xilddx

I'm a better finisher than a starter tbh.

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1368620148' post='2079241'] i think it has a completely different personalitiy ... [/quote] Good points mate, thanks.

[quote name='Left Foot' timestamp='1368619020' post='2079210'] [b]xilddx - you, and only you I might add, posted a video of yourself covering a song last night. I cant find it today and have crap connection at home, post it again please.[/b] [b]& everyone else[/b] who have put their own personality into a cover, I'd like to see to what extent this can be done without simply bastardising the original. I dont want this to read as a 'challenge', I just personally have no creative facility for copying others work and would like to see how you have gone about it. [/quote] Um, I took it down because I presumed no-one would think beyond the fact it was pretty faithful to the original, and wasn't sure if it illustrated the point of this thread properly, I can clearly hear my style in there, I doubt anyone else can But here it is again. The suit was because we were going out and I was waiting for my queen to get ready so I recorded it then, I didn't put all that clobber on just for the vid [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QbJ0Ga8hFc[/media]

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1368618239' post='2079192'] all well and good but where is the line between and genuine honest attempt at an improved or personalised arrangment and laziness at not bothering to listen to or inability to reproduce the original arrangement (for technical/skill reasons) ? sometimes the studio production will mean that it cannot be reproduced faithfully in a live setting and usually it is down to the band line-up and instrumentation requiring the arrangement to be altered a technically difficult arrangment may be tricky for a band to replicate in a live situation but a 'lazy arrangement' will usually sound like just that - an arrangement can often be simplified and with attention to just small details can lift it from being ordinary to sounding like the band have put a modicum of thought and effort into re-arranging it [/quote] Ok then Here is the original version of Crowded House's Private Universe, followed by our cover of it that we just released. It's a bass synth on the recording although I play it on bass live almost identically. I'll be interested to know if you think ours has personality [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6CkAiTD_LM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6CkAiTD_LM[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJTcY_Wi1M0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJTcY_Wi1M0[/url]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1368618386' post='2079199'] Ah. You've seen me play then...? [/quote]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1368618180' post='2079191'] I knew there had to be a reason why I have loved them these last 35 years!! My kind of band! [/quote] Then you must hate music and have no personality or musicality mate. Are you dead from the neck up, or down? Or both?

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1368616678' post='2079166'] I have come to this conclusion because they are dead from the neck down in a musical sense. There is no finesse or playing there..just notes...no panache, no zip, no nothing.. You can watch 30 mins of the show and know every move they would make..and there would be no musical surprises. If it meant 'up' that would mean they have some sort of cerebral use ...but I use the word 'down'. as nothing they do could get the body parts moving.. As you say, don't wish to derail a good thead otherwise.. [/quote] Fine. Rush are crap, dead down and up, no surprises, totally predictable, no musicality or personality.

[quote name='krysh' timestamp='1368612709' post='2079110'] ah, I see. but doesn't take this us back to the OP question? as nige said then what and how is communicated with/through music? as in a language isn't the dialect and choice of words, tone and pronounciation a mirror of your own personality? shouldn't we try to communicate then as precise and touching as possible to transport the expression of a piece or note? of course anybody can be happy just to play a bit, but isn't the highest goal in playing music to project the content/expression directly into the listeners hearts? I believe you have to have an own voice to be able to do this. [/quote] Pretty close to what I think Krysh. Music is all about people, not music, if you see what I mean. A great orator can be as compelling as a great musician. There are people who sparkle through their communication methods, whether that be music, writing, conversation, art, cooking, whatever - they seem to do something compelling that reflects something common to certain people.

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1368385524' post='2076426'] Quick slideshow of last night's gig: [url="http://www.flickr.com//photos/bluejay_my_photos/sets/72157633479772426/show/"]http://www.flickr.co...479772426/show/[/url] [/quote] Great stuff! I really must get to a gig soon.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1368610770' post='2079081'] yes i can. i think people who play any instrument have different goals, as to what they want to achieve. im in no way saying any approach or attitude towards music/bass is better than the other, its subjective and personal. but my personal feeling is that music or expression of music is something that should communicate. how well you communicate is up to the individual.. [/quote] I'm with you on this, but what do you think is being communicated? Or what is the potential for communication? The way you look can communicate far more than the music in many ways for a lot of people, the music connections comes later. Hence my usual rejoinder that most people SEE (popular) music before they hear it.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1368609418' post='2079061'] I know we are going to have to agree to disagree, N.... but dead from the neck down, I'm afraid...IMO. It isn't so much that I didn't 'like' the Sky footage but there was just no soul or music in the players. Polished and professional and honed...and an all-round show.. but no playing..just licks and time honoured 'stuff' churned out. I must say that I never took to them when they first came out...and if the Sky Arts show that is any sort of pinnacle ..and Rush fans would know far better than I would in that regard, then ..well, words fail me. I wont say anymore... so lets move on.. [/quote] [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1368609641' post='2079063'] I would worry if anyone holds them up as any type of musical standard bearer. [/quote] We don't want to turn this thread into Rush Wars, but I honestly have no idea why you would come to this conclusion. Hating their music is perfectly fine, saying they are dead from the neck down (sic - I think you mean 'up'), have no musicality or personality is, frankly, a massive sack-full of diseased bollocks mate.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1368606393' post='2079008'] But I don't feel that 'I just have musical instincts I'm compelled to express'. It's the music that matters not me and my personal compulsions. [/quote] [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1368605847' post='2079002'] I have low goals, making it to the end of the chorus is good, helping the whole band get there would be even better, and the best compliment would not be about 'original unique voice' (I would laugh to be told that) but something like 'great timing, lovely sound and held the whole band together!'. [/quote] I think you've answered your own question.

