Playing the Line As Written (poll)

[PaulJSmith]

My best friend and I have been playing together since 1982. We've always had the ability to anticipate the other's intentions and feed off of it. The one thing we have always been good at is the ability to morph pretty much any cover song into a Rush song, then back to the original song. We had a drummer for several years who was keen to pick up on those moments as well. The singer would usually just shake his head and go have a seat until we returned to the original tune. However, we never had a crowd that didn't absolutely love it. Most times, it was just expected of us. Sometimes it was a bass line, sometimes a chord progression, sometimes a rhythm. Didn't matter the trigger. When it happened, it happened.

We never held anything as "sacred" in a cover band. Most artists don't even do that with their own music (Rush did a lot of goofy stuff live with their music). So long as the audience is enjoying what you're doing, that's all that really matters.

 

[BurtMacklinFBI]

For me it depends on the band and how we're approaching the song. For a pretty straight ahead faithful cover I might drop a lick of my own in here or there, but for the most part I stick to the original line. I do like playing covers in entirely different styles, though, so if it makes sense in that context to go in a totally different direction then I'll go with that.

 

[9mmMike]

It's a personal preference thing and has a lot to do with the tolerances of your band mates and audiences.

Personally, I try never to futz with a well-crafted line, especially one that is easily identifiable or a linchpin for the song. Indeed, playing a lot of these pop bass lines note-for-note (to the extent possible) is a real learning opportunity that I still enjoy after 40+ years of playing covers. Many times, restraint and consistency are what made the line good and helped sell millions of recordings. I like practicing restraint and that approach has served me (and the bands I've played in) very well.

Also, when I nail a bass line from a pop hit as-recorded, no one can accuse me of the things in the OP. I won't be getting stink eye from band mates or audience members or risk muddling things up with my "creativity."

There are exceptions, and I sometimes do a little additive or subtractive editing depending on the song and tolerances, but "I'll Take You There" is such a beautifully composed line and so central to the strength of the tune, I'd probably learn it as-recorded and take very few, if any, liberties.

Even though I'm a proficient slapper, I tend not to slap songs that weren't recorded that way, and when I hear a bass player do that it almost always wrinkles my nose. It usually seems more an indulgence than an improvement.

Perfect answer by post #3.

 

[bolophonic]

Each one of them were playing the best line they could invent to go along with the other parts that were being played. We are not standing next to John Lennon or Bernie Worrell, so it might make sense to play something that fits better to the other players' we are playing the song with.
Further, those guys you mentioned might have played the song 10 different ways and the best track was chosen by the producer during mix down.
I think it's ridiculous for you to put these guys on such a pedestal. They were just playing bass, just like you or me.

I think you might be taking my post a LOT more seriously than it was intended.

 

[Wesley R]

I play as close to it as my meager talents allow, tempered by the band, hell hole, boxing ring, drunk fest we are playing.

 

[pcake]

My best friend and I have been playing together since 1982. We've always had the ability to anticipate the other's intentions and feed off of it. The one thing we have always been good at is the ability to morph pretty much any cover song into a Rush song, then back to the original song. We had a drummer for several years who was keen to pick up on those moments as well. The singer would usually just shake his head and go have a seat until we returned to the original tune. However, we never had a crowd that didn't absolutely love it. Most times, it was just expected of us. Sometimes it was a bass line, sometimes a chord progression, sometimes a rhythm. Didn't matter the trigger. When it happened, it happened.

We never held anything as "sacred" in a cover band. Most artists don't even do that with their own music (Rush did a lot of goofy stuff live with their music). So long as the audience is enjoying what you're doing, that's all that really matters.

you morph your songs to rush and back? that sounds really interesting - got any videos or clips of that online?

 

[Chrisk-K]

Iconic basslines must be played as written. No one should reinterpret the bassline of, say, Something.

 

[bucephylus]

The answer to the OP 100% depends on the gig and goes to the heart of the cultural richness that makes American popular music such a treasure as an art form.

European influence is to play music as high art (with some exceptions e.g. Gypsy Music). So, for sure, if the gig is Beethoven's 6th with an orchestra, you can be sure that you are trying to play EXACTLY and PRECISELY what the composer wrote. Even The Storm. LOL.

African influence is that music is a language to be applied as appropriate to the situation of the moment. In other words, whatever you are playing, it should carry your message and thoughts at the moment. Ergo, never played exactly the same way twice.

