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No one listens to the bass player

#161
I've found people feel like I'm assigning them work, "sure it's easy for you to say lets learn these new things/songs, you're on bass, it'll take ten minutes."

These days, I quickly decide what kind of band it is then either make suggestions or don't. One of my favorite bands/gigs is one where I will not be listened to, they wouldn't do one of my songs to put out an orphanage fire, and the lead singer thinks I'm deaf so she really shouldn't care what I say anyway. But I know that going in. They are fun interesting people who work hard and put on a good show. If that is my expectation, I have no reason to be upset.
 
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#163
I'll preface my reply with the fact that I've only been playing guitar about 5 years and bass only about 18 months. About a year ago I joined a blues group made up of very experienced musicians. The drummer had degrees in music theory and performance and had no patience whatsoever with anyone he deemed "less" than him, so I caught most of his crap. I let it affect how much input I gave and even my bass playing since any mistake would earn me the stare of death or a verbal tirade. Fast forward about 6 months: the drummer was fired because no one in the band wanted to put up with his attitude. Once again, we now have a group of experienced, knowledgeable musicians, but now we are also a "family". So, as the least experience musician, how do I get the various members to listen to me?
1. I come to practice prepared.
2. I know the material.
3. I have a set list from which I can give the group the next song and the key.
4. I take notes on any changes we've made to each song, I put them into my iPad (yes, we use IPads), forward the charts to anyone who wants them, and, at practice, I make sure we do the song the way we agreed upon previously.

No, I am not the band leader. But by being prepared I have gone from being low man on the totem pole (is that still politically correct?) to being the guy that they look to for keeping things on track. Sometimes a good work ethic will make up for what a guy lacks in talent and/or experience.
 
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#165
Many bands are built on egos, While ego is important & not a bad thing left unchecked it is detrimental to everyone involved.

Out of the basement and onto the local bar stage the most ostentatious band members (Singers, guitarists) can often display a faux superior attitude based on nothing more than their own self-promotion.
Bassists are often in the background, the "engine room" and are more concerned with getting it right rather than their own wish fulfillment.

Notice how a high % of truly great players are very humble, They may be very specific about things but they know what works and what it takes to be successful.. They have nothing to prove.
The best way for a bassist to get cover band respect IMHO is to sing also, Backgrounds or whatever.. If you don't start to.. Insist upon it..

Once you do that you will be transported to the front lines of the songs, You will have more input as note choice is crucial, From there you can begin to adjust the rest of the band.
 
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#166
I’m a beginner who mostly played drum set, no learning chords except when you don’t get hired because you can’t play vibes. It does seem like it’s first of all but coming in second is usually the bass player. I also play trumpet and trombone,but more are aware of chords as melodic/harmonic music . I am learning bass now and after a humiliating experience after my wiseass mates asked me to play Steely Dan songs (no music just chords where we don’t play the root a lot so you can imagine how I did, lol. Payin’ dues I guess. But another reason I believe it is important for some if probably not all should learn chords is the way this thorough knowledge can lead to some of the greatest music on earth from the bass. Sting comes to mind right now but I’m sure you can think of others along with it’d probably be fun to do if you’re hunkered down in your house like most of us except to go to Costco to buy toilet paper, lol. Lots of time to learn craft is a side benefit imo.
 
#167
Unfortunately some(amateur) musicians have less respect for the role of a bass player. The reality is that bass players tend to be smart, supportive, and knowledgeable about music. The good news is that there are many musicians that have a whole lot of respect for what we do and recognize our worth. You just need to find those people and make a point of playing with them. My best musical experiences have been with people that let me express myself in the music, put my mark on it, and listen/react to what i am putting down. My worst musical experiences tend to be folks who want me to be a backing track.
 
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#169
In the last 25 years I've been in 3 bands with overlapping members.

How do I get respect so I guarantee I get listened to? Own and operate the PA and lights.

Seems weird but the fact that I make all the pieces work just lends an unintended credibility to my overall input. The fact that I'm the bass player doesn't weigh into my musical input.
 
#171
My band usually ignores me and haze me with the "just the bassist attitude". I always wondered where it came from. Its not like its the 1980's anymore. But I have learned to not care about it. I still can have input on a song or two with a riff here and there. And once in a blood moon they like a song I made.

They want me to write 90% of the lyrics. And I choose the setlist for gigs. So Im fine!
 
#172
Sapatown said:
My band usually ignores me and haze me with the "just the bassist attitude". I always wondered where it came from. Its not like its the 1980's anymore. But I have learned to not care about it. I still can have input on a song or two with a riff here and there. And once in a blood moon they like a song I made.

They want me to write 90% of the lyrics. And I choose the setlist for gigs. So Im fine!
Click to expand...

I suspect some of the jokes and hazing that goes on happens just because people don't know what else to say/find being witty and original difficult. It's the same reason people in a bar will tell "taxi" when they hear a glass break or yell "run Forrest run!" At someone sprinting to catch a bus.

They may even be aware of how "basic" this humour is but simply do it because they believe it's expected of them. Some people are witty and empathetic and brave enough to say things worth saying, some people aren't but are humble enough to know they should listen rather than speak. Sometimes hazing can be done from love, but I suspect sometimes it's a sign of social skills in need of improvment.
 
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#173
My guitar player is honestly very good at most things but has a similar approach by blaming me at times when things don't sound right. On Crazy Little Thing Called Love, he would never play the triplets correctly before the descending line into the second verse. Most of the time he would just lay out and let me play it but always complained that I wasn't playing it right because he couldn't match what I was playing. This went on for a year probably and finally he wanted us to get it right and allowed me to explain the timing and showed him how it should be played. He finally listened to me but it only took a year.
 
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