MalColm is a very prolific TB poster. Even if nobody posts anything - Malcolm would post something.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Old Time Rock and Roll - song
- Thread starter SwitchGear
- Start date
MalColm is a very prolific TB poster. Even if nobody posts anything - Malcolm would post something.
In chorus, the bass plays a simple but very melodious line.
Just a few bars from it.
https://www.talkbass.com/attachment...1/?temp_hash=2ce3e731e813bf68ef85b3257c30e314
I'm still trying to understand some of my TB colleagues' ideas about playing this simple but catchy bass line.
First of all - it's not some boogie woogie rhythmic feel. The bass line notes/contour/concept are/is AGAINST those arpeggiated boogie woogie bass lines but so many TB members are promoting that idea.
Why?
Second.
I doubt that my dear TB members are paying any attention when a bass line plays that simple "country bass" pattern but without the 5th.
Just the root with the same rhythmic pattern.
One could hear those differences by listening to Tom Petty's songs.
Third.
What is wrong by playing the ROOTS if it sounds good, if people are dancing, if that's what the song requires, etc...?
Is it a sign of underachievement to play the roots with a proper groove/feel?
During Chorus, the bass line becomes melodic (lots of using that 6th).
What's wrong playing the original bass line even at some wedding receptions?
First of all - it's not some boogie woogie rhythmic feel. The bass line notes/contour/concept are/is AGAINST those arpeggiated boogie woogie bass lines but so many TB members are promoting that idea.
Why?
Second.
I doubt that my dear TB members are paying any attention when a bass line plays that simple "country bass" pattern but without the 5th.
Just the root with the same rhythmic pattern.
One could hear those differences by listening to Tom Petty's songs.
Third.
What is wrong by playing the ROOTS if it sounds good, if people are dancing, if that's what the song requires, etc...?
Is it a sign of underachievement to play the roots with a proper groove/feel?
During Chorus, the bass line becomes melodic (lots of using that 6th).
What's wrong playing the original bass line even at some wedding receptions?
I will never, ever play something like the recording. I took a pledge, and they gave me the tie-dye shirt. Vive la resistence!!
Would you play one of the most "grooving" bass line (and very simple, root-based) from the Pretenders's Don't get me wrong as some boogie-woogie "all-over the place" bass line?
(P.S. No wonder, we have the smartest bass players discussing the importance of "quartertones" in Oriental Music at some super Elite, "Ask a Pro" forums that gives NOTHING to the bass players, just "windy air conditions".
I've gotta think she's joshing. Surely her ego cannot be so starved for attention that she'd sabotage a song to give it a stroke.
Never say never.
Let's change the "scenery" - Live
P.S. I just wonder how many of my dear TB members would "dislike" playing the root and start boogie-woogie?
I don't think boogie woogie would work for that song (but I'd probably resist playing this as a regular set item).
I'm just trying to understand something.
How many of my TB colleagues would start playing additional notes, passages, fills, etc... if they know that there is a good, serious bass player in the audience?
(Playing those "needed" roots is so boring.)
How many of my TB colleagues would start playing additional notes, passages, fills, etc... if they know that there is a good, serious bass player in the audience?
(Playing those "needed" roots is so boring.)
I've found that playing behind the beat slightly, using syncopation and staying off the one help give the song the movement I think OP is describing it can lack at times. I've found a walking line can either drag the rest of the tune down a little or promote a tempo speed up by the other members...it really is one of those songs where note duration can make or break it and what not to play is of equal importance.
If we're giving 3 pages of thread to 'Old Time Rock and Roll', I hope 'Natural Science' gets at least 8, or 9...
If there was a serious bass player in the audience I would expect them to respect the importance of simplicity in a song like this and that riffing all over it would be destructive.
Yes; therefore, what's the need to "improve" a close-to-perfect bass line.
Not me. I prepare a part because it's the best that I can bring to song. Then I play it.
If it means playing boring quarter notes or even whole notes (on occasion), then that's what it is.
If I was concerned about what a "serious" bass player thinks, I'd hope they would understand that it's usually not about being flashy. If not, then they're not "serious".
I think there is a span in the development of any musician
where they gain enough expertise and confidence
to decide that some material is 'beneath them'
The longer in the tooth I get the more I find that
music I would once have dismissed as too simple
goes deeper than I first realized
especially once you get past thinking only of your own pitches and rhythms.
and opportunities for expression , interpretation and owning my performance
are diminished not by the material but my own attitude
where they gain enough expertise and confidence
to decide that some material is 'beneath them'
The longer in the tooth I get the more I find that
music I would once have dismissed as too simple
goes deeper than I first realized
especially once you get past thinking only of your own pitches and rhythms.
and opportunities for expression , interpretation and owning my performance
are diminished not by the material but my own attitude
Wow, a pledge and a shirt and stuff! Very impressive.
I don't because I'm too lazy and with the thought that I'll probably come up with something at least as good as what's on the record. You know; didn't study, got a B+ anyway.
I'd perform the opposite stunt and get the job done by playing as few notes as possible. Probably can't play more notes than that guy but I'll bet I can play less than he can and still make it good. It's just a different conceit, that's all.
Here is my point about a "boring" bass line that sounds so perfect for that particular song, its arrangement, etc...
Only inexperienced, less knowledgeable, less confident, etc... beginner bass players think that adding more notes would "improve" the bass line and would show "how good that bass player is".
Not in my world.
I could bet that 98% of TB members would not describe or explain WHY at this or that particular song - let's say from Tom Petty's repertoire - the bass player plays that "country bass pattern" only by using the roots.
Music is NOT some "it's me, me, mini me - bassist who can play a lot of notes". The bass line is a part of the well-crafted song's arrangement, which starts with Mood, Character, Attitude, etc...
Let's go further.
In my world, even the quarter note from the bass line does NOT last exactly as one quarter. There are SO many nuances.
Only some "bass players" hear and enjoy the bass line as something SEPARATE from the song, something that MUST show the bass players technique(?), desire to impress another "similar" bass player?
When I play that simple root-based bass line, I have lots of requirements, starting with my bass' tone, character, its place in the overall band's frequency spectrum (which could affect my tone, mood).
What about that necessary "tightness" with the drummer, other rhythm group musicians.
What about the band's overall DYNAMICS???
What about those small/tiny "tutti" with the other instrument/s or with the drum part, similar accents - clips - that shows me, "Yes, we have a Band."
And so on...
It's like we are selling the final product that is READY to be heard.
We are not selling "look at me - the bass player. I can twist, I can do this and that".
In short.
What is the need to learn the bass guitar, Music Theory, Harmony, Bass part in contemporary music if that bass player cannot figure out the basic bass guitar foundation and requirements of the STYLE, Genre, etc...
There are LOTS of times when the bass guitar exhibits "cool" patterns, riffs, but there are lots of times when the bass guitar has some different requirements.
Now, let's say I stopped at some bar where a band is playing. Just three musicians - no big names, no Grammy awards, or even stupid statements at the Grammy awards...
Here is a very recognizable song, "Black Hole Sun".
Let's listen to the bass (Double) line, let's see the development of that bass line (including the whole band), see the variations of that bass line, band's dynamics, etc...
In this case, I would say, "COOL", I like your added notes, I like your idea/s.
Please be advised, it's a long song with all that development.
Here is a very recognizable song, "Black Hole Sun".
Let's listen to the bass (Double) line, let's see the development of that bass line (including the whole band), see the variations of that bass line, band's dynamics, etc...
In this case, I would say, "COOL", I like your added notes, I like your idea/s.
Please be advised, it's a long song with all that development.