Oil and water. The magic happens when we break down the boundaries and draw from the best of both. And, that is American Popular Music.

As one example, although Jamerson's studio line on What's Going On is practically a bass anthem; when you listen to the few live performances extant, JJ is playing lines that differ significantly. So, that is part of the deal.

But, there are some other practical considerations. One common situation is gigging with a cover band with an extensive set list and little time for rehearsal. In that kind of situation, playing lines close to the recorded reference can help cue the other players for their parts.

So, ultimately, the bass player needs to make wise decisions as to how to balance all of these possibilities to obtain the most effective ensemble performance. The "answer" is not one approach or the other. It is mastering all of the approaches and using a best read on the situation to provide the most effective part.

 

[rufus.K]

The answer to the OP 100% depends on the gig and goes to the heart of the cultural richness that makes American popular music such a treasure as an art form.

European influence is to play music as high art (with some exceptions e.g. Gypsy Music). So, for sure, if the gig is Beethoven's 6th with an orchestra, you can be sure that you are trying to play EXACTLY and PRECISELY what the composer wrote. Even The Storm. LOL.

African influence is that music is a language to be applied as appropriate to the situation of the moment. In other words, whatever you are playing, it should carry your message and thoughts at the moment. Ergo, never played exactly the same way twice.

Oil and water. The magic happens when we break down the boundaries and draw from the best of both. And, that is American Popular Music.

As one example, although Jamerson's studio line on What's Going On is practically a bass anthem; when you listen to the few live performances extant, JJ is playing lines that differ significantly. So, that is part of the deal.

But, there are some other practical considerations. One common situation is gigging with a cover band with an extensive set list and little time for rehearsal. In that kind of situation, playing lines close to the recorded reference can help cue the other players for their parts.

So, ultimately, the bass player needs to make wise decisions as to how to balance all of these possibilities to obtain the most effective ensemble performance. The "answer" is not one approach or the other. It is mastering all of the approaches and using a best read on the situation to provide the most effective part.

sweet answer! I'm switching what I said before, to this.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

I play signature lines (I'll Take You There is a good example) as written, but straight ahead lines I may add my own flavor to. Imagine Roundabout without Squire's line. But then there's Mustang Sally. That has been played so many ways, you can do anything you want because the bass line doesn't identify the song.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

The answer to the OP 100% depends on the gig and goes to the heart of the cultural richness that makes American popular music such a treasure as an art form.

European influence is to play music as high art (with some exceptions e.g. Gypsy Music). So, for sure, if the gig is Beethoven's 6th with an orchestra, you can be sure that you are trying to play EXACTLY and PRECISELY what the composer wrote. Even The Storm. LOL.

African influence is that music is a language to be applied as appropriate to the situation of the moment. In other words, whatever you are playing, it should carry your message and thoughts at the moment. Ergo, never played exactly the same way twice.

Oil and water. The magic happens when we break down the boundaries and draw from the best of both. And, that is American Popular Music.

As one example, although Jamerson's studio line on What's Going On is practically a bass anthem; when you listen to the few live performances extant, JJ is playing lines that differ significantly. So, that is part of the deal.

But, there are some other practical considerations. One common situation is gigging with a cover band with an extensive set list and little time for rehearsal. In that kind of situation, playing lines close to the recorded reference can help cue the other players for their parts.

So, ultimately, the bass player needs to make wise decisions as to how to balance all of these possibilities to obtain the most effective ensemble performance. The "answer" is not one approach or the other. It is mastering all of the approaches and using a best read on the situation to provide the most effective part.

What I said, but more eloquently.

 

[bucephylus]

What I said, but more eloquently.

Yeah, Guilty as charged for not reading through the whole thread.

 

[electracoyote]

I believe that most people listening to covers are happiest when the band sounds the most like the recordings. I only know musicians who feel differently.

Profound, and true.

In my observations of audience reactions to cover bands over the decades, they seem to largely gravitate to bands that are the most accurate and faithful to the most popular hit recorded version of the songs. It's no coincidence that the most popular cover bands in every city I've lived in or visited are usually the bands where every member works hard to learn and play it as-recorded. Especially bands that play a lot of well-know dance party standards, they are the bands getting the high $$$ paydays in the sweet A rooms and private events.

