Is there a "wrong" way??

[Jazzdogg]

Have y'all seen Larry Graham play? Horrible technique but it works for him.

I remember lots of chatter about Rocco Prestia having "bad left-hand technique" back in the late sixties and early seventies, too...

 

[timmus]

Have y'all seen Larry Graham play? Horrible technique but it works for him.

Same with Duck Dunn...conservation of movement is/was not in his lexicon.

 

[J Wilson]

In a way, this goes to the very heart of playing an instrument with overlapping pitches on the strings, where the same note can occur in several places. How you process this and how your internal navigator tells you where to be is at the very core of how most of us see the fingerboard, and are we playing NOW or are we playing as a chess player would, playing this HERE as we know we're on the way to THERE. And on and on.

This was the hill I had to climb coming from keyboards, which now seem idiotically simple in that all the notes occur only once and they're all in a straight line. Whether transcribing Chopsticks or Keith Emerson or Oscar Peterson, you can ONLY play it where they played it, as the single notes never overlap. The idea that middle C or A440 were in several places on the bass took me forever to wrap my head around, now I see it as an advantage.

I will say that I had a lesson once with the hugely accomplished Roy Vogt, chair of the Bass Dept. here in Nashville at Belmont College, past his many live and recording experience. He had me reading through the Bach Cello suites to see where my reading was, and after a certain passage, he remarked, you might want to consider playing that section from here instead of over there, your chances of playing it cleanly and correctly are much better.

I thought that spoke volumes from a highly educated and experienced player, how he saw things, and how he envisioned getting from A to B with no potholes in the road.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

All in context…

If you’re early in the journey, learn the “right” way first. After that, play the instrument as it fits you. Not being there or knowing your experience level, I can’t comment on the comment.

This is a big deal with YouTube and online lessons. Lots of new players start out with techniques that limit them later. Of course, players like Eric Gales and Jimmy Vaughn have made great music playing “not correctly”, but starting out properly works for more musicians than it doesn’t.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

The other thing to consider is injury. People have been playing stringed instruments for centuries and as a result, we have a pretty good idea of what works and for not work. In the course of getting those 10,000 hours, bad technique absolutely can shorten the trip to things like tendinitis and so forth.

Carpal tunnel syndrome took me out of the game for 10 years.

 

[JRT64]

When I play a song, I finger it in a way that works best, and is comfortable for me. I could care less if it is technically correct or not.

 

[Fynn]

I visited one of the local guitar centers up in Englewood, and one of the other customers there started playing a rif from a song (Chain of Thorns) on a guitar he was testing out that I happened to know. Having had a bass in my hand at the moment, I decided to play along.
While it was fun, one of the other customers there told me that I was playing it wrong--not that the notes were wrong, but my left hand placement and where I was playing them. Since I'm generally not that good anyway, I took his advice. Later, though, I started to think about it and wondered whether there is, in fact, a wrong way to play something. If I'm hitting all the required notes at the required time, with the required attacks/releases, and it sounds good, is there really a "wrong" way to play?

Certain techniques / fingerings will produce slightly different sounds. Same note doesn't mean that it will sound the same. If you play an open A on the A string, then that will sound quite different to the fretted A on the E string. If you want it to sound exactly like the original, then you should probably play it the same way as the original.
Many artists put alot of thought into how they play something. If you then play it a different way, it will probably sound different in some regards, or will make it maybe even harder to play. The opposite can be true too. You might find a way to play something that is actually easier, than the way it was originally played. But again, you do all of that at the risk of it sounding slightly differently.

I personally would decide on how I play something based on how important it is to me to have it sound identical. Usually I'm okay with just playing the same notes roughly, but in certain cases I want it to be identical in every aspect.
I have that motivation learning Les Claypool stuff, where I will look at as much video, and listen to as much audio, as possible and try to replicate it 100%. And even then you will notice that artists such as Les Claypool have changed the way they play certain songs over the decades.

 

[InhumanResource]

Carpal tunnel syndrome took me out of the game for 10 years.

Sorry to hear that. I have similar concerns as a former 4 hour a day kind of player. Don’t have that kind of time anymore but I’m sure I took a little wear and tear.

