The basics win fights

[Jason Schulhz]

In a recent Joe Dart interview, he explained that everything else you can lack some, but the one thing a bass player MUST have is timing.

 

[JimmyM]

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?

Reading, chord theory, and keeping good time without needing a click.

 

[4stringfarley]

pbass with flats

 

[MrLenny1]

Know the neck really well.

 

[chadds]

Priority: Lengthen strap so bass is down to knees. Adopt that expression where mouth forms an "Ooh" and have an "I don't care vibe."
If you're not busy learn a song or two.

 

[WrapRough]

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.

Nice man, thanks. Just tried. Those 16th note triplets are fun

 

[WrapRough]

In a recent Joe Dart interview, he explained that everything else you can lack some, but the one thing a bass player MUST have is timing.

And a huge knob on your bass

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

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?

Playing

 

[Pings Bass]

Time keeping and swing, nothing else matters if you're behind or pushing the beat or if you don't have the right swing feel for the groove.

 

[Lobster11]

And a huge knob on your bass

Crap. I only have two small knobs, not one huge one. Am I doing it wrong?

 

[glocke1]

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?

Groove, time, tempo and an understanding of harmony.

You can have all the chops in the world, but if your time/temp0 and groove suck, everything feels and sounds bad.

I've got a guitar player friend who has a fairly advanced set of chops. He's always posting videos of himself looping all kinds of stuff that at first sounds awesome, but it just feels off in a lot of cases as his timing is off and just weird at times.

Its taken me a long time to get to the point where I realize play less, and playing more simple bass lines makes things sound and feel much better.

 

[logdrum]

I have done trios with no harmony instrument - like bass, drums and saxophone - so important to imply the harmony and keep the time as well. Ray Drummond is very good at this and he has an album or albums with the late Idris Muhammad and various horn guys like Pharaoh Sanders and Dave Murray. Dave Holland is pretty good a this also. But that may be too much as this is jazz - hard bop territory but the principle is the same.

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.

Thank you!

 

[sawzalot]

Solid plucking hand technique.

 

[jastraw]

Its taken me a long time to get to the point where I realize play less, and playing more simple bass lines makes things sound and feel much better.

Same here. Constant work in progress with this particular point.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

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...

i agree that the OP stated “when you pick up the bass” but he also was interested in what “Wins” as well. If you know the music, and your job as a bassist in the ensemble, what you do with the bass in your hands is really more “athletic” than anything else. It’s getting your hands to perform specific tasks on demand through repetition. Just like shooting free throws… sort of, but I think you get my point.

 

[logdrum]

The Karate Kid agrees with this message. Steve Vai lost

 

[Chickenwheels]

Depends on the fight. You have your Evel Knievel players and then your Fabio Quartararo players.

 

[Blueinred]

Don't give up the one.

And at least be able to find it! I'm always amazed at how many folks can't.

Keepin' the groove is paramount at all times, even when practicing. It really frames the song.

Phrasing on fretless comes to my attention right now because I'm new to fretless.

 

[Carl Hillman]

What are the "basics" that you should never stop practicing, never stop refining? What wins fights?

1A) Having bullet-proof time (i.e. not rushing or dragging) at any tempo.

You get better at this by always practicing, everything you practice, with a metronome. (Unless you are Jeff Berlin.)

1B) Is related. It is having an impeccable time feel.

You work on this by learning how to get the widest possible dynamic range out of your instrument...soft notes...loud notes...mezzo forte notes...and ghost notes. Then analyze bass lines that feel good. Is the player on top, or laying back compared to the drums...compared to the rest of the band? Maybe the player is on top on part of the phrase and laying back on another part. Use dynamics and the really good sense of time that you have achieved by playing with a metronome to emulate the bass lines that feel good.

2) Learn how harmony works and work on your ear. Know what a V7 chord sounds like, and where it usually resolves. Be able to tell the difference between a dominant 9th chord, a dominant b9 chord, a dominant #9 chord, a 7#5 chord, and a fully altered dominant chord just by hearing it. Do this with all the chords. Flip on a radio or streaming channel and play along. Try to figure out the song before it's over.

3) Memorize songs. All kinds of songs, but don't skimp on the jazz standards even if you never plan to play a jazz gig.

4) Learn to read standard notation, and sight read something every day.

 

[mmon77]

This reminds me of a guitar instructional video (on VHS!) I used to own by Paul Gilbert. He spent about 15 minutes of an hour video lesson going over how not play notes / proper muting. At the time, I wasn't that thrilled about it.

His emphasis on that has stuck with me forever, and it is now the first thing I learn to do when I pick up any stringed instrument that I'm not familiar with.