Not to blow my own horn but outside of the internet I haven’t encountered a pick hating bassist who I couldn’t play circles around, so I don’t concern myself overly much with them.
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The prejudice against pick-playing
- Thread starter Lunatique
- Start date
Wanna see Tim Lefebvre serving the song in a recent video by going back and forth between fingerstyle and a pick? Of course you do. Here you go:
You need to be able to play with fingers, thumb and pick. That way, you can play any genre. There are many instances especially in punk/new wave and hard rock where a pick will drive the rhythm better than fingers. Don't restrict yourself to one method. I play with fingers and pick depending on the song. 
Anti-pick prejudice makes me mad! Fortunately I don't see it much, but when I do it really bugs me.
I need to learn to do this! That's my feeling as well, that someone that just repeats anti-pick prejudice (APP?) is ignorant of the history of the instrument. It's one thing when a non-musician says it, but when a bassist says it it really gets to me. I have learned for the most part not to say anything, but that doesn't mean I don't mentally type a scathing retort in my head!
I do agree though that a bass demo should include fingers since it does sound quite different than pick. I will also say that I used to be more 50/50 pick/fingers, but lately it's been more like 90% fingers for the music I've been playing, but I will always be a pick player as well.
I need to learn to do this! That's my feeling as well, that someone that just repeats anti-pick prejudice (APP?) is ignorant of the history of the instrument. It's one thing when a non-musician says it, but when a bassist says it it really gets to me. I have learned for the most part not to say anything, but that doesn't mean I don't mentally type a scathing retort in my head!
I do agree though that a bass demo should include fingers since it does sound quite different than pick. I will also say that I used to be more 50/50 pick/fingers, but lately it's been more like 90% fingers for the music I've been playing, but I will always be a pick player as well.
Yep. It’s all just different techniques really.
To me, feeling superior to someone who plays with a pick is like looking down on someone because they like the color yellow and you don’t.
One place a pick is super useful is an outdoor venue where you want something with a huge amount of bottom and no subtlety (like an EB-0 or a vintage Telecaster bass to compensate for that bass sucking infinite baffle an outdoor venue can be unless they've hired an experienced festival sound crew with a really good PA. And when you’re playing a syrupy bass in an environment like that, and really cranking it to get some bottom going, a pick is extremely helpful for getting better note separation and definition.
Ok...
I dunno, you tell us I guess? I don't really see any bias against pick players. If anyone happens to feel that way go check out what Bobby Vega does.
Personally I want to practice more with a pick lately. Some stuff just sounds great that way.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Bobby Vega, Carol Kays, Macca, Chris Squire are just a couple of virtuoso players who used a pick. Whatever works.
This would counter any negative statements anyone ever gives you about playing that way. I don't use it much, but it certainly is not a "lesser" way to play.
This would counter any negative statements anyone ever gives you about playing that way. I don't use it much, but it certainly is not a "lesser" way to play.
I dismissed pick playing for a long time, but nowadays I find myself really drawn to it. I’m terrible at it, but I’d love to get a short scale one day and learn to shred that thing with a pick.
JeezyMcNuggles
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- Feb 23, 2018
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Prejudice against any method of playing, number of strings, etc is for hacks.
If something isn’t your cup of tea, that’s great and understandable. Do what you’re into, that’s all that matters.
But to argue that playing with a pick or using more (or less) than four strings isn’t “real” bass playing, is so short sighted and ignorant. It’s art. No limits.
If something isn’t your cup of tea, that’s great and understandable. Do what you’re into, that’s all that matters.
But to argue that playing with a pick or using more (or less) than four strings isn’t “real” bass playing, is so short sighted and ignorant. It’s art. No limits.
My personal theory is that it's because bass guitar is in some ways (some of those substantial, some superficial) a closer relative to guitar than it is to upright bass, but bass guitarists don't want to be perceived as "lesser guitarists" and want to be distinguished as serving their own function. So since playing with a pick is so closely associated with playing guitar, avoiding/looking down on it makes you more of a "real" bass player
Tradition, ingraining, self-identify, and preservation.
It used to be that you plucked a bass. It was just how things were done. A lot of the bass gods plucked, too. So, electric bass evolved during a time where serious musicians plucked, and one of the biggest segments of consumers was still in their formative years.
A lot of people, then, learned to play with their fingers, and not a pick. When a lot of people learn things one way, a bias develops. People also have a tendency to want to believe that the way they do things is the "correct" way. They don't want to be on the wrong end of any bias. Many of those people (not all) then engage in all sorts of mental gymnastics to protect their egos by defining their way as the "right" way, and other ways as inferior.
It is a lot like the guys who say that no real music was made after the '70s, or that real musicians play jazz, or any form of "kids these days" while shaking their fists - except this is something that had been clearly passed down, and not purely generational. For example, when I was a kid, the only people who used picks were punks and metalheads. Anyone who wanted to be taken seriously used their fingers, even when not appropriate.
In short, a lot of serious musicians played fingerstyle. People wanted to look serious, and learned that way. They then found all sorts of ways to justify their choices, with the easiest being to say it is the superior way to play. This got passed on to younger generations. At some point, it just became a "fact."
Or something like that.
It used to be that you plucked a bass. It was just how things were done. A lot of the bass gods plucked, too. So, electric bass evolved during a time where serious musicians plucked, and one of the biggest segments of consumers was still in their formative years.
A lot of people, then, learned to play with their fingers, and not a pick. When a lot of people learn things one way, a bias develops. People also have a tendency to want to believe that the way they do things is the "correct" way. They don't want to be on the wrong end of any bias. Many of those people (not all) then engage in all sorts of mental gymnastics to protect their egos by defining their way as the "right" way, and other ways as inferior.
It is a lot like the guys who say that no real music was made after the '70s, or that real musicians play jazz, or any form of "kids these days" while shaking their fists - except this is something that had been clearly passed down, and not purely generational. For example, when I was a kid, the only people who used picks were punks and metalheads. Anyone who wanted to be taken seriously used their fingers, even when not appropriate.
In short, a lot of serious musicians played fingerstyle. People wanted to look serious, and learned that way. They then found all sorts of ways to justify their choices, with the easiest being to say it is the superior way to play. This got passed on to younger generations. At some point, it just became a "fact."
Or something like that.
