Singer/Guitarist in " New found repect for all bassplayers" Shock admission!!

[Donnyboy]

It's true.....

We got offered a gig a while back, which unfortunately I wasn't available for. No worries , we've done some gigs without our drummer , using his stand-in ,George ( the drum machine, who seems to play out of time ) and it's been a bit of a giggle.


I suggested that they try and do it ,as a 3 rather then 4 piece - to which they agreed. " The way you play Donny, it'll be a doddle". So ,bass was lent to the singer who normally plays rhythm guitar( and it's musically gifted) so they could have a rehearsal.

Afterwards I asked how it went and was told it wasn't good, truely awful , in fact worse than awful ,and there was no chance of them doing the gig. I got a text from my would be stand-in " I have to say that we're greater than the sum of our parts as a 4 piece, and feckin' awful as a 3 piece. [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][i]I now have new found admiration and respect for all bassplayers.........[/i]"[/font]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Now,I'm not a fancy bassplayer by any means , but is good to know that we are ALL appreciated , well ,when we're not there!!! [/font]

[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif] Anyone else been on the receiving end of such high praise?[/font]

[Lozz196]

I wouldn`t say high praise, but an old guitarist in one of my bands took up bass, and he said to me he hadn`t realised how important the bass was, and up until learning it always thought bassists were failed guitarists. Which, given his planet-sized ego was a fair admission, whilst without actually offering any praise.

[discreet]

[quote name='Donnyboy' timestamp='1362503242' post='2000328']
[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][i]I now have new found admiration and respect for all bassplayers...[/i][/font]
[/quote]

Wow.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1362507675' post='2000441']
...he said to me he hadn't realised how important the bass was and up until learning it always thought bassists were failed guitarists.
[/quote]

That attitude just raises the temperature of my urine to 100 degrees Celcius. A lot of us actually [i]choose [/i]to be bass players!!

Edit: And yes, I have on occasion been told I'm not too bad a player. Modesty forbids going into detail.

Edited March 5, 2013 by discreet

[the_skezz]

I've found that more people tend to view you as a failed guitarist if you use a pick rather than fingers - ridiculous assumption of course, but IME it's generally held up. I remember going to an audition a few years back, using fingerstyle to warm up, and the singer saying 'Wow, he's a proper musician!' My last band certainly appreciated my playing - helped by the fact that I could play all the songs on guitar but none of the others could play my basslines.

[LiamPodmore]

I've been told i'm too good for my band a few times, but nothing else really.

Liam

[discreet]

[quote name='LiamPodmore' timestamp='1362510158' post='2000524']
I've been told i'm too good for my band a few times, but nothing else really.
[/quote]

[size=4] You need to move on by the sound of it![/size]

[dmccombe7]

was once mentioned in front of full band that i was the driving force behind the bands sound and it was noticed most when i had just learned a song at 1st rehearsal i would play quiet and basics - more subdued. When i get to 2nd rehearsal of a song i really go for it and double the energy. The full band thrived off that energy apparently. Was a nice feeling i have to admit. Shame the band fell thru.

Dave

[TimR]

I'm finding the older I get and the more bands I play in, the more people I meet who have played with poor to average bass players and really appreciate a good bass player. These are musicians who will spend their time auditioning, give you the time and information you need and will know by the time you've reached the first chorus of the first song whether you're going to cut it.

If the rest of the band aren't smiling by the end of the first song, you're either not the one, or they don't know what they're looking for...

[dougal]

I played classical guitar to the heady heights of ABRSM grade six.

I've been told on more than one occasion I'm "too good as a guitarist" to be playing bass. Which frankly makes no sense.

I tried playing guitar in a band once. It was all wrong ([i]and[/i] I played far too loud and soloed incessantly)

[pietruszka]

I've been told by my current singer that I'm "the best bass player" she's worked with. Now I really don't like to blow my own trumpet, but I do find that somewhat difficult to believe! However it is nice to hear that you're valued, and it's amazing what LISTENING does for your standing in the band!


Dan

[LiamPodmore]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1362510321' post='2000536']
You need to move on by the sound of it!
[/quote]

I have honestly debated on it, but i love the stuff too much. Playing p*ss easy music means i look like a really good bass player and have a blast whilst i'm on stage.

Liam

[Happy Jack]

You joined U2?

[fumps]

Ooo a timely thread.
I'm jamming with a few fellas at the moment & last night they told me I was driving them through the songs & making them all sound 100% better than they was before. All the way through last nights session they were beaming from ear to ear.

A great lift for me

[pietruszka]

[quote name='fumps' timestamp='1362563128' post='2001237']
Ooo a timely thread.
I'm jamming with a few fellas at the moment & last night they told me I was driving them through the songs & making them all sound 100% better than they was before. All the way through last nights session they were beaming from ear to ear.

A great lift for me
[/quote]

Satisfying isn't it! Makes you feel so much more appreciated, and valued as a musician.



Dan

[Donnyboy]

[quote name='pietruszka' timestamp='1362565051' post='2001288']
Satisfying isn't it! Makes you feel so much more appreciated, and valued as a musician.



Dan
[/quote]


True, and shows others who think they could do it standing on their head that they might just have an over-inflated believe in their abilities!!!!

[barkin]

A guitarist mate of mine plays bass from time to time, but doesn't like to in a band situation. Apparently everybody notices if he makes a mistake, or stops playing for a couple of beats...

[charic]

The greatest praise I've ever received was that my playing was like a cross between Steve Harris and Stu Hamm I'm still trying to work out what the hell that sounds like

[Jacqueslemac]

My band do say they miss me (or rather, my bass) when I'm not there for a rehearsal.

That's a kind of compliment, I suppose, given that Bill Wyman apparently said that you should only notice the bass when it isn't there.

[51m0n]

Its just good when the chemistry is there....

[achknalligewelt]

I started as a guitarist, but always liked playing bass, so when I was asked by a mate to join his band on bass because no-one else would do it, I said 'yeah, why not?' When I suggested early on that I could play a solo he was having trouble with if he played bass for that number, said no. Not, he was keen to add, because he didn't think I could play the solo, of course I could. His issue was that he didn't really know how to play bass properly. Nonsense, I said, we're all musicians here. So we had a go.

It was [i]terrible,[/i] terrible in a whole new way I never thought possible. This man, who can hurtle through any Jimmy Page solo you care to name, could not hold down 8ths in time, could not find an octave, none of it. This is bass lessons, week 2 stuff, and he absolutely flunked it. 'See?' he said, 'I told you I can't play bass. What you do is impossible.'

Felt good. That was six years ago. And it still feels good.

[pietruszka]

[quote name='Jacqueslemac' timestamp='1362567757' post='2001346']
That's a kind of compliment, I suppose, given that Bill Wyman apparently said that you should only notice the bass when it isn't there.
[/quote]

I have to agree with that. In a band I got booted out of, I was chatting to the drummer about how the new lad was settling in and the first thing he said was "nothing sounds right". That's because I played a lot of 3rds and arpeggios, they had no idea I was doing that until it wasn't there. It's the same for actually playing notes. It's what I teach my students, what you're playing might not sound like much, but people will notice when it's not there, and notes don't always have to be played.


Dan

[stoker]

After I'd been up our local blues jam a couple of times the house bassist said I had a good groove. Also the guy that runs it has been loving my tone and fluidity.