• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

What I learned from a week at Berklee

#101
T-MOST said:
Quote: The other big piece of advice from everyone I talked to was not to play too much. The bass player's job very, very, *very* rarely involves tapping, double-thumping, slapping... really, anything except quarter and 1/8th notes. The consensus seemed to be that bass players nowadays get very caught up in the idea of playing fast or being out-front, and that 99% of the time, the bass player keeps time

I agree with everything except the slapping part. In some genres you simply can't avoid it. (not that I want to! ;))
Click to expand...

YES YES YES! Great advice. Every single young player I talk to, is completely hung up on slapping/tapping/playing 32nd notes. I tell each and every one of them, "those are really neat tricks, but if you get in an actual gigging band, and get paid for it, you'll use those tricks about 2 minutes a night. Concentrate on timing and groove, and you'll be IN DEMAND."
 
#103
All good/motivational info here, good thread. I was one of those that really didn't care for jazz growing up - and still don't - but am starting to broaden the horizons a bit. Not so much because I enjoy the music, just to get outside of the box so to speak. Have an old yamaha fretless that I'm gonna throw some flats on and start plunking around in that milieu.

Regarding Sheehan et al., Billy himself will be the first to say (and he has), don't learn from him, learn from the people he learned from. I was a total Sheehan nut growing up and still respect him immensely, but as he'll say, he is not the be-all, end-all. He also frequently mentions Jeff Berlin as the best bassist he's ever seen.


Of course, from what I hear, so does Jeff Berlin. :D
 
#108
cheezewiz said:
YES YES YES! Great advice. Every single young player I talk to, is completely hung up on slapping/tapping/playing 32nd notes. I tell each and every one of them, "those are really neat tricks, but if you get in an actual gigging band, and get paid for it, you'll use those tricks about 2 minutes a night. Concentrate on timing and groove, and you'll be IN DEMAND."
Click to expand...

Well, I don't think that's the right mentality over it. You should practice everything possible. What I think should be said is "how are you going to play 32nd notes, when you can't play quarter notes right?" Everything is built on top of a solid foundation. Focus on being accurate with basic etudes and move on from there.
 
#109
Martin Bormann said:
...You should practice everything possible. What I think should be said is "how are you going to play 32nd notes, when you can't play quarter notes right?" Everything is built on top of a solid foundation. Focus on being accurate with basic etudes and move on from there.
Click to expand...

Amen. And really the reverse of your statement is true also. "How are you going to play quarter notes right if you can't play 32nd notes".
I know it sounds slightly crazy at first, but when you break it down to exactly what is going on, the difference between the player who 'grooves' or is playing in the right style comes down to exactly when the quarter (or eighth) note is played... and I'm not talking about a difference in rhythm that could be notated. I'm talking about that very slight adjustment that puts the note 'right where it belongs'.
In other words, being able to play with well controlled speed is part of technique... the other part is knowing when to use it.
 
#110
The ability to lay down a groove and perform the basics of your job as a bassist is what will keep you employed. I don't slap, tap or do solos, and I've got all the work I can handle while guys who can play circles around me are sitting down at the music store waiting for someone who cares to give them a gig.

What I try and do as a bassist is to have the audience watch the soloist while their heads bob in time with what I'm doing. If an average audience member comes up and tells me what a great job I did, as opposed to what a tight band we have, I'm probably overplaying.

Again, most of you could probably play rings around me, but I'm old, fat and ugly but I can lay down a groove and I'm playing.
 
#112
BassChuck said:
Amen. And really the reverse of your statement is true also. "How are you going to play quarter notes right if you can't play 32nd notes".
I know it sounds slightly crazy at first, but when you break it down to exactly what is going on, the difference between the player who 'grooves' or is playing in the right style comes down to exactly when the quarter (or eighth) note is played... and I'm not talking about a difference in rhythm that could be notated. I'm talking about that very slight adjustment that puts the note 'right where it belongs'.
In other words, being able to play with well controlled speed is part of technique... the other part is knowing when to use it.
Click to expand...
+1..
 
#113
I've been in a practice rut for a week, I am having a hard time balancing upright bass practice, electric practice, jazz practice, rock practice etc into something that covers all the bases (no pun intended)

I will def. print this list out and use it, not as good as going to berklee but the next best thing! thanks
 
#115
And I've found that grooving feels better, I tend not to play rather than overplay when I'm part of the rhythm section, some lines have been open notes on the one, for the hip hop material we play, locked in with the kick and it makes people move!
 
#116
cheezewiz said:
YES YES YES! Great advice. Every single young player I talk to, is completely hung up on slapping/tapping/playing 32nd notes. I tell each and every one of them, "those are really neat tricks, but if you get in an actual gigging band, and get paid for it, you'll use those tricks about 2 minutes a night. Concentrate on timing and groove, and you'll be IN DEMAND."
Click to expand...

True, but there is something to letting a kid be a kid. Why don't you tell him to quit playing the bass and focus on getting into medical school, because he'll make more money?
It's just music...it's supposed to be fun.
 
#117
Dave Muscato said:
when I'm playing bass in a band setting, I switch modes. My hearing shifts - I'm listening to the kick drum, the hi-hat, the snare, the ride, and I'm pacing those movements. My mind is tuned in to the rhythm and tuned out from that space where you're creating melodies. That's not my job, as the bassist. I'm not saying it can't be, but when I listen to Billy Sheehan playing with Steve Vai, and they're doubling parts, tapping etc... well, he's playing a 4-string guitar tuned down a couple of octaves, man, not bass :smug: It just depends on what your goal is and where you find your voice. I found my voice in the low end, the supporting role, and have little desire to stray from that.
Click to expand...

I'm glad to have found this thread, lot's of great advice here from people that live it. I quoted the above statement because everytime I see a 5, 6 or more string 'bass' and guys with these beasts on youtube playing solos, to me that's not a bass player, it's some hybrid bass/guitar soloist.

To me a bass comes with 4 strings and stays in the background, and if the band/song permits will come to the forefront with a few quick riffs, then moves back again keeping the groove. I tried to be wowed by these bass solos and lot's of extra strings, but it doesn't work for me.
 
#119
the_hook said:
To me a bass comes with 4 strings and stays in the background, and if the band/song permits will come to the forefront with a few quick riffs, then moves back again keeping the groove. .
Click to expand...


I guess thats cool "for you" but it's certainly NOT the definition of a bass or bass player in my book. I'm no Vic Wooten by far but I won't subscribe to that way of thinking. :ninja:
 
#120
HaVIC5 said:
Busy doesn't equal melodic, in fact, that's really the opposite of melodic (busy isn't necessarily bad though).
Click to expand...

Geezer wasn't a 'busy' player. I'd hardly call chugging root notes and unision lines with fills here and there 'busy'. Nonetheless, he was one of the first to break the mold of bassists being in the shadows. You have to give him credit for that.

Besides, a lot of Sabbath songs are really good despite not knowing tons and tons of theory. The ultimate test, the record-buying public, agrees with that. A lot of people forget who you're making an album for.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back