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Help me out before I hit my Guitard.
- Thread starter The1bassist06
- Start date
tell him the blues bros movie/band were/are based on wayne cochrane and the CC riders , they had an excellent bassist.
It all depends on what you want to do with the bass...do you want to be a solid, in demand bassist, or do you want to be able to "jack off" on stage?
I was at a Victor Wooten groove workshop last weekend, and he asked if there were any musicians in the audience who DIDN'T play bass...there were about 20...So he asked them: "What do you want to hear most from a bassist?" Every single one of them said "grooving" or "in the pocket" or some such...not a SINGLE one said "blistering chops"...Vic himself said: "Playing the way I did at the beginning of the workshop will likely get you fired from most gigs" .
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE listening to Victa, Stanley, Marcus, Flea, Geddy, etc...but that's because I'm a bass obsessed freak...Most folks don't really like that stuff...But some Duck, or some Jamerson, now THAT'S cool!
I was at a Victor Wooten groove workshop last weekend, and he asked if there were any musicians in the audience who DIDN'T play bass...there were about 20...So he asked them: "What do you want to hear most from a bassist?" Every single one of them said "grooving" or "in the pocket" or some such...not a SINGLE one said "blistering chops"...Vic himself said: "Playing the way I did at the beginning of the workshop will likely get you fired from most gigs" .
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE listening to Victa, Stanley, Marcus, Flea, Geddy, etc...but that's because I'm a bass obsessed freak...Most folks don't really like that stuff...But some Duck, or some Jamerson, now THAT'S cool!
If I'm not mistaken, Duck DID play for Wayne at some point...but I could be wrong (and often am)
Exactly.
But honestly, your guitarist does have a point. You need to push yourself because it will make the easy stuff that much easier, and it will also increase your ability to say what you want to through your bass easier as well.
Your guitar-playing friend is almost right.
While learning technically difficult parts will push your abilities into new areas, there is also a lot you can learn from less-technical parts. Either way is a great way to train your ears to listen to what is going on in a song and be supportive of it.
If I were you, I'd try dividing your practice time into two parts: One part easier tunes where you can concentrate on feel, tone, and rhythm; one part more difficult parts which will stretch your technique and open up your ears a little. This balance should get you some decent results after a while.
While learning technically difficult parts will push your abilities into new areas, there is also a lot you can learn from less-technical parts. Either way is a great way to train your ears to listen to what is going on in a song and be supportive of it.
If I were you, I'd try dividing your practice time into two parts: One part easier tunes where you can concentrate on feel, tone, and rhythm; one part more difficult parts which will stretch your technique and open up your ears a little. This balance should get you some decent results after a while.
just do what i do....dont send messages on facebook and just learn the songs for the band and anything esle keep it to yourself or start a side project, that way no arguments
Simply learn the difficult songs played slowly. Then you can gradually begin to play the song faster and faster. Parts of La Villa Strangito are relatively easy; other parts harder. Thus, focus on the easier parts of the song first. Also, once you have "mastered" a difficult part, incorporate that riff into your daily bass exercises.
Your guitard is not entirely wrong, and the arguments presented here in favor of dividing your practice time are good ones. Now, since he likes to play metal, you can give him a dose of his own medicine by telling him, "less George Lynch; more George Benson."
I think that it's definitely good to push yourself beyond your existing abilities. This could be in terms of any aspect of musicianship -- technique / intonation (if you play fretless), time, harmony / theory, repertoire, new genres, reading, etc. This might eventually lead to pushing yourself by playing with better musicians -- something that even the top players always look forward to doing.
It doesn't have to be justified, just interesting and fun. You might discover something cool and new that draws you in a different musical direction.
But... I think you should push yourself or let a teacher push you, rather than letting yourself get pushed around by your guitarist.
It doesn't have to be justified, just interesting and fun. You might discover something cool and new that draws you in a different musical direction.
But... I think you should push yourself or let a teacher push you, rather than letting yourself get pushed around by your guitarist.
