Words of wisdom from Billy Sheehan

[joebar]

best thing i ever did as a bassist early on was learn a ton of songs. not just bass lines, but the vocal melodies, guitar parts etc. it taught me how music works and certain patterns of composition that one sees time and time again.
i figured out most of what i know by doing this.
and it doesn`t hurt to know songs when you are in a jam session.

 

[mozilla314]

I'm convinced that strap height directly correlates to how many notes a bassist normally plays. I play in a wedding band that plays mostly dance stuff AND I play in a jazz/rock or fusion band with a lot of notes, odd time signatures, fast tempos and bass solos
I find that I prefer to wear my bass lower (belt buckle height) when I'm playing dance stuff and higher (upper stomach height) when I need to fuse out and play solos and access more of the higher frets.

 

[So Low Bass]

Judge: Mr. Mason, your client, So Low Bass, has been charged with “the implication made that if someone doesn't wear their bass up high they're a hack. Yes, I know that isn't what you said, but I can't help thinking that's in the back of your mind when you say something like that" How does your client plead?

Perry Mason: My client pleads not guilty.

Judge: Mr. Burger, you may call your first witness for the Prosecution.

Burger: I call the Clown as an expert witness.

Mason: Objection! The Clown is only an entertainer, and can’t even speak.

Burger: “I imagine he’s a pretty nice clown but he doesn’t have a lot to say”

Judge: Mr. Burger: you must establish that the Clown is an expert witness.

Burger: Your Honor: he as attended but never graduated clown school. He had a great time for four years and watched all the other clowns perform. Clown: what is your address?

Court reporter: I couldn’t hear the Clown’s answer. Can you please repeat it?

Burger: Oh, sorry. The Clown is a mute and will sign his answers.

Mason: Your honor, if the clown is going to sign his testimony, I insist that he remove his mittens.

Burger: Your Honor, the Clown is an entertainer, and his mittens are part of his persona.
As a young clown, he watched his hero clowns on CTV (Clown TV) with their mittens and is simply imitating them. He NEEDS his mittens to entertain.

Judge: But the Clown’s stage persona inhibits him from communicating in this forum. Clown: you may step down from the witness stand. Go off and make people laugh out loud, but don’t dare make them smile inside.

Mason: Your Honor: I believe that I can clear up this entire mess if I am allowed to submit a direct quote from So Low Bass.

Burger: Objection. Mr. Mason is resorting to his usual tactic of confusing the issue.

Judge: Overruled. In the interest of time and justice, Mr. Mason may submit his quote.

Mason: I’d like to submit exibit A:

A musician’s playing position serves his playing, not his “audience”. Entertainers put their “audience” first...”How do I look?”

Judge: Not Guilty.

 

[Fergie Fulton]

Holy Cats ... I can't believe I actually found this. This thread had me thinking of this article and I just went to go find the mag and BANG it was only about a foot down in the pile of old bass mags I have!

Guitar World's Bass Guitar - June/July 2004.

I have an entire closet full of old music mags like this. Keyboard, bass, guitar, and recording centered stuff that go as far back as the mid 1970s. I'm sure others have more extensive collections, but mine is ~enough~ for me.

Anyhow ... check the hang! It looks like he would have to use his thumb to fret the fat strings.

And he's doin' "the Murderface" stance too! (legs spread nearly as wide as the player is tall). I have pics of "Sixx" doin' the Murderface stance as well. Haahaa! It used to be so cool looking, now it's been changed into a mockery of itself. These things happen ...

Looking cool with a low slinger....got love it.

 

[Flux Jetson]

So Low Bass .... Hmmm .. well ... I gotta admit that your comments have been a bit on the "generalizations" side of things. You've sortof herded ~everyone~ that chooses to weigh heavy on entertainment and less on musicianship as "clowns" with little to offer musically. Whether or not those were your exact words, it's certainly how you are coming across in some of your posts.

You must admit that there are different forms of entertainment. The histrionics of the likes of Van Halen had little or nothing to do with musical content, but it sure made their shows entertaining. Some people actually find that type of show preferable. And some music does not require master-level players, yet is still very good music.

Thin ice you're walking on there .... I think it's more about the way you present your opinions rather than the actual technical content. You seem to dance around the very edge of offensive commentary, whether you're aware of that or not.

