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Will bassists soon no longer be needed?

#21
Well, to add to the statistics and go towards the opposite way, I play in a trio with no singer, no keyboard and no guitar player.

I play 6strings basses and my 12 string Warr guitar, and work on solos sometimes supported with a looper.

So yes, machines as my looper may provide me the service needed to avoid having other soloing instruments in the band, but above all we need groove and soul into our sound and it would just disappear if we did not have a bass.
 
#23
Don't worry, keep playing. Just because all the bands in your school don't have a bass player doesn't mean that most of the music on the radio these days is sans bass player.
Unless all these bands are making original music that does not have bass in it, I can imagine that the covers they try to play sound nothing like the originals.

Good advice from Morgansterne and ShoeManiac...learn all you can, even enough keyboard to cover some of the bass lines on that, and you will be in demand. Of course you need to be a good enough player to actually ADD something to the band.

I got kicked out of the first band I was in back in high school. They went w/o a bass player because the alternative (me) was not good enough to improve their sound. I was just a beginner and was horrible. I practiced every day and three months later joined the same band that had kicked me out.
 
#24
Don't worry--back in the mid 80s, every working drummer was freaking out that drum machines were going to put them out of work. They didn't. Many adapted to the technology and they're still grooving hard thirty years later.

Right now, DJ culture, edm music and easy music technology have created a perfect storm for a paradigm shift in musical tastes for younger generations of kids. DJing live is different from drumming live. Going to a techno rave is a different experience from a sweaty punk club. There will be room for everything and as the kids in your high school get into college, they'll be more of them expressing their individuality.

Bottom line--play your bass well.
 
#25
Don't worry about bands not wanting bass players, worry instead about the general public not caring about live music and the general decline in opportunities for musicians. All musicians are in for a rough (rougher) ride, not just us bassists.
 
#27
I'll make a different argument why you shouldn't be worried - programming a good bass track takes a lot of work. And it has no flexibility - really hard to go into an improv jam, an extended intro-outro,vamp or anything really interesting in an entertainment setting without a lot of work.

[ANother angle] I do watch repair - when electronic watches came out a lot of guys stuck in the mechanical watch world lost their jobs. Now so many of them are gone, the few who are left are making an absolute KILLING fixing for collectors. And the cell phone killing off watches? - never happened as many people like a watch for certain times, some professions sort of require them, they are jewelry and a fashion statement(ironically I hate wearing watches or any jewelry). More wrist watches were produced last year than in any year in prior history. Bass players aren't going away. But if you give up there will incrementally be more work for the rest of us - just sayin. :bassist:

Work on your playing so it isn't just "don,don,don".
 
#28
SlapPopBass said:
I can't count the number of times I've seen the people at my school give a disgusted face every time they see me lugging my bass, or the numerous times I've heard people say, "your "instrument" just goes "don don don" loudly, its not even musical or nice sounding, what's the point of you playing it?"
Click to expand...
That's got nothing to do with the bass. They just hate YOU.

Anyhoo,

Synthesizers can make a lot of bass sounds that the bass guitar can't. That's been the case since the 70's. The difference now is that those synthesizers are now no more expensive than a bass guitar.

On the other hand, there isn't an interface to those synthesizers that gives the sort of control over articulation that a decent bassist can have over a string.

If you're interested in music, there's a case for learning a few instruments - not getting too hung up on one. But the bass guitar is pretty versatile - at least in the sense that "don don don" fits ok into most styles :)
 
#29
THRAK2 said:
Don't worry--back in the mid 80s, every working drummer was freaking out that drum machines were going to put them out of work. They didn't. Many adapted to the technology and they're still grooving hard thirty years later.
Click to expand...
And in the late 70's keyboards were going to replace all the guitar players. That didn't happen, either. Show me the button on your synth that emulates the guitarist changing the angle of the pick on the strings by 10 degrees. :D

The gross attributes of any instrument can be mimicked by one or more others, but the subtleties usually cannot. Don't worry, be happy.
 
#30
MysticMichael said:
Relax, Junior. It's just adolescent angst. And you don't exactly have a great deal of life experience yet. The bass isn't going anywhere... :smug:

IMO, bassists need to start thinking more in terms of "Bass - the musical function", and less in terms of "Bass - the musical instrument". Whenever there has been music, nearly right from the beginning, there has been bass - whether it be the figured bass of classical orchestral music during the Baroque period, or the tuba of a John Phillips Sousa march - or the synth bass of a Gary Numan tech/pop piece. Bass is a fundamental element of music - and likely will always be so.

That said, electric bass guitar is still a very fluid & functional instrument - scarcely even 60 years old! It still has a long, productive life ahead of it... :smug:

MM
Click to expand...

+1

OP, please strap on some headphones and give a listen to "Gloria's Step - Take 2" from the Bill Evans Trio - Live at the Village Vanguard. It's all over youtube. No sweat finding it. You will rest in the knowing that each element of what MM has told you is most true - especially the functionality of the instrument.
 
#31
The bass guitar is one way to create a bass line in a song. But there are other ways. George Clinton had Bootsy and still used a synth for the bass line on Flashlight...one of my favorite songs of all time.

Your high school may not be into music that has bass guitars but the probably don't have a flute or a violin either and I don't think those instruments are getting replaced.
 
#32
This same cycle has been around at least as long as modern synthesizers, starting with Moog & ARP in late '60's and early '70's, with Ray Manzarek with the Doors playing the Rhodes piano bass and Bootsy adding syn bass to funk. A good bass player will always have a gig.

I have found there are too many who play at bass and not enough good bass players.
 
#34
We have never been needed in much the same way as there is no need for a didgeridoo player or even a guitarist in any band.

And maybe its true our instrument just goes "don don don", although some bassists can make theirs sound all "thwackity boom pop" as well. But there are some artists that find such noises useful in their music.

The point is, there's no rules or in art. No guarantee of a job, nor is there any predicting the future trends of the public's fickle tastes. Just be sure you love what you do and the sounds you make on your instrument. Because if you aren't enjoying what you do in and of itself then you are doing it for the wrong reason.

Though, my personal opinion... bass isn't getting replaced in any mass quantities in most music genres anytime soon. A lot of people love the sound no matter what your idiot friends might think.
 
#36
heck..seems like in modern music theres less need for guitar..rather than bass.

so if bass gets bumped out eventually..well be in the same unemployment line as guitarists. ;)

but this is exactly why we must embrace todays music..and rock it out with lots o guitar n bass..and show people what the original versions are missing..
jmo
 
#37
Having played drums for many years before taking up bass in 1985 I can promise that playing without a bass player usually sucks out loud. Even with a keyboard bass. The only exception I would make is someone who can seriously kick bass pedals on a B-3. Skip Knape or Jimmy Smith are exceptions although Jimmy played left hand bass. But there aren't too many Jimmy Smiths out there. These trends come and go. Look at The Black Keys. They have about 7 or 8 albums. But not to worry because playing without a bass player generally sucks out loud.
 
#38
Old man said:
Look at The Black Keys. They have about 7 or 8 albums. But not to worry because playing without a bass player generally sucks out loud.
Click to expand...

How did I know someone was going to mention The Black Keys in this thread? :rolleyes:

The *CREATIVE CORE* (official band members) of that act are Dan Auerbach (vocals, guitar) and Patrick Carney (drums). Well guess what? That instrumental lineup doesn't represent the total sonic scope of that band. Their recorded material routinely incorporates multiple guitar parts, harmony vocals, keys & bass.

And guess what else? Invalid Link Removed. Those guys aren't official members of the band, but are paid for the purposes of touring.

:hiding:
 

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