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How To Not Be a Dumb Bassist
- Thread starter brandonjshaw
- Start date
Nice job with the insinuations and ad hominem. If someone plays music purely to make money I would have a hard time calling them a musician and I'd recommend a better career.
Damnit Will, it was the Mom thing! Now look what's happened. Never go full on Mom's basement.
Actually I wasn't kidding about that. Anyone can do whatever they want as long as they aren't functioning as a part of a cohesive group. If you're playing in your Mom's basement, you can play a fourth under the root of a major chord on the downbeat. Nobody cares. If you do that on a studio gig, the producer will notice that it sounds like crap very quickly and might not like it.
Yes, that was combative. I admit.Damnit Will, it was the Mom thing! Now look what's happened. Never go full on Mom's basement.
Exploiter8
Demons run when a good man goes to war
"One of the most awesome things about being a bass player is the gear, or the lack thereof. You could get away with just the bass, amp, and cable, and sometimes not even the amp."
I always take exception to the fact that a microphone, cord and stand aren't included.
YMMV
X8
I always take exception to the fact that a microphone, cord and stand aren't included.
YMMV
X8
Well it looks like I've ruffled a few feathers. I promise that wasn't my intent. On the creativity side of things, I think WJGreer summed up my intent a few comments ago. It's important to know the rules before you break them and have a solid foundation so when you do venture out it's tasteful and complimentary to the music.
Don't be a robot by any means, express yourself definitely, but be aware how what you're playing fits in to the rest of the music.
Also, in regards to the title, it's meant to be more funny than offensive. I'm not picking on bass players at all, in fact the first article I wrote was "How To Not Be a Dumb Singer."
If you're interested in that, it can be found here
http://www.startupmusician.co/dumb-musicians/how-to-not-be-a-dumb-singer/
Thanks for the comments and the discussion!
Don't be a robot by any means, express yourself definitely, but be aware how what you're playing fits in to the rest of the music.
Also, in regards to the title, it's meant to be more funny than offensive. I'm not picking on bass players at all, in fact the first article I wrote was "How To Not Be a Dumb Singer."
If you're interested in that, it can be found here
http://www.startupmusician.co/dumb-musicians/how-to-not-be-a-dumb-singer/
Thanks for the comments and the discussion!
Is it that important? Pino Palladino can't read music. Jaco Pastorius picked up the bass because he broke his wrist and couldn't play drums anymore.
Ok, the basics...maybe. I'm not saying learn to play bass with your nose and elbows, but maybe some outside the box/throw away the instruction manual from the getgo isn't a bad thing.
I like "how to" articles for things like replacing the clutch on my Subaru (which I am not looking forward to). That can be done one way...well two ways.
I'd rather color outside the lines with my art, and I kinda dig the kids that start that way more than the ones with the perfect yellow suns and connect the dots pictures.
Good read. I get what you're saying. Reminds me of Sully from Godsmack talking about their bassist, Robbie. He said he was a very talented bassist and could play complex bass lines but sometimes he has to take one for the team and bang away on the E string because that what the song needs.
I liked the article, it was well written and the points were well taken. There's lots of vitriol in this thread for the OP which I think is misplaced. The author has already stated that he was inspired to write the article because of the misconceptions of his students with respect to the role of the bass. If you can play like Victor Wooten or Stanley Clarke you don't need this advice, you're already laying down the groove with every note you play.
But there's a lot of classic and modern tunes that demand that the root be paid attention to without a lot of fluff to distract from the singer, and the OP was right on for those scenarios.
But there's a lot of classic and modern tunes that demand that the root be paid attention to without a lot of fluff to distract from the singer, and the OP was right on for those scenarios.
I feel that this was a well written article. However, I also feel that it was a tad close minded at certain points. Ill be specific...
You say "it's your job to do "this" or that"" as if bass is only capable of doing the particular jobs you mentioned. Which in my opinion is not always the case. Especially what you mentioned about bassists playing one note at a time. Or always being the lowest note. It does work out to be that way a lot of the time, but you make it sound like a rule.
You say that power chords and pedals aren't needed. You're right they aren't, but you also don't need to play with a pick, or play with a 6 string or play fretless, but you can. I cannot tell you how many times a power chord has helped me in a band context. Or any other type of chord for that matter.
I do love what you said about being close to your drummer. I feel that the drummer and bass player should be tight, not only in a band context but as a friendship as well. It helps to know exactly what each other is thinking without having to communicate verbally.
You say "it's your job to do "this" or that"" as if bass is only capable of doing the particular jobs you mentioned. Which in my opinion is not always the case. Especially what you mentioned about bassists playing one note at a time. Or always being the lowest note. It does work out to be that way a lot of the time, but you make it sound like a rule.
You say that power chords and pedals aren't needed. You're right they aren't, but you also don't need to play with a pick, or play with a 6 string or play fretless, but you can. I cannot tell you how many times a power chord has helped me in a band context. Or any other type of chord for that matter.
I do love what you said about being close to your drummer. I feel that the drummer and bass player should be tight, not only in a band context but as a friendship as well. It helps to know exactly what each other is thinking without having to communicate verbally.
