid of the pick clicking.
 
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#7
Yeah, Danko's a pretty great player. I think trying to learn why he played like he did is a bit useless the way you mean though; it (much like McCartney's playing) is just what happens when you spend that much time playing with the same group (the way I like to describe The Band is five people, one sound). It sits perfectly with what they did but wouldn't do that well in another band.
 
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#9
Don't forget that Garth Hudson was giving all those guys in The Band music lessons..........and many of the bass parts on "Music from Big Pink" are actually played on a keyboard. And... not to mention having a great drummer like Levon Helm to lock down with! Pus, Rick was a fantastic singer who sang through his bass as well.

"Five people, one sound" yeah, that pretty much sums it up!
 
#12
wow, you learn something new every day! well i guess i stand corrected. couldn't honestly remember seeing him play without a pick.

man, if only robbie robertson had stayed into it. those guys could have had it made. instead it turned out pretty sad. bums me out seeing them playing in these vids. richard manuel killed himself after doing a gig about 15 minutes away at some supper club called cheek to cheek. i tried to go but it was sold out immediately. pretty small joint that put you up at a quality inn. guess that was too depressing. funny, that was considered a top room around here by us.
 
#13
Yup, pretty sad scene, The Last Waltz and all that. Levon pretty much vented his anger about Robertson in his book (This Wheels on Fire). Seems that the producer of the Last Waltz and Robertson pretty much holed up together and consumed any future possibility of profits of The Band too. Very destructive. In retrospect though, breaking up the group may have saved their lives, at least for awhile, the lifestyle and all.

The chordal approach.....well Rick played Fender Bass VI when he joined what became The Band later on. Probably got into the chordal thing on that instrument.

Anyway, to try and duplicate Danko's bass style might be akin to trying to live and paint like Van Gogh! You will however, need to use an old SVT to get close to his live tone;).
 
#15
ahc said:
Surf on over to this youtube link and you'll see him play a Fender Jazz on King Harvest and an Ampeg (fretless??? coudn't quite tell) on Long Black Veil... both fingerstyle. From 1970.

Al

Click to expand...


JimmyM said:
wow, you learn something new every day! well i guess i stand corrected. couldn't honestly remember seeing him play without a pick.
.
Click to expand...


That first link was so great, I surfed over to all the decent-looking vids on YouTube that came up and on every one I chose, Rick was playing fingerstyle!

I remember listening to the records in the 70s and it always sounded like he was playing fingerstyle to me - but I couldn't be sure of course in the days before the net etc.

Now I am more convinced that his sound with "The Band" is quite clean fingerstyle.
I can imagine though that on long tours, your fingers take a beating and you might switch to pick to cope with "wear and tear"...?
 
#17
The Ampeg fretless he played had an added P-bass pickup. He was playing that bass on the Before the Flood tour with Dylan when I saw them in 1974. He later famously switched to the Gibson Ripper with flats and a pick-the hot rig for Americana/Roots gigs. I saw the late T-Bone Wolk playing that configuration with Shawn Colvin in the Early 90s.
 
#19
Bruce Lindfield said:
But I specifically said his sound with "the Band" - most of their classic albums were recorded in the late 60s - 68/69 for "Big Pink" and "the Band" - which is the classic sound, which to my ears were fingerstyle.
Click to expand...

Now you got me going (in a friendly way, no malice intended) looking up youtube videos that show Rick's playing. I am really curious about his technique.

Since my current band is current at a stalemate on new tunes (we have a large song list and are transitioning to a new drummer so we have stopped working on new stuff for awhile as he gets up to speed), this thread has me motiviated to listen and learn/re-learn a bunch of their tunes.
 
#20
Big fan. I love how, like Macca and Wyman, he could play so elastically and weave around the groove, all the while being very melodic too. Incredible player. I kind of always figured he played pickstyle on most of the band's stuff--I mean to me it sounds that way--even with the highs rolled back a pick sounds quite different from fingers. Some palm muting going on there too I'm sure. Regardless, I expect he would sound like himself pretty much no matter what/how he played. And anybody who thinks he was a "simple" player definitely hasn't listened to him much!
 

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