norvegicusbass Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 After a brief spell of being a greedy songbird and playing too many notes I am beginning to settle down and find the beauty in simplicity and especially the riff. To me bass playing has two distinct methodologies, supporting the song in a roundabout way with clever little passages and lots of variation ( think JJ ) and the good old riff. I fell into the trap when I first picked up a bass of thinking that playing fast and furious with loads of notes showed I was a good player. I can put this sentiment down to my young age but when I rediscovered an interest in playing after a generation long hiatus I curiously still had this idea that fast furious many noted playing demonstrated a greater ability than just being a team player and playing to suit the song. However listening to a few tunes on good old Youtube has disavowed me of this notion and I am beginning to fall in love with the riff. The riff in Move On Up by Curtis Mayfield is my current fave and it is played without much variation all through the song. Does anyone know of anymore funky style riffs that are pretty much played throughout the whole song? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Pick up The Pieces, Average White Band, springs to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norvegicusbass Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 [quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1327775394' post='1516656'] Pick up The Pieces, Average White Band, springs to mind. [/quote] Yeah thats a great one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 took me a while to really relax my playing.. i too fell into the trap of playing too many fills when i was younger.. i think with experience and confidence, playing a groove with a fill here and there becomes a more fullfilling experience, as you can take your time.... its all about controlling your expression Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Still one of my favourite riffs after all these years - simplicity itself... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxkx-D4veNk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxkx-D4veNk[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norvegicusbass Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 [quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1327775932' post='1516665'] Still one of my favourite riffs after all these years - simplicity itself... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxkx-D4veNk[/media] [/quote] Yeah this is just the thing I was talking about kind of more emphasis on the groove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norvegicusbass Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 [quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1327775714' post='1516660'] took me a while to really relax my playing.. i too fell into the trap of playing too many fills when i was younger.. i think with experience and confidence, playing a groove with a fill here and there becomes a more fullfilling experience, as you can take your time.... its all about controlling your expression [/quote] Agree 100% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul torch Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Totally agree, in fact had to check it wasn't me that made the original post except for the part about Curtis Mayfield. For me, "once in a lifetime" talking heads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayben Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Also check out 'Uprising' by Muse - plays the same rhythmic groove all the way through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Pump it Up, by Elvis Costello, with Bruce Thomas is a great one for this. On the chorus, there are different fills that he plays, none of which are complicated, but the chorus always sounds the same. The rest of the time, whether it the intro or verse, or upper verse (F#, B, E) is all the same riff. http://youtu.be/tpprOGsLWUo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norvegicusbass Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Another great one is perhaps the simplest of all Everyday People by Sly And The Family Stone. Larry Graham playing the same note at the same tempo throughout the song yet played with such a groove it becomes the main feature of the song ( biased? ). Incidentally Larry Graham is perhaps the only slap player I can get away with if only because he never seems to mistake his bass for another instrument and it always sounds bassy and not like a drum solo on some empty tin cans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.