I started a band with two of my buddies 3 years ago. When we started I was the most techniquly profficient (although the worst at spelling). And as we progressed they got better but I am still considered the "best" but now the guitar player has 9 and I have a two bar break down that needs to be he same everytime. Simply put how can I convince them to gimme solos and/or what are arrangment ideas to make them not sound terrible. (For the sake of context we are a 3 piece ska/reggae band but we love infusing other genres so anything would be helpfull)
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how do i get solos?
- Thread starter Jacobiss
- Start date
Roy Vogt
Supporting Member
- Sep 20, 2000
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- Endorsing Artist: Kiesel Basses, Ampeg Amplification, Hotone Ampero II effects
+1 on telling your bandmates what you'd like to do-they aren't clairvoyant. If you have some sort of idea/arrangement that you can bring to the table it's better than just saying you want a solo and then having no idea of what to do.
For Ska/Reggae it seems that a Bass/Drums Breakdown would be a given for several tunes during the night.......
For Ska/Reggae it seems that a Bass/Drums Breakdown would be a given for several tunes during the night.......
breakdowns where a relatively simple bassline is featured, yeah, I would expect that to happen.
However I have to say that I've heard at least a thousand LPs of reggae, ska, and related styles, and I cannot think of a single "bass solo" as such on any of them. It's simply alien to the core styles that this band is playing.
So it could only be stylistically appropriate to the extent that the band is about mixing in other things. And that's a recipe that will tend to be seen differently by different people in the band.
The possibility remains that the band is right, on consensus and in terms of the style, to have no bass solos.
HeadyVan Halen said:
We have a 18 song set list, and we put a emphasis on on improv when we play live, so I'm not looking so much for a number so much as the room in the music to say somthing. and like I said before, I used to be the lead player, so chops aren't the issue.
teleharmonium said:
Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate a good break down, but the one I have sets up the next change in the song, so if I don't play the exact same thing the guitar comes in with the same line a phrase later, so I guess its less a break down more a change featuring the d&b.
turn up louder till all that can be heard is bass and then everything is a solo.
seriously though, just tell them thats what you want, if they arent open to the possibility maybe you're playing with the wrong guys.
seriously though, just tell them thats what you want, if they arent open to the possibility maybe you're playing with the wrong guys.
I see.
It sounds like it more or less comes down to whether adding some bona fide drum and bass breakdown sections would be enough for you, or whether you are looking for improv solos where you can play a lot of notes and leave the low register if you want. The former is a totally reasonable request, if that's what you had in mind, so you should feel no reservations about pressing for that. The latter, I couldn't guess without hearing the band.
don't ever feel like you need someone else's permission to express yourself, and never let anyone tell you what, when, or how to play, especially if you say you're the most proficient of the group, just do what you do, play your ass off, and make no appologies for it, just give a look that says "yeah, thats right, i just did that!" and if they have a problem with that, then maybe it's time to move on, let no one hold you back.
I love how you said that, haha
But, as a bassist, I dont really have a desire to play a solo.
I get to shine at times, even kinda showcased, playing a badass bassline,
but a solo where Im essentially playing a guitarish lead on bass, I have no interest, at least not on stage...
I just dont think the audience would find it appealing, and thats more important to me than feeding my desire to be the focus.
Marko5657 said:I love how you said that, haha
But, as a bassist, I dont really have a desire to play a solo.
I get to shine at times, even kinda showcased, playing a badass bassline,
but a solo where Im essentially playing a guitarish lead on bass, I have no interest, at least not on stage...
I just dont think the audience would find it appealing, and thats more important to me than feeding my desire to be the focus.
I normally don't solo as a guitar though, its the same concept as victor wooten and the fleck tones take, where its a guy in front rocking it hard. by no means does vic sound like a guitar but he does play a solo. Same with flea. Matt freeman. Bootsy. It happens all the time, but I can't seem to find a way to get the attention of crowd so we gave up on it so we didn't seem so akward.
Im in a ska/reggea band and I just tell the guitar player to stop every once and a while so we can get the fat drum and bass going. Sublime style!
During a breakdown, have a set part at the start then going into a solo, then at the end of the solo, segue back into a set part to cue the rest of the band.
- Dec 21, 2007
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Not to be too much of a d*ck, but this is worth noting.
Victor, Bootsy, Flea, Stanley - they have the attention of the crowd.
As someone once said about leadership "if you say you're a leader, and you set off, and nobody follows you... maybe you're not the leader you think you are".
