JellyKnees Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 1 hour ago, fretmeister said: Frank Zappa made it a point of pride that his live solos were never just copies of the record and he wrote the things! Go nuts and enjoy yourself. Not only that, but he rarely played the same arrangement of any of his songs more than once either. He was about as far from most live music today as you can imagine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 Zappa wasn't playing Sex On Fire down the Dog and Duck, however. 2 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 One of the best bits of musical advice I ever received: Years ago I got a gig playing with a bunch of very respected musicians who I admired greatly. I put the work in, and after the rehearsal of the first song, I was confident I’d nailed it. Drummer politely chimes up: “Let’s do it again, but this time play half the amount of notes.” Nailed it. Again. ”OK… once more, but this time lose another half again, and we should be good.” I listened back and you know what? He was bang on. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snorkie635 Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 3 hours ago, White Cloud said: Now then, it has come to my attention that I'm particularly undisciplined when playing covers. That is, I tend to get carried away with nonexistent ghost notes, fills etc. that definitely do not feature on the originals. This is exacerbated when we are egged on by an enthusiastic crowd live (which happens every now and then). Having done a bit of self analysis it seems I like to play songs by feel or 'as I think they should be ' as opposed to 'how they are'. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever played any song the exact same way twice! I've happened upon a great many players that really obsess about covering originals to the nth degree - but am now wondering if I'm either some sort of lazy free radical ...or just a lazy sod! Hey, music is art and there are no rules and all that, however what's your thoughts on all of this? Go for it. If I want to hear the exact bass line from anything recorded, I'll listen to the recording thank you very much. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snorkie635 Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 2 hours ago, Silvia Bluejay said: While I agree with the basic concept suggested above that, if I want to hear the song like it's on the record, I'll put on the CD, there are certain phrases, riffs or 'bits' of a song that are iconic and absolutely need to be reproduced faithfully. The audience will be waiting for them, and will usually want to sing along to them, going 'nah nah naaahh' when there are no words to sing. True enough. It has to be 'the song' in a recognisable form (unless jazz - niiiiiiice!) and, as you say key bass parts need to be there - imagine 'The Chain' without McVie's bass part. There's a whole new thread there: songs containing bass parts, without which, they would not work. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snorkie635 Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 36 minutes ago, Doctor J said: Zappa wasn't playing Sex On Fire down the Dog and Duck, however. Or was he ... ... ? 🤔 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 1 hour ago, JoeEvans said: I always felt that part of the point of being a bass player (as opposed to any other instrument) is that you get to improvise all the time, whereas the others are more locked in to set tunes, chords and riffs. T'other way around as far as I cam concerned. I lock in with the drums and let the other instruments do what they want around that foundation. I thought that what meant by 'rhythm section'. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilorius Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 8 minutes ago, Paul S said: T'other way around as far as I cam concerned. I lock in with the drums and let the other instruments do what they want around that foundation. I thought that what meant by 'rhythm section'. You can always improvise by rhythm section, it's easy. Try out, if You can, of course. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 2 hours ago, gjones said: I saw a couple of guys( one on guitar and one on bass) play about 4 U2 songs at a jam, with the bassist playing slap bass like Mark King. There's overplaying.......and then there's OVERPLAYING!!! Stop picking on me! FFS! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilorius Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 47 minutes ago, fretmeister said: Stop picking on me! FFS! I think slapping on You is more painfull than picking, so let's stay on standart fingerstyle, ok? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted May 12, 2023 Author Share Posted May 12, 2023 Great input folks...I'm genuinely surprised at the amount of support for 'adding some seasoning to the recipe' Brilliant 😍 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeEvans Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 5 hours ago, Paul S said: T'other way around as far as I cam concerned. I lock in with the drums and let the other instruments do what they want around that foundation. I thought that what meant by 'rhythm section'. Yes - I'm not necessarily talking crazy solos, just constant variation and creativity within the basic pattern. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 5 hours ago, police squad said: Feel like making love by Bad Company. I've always played it in drop D and played the D in the chorus (where there is actually no bass) No one ever pulled me up on it I hadn't noticed that missing D in the chorus before - must have been mentally filling it in. Will have to do that next rehearsal and see if anyone notices. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddo Soqable Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 10 minutes ago, tauzero said: I hadn't noticed that missing D in the chorus before - must have been mentally filling it in. Will have to do that next rehearsal and see if anyone notices. I wonder if your colleagues will say.... "mate, that D's just mental.! ..