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Responding to "the bass is a lesser instrument" comments

#81
there's a vast difference between being able to play a bass, and to play it very well.

It takes time. Practice. talent. To learn dexterity. To learn dynamics. Choosing proper tone. To learn how to lock in with a drummer, and fit into the song. But yes, anyone can learn root notes and bang away at simple tunes like Dee Dee Ramone, but most music situations require more than that.
 
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#83
In more than 45 years of playing, the only time I heard a line like that was from a worse than average guitarist, compensating for his own lack of ability by looking for some small imagined thing he thought he could hold over someone else. Is bass a "lesser" instrument? No, it's just a different instrument that requires a different set of skills. So if you want to criticise my instrument choice, just make sure you're half decent on the one you chose.
 
#84
el murdoque said:
Yes, that is mostly true, at least for beginners. When you have a band with competent musicians, let's say drums/git/keys/bass, and you have to fill one spot with a person that has absolutely no musical experience,
I'd wager that the band in total will sound gig-worthy fastest when you give that person the bass.
You CAN get away with banging roots all night. Make it straight 8ths on top of that as long as it's some kind of rock music. The band won't sound too bad as long as the rest do their thing well enough.
Other Instruments will require more practice to sound gig-worthy because they stick out more.

But go only a little past that and bass suddenly stops being easy.
When someone tries to downplay the role of the bass,
my usual answer is 'Sure, people listen to the guitar, but they dance to the bass.'
Click to expand...

few do past that point since it is all they need to play in a cover band.

and while I agree that the bass can be quite difficult to play ... the learning curve isn't the same as say a guitar.
The bar is quite high to start on guitar and then gradually augment with solos and melodies but once you get past the first high bar to play chords then the rest isn't so bad.
On bass the learning curve is quite low at first and augment slightly then there is a huge stupidly high bar to play solo bass or more intricate stuff.
 
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#87
In a group context, bass usually has a more fundamental role to play, which gives the impression of being "lesser", because it's not directly showcased. The irony here is that EVERYTHING is a bass showcase, because music is two dimensional without it.

Solo, the bass is an entirely different beast. You can employ all the techniques used on a guitar, and the timbre you get is very pleasing, very full, and very warm. Then there's the matter of touch: Despite not being very harmonically rich, the expressiveness that you can achieve by varying your touch or where you pluck is absolutely INSANE. Similarly, you need to be a very good on-the-fly arranger to take a complex piece and make it work melodically and harmonically with only four strings and a three octave range.

TL;DR - Bass is every bit as challenging as any other instrument, possibly moreso if you want to stretch.
 
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#90
Kmonk said:
It's funny but I've been playing for over 40 years and Talkbass is the only place where these type of comments have been mentioned. I have never had anyone make a negative comment about bass or my playing.
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Nobody has ever said anything like that to me, either. Talkbass seems to have a lot of bassists who show their lack of self respect by buying into that mentality.
 
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#93
nickpc said:
Another thread here got me thinking - what are the best responses when someone gives one of the multitude of "the bass is a lesser instrument" comments? You know, the "you only have 4 strings" or "you're only playing one note at a time" comments other musicians like to make.

So what are some of the good comebacks people have come up with? And if they are specific to another instrument please note as well.

Example:
Guitarist: Bass is easy, you only have 4 strings!
Bassist: Yeah, but at least they stay in tune for more than one song.
Click to expand...

Well, I've only heard this kind of comment from idiotic teenager guitarists.

I don't join bands with teenagers or idiots, and stay out of guitar-centric bands in general.

I gotta say, it's been pretty good so far.
 
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#98
The last time anyone said anything to me like that was when I answered a bassist-wanted ad in a Toronto newspaper for a Patsy Cline cover act. I was probably 19, and I could play the songs and read the lead sheets/notation, but I was about 40 years in age apart from the next youngest of the band members.

The rhythm guitar player was the one who really drove it home. It was like being insulted by a Willie Nelson look-alike. After a few rehearsals of being razzed by him, the piano player pulled me aside and politely explained that perhaps my age and my ability to play and read their charts was threatening the guitar player and the band might not be a good fit for me.
I ended up working with the piano player on other projects before he retired and moved away.

Nothing since. Lots and lots of bands and assembled groups since then. I get a lot of respect, but I "keep my head down" and my mouth shut most of the time. Maybe that's why? Lol!

The weirdest thing about that Patsy Cline group was how the singer called me six months after I left and asked if I was willing to contribute financially for HER trip to Nashville. This was in the pre-GoFundMe 1990s. What!?!?
 
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#99
I"ve been told by both a guitar player and a keyboard player, "Hey I got a lot more going on over here than you have". My response was "I guess I'm certainly not near as important as you are, so I'll just stop playing and get out of your way". Neither one wanted any part of that.
 

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