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Posted

Keys.

 

I’ve been in too many bands where the keyboard player felt obliged to fill any hint of quiet with pointless flourishes adding nothing to the song. 

Posted
8 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Thread title could benefit of a change.

 

"Most unwelcome overplaying guest soloist at open jam".

 

We had a guy who used to come to jam nights and pub band gigs here, harmonica player (using the term loosely) who always wanted to get up on stage for a guest spot. Played the same 3 cheesy blues licks on repeat regardless of the song, pretty sure he thought he was some sort of local celebrity.

 

Sounded awful every time.

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Posted

Harp players never know when to stop blowing. Guitarists never have control of their volume. Neither do drummers. Drummer are always putting in fills that don't fit. Keyboard players don't understand that 2 bass lines don't work. . . . in any song. . . . ever!!

 

Last week, I saw a quote from an engineer; "The best engineers have the simplest solutions". You could say the same about musicians, and definitely about bass players. The simplest lines are always the best. The spaces say more about your ability than the notes.

 

Overplaying is a curse and the only way to fix it is to play with guys who don't. 

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Posted (edited)

Has to be keyboards. They have enormous harmonic range and can play up to ten notes simultaneously (more if the keys player uses a foot...). Fine if you're playing a solo piece. You can have a bass part, chordal accompaniment and melody all at once. In a band context, it can be a nightmare. We've been having this discussion with our keys player recently. He's good, but not very experienced. A a result, he tends to fill too much space, clashing with the other instruments. We're educating him slowly.

Edited by Dan Dare
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Posted

I can’t believe we’ve gotten this far into the thread without any mention (@chris_b excepted) of the most obvious candidate, bass.

Posted
1 hour ago, Dan Dare said:

Has to be keyboards. They have enormous harmonic range and can play up to ten notes simultaneously (more if the keys player uses a foot...). Fine if you're playing a solo piece. You can have a bass part, chordal accompaniment and melody all at once. In a band context, it can be a nightmare. We've been having this discussion with our keys player recently. He's good, but not very experienced. A a result, he tends to fill too much space, clashing with the other instruments. We're educating him slowly.

This exactly. Oh, for a subtle wash of Hammond.

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Posted
2 hours ago, chris_b said:

The simplest lines are always the best

I understand where your coming from tho I beg to differ... cite "Darling Dear" and a whole tone of additional Motown lines as one collective example.  Simple can actually get in the way of the musicality of the piece.  The best line will support the melodic shape of the tune and can be either busy or simple.

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Posted
1 hour ago, SICbass said:

I can’t believe we’ve gotten this far into the thread without any mention (@chris_b excepted) of the most obvious candidate, bass.

 

It's impossible to overplay bass.

 

I've found it's not so much an instrument as a person. There's always someone who's got to be making a noise all the time. Candidates from my experience have been percussionist, gob-iron player, and acoustic guitarist.

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Posted
11 minutes ago, ian61 said:

I understand where your coming from tho I beg to differ... cite "Darling Dear" and a whole tone of additional Motown lines as one collective example.  Simple can actually get in the way of the musicality of the piece.  The best line will support the melodic shape of the tune and can be either busy or simple.

 

There are always examples of players who can excel when being busy, but that's not the same thing as overplaying. 

 

A good player like Jamerson does both simple and busy. Overplaying is almost always negative, and comes with a lack of rhythmic ability, lack of good note choice and clarity of execution. Jack Bruce and Francis Rocco Prestia are more examples of very busy players who got it right.

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Posted

Harmonica and solo sax (as opposed to horn section) are predominantly lead instruments, and many of these players don't seem to know what to do when it's not 'their turn'. Really good players will be able to riff with the guitarist, which is why, if you find one that does, hang on to them!

Posted

Amplified blues harmonica can really grate when overdone. Part of the problem is that many insist on cranking bigger amps than most guitarists use in those settings (often a 4x10" Fender Bassman derivative), the other thing is overblows.

Overblows have some sort of prestige status as the advanced technique that a good player must have, so once players have mastered them they'll shoehorn them in wherever they can. But what overblows do is get you a harsh toned, usually slightly out of tune note that's outside of the key you're playing in, so absolutely excruciating if overused. 

Posted
6 hours ago, bassbiscuits said:

Keys.

 

I’ve been in too many bands where the keyboard player felt obliged to fill any hint of quiet with pointless flourishes adding nothing to the song. 

 

Jools Holland on Later tries to turn every song into a "featuring me doing meaningless widdles".

 

 

6 hours ago, 42Hz said:

Drums, e.g. overdoing double kickdrumming actually ruins the sense of groove.

 

Some might say this is overdone, but I like it!

 

 

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