Even bands that don't have the instrumentation, yet make the effort to accurately capture as many signature parts as possible, do much better than similar line ups that go with extemporaneous interpretations and spontaneous unplanned "arrangements."

Personally, the best and most commercially successful bands I've played in had a music director or band leader who regulated the rehearsals, maintained a standard for accuracy, and pointed out places where someone was taking too many liberties, reining people back in to the way the part was actually recorded.

Most of these songs are literally burned into people's heads, and they almost uniformly prefer to hear it the way they remember it. Just like a Big Mac, people seem to prefer it the way they had it the last six-million times, and they're not too keen on suddenly having a slice of avocado on it.

Like Joe said, it's generally musicians who argue (for various reasons that usually have little to do with audience satisfaction) you don't need to be so accurate to a well-known pop standard, and that audiences can't hear or discern the differences. I'm convinced audiences are smarter than some of us think. You'll rarely hear an audience member express it this way, they won't come up and articulate it between sets, but don't get lulled into a false sense of security; they hear it, and they are making judgment calls, even if subconsciously.

 

[electracoyote]

learned individually and put together on stage with no rehearsal.

One reason I love to work with musicians who don't improvise and play it as-recorded: Rehearsal time is cut down to almost nothing. A recording serves as a charted arrangement; everyone learns and plays to the arrangement and the song sounds great almost immediately. The times I've been in those kinds of bands were the most enjoyable, productive, and commercially successful. The only thing we really needed to rehearse were the vocals, and mainly to divide up and assign parts for BGV and harmonies.

OTOH, the times I've played in bands where half learned the song to the recording and the other half put their clever interpretive re-write on the song were a real grind. When half the band changes the arrangement, suddenly things don't fit together so well, and then you get to engage in a pointless circular debate about how to play the damn song. It takes three rehearsals to negotiate through how to play one song. Depressing and wasteful.

 

[PaulJSmith]

you morph your songs to rush and back? that sounds really interesting - got any videos or clips of that online?

None that I'm aware of. I suppose there probably are some cell phone videos of our escapades somewhere. It was just a cover band playing in bars around the St. Louis area a few years ago, well, probably 10 years ago now, aptly named Knucklehead. The most often played was Working Pigs, where we went from the solo in War Pigs into the solo of Working Man, then back for the last verse of War Pigs, and ending with the Working Man guitar finale.

There were times we'd turn something into Roundabout by Yes, or School Days by Stanley Clarke, or some such nonsense, but it was mostly a Rush thing. Just because.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Yeah, Guilty as charged for not reading through the whole thread.

Oh no, you're fine. I was complementing your post. You said it better than I and provided better info. Thanks.

 

[MVE]

I think you might be taking my post a LOT more seriously than it was intended.

Not possible, I hold advanced degrees in psychalogy, english, speling, and sarcasm.

 

[bumperbass]

It depends on what the other guys are doing. If the drummer isn't playing his part (most important) or if any of the other guys can't get close, my part done right
is in vain. I especially hate drummers who don't bother to even get the bass drum part down correctly. If that happens, we're all screwed.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I was walking down the strip of clubs that I play often when I passed a group doing I'll Take You There by the Staple Singers. I adore that tune, mostly because the bass line is so good. Anyway, the bass man was slapping all over it. Now hear me when I say that this is not a slap bash thread so please do not turn it into one. There was no aspect of the original bass line left other than I to IV.

Now I am all about adding yourself to a bass line but I think sometimes folks get way too extra. Thus far in life I have not heard a good reason to stray really far from recognizable recorded bass lines. Ill Take You There is an example of one of those songs that if you only heard the bass line, you would still instantly know the song. The band/players that wrote and recorded the material must have done something right because their song became well known. Who am I (the lowly working musician entertaining a crowd with their material) to alter the bass line to the point of it no longer being recognizable?

So lets use this forum for what its best at.... post your opinion of altering a famous bass line beyond the point of recognition!

I've found over the years that there is enough art to be found within the charts to keep me occupied. Further, when you go off chart, are you really concentrating on the others in your ensemble, how you may be effecting them and what their part sounds like in the grand scheme of things, or thinking more about you next lick? Play the ink! Like to improvise? Do it when the gig doesn't have charts.

 

[skwee]

I respect source material, and sometimes I like to play around. If the material is of high enough craft and quality, it will survive virtually any treatment.