[quote name='Left Foot' timestamp='1368571750' post='2078817'] so... any takers? [/quote] I'd love to post a couple of Kit tracks but I have no recordings of them. I have videos of covers but they are as exacting as I can make them. I do think they reflect my personality as my hands and musical brain work differently to the original player and my enjoyment playing them came from that, not the fact I was close to the original.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1368569240' post='2078790'] But Rush are a band TOTALLY devoid of musicality and personality. IMO..!! If ever a band went thru playing by numbers it is these guys...if the Snakes and Arrows Sky Arts shows are typical..?? I had the misfotune to watch far more of that TV show than I should have...recently..!! [/quote] You mean you don't like what they do. To say what you have said is a highly surprising misjudgement coming from an experienced musician.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1368553744' post='2078506'] Nige, I do understand, in some sense anyway, the point being made but at the same time I just don't get it because I'm never thinking in terms of 'what the f*** am I going to say through music?'. If I thought the distinction between art and entertainment was a real distinction then I'd be on the entertainment side. I never think in terms of expressing myself or expressing my personality (whatever that is). I do think about whether the music is working harmonically and rhythmically and I do think about whether the audience is dancing. And if someone is talking to me then I sincerely hope I'd be more interested in the content of what they have to say than merely in their personality. [/quote] You're probably doing it anyway mate. I don't get out of bed thinking "How shall I express myself today?" I just do it, sometimes I f*** it up, but it's definitely me Same with my composing and playing. I don't really think about it, I just have musical instincts I'm compelled to express. Hence my earlier post saying I'm only just realising I DO approach bass a bit differently to a lot of other bassists I've heard. f*** knows if anyone would know that by hearing me play, but I do think I have developed an aesthetic and it's come about through exposure to a lot of music and deciding what I like and don't like in terms of dynamics and nuances and how I use space, accent, polyrhythm, etc. I grew up on prog rock, Zappa, dub and reggae, opera, pop, etc. I LOVED it all, apart from opera, and all that musical excitement rattles my particles in a particular way. I hate most Jazz but interesting walking bass lines can get me all wet, so I incorporate elements of that in my playing and composing too, although it's a little f***ed up. I love loads of instruments and tiny things Copeland might do on a hi-hat can make me go insane with excitement. So I suppose from all that exposure, synthesis, and spewing out the results in my own music, and bass and guitar stuff I write for other people, emerges some sort of style. I generally know what sort of rhythmic, melodic, harmonic, and spatial climates get me excited, and what doesn't. I only ever incorporate what I like into my own music. The journey is learning that musical language and using it, which is where I am woefully inadequate, if I'd been schooled I'd have a lot more output of much higher quality.

I realise I'm in the minority here, but I can't really wear clothing that proclaims my love of anything, or having a witty remark printed on it or whatever. It's like a tattoo for the day. I simply can't imagine walking about with a massive bass clef or "bass players go deeper, baby' " or some sh*t like that. I had a Motorhead t shirt once, it was cool because of that fabulous logo. I ended up chucking it after doing the decorating in it. Disclaimer: I know I have a thread going on asking where I can get my own design printed on T shirts, but that's for a pub quiz team Best of luck though, Luke!

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1368551083' post='2078447'] I don't really understand what is meant by 'personality' in this context - however, if all it means is that I will make decisions about what to play then, of course, that will be true, but so what? The decision I make might even be to do what someone else did already and then that will still be 'personality' influencing my decisions. It's meaningless. I really do not feel it's important to me to have my own 'personality'. [/quote] It admittedly is a nebulous expression, and I imagine it means a recognisable style of playing and composing. I suppose you would have to exaggerate what you do for it to be noticeable to most people. Most non-musicians wouldn't recognise the instrument let alone a style of playing. But I think it's important to develop your musical personality, otherwise what the f*** are you going to say through music? Whether it's noticeable or not, if you are not connecting your musical instincts to the music you make, the listener may well feel the music is dead. I'd agree it's not that important to many bassists, but imagine if a singer had no personality coming across in their voice? Or indeed anyone? Would you want to hear someone with little personality talking to you? Probably not, what could you connect with to keep your attention and interest?

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1368550397' post='2078427'] No, I never feel that way. I never think at all about my own personality. I think about the song and the band and what I can manage to do that will work most effectively. [/quote] Surely your personality influences your decisions about your composition, no?

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1368539386' post='2078184'] I agree with what others have said - that is not a good name for a teaching or instructional resource. Far too confrontational, and likely to put potential visitors off IMO. But hey - it's your project man! [/quote] It's like a bass competition site innit.

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1368537295' post='2078134'] Fair comment - have attempted to do just that. [/quote] Cool, much better And the answer is simple repetition and pattern recognition for me. Knowing the key of the song helps me too, much easier in remembering the fret position of the first note or whatever. I can usually hear the whole song in my head, if I can do that then playing the song with real emotion and expression is easy and a much higher quality performance results. You realise your poll results may be a bit skewed now?

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1368535481' post='2078090'] I guess I'm refering to how you commit the song to memory rather than the transcription or "working out" process. In other words - what knowledge are you relying on when you come to play it in the band ?. [/quote] So you should change the thread title then.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1368534069' post='2078062'] [b]never liked syncopated notes, especially on hi hats, I just don't think they sound right,[/b] can't stand improvised jazz, so I guess that explains it [/quote] Really?!

You mean covers I presume? I learn by ear, I can usually sing the line. I don't have enough theory to really help me.