Lastly, your Perry Mason skit is fun, all well and good .... but let the record show that a defendant cannot serve as judge. The scales of justice aren't just a bit tipped in your favor ... the dang thing is so overweighted to one side that the other side shoots up and smacks "blind justice" on the side of the head.

Perhaps you'd do well to rephrase your statements to include words/phrases such as "many players" or "some players" .. instead of the strong implication that "all players" with low slung instruments are simply ..... clowns. Clowns with little to say at that.

Harpo Marx was a mute clown, but he was highly expressive. You always knew what he was "saying".

Nothing is absolute except change.

Just some things to think about.

 

[So Low Bass]

If the mitten fits, you must aquit.

Harpo is an excellent point on your part. He WAS a clown who could and did step out of the ring to play his ^ss off. And notice, he never wore mittens when he did.

 

[otherclef]

IMHO the best thing you can do is learn JAZZ standards. But of course anyone can memorize and eventually finger anything. The key is to understand the relationships.
Can you transpose any tune on the fly??

 

[Freddels]

If the clown shoes fit . . .

 

[BassyBill]

Holy Cats ... I can't believe I actually found this. This thread had me thinking of this article and I just went to go find the mag and BANG it was only about a foot down in the pile of old bass mags I have!

Guitar World's Bass Guitar - June/July 2004.

I have an entire closet full of old music mags like this. Keyboard, bass, guitar, and recording centered stuff that go as far back as the mid 1970s. I'm sure others have more extensive collections, but mine is ~enough~ for me.

Anyhow ... check the hang! It looks like he would have to use his thumb to fret the fat strings.

And he's doin' "the Murderface" stance too! (legs spread nearly as wide as the player is tall). I have pics of "Sixx" doin' the Murderface stance as well. Haahaa! It used to be so cool looking, now it's been changed into a mockery of itself. These things happen ...

LMAO! Nice one. Thanks for digging that out.

 

[afzoomie67]

I think it's funny seeing fat people with high basses. It just rests on their moobs.

 

[bassburner]

I've been playing for years with my bass about belt buckle height and tried the position that Billy talks about in this video. I expected it to be uncomfortable to switch but I'm experiencing some soreness too. Is this just new muscle memory and adjusting to the new position or would you guys just suggest screw it and keep it at the height you're used to.

 

[BullHorn]

Everyone's physique is different, this might not be right for you.

On the other hand if you can comfortably play while sitting down with the bass in your lap, playing with the same height while standing up shouldn't be too different.

 

[Fergie Fulton]

I've been playing for years with my bass about belt buckle height and tried the position that Billy talks about in this video. I expected it to be uncomfortable to switch but I'm experiencing some soreness too. Is this just new muscle memory and adjusting to the new position or would you guys just suggest screw it and keep it at the height you're used to.

Why would you want to change?

 

[smeet]

I battled for years to get the perfect balance between getting my left hand and right hand and my shoulder comfortable. I've ended up at a medium high position, which works well for me.

One of the things that really made a difference for me was to make sure the bass is at a high angle, like 45 degrees or even higher. In a lot of ways, it's almost approaching the position of an upright. It really helps, especially if you want to play intricate lines on high frets on the lower (thicker) strings. Not that it happens a lot, but sometimes the tone up there is cool.

Also I found that getting my left (fretting) hand elbow out and away from my body, and rotating it as needed to straighten my wrist, really helped.

 

[mambo4]

Maybe worth considering that a , unlike in that Duff pose, a bass typically sits at an angle... so what's low under the right hand ain't necessarily low under the left...

 

[bassburner]

Why would you want to change?

Just because I'm supposedly doing it wrong but, yeah, I guess I have reason to change.

I battled for years to get the perfect balance between getting my left hand and right hand and my shoulder comfortable. I've ended up at a medium high position, which works well for me.

One of the things that really made a difference for me was to make sure the bass is at a high angle, like 45 degrees or even higher. In a lot of ways, it's almost approaching the position of an upright. It really helps, especially if you want to play intricate lines on high frets on the lower (thicker) strings. Not that it happens a lot, but sometimes the tone up there is cool.

Also I found that getting my left (fretting) hand elbow out and away from my body, and rotating it as needed to straighten my wrist, really helped.

This pretty much describes how I hold my bass. I've also noticed that it depends on the bass I'm using. I need to use the semi-hollow at a different angle from the Ibanez to get the same left handed speed.