I actually know La Villa Strangiato. Favorite warmup song.
Here's how you win. Learn a slightly simpler version of La Villa Strangiato. he's a guitarist. He'll never notice. XD
Here's how you win. Learn a slightly simpler version of La Villa Strangiato. he's a guitarist. He'll never notice. XD
Simple: if you play challenging stuff all the time, it's too much like work in the long run.
You should be able to play fun, basic stuff to pass some time without criticism! Is the guitard a jackwagon, or did you just catch him in a sour mood?
You should be able to play fun, basic stuff to pass some time without criticism! Is the guitard a jackwagon, or did you just catch him in a sour mood?
I agree with your guitarist in principal....mastering difficult songs will make you a better player. A song like La Villa is doable but you gotta really want it otherwise you'll never put the woodshedding in that you'll need to. I remember learning it some time ago and it took me forever (especially that sick little sixteenth note bass run about half way into it). But I really wanted to learn that song...I grew up listening to it and it meant a lot to me personally to learn it.
So I think its okay to work on songs that are above your abilities because you may actually surprise yourself but those songs have to come from your own desire to work on them....not your friend's opinion of what you should learn.
So I think its okay to work on songs that are above your abilities because you may actually surprise yourself but those songs have to come from your own desire to work on them....not your friend's opinion of what you should learn.
He's just another guy who can't tell the difference between playing notes and playing music...
He'll probably always be a Guitar player and never be a Musician.
He'll probably always be a Guitar player and never be a Musician.
No joke, I just listened to that album before I switched over to Marty Robbins' "Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs" album. Jaco makes my face hurt and my bass confidence wither. (You know, maybe I should just go ahead and learn it.)
I listened to Rush last week, then immediately queued up Waylon Jennings and that made me want to play my bass. I've played fancy'n'groovin' riff stuff for years, but needed to learn my roots'n'fiffs.
I guess what I'm trying to do by mentioning that is that there's always room for contrast. That is all.
Try a little experiment: challenge your guitar player (and the rest of the band) to learn something "simple" like Shake A Tail Feather. I bet you'll find it easy to learn the basics and start rehearsing, but an incredible bitch to get really tight and swinging as a group. (For a real challenge, try to get a ballad tight as a group.) It's much easier to lock on uptempo pyrotechnics, than to really groove and swing.
P.S: If you really want to piss off a blues player, reference any song you heard on a Blues Brothers movie as being "by the Blues Brothers." You know those are all covers, right? The Blues Brothers movies were Dan Akroyd's excuse to assemble the Mother of All Cover Bands and jam with them (yes, he really does play harp). Shake a Tail Feather was by the Du-Tones, I believe.
tell him the blues bros movie/band were/are based on wayne cochrane and the CC riders , they had an excellent bassist.
***?
The BB lineup was Duck Dunn and Steve Cropper (of Booker T and the MGs), Matt Murphy (of just about everyone in the Chicago blues scene), and some top-flight session guys to fill out the sound. The only comparison is that Belushi's on-stage antics are reminiscent of Wayne Cochran. 
Yes, I know Jaco briefly played with Wayne Cochran, but you can't really compare him to Duck Dunn in blues and soul. (Jaco's later jazz work
is a completely different thing, however.)Sorry I haven't got back with you guys I was at work. I love playing Duck Dunns basslines and James Brown songs.
I like some of Geddys basslines. But I can't stand to learn his stuff. The reason being is that it doesn't seem like his basslines have any "feel" to them. Its like hes just playing stuff just to be playing if that makes any sense.
I think I might tell my guitarist to try to learn Cold Sweat by James Brown on bass and see how easy that is. Hopefully my plan doesn't back fire.
I like some of Geddys basslines. But I can't stand to learn his stuff. The reason being is that it doesn't seem like his basslines have any "feel" to them. Its like hes just playing stuff just to be playing if that makes any sense.
I think I might tell my guitarist to try to learn Cold Sweat by James Brown on bass and see how easy that is. Hopefully my plan doesn't back fire.
