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The bass solo "drop out"
- Thread starter tofumanchu
- Start date
That's ridiculous. I get hired (in part) because I'm a strong soloist and band leaders feel it takes the pressure off to have someone else who can fill space and help stretch things out, especially in a 3 or 4 piece band.
As to the OP, I've been in this situation a lot. When I know it's coming I tell them in advance "Keep the groove going, comp for me just like everyone else, play the changes but bring the dynamics down." If I know the keyboardist is good I'll even tell him to take over the bass duties for my solo. If it's on the spot, and the song is appropriate (most shuffles aren't) I'll stop playing entirely for a bit and even mime to the guitarist to start playing the chords before I play my first melodic idea.
It's totally fine to be the director. I'm perfectly comfortable telling people what to play and how to back me up. I've never had anyone complain, in fact most people say "That helps a lot, I never know what to play during a bass solo."
Ric5
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- Jan 29, 2008
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I remember one band I was in we did one of everybody's favorite songs, "Brown Eyed Girl" and I would do an extended slap bass solo with a little help from the drummer and during that the lead singer would introduce the band members.
Everyone will have their opinions and here is mine - the only thing less interesting than a bass solo is a click-track solo.
Smooth_bass88
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That's my experience too. Granted, most of my soloing is on upright bass, mostly arco, which is still relatively rare in the jazz world. I often get applause for my solos. Bands even cue me to take a solo during background music gigs.
It's my job to make it sound good.
If the band drops out, it means that I don't have to follow the changes. Or the tempo.
That's a valid opinion, for sure. For me, I like hearing them as the clean tone of a bass let's you really hear interesting phrasing ideas in a pure form. It's also a nice break from the near constant stream of crunchy pentatonic licks coming from the guitars. Don't get me wrong: I love to listen to guitar players, but they can get a little same-y after a few hours.
One other thing I'll say is that a lot of players can't intonate well enough without the background help to solo well on an upright or fretless bass. So I think some of this is mired in a bit of hot dogging where the soloist knows he's not going to drift in his tuning.
The Billy Sheehan video is a hoot. It's not a solo inside a song, it's a solo feature and I'm sure it's almost entirely worked out in advance. Consider the context...he's playing at the fricking Budokan, not a venue where subtlety is appreciated. It calls for grand gestures, so that's what he delivers. For what it is, I really like it. However, if I ever played anything like that at a blues gig, that would be my last gig with that band 
I hate soloing in a blues context. There's one song in one band where the BL wants me to take a solo, so I do but I hate it. I have a few things worked out that I can do but it's not like I'm really improvising. To be honest I have absolutely nothing to say as a soloist.
Martin Mull said it best:
I hate soloing in a blues context. There's one song in one band where the BL wants me to take a solo, so I do but I hate it. I have a few things worked out that I can do but it's not like I'm really improvising. To be honest I have absolutely nothing to say as a soloist.
Martin Mull said it best:
And a bass solo or a guitar solo or a trumpet solo is JUST like a drum solo, eh? There’s a vernacular in music that outweighs the literalism that seems always to be proffered in threads like this one. I find that tedious and I usually (though not today, for some indiscernible reason) just move on. Having undermined my own position I’ll now stop watching this thread.what do you call a guy who hangs out with musicians?
Drummer ...
and now that we brought up drummers ...
During a drum solo ... usually NOBODY plays ... except the drummer
Smooth_bass88
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my favorite bill moment was when Wolf Marshall said "like a chromatic scale?" and he replied, "what's a chromatic scale?". CLASSIC
The main problems I encounter with people accompanying bass solos are ham-fistedness (bashing away a pattern so loud & busy the bass can't be heard) and instability (they lose track of "one" every time I syncopate). Unfortunately, a lot of players seem to have these issues. It will probably take more than a quick request before the set to get 'em to acquire nuance and learn to count for themselves. (Some might come around over time - some not.)
The right backup can be great. But I'll take silence over interference.
The right backup can be great. But I'll take silence over interference.
Indeed, you don't realize that everybody is following the bassist until you stop playing on 1 and 3. I recently saw a bumper sticker that said, "Like most musicians, you're following a bass player."
i take most of my solos in the 'traditional way' where the other cats get quiet(er) as they feign 'paying attention' --- they need to appear like they know what i'm doing so that they look hip! 
per the OP: you can't always get what you want. but letting your bandmates know what you prefer is apropos if it means that much. i can see where it might be different on some tunes compared to others, but if you can conjure a cogent solo with just a hi-hat --- what's not to like?
i voted "big whup" --- unless you want to unionize around the issue.
per the OP: you can't always get what you want. but letting your bandmates know what you prefer is apropos if it means that much. i can see where it might be different on some tunes compared to others, but if you can conjure a cogent solo with just a hi-hat --- what's not to like?
i voted "big whup" --- unless you want to unionize around the issue.
I'm the other way round; I'm an adequate rhythm section bassist, but not very good at soloing at all. People put me on their gigs because (at least this is what they say) they like the way I drive the band. Frankly that's the way I want it anyway. After 40+ years of playing saxophone, I got into playing bass in order to inhabit that role. If I want to take a lot of solos I'll go after the sax gigs.
So you really believe they wouldn't hire you if you were ALSO a competent bass soloist?
No, that's not what I meant. Someone said they were getting hired because their soloing ability made them the standout. I'm saying that (in my probably lower level circles) in my case, soloing skills aren't the thing that people are prizing.
