How important is an 'interesting' bass part in the music you play?

[Doc B]

I always prefer an interesting bassline or groove but pumping out straight 8s can be excellent for driving a song along (Digging the Grave by FNM). I hated doing Nirvana covers in a band I was in as it seemed to be the same bass line transposed up and down the neck in about 4 different songs.

I do always prefer covers that have a nice balance of being fairly straightforward (i.e. easy) but interesting to play and listen to. I was in a band that did Die Laughing by Therapy and I still love playing that.

I also think that it's a mark of a great song if you still love listening to the original and playing along after playing it hundreds of times over. Black by Pearl Jam is one of my favourite basslines for that reason.

[tauzero]

[quote name='trent900' post='197600' date='May 12 2008, 11:13 PM']Sometimes however things can be taken too far, may I draw the thread's attention to 'Dance the Night Away' by the Mavericks which [i]will[/i] give you carpal tunnel and is a criminal affront to all that is good and right in this world even at the best of times.[/quote]
If played as the original, it's a straight walking bass so it's not going to give anyone CTS. The big challenge is to make it an interesting bassline because if I didn't mess around on it, I'd probably fall asleep, so I do little things like playing it over three octaves (this is where a 5-string comes in handy) to keep myself from flagging too much. And there's generally one or two fit burds on the dance floor to ogle.

As far as the original post goes, with the original music I do, there's no conflict as obviously I like it and I do interesting bass lines. With covers, sometimes the bassline is predefined and inescapable and the challenge is playing it well. Where it's not predefined, there's the opportunity to make it as interesting as you like, providing it doesn't interfere with the song - so the challenge is to enhance the song.

[wulf]

In the jazz band I used to hate it when tunes like "Song for My Father", "All Blues" and "Canteloupe Island" got called. All three (and plenty more) have a simple, repetitive bass pattern as their foundation. Round and round - even taking solo is hard because it is difficult to switch the brain into a more melodic style after the riffing and it also needs to be arranged so the bottom doesn't fall out of the song.

However, I'm gradually loving them more as I discover how I can turn the repeated phrases into music, responding and influencing what the other instruments are doing while still maintaining the integrity of the bassline. In part that is learning how to hear the song as a whole - thinking as a musician rather than merely as a bass-fan.

There are positive side effects to this development. Not only does the overall song sound better when each part embraces its responsibilities to the overall music but I am also finding it easier not to lose my place in the music. Therefore, I am definitely a fan of listening to the whole rather than judging a tune on whether the bassline initially strikes me as "impressive".

Wulf

[Tait]

it depends how much i hate the song and how fun the bassline is. i dont really like listening to stuff like red hot chilis and rage against the machine but i learn the basslines cos they're fun, and i like listening to stuff like blink 182 and i learn the basslines cos i like the song. but id never learn jazz - walking basslines bore me and i hate the music!!!!

[JakeBrownBass]

I don't really do covers anymore but in my band i try and steer clear of the piano, and play what fits the best! Wether its interesting or not!

Jake