Im afraid i'm actually too dumb to actually know what half of this was supposed to be about because like...theory (play the sharp 9 on the downbeat? i have no idea what that even means....). I don't know the rules (or i know some but not what theyre supposed to be called) and i think i've done ok without them. I don't even know if i'm following them or breaking them, and i never really cared either nor has that ever seemed to be a problem for anyone else. I find most people really overthink music but that's just me. I think if you play enough of it you wont have to think about it so much anymore. Also, i'm pretty sure sometimes for some tunes i like my tone best when it's processed through some flange or chorus. I mean...what genre of music is your average bassist supposed to be playing anyway in this article? Some genres specifically kinda tend to call for effects... If tht means im trying to be a guitar player so be it...why do i have to limit myself to anything... i've heard some players treating their bass like a guitar and some made mighty fine music....
(also for the record, no one has ever thought the keyboard player is cooler than the bassist...well not in my world anyway)
I do agree that a good player should not necessarily be wanking all over the place for no good reason and i could name loads of players who need to learn to keep it a bit simpler, in my own opinion of course, but i feel this way about any instrument. It is my experience that past a certain skill level, most musicians become really self-indulgent. If they've bothered getting that fast and technical they sure want everyone to be able to hear it, and as often as possible too! Its insecurity i feel. That's what ego is usually really, insecurity. But that is just my opinion...
(also for the record, no one has ever thought the keyboard player is cooler than the bassist...well not in my world anyway)
I do agree that a good player should not necessarily be wanking all over the place for no good reason and i could name loads of players who need to learn to keep it a bit simpler, in my own opinion of course, but i feel this way about any instrument. It is my experience that past a certain skill level, most musicians become really self-indulgent. If they've bothered getting that fast and technical they sure want everyone to be able to hear it, and as often as possible too! Its insecurity i feel. That's what ego is usually really, insecurity. But that is just my opinion...
I'm not saying there's nothing in it, but I found the body of the article fairly insulting, along with the title.
I think those are mostly good things to understand as a foundation of your skillset and how you should think of your role, but it's full of hard 'DONTs' that I don't think are at all universal, even within the confines of a given genre.
I think it's more helpful to say 'understand your skill level, and play in a way that is appropriate for the situation'. Playing little fills and slap solos and high chordal stuff and using 'too many' effects will all sound bad if you aren't any good at them. If you're a novice slapper, it'll probably sound lame as hell if you do a little slap comping between songs, but I think it's a dangerous statement to make about all bass players.
JimmyM wrote a beautifully impassioned post a little while ago that, to me, was the antithesis of this. It said be your own bass player, and don't rein in tendencies to learn things that this article speaks against just because some people would have you believe that's your role. I don't want to put words in his mouth, and may have misinterpreted, so I'll leave it at that. I guess all I'm saying is take this as a primer for a new bassist, or maybe an occasional refresher for a seasoned bassist, not the definitive limits of your role in a musical context.
I think those are mostly good things to understand as a foundation of your skillset and how you should think of your role, but it's full of hard 'DONTs' that I don't think are at all universal, even within the confines of a given genre.
I think it's more helpful to say 'understand your skill level, and play in a way that is appropriate for the situation'. Playing little fills and slap solos and high chordal stuff and using 'too many' effects will all sound bad if you aren't any good at them. If you're a novice slapper, it'll probably sound lame as hell if you do a little slap comping between songs, but I think it's a dangerous statement to make about all bass players.
JimmyM wrote a beautifully impassioned post a little while ago that, to me, was the antithesis of this. It said be your own bass player, and don't rein in tendencies to learn things that this article speaks against just because some people would have you believe that's your role. I don't want to put words in his mouth, and may have misinterpreted, so I'll leave it at that. I guess all I'm saying is take this as a primer for a new bassist, or maybe an occasional refresher for a seasoned bassist, not the definitive limits of your role in a musical context.
I thought the article was insulting also. Do people really think I don't know chords because I play the bass? Seriously?
IME (been playing over 20 years) there are a lot of bass players that could benefit from this type of advice! I can't even begin to recall all the times I've watched bands with bass players that clearly didn't understand how to contribute meaningfully to a song, how to be a team player, etc. So while this blog may not be helpful to all bass players, it would certainly be helpful to some!
Play the root on the downbeat? What if you're playing Reggae or Afro-Cuban music. One drops in Reggae. Anticipations in Afro-Cuban. Calypso lines that only play the third and the fifth on on the and of one and two then the and of three and four. Some Tumbao's play on three and four. Some Mambos on the and of two and the down beat of 4. Others play just on the three and four.
C/S,
Rev J
C/S,
Rev J
That article on singers is a laugh. And it's comparing apples and oranges because it mainly deals with attitude and other tidbits, and not the quintessential role of the instrument as portrayed in the OP.
Also Cm/E is a pretty nice chord if you want to satisfy your urge for dissonance. You can actually use dissonance musically after all.
Also Cm/E is a pretty nice chord if you want to satisfy your urge for dissonance. You can actually use dissonance musically after all.
