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rock bassist who don't play root

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#22
And there's this guy called Jaco Pastorius... For those of you who don't know, he's passed away now, but WOW, he had it all covered! -Some of you might say "he was not a rocker", or "No mention of Jazz players" or so but...
- Listen to his versions of Hendrix' "3rd stone from the sun", or his own "Chromatic Fantasy". -That rocks, and it's NOT "rooty" ! -He knew where the root was, and that's important, but my god, he kinda re-invented bassism BIGTIME. Check him out !! :cool:
 
#23
Also, check out norwegian bassman Bent Sæther of Motorpsycho. He's left-handed, but does NOT turn around his strings... -He also does magnificent chord playing, and his sound is awesome !
Then there's always John Entwistle, Flea, Les Claypool, John Paul Jones, and some of Jack Bruce's work...

-Nikki Sixx, Duff McKagan and such are very "rooted" bassists !! No offense though, it works for their kind of music, but it's not quite my style...
 
#24
Now that we have all listed bass players who don't stay on the root all the time, I think I should point out that sometimes it is better for the song to stay on the root. It depends on the song. IMO the most important thing for bass is to create a groove, and play what works for the song. We aren't there to show off and prove how many scales and modes we know. My philosophy is to ask myself "does what I'm playing make the song better?". If it doesn't then I don't play it. All of these great players we have menioned know this. Every one of them has songs they've played on where they just stay on the root. As I said, it depends on the song. If you only play the root on every song that is boring, but if you overplay in an attempt to avoid playing the root, and kill the groove in the process, then you are not playing what is right for the song. I would rather hear a bass player stay on the root and lock in tight with the drums, creating a great groove, than hear one who plays all over the fingerboard but kills the groove. And some songs demand this. A song my band plays, "Third Rock from the Sun" by Joe Diffie, has a bass line that plays 16th notes, staying on the root. This really drives the song and creates the groove that makes the song what it is. To sum up what I am trying to say: IMO the role of bass is to create a groove, and support the song, whether that means playing a complicated line, or just hanging on the root. What is best for the song should take precedence over the bass line itself.
 
#25
Of course. It's not cool to avoid the root, or the 1 and 3 and so on, just to break traditional patterns! It's gotta fit in with the rest of the band ! If you break up the groove and nothing cool comes out of it, you're nothing but a real bad bassplayer, and that's not cool at all. And if you lose the root, you might end up playing something completely "wrong"...
-Still, expanding tonality, twisting and altering groove and rythm and such, that's what makes music progress! If you don't dare to try, you'll never be able to come up with something new, and eventually, you, the rest of the band and the audience will get bored...
-This thread is going towards a "general instruction" thread, isn't it? ;)
 
#30
Originally posted by godsmack


i don't hear Flea playing root notes, but i don't have every cd but on the ones i have his dosn't.
Click to expand...

How about the very well known intro/main riff to "Higher Ground", ALL root/octave. Let me say it again, EVERYONE plays root notes. If you never play root notes, as you imply about Flea, it would sound very strange....
 
#31
Originally posted by godsmack


i don't hear Flea playing root notes, but i don't have every cd but on the ones i have his dosn't.
Click to expand...

Flea plays root all the time ! Listen to songs like "Give it away", "Mellowship", "Aeroplane", "Warped" etc...
He stays on the root, but in their kind of music you need to have the root defined in order to provide tonal gravity. He also does so many funky licks and stuff, that he might sound off root, but... On the "Californication" record he plays a somewhat more melodic bass, but he doesn't challenge tonality enough to be called an "Off-root" player... Yet, Don't get me wrong; Flea is probably the baddest mutha of every living bassplayer !! I love him !!!
Besides, you're not "uncool" if you occasionally hit the root! Listen to the bassline of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition". It's nothing but root, and only on 1 & 3. Yet it's about the most groovy, cool bassline ever !!


GEDDIT ? :cool:
 
#33
Originally posted by Raymondn1
And there's this guy called Jaco Pastorius... Check him out !! :cool:
Click to expand...

I don't intend to go all Old Fart on you Ray but some of us were listenin' to this cat the day you were born...

And thanx, Barroso, for the Thain plug. He's probably my main influence. It would have been great to hear what he would have come up with while playing an extended range instrument, wouldn't it?
 
#34
Originally posted by Hambone


I don't intend to go all Old Fart on you Ray but some of us were listenin' to this cat the day you were born...
Click to expand...

-Yeah, I'm sure you did, but many of the other bassmen who reads this forum are even younger than me (imagine that ! ), and it wouldn't do any harm to pass Jaco on to them as well, would it? -Besides, I can't help not being born, say 15 years earlier, can I? -I must say I owe a lot to the old guys. I find music from the 60's and 70's much more progressive and artistic than most newer stuff.
Still, it's very frustrating when older musicians kinda cut me out for being too young. -I know good music when I hear it, and I think I'm entitled to like whatever kind of music I want, regardless of my age !!! -That's what keeps the old ones still going strong isn't it? I know my history, that's all. :cool:
 
#36
Originally posted by Raymondn1


-Yeah, I'm sure you did, but many of the other bassmen who reads this forum are even younger than me (imagine that ! ), and it wouldn't do any harm to pass Jaco on to them as well, would it? -Besides, I can't help not being born, say 15 years earlier, can I? -I must say I owe a lot to the old guys. I find music from the 60's and 70's much more progressive and artistic than most newer stuff.
Still, it's very frustrating when older musicians kinda cut me out for being too young. -I know good music when I hear it, and I think I'm entitled to like whatever kind of music I want, regardless of my age !!! -That's what keeps the old ones still going strong isn't it? I know my history, that's all. :cool:
Click to expand...

Keep yer panties on Ray, Geez. Nobody has shown you disrespect or cut you for being too young. If you'll read your post - especially like I did - you'll see that your post talks about Jaco like he was some unknown and you've just discovered him playing in some dive. That's what I was pokin' fun at. And where did anyone blast you for the type of music you like?? Take the chip off your shoulder and have some fun. Your enthusiasm could be infectious to others of your age but you should light'n up a little with the attitude.
 
#37
Sure... I wasn't really angry, just thought you considered I didn't know "the real deal" since I'm too young too have actually experienced Jaco...
-The reason why I wrote "this guy called Jaco..." was the fact that a thread about rock bassist who don't play root might as well could have been a thread about Jaco only, yet he wasn't mentioned at all in the other posts... -That kinda made me wonder if they kids knew their history. By the way, I have a great time nowadays, playing a funk-rock trio and some jazz gigs. I think I have a light and humorous attitude towards music and life, and hope people understand my ironic and sarcastic undertones...;)

-Great signature, do you mind if I quote it on my homepage?
 
#38
I can't claim to have thought it up so I guess you can use it if you'd like.

I think it's great that someone as young as you are is giving the "masters" their due. I think that if more young players would do that, there would be less worship of some of the current players that don't seem to be in it for the music.

Got anything we can listen to?
 
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