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We bassist are so under appreciated!

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#161
Eric Albany said:
Does any one else out there feel the same way?
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Nope. I'm all grown up, as are my band mates. We all know our places in the music, our roles in the band, and that a band without bass is like .. well ... shite. Besides, over the past 40 years I've made a lot more $$$ playing bass than playing guitar or singing (and I do both very well, too).

If you think the other band members get more attention (and that's what you're after), then pick up a new instrument and do that. But if making good music is what you're about, then playing bass (well) is a way to ensure you'll always be in demand by other musicians.
 
#162
Hobobob said:
Yes. They also all played drums as well. Drove Ringo half mad. Paul was actually a guitarist for a long time in the band, until the departure of Stuart Sutcliffe forced him to switch. The best part is that the bass player was also the best guitar player in the group. The solo in Taxman? Paul. Suck on that, elitist guitar players!!!
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Amen to that. Yesterday, Blackbird... Paul is rarely acknowledged as an unbelievably gifted guitar player by Joe Public. If you know what you're listening for, it's hard to argue that he isn't the most gifted musician out of the four of them.
 
#165
Wow, this is certainly a worthy thread for my first post. First of all, thank you so much for all the posts... I laughed out loud a few times while reading it!

Bass is what unifies all the music I like... Metal, hip hop, techno, jazz, etc. That's why I picked it up, and I like the fact that it's a working man's instrument... Who wants the limelight anyway?

Hey... I used the word "limelight"!
 
#166
This has to be one of the funniest threads I've read through in a while... Pretty hard not to burst out laughing this early in the morning.

I will admit that yes, there are a number of bands that someone could rattle off and I could only name their front (wo)men. However, I do not feel that having name recognition or not means that you are a worthless member of a band. Sure there's the old cliché that all bassists are just background fodder whose only purpose is to make the guitarist/singer look more attractive, and to make the band look bigger.

As a bassist - and remember you're posting in a forum completely centered around bassists - I would say that my role is instrumental (no pun intended... well okay, a little intended...) to our overall sound. Do I feel under-appreciated because I'm not the lead instrument, because I'm not the lead singer (I'm a backup singer actually, or because my bass isn't drowning out everyone else in the band (that sounds like poo if you ask me)? Heck no! My role is to connect the rhythm (a drummer and a percussionist) to the melody (piano, keys, acoustic guitar, and an electric guitar, with two other singers.). Being that there are so many people in my band (church praise team) we need to work together and not fill in gaps or sonic space that someone else should be filling. I know my role very well in this band and work my hardest as a musician to keep the pace and the mood of the music at its best. Obviously, this takes a level of maturity and musicianship. There was, admittedly, a time when I wanted to fight against the guitarists and try to drown them out with pure earth shattering power. It was a childish thing to do on my part, and the music greatly suffered for it. Thankfully, that is long in my past now and I am more than content to play the supportive role.

If this isn't something that you want to do, hilarious comments aside, by all means continue your solo training. Maybe someday you'll hit it big and be known for your musicianship... only to be frustrated when the tweens and teenagers can't tell what instrument you play. :hiding:
 
#167
ok in my old band i never used to get stick for being a bass player. why?

1. i had the most musical theory knoladge
2. because they knew that i was the most talented member skill wise
3. because i made it my duty to play within a inch of my life

plus i was the tallest member by about 5 inches
 
#169
It doesn't bother me, I love playing bass and thats all that matters to me =) .

Am in a band, although admittedly I've only been playing for about 6-7 months (but ma mates needed a bassist and here I am). The singer was saying to me the other day that he didnt really notice the bass in one song, but when they played it with just the guitar and drums (I stopped for a smoke) he noticed that it was missing.

tbh, i think that if your sitting on your own in your room, playing bass and singing to yourself, you cant really fully comment on what what a bass adds to a song. The guy who I bought my bass from had been playing bass for 30years and he gave me the best bit of advice ever "dinnae sit in yir room playin tae yersel, get oot there n git in a band, that's when ye git the experiance n realise whit playin bass is aboot" lol.

But ayes, if you want to be the main focus of everything and able to feed your ego, learn guitar lol.


:hiding::ninja:
 
#170
TheMutt said:
This has to be one of the funniest threads I've read through in a while... Pretty hard not to burst out laughing this early in the morning.
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Are you mocking our mockings? :eyebrow:


I can understand where Eric is trying to convey. But, there are many instances of other instruments that don't get the limelight, but are still considered essential to their music form. In Irish Trad, the bodhran is an awesome instrument...I just happen to play one, so I know. Despite this coolness, it is one piece in the puzzle, just as important at the tinwhistle and fiddle. It would be pretty hard to send a crowd into a toe-tapping frenzy without the driving thump, while the fiddle rips off an endless series of triplets and 8th notes.
 
#177
Eric Albany said:
If it makes any of you happier, I am learning how to play Hey there Delilah by The Plain White T's. I'm gonna modify the lyrics so I can record it and send the recording to the girl I wanna go out with, and yes. I do know the Hey there Delilah is a couples song.
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Eric Albany said:
Wether or not the music brings in money, girls, and/or fame doesn't matter. What does matter is that the music sounds great, and that you enjoyed making it. And God forbid some body try's to steal the music I make.
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:confused::confused:
 
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