 

[MCF]

I visited one of the local guitar centers up in Englewood, and one of the other customers there started playing a rif from a song (Chain of Thorns) on a guitar he was testing out that I happened to know. Having had a bass in my hand at the moment, I decided to play along.
While it was fun, one of the other customers there told me that I was playing it wrong--not that the notes were wrong, but my left hand placement and where I was playing them. Since I'm generally not that good anyway, I took his advice. Later, though, I started to think about it and wondered whether there is, in fact, a wrong way to play something. If I'm hitting all the required notes at the required time, with the required attacks/releases, and it sounds good, is there really a "wrong" way to play?

That guy is a jerk.

 

[Wesley R]

Groomer?

Goomer

 

[Mannyinnewyork]

I won't say what i am thinking other than not all advice is good. Peace to you and enjoy your musical journey.

 

[bherman]

I agree with others, there is no "wrong" way. However, with an instrument as physically demanding as bass (especially factoring in upright bass), there are techniques that are better - either that are less likely to result in injury, or that give you more facility and/or more ability to execute more complicated passages more easily. Two examples are baseball grip (ie, wrapping your thumb around the top of the neck rather than placing it behind the neck), and shifting positions.

 

[Rib 13]

Everyone is a critic

 

[retslock]

I’m reminded of Richie Havens playing guitar using open tuning and his massive thumb stretching across the entire neck to play chords. Ergonomically speaking I suppose there may be technical hand positions that reduce the possibility of tendon problems. I’ve never had any such problems and there are times on guitar that I use my thumb on the 6th string to complete a chord.
At times I might change the position I play a part using the same notes even during a song.
I guess I’m saying if the notes are correct and it sounds right without hurting your hand/wrist then it’s not an issue.

 

[LiptonJigglers]

Well I admit to not reading all the responses but I did see a few that focused on technique.
Besides playing technique, there is the timbre of the song to take into consideration.
Playing in a different octave may have a dramatic effect on the way a particular part sounds thus changing the dynamics in feel of a given song.

 

[logdrum]

That guy needs some talking and in some areas, telling someone they are wrong when they do not know you may have some painful consequences for him.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

Wrong choice of words by the critic. If you are copying a song written & recorded by someone else, and you play all the notes in time, but you play them differently than the writer, you are playing it “different”, not necessarily “wrong”.

I’ve learned many songs using the same notes / finger positions as the originator, but it’s not rare for me to intentionally change how I play a song that fits my playing style better than the original version. In fact, I’ve learned a few songs from tab and immediately realized there was a significantly easier way to play certain parts differently that would be easier for anyone, not just me. I don’t make myself use a specific finger position if I can play the notes required my way.

A song can be played the “wrong” way if wrong notes are played, wrong timing is used, wrong,
phrasing is used, etc.

 

[IamGroot]

In a way, this goes to the very heart of playing an instrument with overlapping pitches on the strings, where the same note can occur in several places. How you process this and how your internal navigator tells you where to be is at the very core of how most of us see the fingerboard, and are we playing NOW or are we playing as a chess player would, playing this HERE as we know we're on the way to THERE. And on and on.

This was the hill I had to climb coming from keyboards, which now seem idiotically simple in that all the notes occur only once and they're all in a straight line. Whether transcribing Chopsticks or Keith Emerson or Oscar Peterson, you can ONLY play it where they played it, as the single notes never overlap. The idea that middle C or A440 were in several places on the bass took me forever to wrap my head around, now I see it as an advantage.

I will say that I had a lesson once with the hugely accomplished Roy Vogt, chair of the Bass Dept. here in Nashville at Belmont College, past his many live and recording experience. He had me reading through the Bach Cello suites to see where my reading was, and after a certain passage, he remarked, you might want to consider playing that section from here instead of over there, your chances of playing it cleanly and correctly are much better.

I thought that spoke volumes from a highly educated and experienced player, how he saw things, and how he envisioned getting from A to B with no potholes in the road.

Bingo. Excellent post.

I learned A LOT about position playing and economy of motion from Bach. I pretty much played nothing but Bach for a long time. Same thing with Charley Parker. It took years to really get good at it, but it was worth the time.

 

[Michael Stanley 2112]

Bingo. Excellent post.

I learned A LOT about position playing and economy of motion from Bach. I pretty much played nothing but Bach for a long time. Same thing with Charley Parker. It took years to really get good at it, but it was worth the time.

"Economy of motion" (I say "movement") is something I beat into all of my students' heads! I thought I invented the term.

Now, I'm miffed!

 

[JonathanPDX]

When I play a song, I finger it in a way that works best, and is comfortable for me. I could care less if it is technically correct or not.

So, you do care about being technically correct, at least a little.