great bass players with terrible technique, are there any?

[brensabre79]

Yeah thats not the sort of thing I mean, its the "how to play....." type ones where they have got all the notes in the right order but clearly not grasped the style and expression within the music.

I think its the arrogance associated with having learned a technique perfectly and thinking that they have mastered the instrument. Its the sort of thing that builds fear into anyone who is self taught ever getting a bass lesson because they think they will be told to start again, and "do it properly this time!" Not all teachers are like that!

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1352988997' post='1870204']
Yeah thats not the sort of thing I mean, its the "how to play....." type ones where they have got all the notes in the right order but clearly not grasped the style and expression within the music.

I think its the arrogance associated with having learned a technique perfectly and thinking that they have mastered the instrument. Its the sort of thing that builds fear into anyone who is self taught ever getting a bass lesson because they think they will be told to start again, and "do it properly this time!" Not all teachers are like that!
[/quote]

I'm soon to be a bass teacher, and i wouldn't say something like that. the way somebody plays is their style. I happen to like flea's style, even though it sounds like his right hand is sawing a tree trunk. Good technique isn't the be all and end all, and unless something is drastically wrong, or i can see somebody injuring themselves, i wouldn't criticise it. I also wouldn't be that condescending to say "do it right this time". nothing puts me off learning more than having that "i'm in charge here" figure. I learn best with a bit of banter (hopefully my students will too, because i'm not really into being that teacher that is like "you must do this!")

[Dood]

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1352839616' post='1868288']
I have shocking technique, but I'm not a great bass player or famous.... my fingers are all over my fretboard like tramp over a bag of chips...having fingers like fat bangers that I've broke more times than I can rememer doesn't help me I'm sure....I look at the great smooth players and they seem to have fingers like racing snakes, all thin, long and bendy.

....I used to be a real golf nut, there were some fantastic pro-golfers who had poor swings (golf technique), more than one have had golf coaching to try and improve their swings only to find it cost them a lot of games and a lot of money...even the great Jack Nicklaus never had the best of swings, but didn't hold him back...


I was wondering if the same exists in the world of the great bassists...?
[/quote]

For a humorous response to your question, if all YouTube comments were to be believed, then all bass players on the planet seem to have something wrong with their playing!

[fatback]

[quote name='Shockwave' timestamp='1352881849' post='1868664']
The worst in my mind would be Nick Karns Technique god rest his soul. His plucking fingers are held out completely straight at all times.
[/quote]

He admitted as much in an interview, I remember. Said that half the time he hadn't a clue what he was playing, just if it sounded good he kept it. Cheered me up no end.

I wouldn't diss technique at all though. It keeps the path ahead open, but especially as a way of not getting injured.

[ellie]

I must be missing something here? Not difficult as I'm easiiy confused! I rarely watch other players, I like to close my eyes and listen to the sound they make. We all play in our own unique style. I admit I do look sometimes, when I can't work out how a player gets a certain sound, but mainly I simply work around my own sound.
I saw someone here say "using a pick" and the point is? Bass playing is a skill that we work on and hopefully improve on. I play with fingers and a pick, sometimes both at the same time!
I guess we have to work with what we are given. I have fairly long, flexible fingers, but I know several really good players with short fat ones! I know a guy who only used two finders on the right hand at once, he's fast though, and accurate! I can't play that style, it hurts my arm lol! Steve Harris sort of. Ooooops I must have looked!
COME TO THINK OF IT, WHAT AM I DOING HERE THIS EARLY!

[Plarry]

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1352839616' post='1868288']
I was wondering if the same exists in the world of the great bassists...?
[/quote]

I'd say the same exists in the world of whatever-you-can-imagine!

Take any speaker: he can have a "shocking technique", as you put it, 150,000 words to his vocabulary, a "perfect" grammar and syntax, etc. Does it prevent him from talking... nonsense. It doesn't enable him to make his point through, let alone "moving" his/her audience. It's so obvious I'm sure you've got hundreds of examples coming to your mind.

Listening to others instead of speaking all the time, trying to "tune" with them, etc. could be the beginning of an idea, nope?

In any field, be it music or martial arts or whatever, IMHO, if you want to become a "master" or what you call great, I think the stages are the same: learn the technique, forget the technique, forget yourself (meaning your ego, of course). What's the hardest for you?

[bremen]

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1352845091' post='1868440']
Geddy Lee has the most shockingly inefficiently plucking hand technique on the planet, he defies the very laws of physics to play so many notes so quickly with it.
[/quote]

Just watched a few Rush clips and yes, it does look like hard work.

Sounds f***ing awesome though, so can't be that bad.

[brensabre79]

[quote name='bremen' timestamp='1353079063' post='1871407']
Just watched a few Rush clips and yes, it does look like hard work.

Sounds f***ing awesome though, so can't be that bad.
[/quote]

My thoughts exactly. I tried it, it is hard to do, but I can see why he does it because it does sound noticeably different. I guess after all the years he's been playing like that he would find it hard to play any other way...

[bassace]

In the double bass sense, with today's players so into Simandl and Rabath you could say that many of the old school payers' technique wasn't quite up to snuff - but they sure were great players.

Re bass guitars, well I don't see or study too many examples but I am seriously bothered by Dave Swift's playing. That awful thud he gets from using right hand thumb. Sorry, doesn't do it for me at all. The drummer's not much cop either IMO. But what do I know.

[jakenewmanbass]

I've always maintained that if it sounds good it [i]is [/i]good (all of my students will have heard me say that at some point). Therefore technique can be a personal thing, as long as you can play what you want to without the [i]way [/i]you play it getting in the way somehow. If you can't play what you want to, then work on improving that is a no brainer, studying technical facility possibilities also then speak for themselves in becoming attractive.
My only exception is on DB where there are certain things that will be so much easier to achieve with a good technique, that the schools of thought that have existed for centuries about the 'best' way to play a Double bass are really worth paying attention to...!

Edited November 16, 2012 by jakenewmanbass

[fatback]

I really do think that not injuring yourself is the number one reason for trying to get good technique. Bass can hurt you.

Edited November 18, 2012 by fatback