The basics win fights

[SteveCS]

This is interesting...how does one develop or practice taste?

I think taste, like style, is a manifestation, in the context of a performance (live or studio) of all the technical and musical things we practice. If 'taste' is the combination of any given pitch at any given time with any given attack, timbre, volume and duration then you need to know how to use your hands to produce all of those givens.

YMMV

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I retired from martial arts study (BJJ and Shaolin Kempo) in 2014 at age 50 because my knees were shot. One of the main reasons I took it was to learn how to be a better musician, and how to apply the lessons from the martial arts to the musical ones. It went both ways, too: I used to practice subdividing my kicks with a metronome to make sure I wasn't BSing any of the balance points, and my instructor loved that.

The OP's question is a great one. I have been doing the exercises in this thread 6 days a week for the past 4 years. I find it really helpful. That's a DB forum thread, but the principles are the same.

 

[SoCal80s]

I'd say chord tones. If you can't whip out a C7b9 #9 #11 b13 arpeggio without sweating it, then keep practicing your arpeggios.

 

[slobake]

True, for me that means practice with a metronome or drum machine.

 

[Slough Feg Bass]

Right hand technique is something that I find I need to practice all the time.
keeping my fingers strong and articulate is really important to playing any style of music I think.
my left hand seems to be able to remember a lot of scales and pretty well, but my right hand needs to have the regular intervals repeated & practiced all the time or it is not as good as it can be.

 

[Katoosie]

Playing in time?
I think thats important.

 

[Axtman]

Nobody ever got fired from a band for having good timing.

There is a very fine line between playing too much and not playing enough. Of the two, err on the playing too little.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Passion and tecnique

 

[Big Heavy Bass]

When I was younger I was all in to technique, if I wasn't moving my hands on the bass I felt like I wasn't practicing. In hindsight I wish I had spent more time on ear training, learning standards from different genres

 

[landrybass]

- Phrasing
- Space / Rests
- Time / Rhythm
- Articulation
- Dynamics
- Listening
- Style / Feel
- Tone
- Technique

 

[InhumanResource]

I am a keen martial artist, and one thing that is drilled into us is that "basics win fights". By this, we mean that, yes "flashy" techniques are all good, but, for the most part, that is not what wins fights.

I got to thinking about how to apply this to the bass.

What are the things on the bass that one should spend time on every time one picks up the bass? What are the "basics" that you should never stop practicing, never stop refining? What wins fights?

Time. Be able to find 1 and feel 8 no matter what.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I am a keen martial artist, and one thing that is drilled into us is that "basics win fights". By this, we mean that, yes "flashy" techniques are all good, but, for the most part, that is not what wins fights.

I got to thinking about how to apply this to the bass.

What are the things on the bass that one should spend time on every time one picks up the bass? What are the "basics" that you should never stop practicing, never stop refining? What wins fights?

To me, the most important “basic” has nothing to do with touching your instrument. It’s “knowing your music” and your “job” as a bassist on it for the benefit of the ensemble. Knowing what to do is better than working on chops and not knowing what to do with them.

 

[lfmn16]

All of the esoteric suggestions aside, whenever I sit down to practice, regardless of the instrument, I start out with 10 minutes of scales or scale exercises to a metronome. It grounds you, sets your time, limbers you up and gets you ready for serious practice. My one other suggestion that I cannot emphasize enough, just because I find it so helpful, is to record yourself. When you think you have a part nailed, record it and listen back. I would bet that 99% of the time you'll hear things that you didn't notice while you were playing.

 

[SteveCS]

To me, the most important “basic” has nothing to do with touching your instrument. It’s “knowing your music” and your “job” as a bassist on it for the benefit of the ensemble. Knowing what to do is better than working on chops and not knowing what to do with them.

Agree, but you have to know how to convert all that insight into a reality when you do pick up the instrument, which is where the OP question starts...

What are the things ... that one should spend time on every time one picks up the bass?

 

[lfmn16]

Agree, but you have to know how to convert all that insight into a reality when you do pick up the instrument, which is where the OP question starts...

+1

A lot of people don't understand that the importance of great technique is that when you can actually play your instrument effortlessly, nothing comes between you and making music.

 

[Liko]

I am a keen martial artist, and one thing that is drilled into us is that "basics win fights". By this, we mean that, yes "flashy" techniques are all good, but, for the most part, that is not what wins fights.

I got to thinking about how to apply this to the bass.

What are the things on the bass that one should spend time on every time one picks up the bass? What are the "basics" that you should never stop practicing, never stop refining? What wins fights?

• Metronome work. You are never too skilled to stop doing scale and rhythm exercises with a metronome. The exercises can become more complex and you can do them at faster tempos, but a keen sense of time and impeccable hand coordination is always central to bass.
• Scales. You're never too skilled not to spend at least a little time doing something scale-related. When you can play a major and a minor scale at least three ways in your sleep, spend this time on interval exercises, incorporating string jumps and fretting hand dexterity into these basic runs.
• Slow grooves. You'd be surprised how many people can't keep a slow beat anymore, because they've focused so much on doing things faster, that their timing is now dependent on how fast they can move their fingers. It actually takes effort for a person who's focused on fast to keep the tempo slow. It also leads to complacency; "this is so mind-numbingly slow, oh my God can we speed this... oops, wrong note".
• Foundation over fill. Again, you'd be surprised how many people can't not overplay. Being able to flip in a few extra notes leading to the next chord is great, and an excellent skill to learn. But, it has to be tasteful, and you have to hit the fundamental notes on the beat. I and many other "mediocre bassists" make our bank where a lot of flashy wannabes are sent packing, because they try to do too much with the line, until it no longer serves the purpose the instrument is there for.

At the end of the day, your playing doesn't get the whoops and hollers of the lead guitarist or even the drummer. Being the bassist is all about the basics. You're the janitor of the band; people only pay attention to you when you aren't doing your job well. Don't deny that, own it. Being a solid, dependable tonal foundation for the band has made more bassists more money than all the Zander Zons and Michael Manrings on YouTube. That's not to say Manring or Zander can't hold down a groove, but it means you don't have to be a Michael Manring or Zander Zon to have a lot of fun and go a very long way in the business.

 

[kesslari]

Recently I have been warming up with a really simple rill. I just play a bar of 1/4 notes, a bar of 1/8 notes, and then a bar of 1/16th notes. I ramp from 80 to 130ish over 10mins. Metronome set to 2 and 4. Really basic exercise.

One thing I notice is that it is actually not that easy to get nice smooth consistent tone, attack, timing etc... all the time while staying nice and relaxed, good posture, good hand position etc.

This is a really good exercise - I would suggest adding triplets to the progression.
2 bars of 1/4 notes
2 bars of 1/4 note triplets
2 bars of 1/8 notes
2 bars of 1/8 note triplets
2 bars of 1/16 notes
2 bars of 1/16 note triplets

This really helps you feel the transition of timing from duple to triple meter.

 

[Scarysharkface]

I am a keen martial artist, and one thing that is drilled into us is that "basics win fights". By this, we mean that, yes "flashy" techniques are all good, but, for the most part, that is not what wins fights.

I got to thinking about how to apply this to the bass.

What are the things on the bass that one should spend time on every time one picks up the bass? What are the "basics" that you should never stop practicing, never stop refining? What wins fights?

Timing and groove.

John

 

[dalkowski]

Don't give up the one.

 

[Killing Floor]

True! Fundamentals.

Or as coach used to say, Rule 1 - never shoot behind the back, Rule 2 - if you shoot behind the back it better be a goal.

Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton have one thing in common, they are extraordinary rhythm players.