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Losing respect for players

Depth_Charge

Depth_Charge

Sep 13, 2006
4,143
182
Perth, Western Australia
#1
My band asked me to play a song I've secretly loved since hearing it, and always imagined would be a difficult bassline to play - Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love".

They said let's just jam it now, so I played a disgusting driving roots version while they yelled out the changes :)

I went home expecting to struggle, but within a day I can pretty much jam along to the recording and I think within the week I'll have it nailed.

My wife mentioned I picked that up quick, and I caught myself telling her that in my opinion that line wouldn't have taken long for the Queen bassist to throw together and was probably "bread and butter" stuff for someone of his calibre.

I didn't mean to diss the guy, but my wife thought it sounded like it. I kept saying "Well, its a great line, it does the job and more, I just think the tricks in there are a little common, I don't mean to diss him, it's just more basic than I expected".

I suppose I already had my own expectations set but has anyone else approached learning songs thinking they would be a challenge, only to be bowled over how easy they were in hindsight?
 
#2
Nothing wrong with that bass line and no need to lose respect for him.

It's just basic blues patterns played in a rock style. It's simplicity that makes a song like that work. I've never played that song and had to find it on youtube. I've probably played that same bass line in quite a few different songs, just with different chord progressions.

Not too mention, countless bassist/bands have done the same thing. They will create a song in a particular style and the bassist will play a traditional (easy) bass line to keep the correct feel of the song. Which is what it's really all about.

I was never a big Queen fan, but I think he is capable of doing more. In this case he did what was true to the song.
 
#3
John Deacon's a great bass player. He could've probably done something different in that song, but IMHO simplicity is the key and it fit perfectly. It's a great bass line and I can't think of anything that would have fit better especially after years of hearing it the way it is.
 
#4
Queen wasn't about John Deacon, was it?

It was about Freddy Mercury and the songs, then maybe Brian May, and then those other two guys. Most people couldn't pick them out of a line up, never mind remember their names.

Queen is awesome, and I think that his playing is great, very supportive. On occasion, he played something with a bit panache, but generally he served the songs and the sound. My hat is off to him.

Getting back to your original question, I am a better than average player, but am no virtuoso and I can easily play 98% of the music I hear. I have only said "I can't play that" in my cover band once, and it was a Primus tune (and I don't have a 6 string fretless, lol so there was no point in trying). Rock bass is not terribly challenging *OVERALL* once you hit a certain level, but if you look for difficult or unplayable stuff, it's certainly out there.

IMHO! :D
 
#7
Depth_Charge said:
My band asked me to play a song I've secretly loved since hearing it, and always imagined would be a difficult bassline to play - Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love".

They said let's just jam it now, so I played a disgusting driving roots version while they yelled out the changes :)

I went home expecting to struggle, but within a day I can pretty much jam along to the recording and I think within the week I'll have it nailed.

My wife mentioned I picked that up quick, and I caught myself telling her that in my opinion that line wouldn't have taken long for the Queen bassist to throw together and was probably "bread and butter" stuff for someone of his calibre.

I didn't mean to diss the guy, but my wife thought it sounded like it. I kept saying "Well, its a great line, it does the job and more, I just think the tricks in there are a little common, I don't mean to diss him, it's just more basic than I expected".

I suppose I already had my own expectations set but has anyone else approached learning songs thinking they would be a challenge, only to be bowled over how easy they were in hindsight?
Click to expand...

learning a hit song is -way- different from composing a hit song.
 
#8
I didn't mean to offend anyone, and I promise to read up on John Deacon, honest! :)

I've always liked Queen, don't get me wrong! Their songs have stood the test of time, and the basslines stand out well on their own.

They are one of those bands I've been warned against covering, like Fleetwood Mac or The Rolling Stones.

So to me, there was a stigma attached to learning and playing it, and I assumed it would be difficult. Don't get me wrong, I think it's an excellent line I just thought it was a little simple. . .and caught myself sounding condescending when it wasn't intentional.
 
#11
IMO, the difficulty of a song or line has little to do with respecting the person who created it. In addition to "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", consider these other John Deacon basslines:

Another One Bites the Dust
Under Pressure
Dragon Attack


There's not much difficult about any of those and (to me) they all have that "I should have thought of that" quality. But really, I wish I could come up with something remotely close to any of those...just once.

And that's reason to have more respect for him.
 
#12
Depth_Charge said:
My band asked me to play a song I've secretly loved since hearing it, and always imagined would be a difficult bassline to play - Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love".

