I've been playing bass for over 40 years and always thought I was pretty darn good, and then a couple years back I saw a video of Tal Wilkenfeld playing with Jeff Beck and I just curled up in the fetal position against the wall and cried ...
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Let's face it: bass guitar isn't that hard
- Thread starter Mantis Tobaggan
- Start date
I know the feeling...want a tip? Do not, I repeat do *NOT* YouTube Alain Caron's "Slam The Clown"...
YOUR music ain't that hard.What I TRY to play is.
FUSION!!
Sit down and play the bass from these tunes.
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Playing bass is easy, playing bass well is not.
I think just simply playing guitar to be much easier.
Op says he shreds at bass in one post then says he won't post his playing because everyone will think he sucks in the next
Worst humble brag ever.
Knowing when not to play, when to keep it simple and when to demonstrate your talent are all equally important parts of being a great bass player. Shredding is not the only test.
I think just simply playing guitar to be much easier.
Op says he shreds at bass in one post then says he won't post his playing because everyone will think he sucks in the next
Worst humble brag ever.
Knowing when not to play, when to keep it simple and when to demonstrate your talent are all equally important parts of being a great bass player. Shredding is not the only test.
OP: Here's a bit of my story, I hope it helps....
I learned a LOT in the first 8 years of playing. Then cruised on my abilities for a few years, so I had work damn hard to push myself out of this rut & to develop my craft.
Started reading music in a Big Band, orchestra pits, became Musical Director, recording, developing stage presence, etc. I finally had to work REALLY hard just to keep up. This was pretty daunting for me - everything used to come easy, now it didn't, I had to work my a$$ off between rehearsals/gigs to stay on top of everything.
Well, when that became easier I started playing Upright Bass, more Jazz, then singing/bass, which took me to the next level, etc.
So... look for OTHER things beside 'shredding' to measure your musical development. Spend more time on furthering your OTHER abilities. (Songwriting I'm pretty average at, but am a good collaborator to getting it to finished product).
There's ALWAYS something new to learn if you choose to stretch yourself. You can contribute soooo much more to the band overall than just solid 8th notes.
I learned a LOT in the first 8 years of playing. Then cruised on my abilities for a few years, so I had work damn hard to push myself out of this rut & to develop my craft.
Started reading music in a Big Band, orchestra pits, became Musical Director, recording, developing stage presence, etc. I finally had to work REALLY hard just to keep up. This was pretty daunting for me - everything used to come easy, now it didn't, I had to work my a$$ off between rehearsals/gigs to stay on top of everything.
Well, when that became easier I started playing Upright Bass, more Jazz, then singing/bass, which took me to the next level, etc.
So... look for OTHER things beside 'shredding' to measure your musical development. Spend more time on furthering your OTHER abilities. (Songwriting I'm pretty average at, but am a good collaborator to getting it to finished product).
There's ALWAYS something new to learn if you choose to stretch yourself. You can contribute soooo much more to the band overall than just solid 8th notes.
Listen to Macca on "I want You (She's so Heavy)". Nothing out of the ordinary, just the usual hammer-ons, pull-offs, bends, runs of various lengths, slides, some shredding (before there even was shredding), some 10 fret per second glissandos, and lots of other things that really aren't that hard.
Everything is easy, mastering is not. IMHO, vocals are the most difficult and rare talent in a band. Finding someone that sounds like the album without using all the processing that is on the album is like winning the lottery.
I just said that to that dude bc he was implying that my bass playing must be simple. I dont think i suck or i would be saying i think bass playing is easy. Im not bragging but i dont think i suck. Also you can listen to my bands demo in my sig.
- Oct 18, 2012
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My feeling is that everybody has strengths and weaknesses. What is difficult for some people is easy for others. I know incredible guitar players who cannot play bass at all and have expressed frustration at their inability to do so. They have often asked me how I can play bass so effortlessly and then switch to guitar. I also know great bass players who cannot play guitar. I also know several people who can play multiple instruments. I play bass, guitar and keys. Bass came the most naturally to me. I know a keyboard player who plays trumpet and another who also plays sax and flute. I know a great guitar player who can also bass, drums, keys, sax, flute, harmonica and fiddle. He plays all of them well enough to play in gigging bands and does a lot of studio work.
It also depends on the type of player you aspire to be. If all want to do is bang away on on the root, then I guess bass is easy, but if you want to do more and strive to really understand your instrument, you will find that bass is no easier than most other instruments.
I look at musicians the same way I look at athletes. For some, playing baseball, hockey, football, etc seems to come naturally. They have the raw ability which they then hone through years of practice. Some have to work very hard just to make the team and for others it seems to come easily. Most great athletes do not see themselves as doing anything special. Playing an instrument is no different.
It also depends on the type of player you aspire to be. If all want to do is bang away on on the root, then I guess bass is easy, but if you want to do more and strive to really understand your instrument, you will find that bass is no easier than most other instruments.
I look at musicians the same way I look at athletes. For some, playing baseball, hockey, football, etc seems to come naturally. They have the raw ability which they then hone through years of practice. Some have to work very hard just to make the team and for others it seems to come easily. Most great athletes do not see themselves as doing anything special. Playing an instrument is no different.
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So flippin' true.
I would say that getting started on bass is much easier than guitar. Being really good at it is every bit as hard.
You should hear the rest of the album, it's just as amazing, this is the reason why I love metal
Bass is easy until you are forced to record to a click track and have your tracks isolated.Simple stuff isn't always as simple if you're talking about perfect timing, perfect dynamic for every note, and no mistakes or extra noise.
This. I thought I was pretty good being able to keep up with Steve Harris gallops, until the day I plugged into an envelope filter and found out just how much my playing touch was all over the place.
I just think if you don't question your ability then you can't Progress as a musician. OP It's great to have all that confidence. I have it too. I played Zeppelin II in its entirety during my first week with my bass some 37 years ago. That's a curse because it made me ignore learning important Theory. I can play almost anything by ear but I couldn't tell you the "Science" behind it to save my life. I also can't slap too well so am I even considered a fair bass player? If you are getting everything your heart desires from your bass playing then you truly are great i n my book.
Eeerrrr...I'm not sure SanDiegoHarry's comment was complimentary...You should hear the rest of the album, it's just as amazing, this is the reason why I love metal
I'll give that band props for their instrumental abilities, even though I am not a huge fan of (extreme?) metal such as this. But I will never, for the life of me, be able to see the appeal of this type of, uh, "singing"...
if you've been playing an instrument for 22 years odds are you don't think it's that big a deal. that's human nature i think.
yup!!!!
30yrs plus and i'm still learning every faucet of my basses and every nuance of tone.
EASY MY BUTT
I've only been playing for 21 years now, but couldn't agree more!! I'm always finding something or other I've been overlooking, not to mention techniques or other stuff you already know that you either wanna improve or at least maintain, in addition to constantly learning new material for gigs!!
So really the way I see it , you got "takin care of business" or gigs, new material, etc.. Then other aspects that really help you grow and make the band shine, like improving technique, stylistic feel things for different genres, improving my timing(you can always improve this aspect IMO)... The more I learn the less I know
Really, if I ever feel its all too easy I have to challenge myself one way or another, otherwise your playing gets stagnant!! Just because 98% of my playing is simple doesn't mean my practice routine is either, and I wouldn't want it any other way
Not once in 45 years have I apologized for my choice of instrument or thought it's only 4(recently 5) strings. At 58 still playing 3 gigs this past weekend and learning every day
If you embarrassed by it probably time to find another hobby
If you embarrassed by it probably time to find another hobby
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