Phil Lesh imitation playbook

[Pocket4]

Hey, against my better judgment I am covering several Dead songs this weekend. Most of what what he does seems pretty clear to understand. To me, it's running up and back to the octave a lot, but are there some hacks that might help?

 

[Pocket4]

I see the bassmusician magazine "welcome to the Phil zone" and it's kind of strung out and trippy, so I'm just adding that this inquiry isn't like taking a vitamin. But is there some vitamin A?

 

[rickdog]

I like to describe the Dead by saying that they never played the song, actually, they defined the song by playing all around it. Improvisation is essential, as is listening to everyone else's improvisation and playing off of it.

If you have a chance to listen to a few different recordings of the Dead songs you're covering, do so! It will become clearer what are the fundamental elements of the song and what is improvisation on that theme.

What songs are you covering?

 

[Pat Harris]

Depending on what Dead tunes you're performing, you actually CAN play them like a traditional bassist and they'll still sound great.

He's not really dissimilar from James Jamerson on many songs (during the songs themselves) through the 70s.

A BIG Phil thing is to save the low notes. Perhaps as a rule of thumb, try to keep things above the open A string, and keep your duration of each note short. There's very much a space between every note Phil plays. Beyond that, have fun with it, and don't overthink it.