Playing a bass cover philosophy

[MrLenny1]

I always go for economy of motion. There are many positions you can use
that are very helpful to know the neck. Try learning a bass line in 3 different positions.

 

[rtslinger]

• Play the best hand position that gets you to the next progression efficiently is all I can add.

 

[turf3]

McCartney probably played it however it was most convenient to play it. Across the neck, up and down the G, whatever.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I am choosing to play some bass parts of songs for my own pleasure against the original recordings. I have access to some excellent tutorials that sound perfect. However each pro transcriber/demonstrator chooses to play the same notes in various ways on the neck. I am looking at Lady Madonna right now. Some play it more on the bass most strings and up the neck, while others play more vertically and some combined the two. Are there any principles around choosing how to arrange notes of a cover in general or is it all just personal preference of hand movement. Obviously higher strings will have a lighter timbre, but to my listening I can't hear any significant difference. Thoughts?

I would imagine there would be a timbre change depending on which strings and which frets are used if recorded and reviewed. I also understand that getting a sound as close to the original as they can brings joy to some.

Two two comments. it is very difficult to come up with a dead on duplication of a tone as most do not have the equipment used in the production of that sound. Your tone is also out of contex without the on the instruments.

The second it play it where you are most comfortable so you can play the notes as precisely as you can. This is way more important than exact tone match.

Once you start playing with other musicians, if you aren’t already, when the notes start flying I doubt very much you will notice a difference.

 

[Pings Bass]

If it doesn't matter why is it always a topic of conversation? Of course it matters - what sort of musician doesn't care about the music they produce and doesn't consider how they go about it to achieve the best possible outcome? And who are any of us to presume that individuals in our audiences will notice or cannot hear/recognise the efforts put in by the players to understand how the quality of their playing effects the music? IMHO "phoning it in" shows disrespect for the audience. IME a "phoned in" performance is easy to spot and the disrespect soon becomes mutual. I'm not talking about note-for-note reproductions here, more about presenting your own interpretation and performance with integrity and musical purpose.

Musicality and musicianship matter. Again: the right notes and articulation, in time and in tune.

If playing the notes in the same position a self-taught bloke might have played them 60 years ago concerns you, by all means, do it. But please don't conflate that with musicality and musicianship.

 

[mdlewis]

I fret over this. Pun intended. But I think about it a lot. My technique is imperfect - when I play a passage using different strings, the sound of different strings fretted at different positions changes the timbre, AND there is also a significant contribution from my technique as I'm using different fingers in different hand positions to hit the notes. Even if hit the same notes using different fingers, it sounds different to me.

What I do when I'm really trying to nail this, which is only sometimes, is to record a passage played different ways and listen to them extensively. Sometimes I can't tell the difference on playback, but most times I can. I pick the one that sounds best to me and if it's not an easy one to play, a spend time in the woodshed getting it presentable.

If you have a deep pedal board, some of the differences might be less. Unlike other's experience, though, I have had band leaders express a marked preference for a passage being played in a certain way at a certain position.

 

[SteveCS]

Musicality and musicianship matter. Again: the right notes and articulation, in time and in tune.

If playing the notes in the same position a self-taught bloke might have played them 60 years ago concerns you, by all means, do it. But please don't conflate that with musicality and musicianship.

I'm absolutely not conflating them - usually it is easy to distinguish rote performances. How "some self-taught bloke" played something 60 years ago doesn't concern me, but making a part coherent and 'musical' does. Usually that means prioritising the things you mention - articulation, intonation and timing - along with other note qualities, over convenience and 'economy of motion'. I think we are saying the same thing here

 

[/\/\3phist0]

My take is this: As long as your rendition sounds musical and does not somehow violate the spirit of the song, anything goes. If you want to get extra-experimental, that’s what side projects are for.

That having been said, since neither you nor I have ANY stake in the royalties accruing to the covers we play, neither do we have any stake in delivering them note-perfect. But we DO have to be true to them as far as giving a compelling, listenable, coherent reading of them, or else few will recognize or feel what we’re bringing.

Not to put too fine a point on it, the original artists rarely play their popular songs with note-for-note fidelity, but they would be foolish to play them in ways that are not instantly recognizable.

A song and/or performance can be outstanding without being a clone of its source material. That’s what makes a performance. Ya always gotta remember that this is showbiz.

And the “original artist” may often not have been the player who recorded the line anyways.

 

[Photonic]

Practicing it several ways will give you more versatile technique in the long run, plus help you form your own opinion about how you prefer to play.

Here's something I think about when working through difficult passages slowly. Each note that you play can set you up for the next note. If you choose the right setups, then your shifts can be more fluid and graceful. The whole thing will sound smoother and more consistent. For instance you can often avoid the need for big jumps.

My son's cello teacher used to challenge him by saying: "You can choose any fingering you want, so long as you can justify it."

LOVE This!

 

[Photonic]

This discussion has been really helpful for me and I so appreciate the input.