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted May 12, 2023 Share Posted May 12, 2023 9 hours ago, White Cloud said: Hey, music is art and there are no rules and all that, however what's your thoughts on all of this? My thoughts. . . . music is all about rules. The "no rules" thing is describing when someone puts together a new set of rules. Even Archie Shepp and Sun Ra had rules. IMO overplaying is an easy way to make bass playing sound bad, but to some people bad sounds good. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted May 12, 2023 Author Share Posted May 12, 2023 17 minutes ago, chris_b said: My thoughts. . . . music is all about rules. The "no rules" thing is describing when someone puts together a new set of rules. Even Archie Shepp and Sun Ra had rules. IMO overplaying is an easy way to make bass playing sound bad, but to some people bad sounds good. Interesting 🤔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky 4000 Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 I think it all depends how good you are. Hit song recordings are usually pretty bloody good IMHO. Both in the playing and the arrangement. Even crappy hit song are always* well played... but, if you can do better - Then crack on I suppose. *we all know Jean Paul Jones missed a note right after the first chorus of Ramble On, so if you were covering that song in a band, would you: a) Leave it out. b) Put it in while looking out for other bass players and/or nerds who may have noticed. c) No idea mate, I was busy jamming in a fill from BSSM! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 It's common for the original artists to play it a bit differently every time too. I don't hear much in the way of overplaying as I understand the word. To me overplaying is stomping all over the arrangement and over someone else's twiddly bit. If you think you are overplaying maybe you are. Sometimes a little extra empty space is mighty effective too. An open mic host referred to an overplaying bassist as playing like an American. The kid could play alright. Bippity bobbitty all over the place. Meh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 16 hours ago, JellyKnees said: I don't play covers myself, but with my punter hat on, I can't think of anything more dull than watching a bunch of drones churning through a cover where everything played exactly the same as the original. Seems like a totally pointless exercise to me. This! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 9 hours ago, White Cloud said: Great input folks...I'm genuinely surprised at the amount of support for 'adding some seasoning to the recipe' Brilliant 😍 Nothing wrong with some pepper on scrambled egg, but then adding salt, tarragon, parsley, ketchup, mustard, and thick gravy is probably not going to work. The drummer comment from @wateroftyne is spot on. Maybe listen to a recording if you can. We all have smartphones that can do voice memos. There's no reason not to record rehearsals. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 It's like driving; it's not speed that kills, it's inappropriate speed! And that means speed that's inappropriate for the conditions, or for the driver's skill level. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 I recall an experience in an old band I was in. The guitarist wrote a song and I added in my bassline for the intro which was 8ths on the root note. At the time he asked can you do this/that etc, so I tried but decided to stick to my guns on what I’d originally come up with. Said guitarist then decided to record the song (without the band, just him, for our website - this was him all over, sadly). Grudgingly (very grudgingly) he admitted to me that after trying many things out on the bass he realised that my 8ths on the root intro were what was right for the song. It was a rock song with a killer guitar riff for the intro, what he’d originally wanted was something like Flea bouncing up & down all over the place, whereas as he found all that did was get in the way of his killer guitar riff. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 53 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said: It's like driving; it's not speed that kills, it's inappropriate speed! And that means speed that's inappropriate for the conditions, or for the driver's skill level. Exactly. If you drive fast, everyone else has to make sure they don't crash into you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 35 minutes ago, TimR said: Exactly It's up to the driver to ensure that they're driving at a speed that's appropriate for both the conditions and their skill level. This means it's not up to others to avoid them... So if a driver is doing 60mph on a foggy motorway, that's inappropriate. Similarly if someone is driving at speeds that cause them to be on the other side of the road because they can't feel what the car is doing then that's inappropriate. But if a reasonably skilled driver is doing 90 in clear conditions with good visibility on an A road that's making progress even though it's against the law! Similarly playing Flea slap or Jaco fingerstyle over Walk on the Wild Side is probably inappropriate for the conditions unless that's the arrangement... Though I've discovered there's a certain sort of bass player who feel that anything more than rootfifth should be punishable by death 😁 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloney Balderdash Posted May 13, 2023 Share Posted May 13, 2023 (edited) 17 hours ago, snorkie635 said: There's a whole new thread there: songs containing bass parts, without which, they would not work. Easy, that's just listing all Royal Blood and Death From Above 1979's songs, starting from one end of their back catalog up until and including their most recent release. Edited May 13, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.gif.9ad672bb8b84505709f76b39c8c256ec.gif)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.