Too Many Notes?

[Whousedtoplay]

Doesn't feel musical enough, and it would be a tune I'd just try to "get through."

Thank you for your response and sorry if I've wasted your time.

I'd say, "It's an attempt of a "stiffly"-inflexible amateur bassist's mentality to "channel" Bakithi Kumalo (in a very restrained form) while taking a walk in "La La land" and remembering D'Angelo.

P.S. But I somehow liked it (It's possible one of the worst sign of lonely aging on the backyard patio).

How do you handle classic rock tunes thrown at you?

About classic rock tunes.
It depends on the situation,
but my MAIN approach is
1. try to figure out the bass-lines mood (!) and character (including the bass-player's approach)
and
2. try to LEARN and TRANSCRIBE (as much as possible) EACH AND EVERY NOTE of the bass-line with all the dynamic and articulation nuances
(what is a note's length/value, is it a short slide, a hammer-on, a ghost/dead note, what is the position on the fretboard, is it a MISTAKE!, etc...), but...

I'm always open to ANY ideas about CLASSIC tunes like

 

[bopeuph]

Thank you for your response and sorry if I've wasted your time.

I'd say, "It's an attempt of a "stiffly"-inflexible amateur bassist's mentality to "channel" Bakithi Kumalo (in a very restrained form) while taking a walk in "La La land" and remembering D'Angelo.

No time wasted, and just so there's no misunderstanding, I mean the track you played with seemed not musical, not your playing. I think your attempt was pretty good. But even at the freelance level, I've never had to play something like that, so it almost seems impractical. It isn't, but it will be extremely rare to have to play to a groove like that. And because the initial track is busy, it's actually hard to answer if you're too busy as a bassist.

About classic rock tunes.
It depends on the situation,
but my MAIN approach is
1. try to figure out the bass-lines mood (!) and character (including the bass-player's approach)
and
2. try to LEARN and TRANSCRIBE (as much as possible) EACH AND EVERY NOTE of the bass-line with all the dynamic and articulation nuances
(what is a note's length/value, is it a short slide, a hammer-on, a ghost/dead note, what is the position on the fretboard, is it a MISTAKE!, etc...), but..

This is a good approach.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

In 2013, Ed Friedland wrote a very informative article about Ronie Wood's bass-line in Jeff Beck's "Let me love you". The article was published in Bass Player Magazine including the full transcription of Wood's bass-line.
Invalid Link Removed

What got my attention was the very first comment that said,
"Don't know how well the bass playing goes with the rest of the group. It's a little busy with too many notes. Sounds like a guitar player on bass."

What would be our TB members' opinions?

 

[catcauphonic]

OK, so Im in a "Classic Rock" band that is doing well at the moment. I have on occasion been "accused" of playing too many notes or too busy, this is usually from older guys who came of age in the 60's (I'm 44) so I've always assumed they simply have a different idea of what a "bass" should or should not be doing. Now I dont tap, almost never slap, but I do play more "chord" tones and cross over into counter melody at times. My response is usually something like, "while I 100% agree with and promote the "less is more" approach, I am first of all a musician, I play the whole instrument and am simply playing what comes out". I am certainly am not flying off the handle soloing all night long, however I am always grooving, and in this setting, possibly just a bit more of a dominant player than what some are expecting from "just the bass player". I am not trying to be busy or simple just me. Anyone else have this problem or have heard this as well?

I'm drawn to music that has a lot going on with the bass 'underneath' or in the background .. and that's how I play. Any band wanting just roots from the bass is not for me.

 

[FirewalZ]

I'm drawn to music that has a lot going on with the bass 'underneath' or in the background .. and that's how I play. Any band wanting just roots from the bass is not for me.

Yep...Ive gotten this feedback mostly from the "crumbly old codger" types that have a pre-conceived notion of how bass should be played and sound. I have since meditated on this and tried some different approaches at some of my gigs. I now try to focus more on the song as a whole rather than getting to lost into just what i'm doing, also like you my approach is not always just root-5 or root-4. I try to find a happy middle ground, groove, feel and song first, while not being overly busy as to distract, nor overly simple that lacks energy, drive and bounce.....I now try to land somewhere in between..

 

[JimmyM]

In 2013, Ed Friedland wrote a very informative article about Ronie Wood's bass-line in Jeff Beck's "Let me love you". The article was published in Bass Player Magazine including the full transcription of Wood's bass-line.
Invalid Link Removed

What got my attention was the very first comment that said,
"Don't know how well the bass playing goes with the rest of the group. It's a little busy with too many notes. Sounds like a guitar player on bass."

What would be our TB members' opinions?

Either the commenter was being snarky or he lives under a rock. At any rate, Jeff liked it and this album sold out the wazoo back in the day. So it's not too many notes, is it?

 

[Off-Beat]

In 2013, Ed Friedland wrote a very informative article about Ronie Wood's bass-line in Jeff Beck's "Let me love you". The article was published in Bass Player Magazine including the full transcription of Wood's bass-line.
Invalid Link Removed

What got my attention was the very first comment that said,
"Don't know how well the bass playing goes with the rest of the group. It's a little busy with too many notes. Sounds like a guitar player on bass."

What would be our TB members' opinions?

Not alot of different notes and it's a bluesy line. What he does is playing at a constant rhythm all the time. He doesn't give any hint at a change and thus fills out the sonic space quite a lot. When I play a bluesy tune I play a lot of notes, too, but sometimes my gut tells me to let it ring and swing.

btw The Lemon Song is worse in regards of busy basslines in blues songs and I love it, because it offers rhythmic changes.

 

[Hahaha]

I haven't read all the posts so maybe this has been covered, but for me the most difficult aspect of playing bass well is exercising restraint.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

What would Flea say about "too many notes" if he were to participate in this thread?

The following bass-line summarizes Flea's opinion (IMHO) about it.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Nobody Weird Like Me - Concert Live.

 

[bassmangotdbluz]

It's really a subjective thing. Do (or did) Geddy Lee, Flea, Les Claypool, Jack Bruce, Duck Dunn, Carol Kay, Bob Babbitt, James Jamerson, Stanley Clarke, Tal Wilkenfeld or even Charles Mingus overplay? I've gotten this complaint from some people during my life as well. Most hardcore country players generally hate my playing, so of late, I've been trying to stay in the pocket a lot more when doing these sort of gigs. "Suit the tune (or gig) not yourself" is generally the best rule of Bass, but I get it; it's nice to stretch your legs once in a while.

 

[don21480]

A few well placed fills are usually better than busy - depending on the genre and the song of course.