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How To Not Be a Dumb Bassist
- Thread starter brandonjshaw
- Start date
Holy butthurtedness, Batman!
Seems as if I'm a terrible bassist.
From the commentary here it seems like everybody is Jaco reincarnated.
Now I can't slap. PERIOD. Everywhere I go when the bassist is "sound checking" - he's showing off some slappage. Yeah even the metal guys. It takes me a few rehearsals to even come up with a bassline for a song. Even if the chords are explained to me in perfect detail, I can hardly ever "put it all together" in such a fancy way that all talkbass posters seem to do. On gigs I tend to be outnoodled by every other bassist playing that night.
But I'll say one thing. I've never got a complaint and more often than I'd expect, I get compliments and positive chatter from other bassists. (I know, this doesn't sound very humble of me). But the main point is. Your primary job is to understand the rhythm and translate and overlay on the melodies and harmonies the guitars/keys put in. Know how to fill the low-frequency space that make the song a complete piece of work. Exactly what note you're playing during any part of a song is far less important than this.
I feel like a LOT of bassists are dumber than what the TalkBass demographic indicates.
Good article.
Seems as if I'm a terrible bassist.
From the commentary here it seems like everybody is Jaco reincarnated.
Now I can't slap. PERIOD. Everywhere I go when the bassist is "sound checking" - he's showing off some slappage. Yeah even the metal guys. It takes me a few rehearsals to even come up with a bassline for a song. Even if the chords are explained to me in perfect detail, I can hardly ever "put it all together" in such a fancy way that all talkbass posters seem to do. On gigs I tend to be outnoodled by every other bassist playing that night.
But I'll say one thing. I've never got a complaint and more often than I'd expect, I get compliments and positive chatter from other bassists. (I know, this doesn't sound very humble of me). But the main point is. Your primary job is to understand the rhythm and translate and overlay on the melodies and harmonies the guitars/keys put in. Know how to fill the low-frequency space that make the song a complete piece of work. Exactly what note you're playing during any part of a song is far less important than this.
I feel like a LOT of bassists are dumber than what the TalkBass demographic indicates.
Good article.
Me, too. I know how to slap (a little), but don't like it (except on upright). Bass players look down on me when noodling, but invariably tell me that I'm very good after they hear me in the mix. Same with my tone, now that I think about it...
It's a good starting point, more toward getting a general idea of what the bass player does. But it is possible to build on it and grow beyond it.
There was some good advice for beginners but I felt like you said "Your job is to play root notes on the downbeat" a little too often.
Also keep in mind that different styles of music and different bands want something different. I can see most of your advice going to someone who wants to play mainstream pop rock like Nickelback.
The band I play with let's me experiment and I break a lot of your rules listed and I'd like to think it comes out nice. Although it's usually during a riff where the guitar lays back and it could use some progressive playing.
Also keep in mind that different styles of music and different bands want something different. I can see most of your advice going to someone who wants to play mainstream pop rock like Nickelback.
The band I play with let's me experiment and I break a lot of your rules listed and I'd like to think it comes out nice. Although it's usually during a riff where the guitar lays back and it could use some progressive playing.
I just play and try my hardest to make it fun and exciting. If that means dropping roots for 3 minutes then I'll keep it there. In a situation, plain roots and octaves can sound pretty damn awesome depending on what everyone else is playing. And if you can do all the flashy stuff without messing up or going overboard then do it! Just play.