They said let's just jam it now, so I played a disgusting driving roots version while they yelled out the changes :)

I went home expecting to struggle, but within a day I can pretty much jam along to the recording and I think within the week I'll have it nailed.

My wife mentioned I picked that up quick, and I caught myself telling her that in my opinion that line wouldn't have taken long for the Queen bassist to throw together and was probably "bread and butter" stuff for someone of his calibre.

I didn't mean to diss the guy, but my wife thought it sounded like it. I kept saying "Well, its a great line, it does the job and more, I just think the tricks in there are a little common, I don't mean to diss him, it's just more basic than I expected".

I suppose I already had my own expectations set but has anyone else approached learning songs thinking they would be a challenge, only to be bowled over how easy they were in hindsight?
Click to expand...
Arpeggios rule. Seriously, bass lines don't have to be difficult at all to be good. In pop/rock they're usually pretty easy to learn. It's supposed to support the song. It's funny, when I learn a new bass line, I automatically play it five frets up on the fretboard using a five string. Later on, I'll see how they did it on the four-string, and it's always a lot easier ... you know, tons of open strings and never higher than the fourth fret.
 
#13
Depth_Charge said:
I didn't mean to offend anyone, and I promise to read up on John Deacon, honest! :)

I've always liked Queen, don't get me wrong! Their songs have stood the test of time, and the basslines stand out well on their own.

They are one of those bands I've been warned against covering....
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure the reason that people warn against covering Queen songs is not the basslines which are often very simple, but rather Freddie mercury's unique vocal style and his impressive range and technique!

Not many vocalists have the skills required and will inevitably suffer by comparison!
 
#16
driver800 said:
Under Pressure
Dragon Attack
Click to expand...

+1 on both of those. John Deacon is a solid bassist, if not flashy. Not a bad songwriter either. Roger Taylor, the drummer (how could you forget him?), wrote many songs as well as singing background vocals -- mostly the high range.

Queen is one of my favorite bands of all time, but "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is written in a 50's rock style, and thus the simple yet effective bass line. Pick up The Game sometime and listen to the whole album. "Coming Soon", "Dragon Attack", and "Don't Try Suicide" are some of my faves from that one.
 
#17
Re: John Deacon's line's with respect to Queen's songs: One of Queen's many musical identities includes being rather "campy". Sometimes the best device to use to deliver campy material the way it is meant to be delivered is being very literal and not "arting it up" in some misguided sense of being "cool" or playing a more "challening" part - especially with the idea that some other bass player out there my listen to what you do and think less of you for it.

Now if you are not a fan of "campy" material, then I can understand why such an obviously simplistic line would cause you to feel as you do. But as a fan of Queen, partly because of their amazing ability to ROCK LIKE NO OTHER and partly because to me they demonstrate a level of musical intelligence marked by the ability to reference many musical styles, concepts of musical humor, kitsch, and camp - I find what he does to be right on the money and worthy of respect.
 
#18
Depth_Charge said:
I suppose I already had my own expectations set but has anyone else approached learning songs thinking they would be a challenge, only to be bowled over how easy they were in hindsight?
Click to expand...

That's a phenomenon that happens anytime I start learning songs on a player-specific basis. Not in terms of "losing respect" for players, but rather in terms of how easy certain songs are in hindsight.

A lot of musicians tend to resort to a few tried-and-true tricks and phrases; these phrases are what makes them unique, but it's also what ties all of their playing together. I find that once I have those basic elements and patterns for that player worked out, the rest of that artist's repertoire becomes progressively easier to learn.
 
#19
john turner said:
learning a hit song is -way- different from composing a hit song.
Click to expand...

I can't remember off the top of my head who it was that was interviewed in Bass Player, and told a story about learning the bass lines to all these great 70's funk tunes and their older brother saying, "Great, you've proven you can play great lines, now let's see if you can create one." Or something along those lines - maybe Victor Wooten????
 
#20
I don't mind that "campy" style of music as such. It just wasn't cool among my circle of influence when I was learning to play music on the bass.

I like ??'s "Rock Around The Clock", Meatloaf's "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" "Greased Lightning and "You're The One That I Want" from the Grease movie etc. To me, these guys knew what they were doing and did it well, same as Queen, so I assumed it would be hard and being the lazy little ****** I was back then, I avoided learning them.

I still admired Cliff Burton for nigh on 7 years whilst accurately spitting out most of his lines and improvisations. It wasn't until I started expanding my horizons that my ideas levelled out a little more.
 

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