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Is bass fun to play?

#61
ok ill stop being so defensive on this and give to OP the bennefit of doubt and offer my nuggets of wisdom here.

1.) Girls do not dance to guitar solos. what makes the booty shake?...its the bass! you might not be able to hear it but they can and it drives them wild!

2.) a song that can help you pull out a bass in an overwhelmingly guitar driven song is Valleri by The Monkees...this song contains one of the most beautiful face ripping guitar solos ever recorded. but there in the background there is a very simple but strong bass riff that drives the entire rhythm of the song and if you take it out the whole thing falls apart. if you cant pull it out of the mix and really see what a bass player does then i dont know what to tell you...download it

3.) m fave bass song of all time is If you want me to stay by Sly and the Family Stone...simple again but this is the first time i really heard a bassline dominate an entire song and the band played around it...then i figured out that ALL songs seem to revolve around a bass line for the most part this just brought the bass directly to the forefront for me and really gave me the true concept of playing bass the groove..Download this too

4.)all else fails purchase the first 4 Black Sabbath albums and learn them all :smug:

once you understand the simple concepts of what role bass plays within a band and you can start to mimic the sounds you hear through different touches and strumming methods youll be hooked. its an amazing instrument with very interesting characters who play it. its not easy and theres no set way to do it. put your own flair on it and have fun
 
#62
Sorry for the teasing TG....was just clowning around.
Serious answer?

Your question is asked a lot actually.
It's not at all boring. You can do really interesting stuff on bass. Listen to Chris Squire from Yes.
Really unusual stuff and complex as well.

The bass is kinda in the background so to speak.
But without it, ya got nothing. You are hearing it, just may not realize it.
Any drummer will tell you the bass player is the one they work with the most. The bass holds everything together. It even shares functions thought by some to be exclusively the drummers job.

Here, do this:
Find bass tabs on the web. Look for ones to tunes that are started by the bass....like Money or whatever.
Play the intro tabs. It IS fun. Then decide for yourself.
Cheers, Dave
 
#65
Tama said:
Sorry for the teasing TG....was just clowning around.
Serious answer?

Your question is asked a lot actually.
It's not at all boring. You can do really interesting stuff on bass. Listen to Chris Squire from Yes.
Really unusual stuff and complex as well.

The bass is kinda in the background so to speak.
But without it, ya got nothing. You are hearing it, just may not realize it.
Any drummer will tell you the bass player is the one they work with the most. The bass holds everything together. It even shares functions thought by some to be exclusively the drummers job.

Here, do this:
Find bass tabs on the web. Look for ones to tunes that are started by the bass....like Money or whatever.
Play the intro tabs. It IS fun. Then decide for yourself.
Cheers, Dave
Click to expand...

yeah, TG we may look like we are bored because we aren't jumping up and down like the guitard, and we aren't turning lumber into tooth picks, or molesting the mic, we are off, usually on the side, looking aloof, sometimes mistaken for bored, but we are actually being cool:cool:
 
#67
bassrique said:
I have not heard that in years.

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Click to expand...

thats the perfect bass track especially for a beginner. it really is the driving force of the song even with SO MUCH going on around it...its easy to play and you get to use alot of your frets for it but its very easy...kinda like The Joker by Steve Miller the bass line IS the song and the canvas which the guitarist gets to noodle all over
 
#70
bassrique said:
What studio musicians did the Monkeys usually use?
Click to expand...

Louie Shelton was the lead guitarist on Vallerie. He and another Set musician by the name of Gerry McGee did much of the guitar work for the Monkees. Gerry is currently the lead guitarist for the Ventures and was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Davy Jones was the only monkee present during the recording of this song
 
#71
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#72
I'm giving the OP the benefit of the doubt that he's/she's not a troll and I'm going to give you a scenario of my own experience as a bassist.

I started playing piano at age 3 and went on to pick up guitar at age 15. I played guitar only up until I turned 26 when the worship leader at my church approached me about playing bass for them, since they didn't have a bassist but had a bass and an amp. I reluctantly agreed and kind of thought I was getting the raw end of the deal since I was a better guitarist than any of the ones at my church. I was just the "new guy" so I got the bass.

Man, am I glad I did. I found that the bass is such a foundational piece of a band and, as a bassist, you have more control over the song and dynamics than any guitar player would. You're the mortar that connects the foundation to the rest of the house. You're like a footer, no one sees it but when it's not there the house collapses. As a bassist, you're such a vital piece of the band that bands hate holding practice without you, IME anyway. If you do, in fact, take up bass as your primary instrument then prepare yourself to be in high demand by all your friend's bands. :bassist:
 
#78
"you have more control over the song and dynamics than any guitar player would."

Among other aspects of control, since you have control over the root note, you can control the chords if you want. If the rest of the band plays a C but you play an A, the band as a whole is playing an Am7 even if they were thinking C.

If you decide to walk, it becomes jazz. If you decide to 1-5-1-5 it, it becomes country or bluegrass. If you decide to emphasize the flatted 7ths, it becomes blues.

Now, obviously, the idea is to agree with the rest of the band, but the bass player has a lot of control over what the end product sounds like to the listener.

Plus you are the one working closely with the drummer which the others don't necessarily have to do.

So, all in all - yes, it is fun!
 
#79
TGSoundWave said:
Is the bass fun to play on stage with a band? Most of the time when I listen to music I can't hear the bass.

Also is it boring? I hear some people say it's boring.
Click to expand...

did you really think by asking this question on these forums that anything good was going to happen to you? You my friend have just opened a jumbo can of worms.

To answer your questions
1. yes, it is extremely fun to play
2. this is because either the bass is turned down either by you or the in the producer, (or your listening to bad music)
3. the people who think its boring know nothing about the instrument or its purpose
 

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