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"Better?"


Antiloco
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[quote name='Inti' timestamp='1357059836' post='1916965']
You simply fail to recognize what technique is al about then but hey... Who am I to teach you?
[/quote]
The only thing I can presume is you mean that by my choosing of a simpler style for that band meant I had a better technique? I think most people would class that as dynamics and the technique being the way in which you use your hands to play certain styles, I am certain that If you asked a teacher for lessons on technique it would not involve note choice and style of playing for songs rather they would ask you what technique do you want to improve, slap, finger, pick etc?

You have some strong opinions on how good people are and should be can you link us to any of your own work? I asked a few times in this and the other thread and it has been taken as me trying to wind you up but I am deadly serious :)

Edited by stingrayPete1977
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[quote name='Inti' timestamp='1357049831' post='1916733']
Plus that technique without a brain is pretty useless anyway...
[/quote]
[quote name='Inti' timestamp='1357059836' post='1916965']
You simply fail to recognize what technique is al about
[/quote]

Isn't that slightly contradictory? :huh:

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[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1357060351' post='1916979']
Shall we lock this one too?
[/quote]

Probably the way it's going.

Can you lot calm down, if this behaviour continues, it'll be warning time. And being New Year and all that we don't want that do we?

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I've said it before and been shot down for it, but what the hey! :rolleyes:

To me, technique is a means to an end. It allows your fingers to play what your brain hears. If you can't do that, then your technique is limited.

Problem is, all of our brains hear different things. So although [i]my[/i] fingers might be able to play what [i]my[/i] brain hears (they [i]can't[/i], BTW!); they may not be anywhere near being able to play what [i]your[/i] brain hears.

I've confused myself now! :huh:

Edited by Conan
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[quote name='Johngh' timestamp='1357060828' post='1916990']
Can you lot calm down, if this behaviour continues, it'll be warning time. And being New Year and all that we don't want that do we?
[/quote]

No Sir. Sorry. :blush:

But these are quite emotive questions I guess...

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For some reason I hate music being referred to as 'art'. It devalues it, doesn't do justice.

I personally know that the sum of the parts is what is important in music, it doesn't really ever matter how it is that music is created. Better and worse is subjective as it's only how much stock an individual invests into a song that really matters, even if we as musicians would like to think John Coltrane should be far more celebrated as a musician than Olly Murs. That's not the way it works.

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[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1357060365' post='1916980']
Who am I , though , to not take the opportunity to learn from you - or from anyone else. I've learned stuff from players who many would say aren't fit to carry my amp as well as from world famous names.
[/quote]

+1 That about sums it up for me.

As a bass player I'm classed as a musician, but there is no way I'd class myself on a par with the guy who plays bass in a world famous orchestra. Could I learn from him, without a doubt, could he learn from me, maybe.

I never really like the elitist BS that some players like to give off. Music is Music, some can maybe be classed as art, others not. I never really care. If my ears tell me its good, that will do for me.

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[quote name='Inti' timestamp='1357036661' post='1916495']
I've been into several forums now where there seems to be a tabu around talking about someone being better or worse in musical situations. I wonder what the debate climate looks like here in bass chat so I put the discussion on the table: Is it possible to be better or worse than anyone in art? Are we all the same? Is this too subjective to measure? Isn't this thinking curling the way for laziness to take advantage of people with the will to grow? Etc, etc...
[/quote]

Great/good/less good/mediocre/bad? ... Definitely. Without standards, it's all babble.

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I think there is a erroneous assumption that what we are as musicians is a homogenous thing. There is art as entertainment and there is art that exists for other reasons. Someone who writes soundtracks for movies can be 'better' at that than someone else who may be 'better' at working an audience. Until we define what element of being a musician we are referring to, we cannot say who is 'better' anymore than we can say who is 'worse'. Paul Chambers could swing like no-one else on earth but his Latin playing was pretty lame. Jeff Berlin is all over the bass technically but anyone with half an ear will prefer John Lennon's 'Imagine' to Berlin's. A great reggae player may not be able to play funk and vice versa. Any discussion regarding 'best' cannot continue without clarification as to which aspect of being a musician we are referring to.

Although, of course, all Jazz bass players are better than anyone else ;)

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wipe on...wipe off...paint up ...paint down danielson.......isnt everyday a schoolday...as per dr dave there could be a player who is percived as crap...but oneday he could show u a little techneque that u never knew...or a run...riff ect...uv the learned some thing off him...same as some percived as brilliant....

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[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1357050009' post='1916738']

Why? , I have been in similar situations where the rest of the band preffered my simpler style over people who were both more technical and up on their theory etc.
[/quote]

That's exactly the point I wa trying to make :)

In an 'exam' type situation the other guy would have achieved far, far higher grades.

However, in this particular band situation I was the 'better' player for what was required.

Goes back to the 'better' can be entirely subjective and technique, for the sale of technique, can, at times, be quite un-musical.

For me, a player like Jeff Berlin, kinda sums this up. I can appreciate that he is a technically gifted individual but I find him nearly unlistenable :(

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[quote name='Johngh' timestamp='1357060828' post='1916990']


Probably the way it's going.

Can you lot calm down, if this behaviour continues, it'll be warning time. And being New Year and all that we don't want that do we?
[/quote]
Please do lock it, I've not had a good day, and even I can see this is getting out of hand...

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what have I missed..???
Late skimmer........ :lol:

Technique is a wonderful thing to have... but is it the be-all and end-all..??
Not if you haven't got anything else...
And you can have all the energy and passion under the sun... and it gets you no where with a decent facility to put that across.

It is all about what you bring to the party.... and if you will carry the P.A, lights etc ....you're in..

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It's a tricky one this...

There are so many factors to bass playing. Compared to another player, you can be 'better' at timing, but 'worse' at keeping up with chord changes. 'Better' at slap bass, but 'worse' at knowing when slap bass is not appropriate. ;)

And so on!

Edited by chrismuzz
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[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1357071031' post='1917194']

Technique is a wonderful thing to have... but is it the be-all and end-all..??
Not if you haven't got anything else...
And you can have all the energy and passion under the sun... and it gets you no where with a decent facility to put that across.

It is all about what you bring to the party.... and if you will carry the P.A, lights etc ....you're in..
[/quote]

This.... I would also say having good people skills is just as important. A player with fantastic technique who has no people skills won't last long in any musical setting.

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[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1357072363' post='1917229']
It's a tricky one this...

There are so many factors to bass playing. Compared to another player, you can be 'better' at timing, but 'worse' at keeping up with chord changes. 'Better' at slap bass, but 'worse' at knowing when slap bass is not appropriate. ;)

And so on!
[/quote]

In pretty much any actual gigging band (apart from an 80's covers band) slap bass is never appropriate :)

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[quote name='mbellishment' timestamp='1357075844' post='1917294']
Can't believe yous got my first thread on BC locked up like lads! Was quite proud of that thread ;)
[/quote]

You should be proud that your first thread was locked. I've been here for over 2 years and never managed it :lol:

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One bassist can be "better" than an other---in terms of technique. Some bassists can play lines that others can't. So technically, they are better players. Of course, player A may be better than player B at style C, but player B may be better than player A at style D.

Where it all becomes subjective and murkier, however, is when you start talking about songwriting and musicality. I'd much rather listen to Nirvana or The Clash than Victor Wooten or Rush.

Its all a bit pointless, anyway. Music isn't a competition, its an enjoyable experience. There are only two types of music, music you like and music you don't. Worrying about who is best at it seems to miss the point somewhat.

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