Improvising jazz/blues vs. anything else

[retslock]

What is a bass-line?

"A bass line is the lowest-pitched part of a piece of music, typically played on a bass instrument such as the double bass or bass guitar.
Bass lines can vary in style and complexity depending on the genre of music."

Technically probably correct but I think we're getting into semantics. My opinion for what it's worth, is the lowest note in a chord could be in a very high register. To me that doesn't make it a bass line. It's just below the other notes. Bass has to define a sonic register to me and that means low frequencies. Usually very low as in tuba, double bass, electric bass etc.
Of course those instruments can play higher but they usually don't.
For the purpose of specifics in describing music, low is a more general term whereas bass is to me, more specific so whatever the text books say I'm sticking with bass being very low frequency rather than just the lowest note in the chord which could in fact be way above middle C.

 

[Bass Motifs]

I will take your comment with a "pinch of salt."
That's why those notes are "carefully placed" to be there. I have figured out that, "usually," that "desire" to fill out those quite sparse notes or "empty space" of the studio bass-lines are linked to numerous causes that are rarely associated with musicality and/or MUSICIANSHIP.

(It's a slightly different discussion about the causes of having the need to add more (noodling) extra notes while playing live. One of the reasons could be the player's insecurity (for this/that reason.)



N.B. I agree with Pacman's statement in the comment just above yours, "I don't think anyone seriously expects note for note playback from any musician."
But, it's not bad to know (or memorize) the original bass-line: its mood, its tone, the rhythmic pattern/s (as a template), accents, nuances, fill-ins, etc...

What if a guitar player or a drummer, or a keyboard player starts also "changing this, adding that" - and not once, or twice - during the live concert?
I'm not against some subtle changes but anything more - you are rearranging the song/track and every member of the band should be aware of it.
Unless, "nobody cares about your bass-line."

Season to taste in that case. My point is simply that many original artists play their own songs more "lively" live. Some like ACDC stay pretty close, others spread a bit more. Live is a different sonic space to a recording, and live performance needs visible energy. Kraftwerk may be an exception. Anyhoo, checkout the live performances of the times you like. No need to feel more constrained than the artists themselves do.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Live is a different sonic space to a recording, and live performance needs visible energy.

You've mentioned Funk Music.

Do you think the bass player, Erik Rademakers from the band, "O.T.O. Machine" (from Belgium) needs more visible energy than we see it in the studio?

 

[Bass Motifs]

Well that's certainly a great band, watching the live concert now. And adding on Spotify.



At 51:20 they play the same song. Bass comes in on bar 8 with a different fill from the recorded version (at least as I hear it) and other differences in the song but same groove. As per the lyrics: "Keep on sticking to your funky guns, a little bit hotter than you did yesterday". That's the point really. We may be at cross purposes on this.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

a different fill from the recorded version

Yes, it's a slightly different fill. It does not change (damage) the rhythmic-melodic contour of the bass groove/template.
(And it's not a fill that the crowds are waiting for.)

Usually, when a bass player creates/composes (owns) a bass line, the bass player has lots of various types of "leftovers" as fill-ins, embellishments, runs, etc...
It's impossible to cram all the numerous variations of this/that fill-in into one song/track. You can always include them during the live performance.

In addition, there are some "moments" - while playing live - when a bass player could try something new "on the spur of the moment."
A good musician has that knowledge when and how to insert something "new" without damaging the arrangement or without causing any "uncomfortability" for the vocalist/s or other band members.

From your posted video of live OTO Machines' concert, around 57:27 the band starts a new song, "W.P.G."

Here is the studio version of the song.



In that song, we have a clearly-pronounced bass riff in Verse. During that section, it wouldn't be recommended to impose some bass notes' changes without affecting the song's arrangement, unless those are the "insignificant" ghost notes, but...

During the guitar/keys solo/s (around 2:14), where the harmony switches to some variation of the Andalusian cadence, it's OK to have different bass fill-ins (variations), placed on the rhythmic pattern within the given harmonic background. It does not affect the track's arrangement.

Here is the extracted bass line with the Drums and the metronome.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

Bass comes in on bar 8 with a different fill from the recorded version

Tsk tsk, unemployable!

In other news, I heard from yet another cover band. As with the first band that was interested, they are too far away (next town over) for it to go anywhere. But I now have a pretty good idea of songs I need to learn. Gives me something to practice, while I wait for a better opportunity.

 

[brianrost]

they are too far away (next town over) for it to go anywhere

Where do you live that the next town over is too far away?

 

[turf3]

Where do you live that the next town over is too far away?

Have you ever been to West Texas or Eastern Montana?

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Have you ever been to West Texas

There is nothing wrong with Texas.

 

[turf3]

There is nothing wrong with Texas.

No, but there can be great distance between towns. "Next town over" means something much different in Alpine than in, say, Medford, Mass.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

Exactly. I've got a full-time job. I don't want to spend an hour driving each way to attend a rehearsal, particularly on a weeknight. With average weekday afternoon/early evening traffic, that's what I would have been dealing with.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

No, but there can be great distance between towns. "Next town over" means something much different in Alpine than in, say, Medford, Mass.

Even if the distance is not so great, it can be a long drive, due to traffic patterns.

20 miles of smooth sailing on the Interstate? No problem. 20 miles through city traffic? No thanks.

Regardless, I'm not going to beat anyone up about their choices of how far is "too far" to drive for a jam session. It's a personal choice.

 

[Pacman]

There is nothing wrong with Texas.

Oh, I beg to differ!

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Oh, I beg to differ!

Maybe, I'm biased but I love Texas.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

I have to change my mind on something I posted earlier: I am now OK with last minute key changes.

It remains to be done "live," but I think I understand the Nashville Number system. Not so scary, pretty slick system in fact.

I would likely need to at least jot down the chords, for anything that isn't a basic or barely-modified blues, but I'll probably get past that too at some point.

 

[SteveCS]

For you guys who play in cover bands in bars, how in the world do you do that? How do you have dozens of songs, ready to go?

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but, IME, holding a few hundred bass lines in a 'performance-ready' state is not a problem if they are learned and memorised properly.

Just think that for every "4-bar line repeated 16 times in a song" that we have to remember the singer has to remember 16 different 4-bar lines of lyrics, possibly in combination with a few variations on the melody to make the words fit. In a 30-song 2-set gig that's about 480 lines. Significantly less when repeated lines or entire verses is accounted for. An actor performing Hamlet has roughly 1500 lines with no repeats.