MiltyG565 Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Whilst listening to some bands, recently I discovered something which flies in the face of everything I ever thought about a good bassline - It doesn't matter what notes are played, how fast they are played, or any of that, what matters is [i]how[/i] they are played. I've heard a few songs lately where the bassist plays the root notes only, but he does it in such a good way, that it sounds really good, as opposed to the likes of a Coldplay bassline, which is often purely root notes, and sounds like utter dung! It appears to me now that it's not the notes of the bassline that make it a good bassline, but how the bassline is played. How it sounds. How it feels. How well it holds up the song. And I didn't realise that you could do this with the simplest and also the most complex of basslines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 And I clicked on this expecting to read about someone else who has sold all their basses and bought a Precision.... But, absolutely agree with your point. Less is often more for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visog Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Careful - over simple and you reduce the quality of the music and limit the bass player's voice. Jaco spoke in 16ths. Anthony Jackson uses some pretty hairy harmonies. Up to the player to make it work. Don't use personal limitations to make arbitrary rules about so called 'profound' simplicity... Create a musical part, make the song better - that could be breves on the root or semi-quavers on the ninth.. whatever... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Part and parcel of 'it's all in the fingers', imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visog Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Re-read the OP and agree entirely with your proposition about [u]how [/u]a line is played - simple or complex. (*went off on rant about Pino fans lauding his 1-note per month approach.*) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr zed Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 [quote name='visog' timestamp='1404579105' post='2493907'] Don't use personal limitations to make arbitrary rules about so called 'profound' simplicity... [/quote] My personal limitations are dictated by my (lack of) talent :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BILL POSTERS Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 All part of why guiar players are different from Bass players. All guitarists think they can play bass, but few of em get the right feel. Never been able to put my finger on why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltyG565 Posted July 5, 2014 Author Share Posted July 5, 2014 [quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1404581402' post='2493948'] All part of why guiar players are different from Bass players. All guitarists think they can play bass, but few of em get the right feel. Never been able to put my finger on why. [/quote] Similarly, I think I can play guitar, but can't get the right feel. I think it's just a case of what you are accustomed to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 [quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1404581402' post='2493948'] All guitarists think they can play bass, but few of em get the right feel. Never been able to put my finger on why. [/quote] Because they're all deluded narcissists? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BILL POSTERS Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Often wondered whether if you asked a load of Bass players ( the ones with a feel for it - but who can define that ?) and a load of Guitar players, what, before they coud play they noticed first about the music they liked. Would there be a difference ? I dont mean every tune, just the ones that stuck in the mind. Or maybe when they first became aware of Bass lines, was it at a younger age or anything like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 [quote name='visog' timestamp='1404579105' post='2493907'] Jaco spoke in 16ths. . [/quote] And dull awful music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltyG565 Posted July 5, 2014 Author Share Posted July 5, 2014 [quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1404583571' post='2493978'] Often wondered whether if you asked a load of Bass players ( the ones with a feel for it - but who can define that ?) and a load of Guitar players, what, before they coud play they noticed first about the music they liked. Would there be a difference ? I dont mean every tune, just the ones that stuck in the mind. Or maybe when they first became aware of Bass lines, was it at a younger age or anything like that? [/quote] The basslines of the Red Hot Chili Peppers are what stuck out to me. I actually was under the impression that most of the bassline was in fact a guitar part (like in Californication, for example), but when I realised that it was just some clever bass playing wrapped in equally clever guitar playing, I tuned in more to hear the basslines, and then went and bought a bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Wazoo Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 This is a debate that cannot be possibly agreed by all In principal less is more, yes but, if you can create wonderful lines and have the skill to play them well, then who are we to say "just stick to root and fifth"? It's what we hear and notice that matters, for example I recently heard a very very old song on the radio by Janis Joplin, [b][i]"Peace of my heart"[/i][/b] of which I had never noticed how busy the bass was but thanks to my dab radio that has a good sound spectrum, the bass comes through very clean and defined, and when I heard that song I thought f*** me this is not a bass line, this is a bloody bass workout! A busy line from beginning to end, and yet, it does add tension and relief to the song in all the right places making it very enjoyable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Janis's bands always had good bass, here is our attempt at Move Over: https://soundcloud.com/the-wirebirds-jenny-haan/move-over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Wazoo Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 [quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1404588315' post='2494021'] Janis's bands always had good bass, here is our attempt at Move Over: [url="https://soundcloud.com/the-wirebirds-jenny-haan/move-over"]https://soundcloud.c...-haan/move-over[/url] [/quote] Nice rendition on soundcloud! thumbs up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 not bass but to illustrate the point to mister milty skip forward to about 4:25 and wait for the guitar solo - there is a lick at 4:59-5:01 the lick is simplicity itself but in the hands of allan holdsworth the simplicity becomes irrelevant because the phrasing is sublime [url="http://youtu.be/Ibz3xCiTO0M"]http://youtu.be/Ibz3xCiTO0M[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltyG565 Posted July 5, 2014 Author Share Posted July 5, 2014 [quote name='Grand Wazoo' timestamp='1404586528' post='2494004'] In principal less is more, yes but, if you can create wonderful lines and have the skill to play them well, then who are we to say "just stick to root and fifth"? [/quote] That's not something that I have ever said, let alone a statement I have made in this thread. My point was that it's not what is in the bassline; whether you subscribe to the theory of "less is more" or you're hopping all over the fretboard. No, my point was that it was the player who makes a bassline sound good, whether it's simple or complex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltyG565 Posted July 5, 2014 Author Share Posted July 5, 2014 (edited) [quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1404590163' post='2494045'] not bass but to illustrate the point to mister milty skip forward to about 4:25 and wait for the guitar solo - there is a lick at 4:59-5:01 the lick is simplicity itself but in the hands of allan holdsworth the simplicity becomes irrelevant because the phrasing is sublime [media]http://youtu.be/Ibz3xCiTO0M[/media] [/quote] Exactly! This is what I'm talking about. Or the intro of Be a Bee by Air. Very simple, but how it's played makes it sound very nice indeed! The bass does get a bit more tricky after the intro, but the intro is of special interest. In fact - There's no part in that song that sounds that complex, but the song itself - fantastic. Edited July 5, 2014 by MiltyG565 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Thanks, it went down well at Chinnor Bike Dayz today as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 [quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1404588315' post='2494021'] Janis's bands always had good bass, here is our attempt at Move Over: [url="https://soundcloud.com/the-wirebirds-jenny-haan/move-over"]https://soundcloud.c...-haan/move-over[/url] [/quote] Not a bad crack at it! Nice bass tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Strings Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Not sure Milty was just saying 'less is more', but that played well sounds great. The likes of Duck Dunn are not going to teach you many new licks but really love to hear him play, can usually tell it's him even if anonymous. Not found anything from Duck that I can't physically play, but I never sound as good as him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 While I agree with the basic gist, I'd say the same thing applies to any instrument, not just the bass. It's that hard-to-define thing that separates good musicians from great musicians and is probably the difference between flawless but soul-less technical excellence and simplicity loaded with emotion. And let's face it, while I'm sure we can all admire technical excellence, what we really want from music is that emotional response, the thing that can bring tears to the eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Alsatian Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 I remember a thread from some time ago regarding simple basslines and somebody posted Gene Chandler's 'Does She Have a Friend?' which features all of 3 notes, no fills, no runs, so slides, just locks in with the drums 4/4 throughout the whole song. It's great! http://youtu.be/2xwL-7fKKUE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntLockyer Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Got the tab for that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Alsatian Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 I'll have to slow it down first to work it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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