what makes a good bassist

davylee · 12-02-2009 7:22pm #1

well lads.
i'm playing bass since about 15 (8 years now) and trying to find out how good/bad i am. i'm not the quickest player in the world. I do have a good ear and would be able to play most new songs without having the bass in my hand. When it comes to original anyone i've played with said my basslines are very good. But i'm not a flashy player.
I went to an audition about 4 years ago in sligo and met with the lead singer.
He said plain and simply " show me what you can do"
I was gone straight away. The way i understood it he wanted me to go 100mph. Why weren't the band there to have a jam to see what my understanding of music was rather than "show me what you can do"
Any opinions??

biko · 12-02-2009 7:27pm

Maybe your style didn't suit the type of music they play? Did he say what they were looking for?

I used to play bass in a band and would often get lambasted for being "out there" when they just wanted a steady beat bass. I was more Bruce Foxton/John Entwistle than bum-de-bum, so to speak.

davylee · 12-02-2009 7:35pm

biko wrote: »

Maybe your style didn't suit the type of music they play? Did he say what they were looking for?

I used to play bass in a band and would often get lambasted for being "out there" when they just wanted a steady beat bass. I was more Bruce Foxton/John Entwistle than bum-de-bum, so to speak.

i would always have put myself somewhere in between entwhistle and bum-de-bum (nice words). i can play a nice tempo without going mad you no.
Do you have to be a really fast player to be regarded good?

Must Have Music · 12-02-2009 7:54pm

i don't see why speed should be the main thing people look for in a good bassist! rhythm and a good ear are more important surely?? speed is impressive but most famous basslines i can think of aren't ridiculously fast. U can learn speed anyway, i taught myself the bassline from Hysteria (Muse) in a couple of hours, timing myself til i was playing it at the same speed as Chris Wolstenholme, and I wouldn't be one of the fastest players out there by a long chalk!

ntlbell · 12-02-2009 7:57pm

blank look and a good nod?

dbs_sailor · 12-02-2009 7:59pm

davylee wrote: »

well lads.
i'm playing bass since about 15 (8 years now) and trying to find out how good/bad i am. i'm not the quickest player in the world. I do have a good ear and would be able to play most new songs without having the bass in my hand. When it comes to original anyone i've played with said my basslines are very good. But i'm not a flashy player.
I went to an audition about 4 years ago in sligo and met with the lead singer.
He said plain and simply " show me what you can do"
I was gone straight away. The way i understood it he wanted me to go 100mph. Why weren't the band there to have a jam to see what my understanding of music was rather than "show me what you can do"
Any opinions??

taste and groove. that's it.

taste, because to be a good bass player... you need to be like the water. it takes a lot of people a good number of years to understand that just because it feels good to play something, it doesn't necessarily feel good to listen to. you need to know where you're wanted and where you're needed and when you're not. you need to understand how to use silence. you need to feel a song and no when to put a full stop on your plucking or when you need to let that **** ring out. you need taste. you can't teach it. you can train players to emulate people with taste but that's it. you could write a book on it.

as for groove. that's somewhat technical. it's the way you play. get 2 bassists to play the same bassline, one with 10 years under the belt and one [who's pretty good techically], but who's been playing 3. the guy who's been playing 10 is going to sound better every time, even if he can't do the fancy stuff, i've discovered. reason is with experience comes the ability to really drive a bass line. lock in and really cane out a vicious drumbeat.

if you can compliment the drummer as opposed to merely providing rhythmic low notes to match his percussion (understand the difference between complimenting and combining) then you're a good bassist... even if you have only 1 finger available to you...

if you sit in your room and find yourself playing away and staring into space and you're nodding your head and tapping your foot chances are you're a good bassist.

if you have a good knowledge of theory, a set of personal little progressions or lines that you came up with yourself and a good ear then you're probably a good bassist...

i'm a bassist and a i know a good few players. i teach bass, in fact. i think there comes a time for a lot of players that the penny just drops. for me it was realising that i could do so much just by playing 2 notes. if i limited you to 2 notes on the bass what would you come up with? just g and f on the e-string. what would you play? if you can make me nod my head with that... guess what... YOU'RE A GOOD BASSIST!

i know a couple of bassists who think that by playing as many notes as possible in a bar in the scale of the chord is good bass playing so long as they can get back to the root for the 1st beat of every new chord change.

i know bassists that think it's their duty to take every fill in every song... and they don't realise it's sounds bad and cheesy.

i know bassists who think they're victor wooten but don't understand how to drive a drumbeat or provide a real pulse in their playing. dunno how to lock in and get a tune going.

i know bassists who buy 6 stringed bassists and novelty pedals without any comprehension of the key they're playing in or what settings to use on their instrument.

these people are bad bassists. nothing wrong with 6 strings, fills, victor or pedals... but these are just some of the things abused by bassists everywhere... i might write a followup on this because it's a subject i really enjoy..

final point... when it comes to auditions, it's very, very difficult to explain to guitarists and singers the role of the bassist. in fact they misunderstand the very nature of the instrument regularly. a drummer is more likely to understand it, but if a singer hands you and amp and expects you to put a bass on and shred for him or something, he's moronic. testing what sort of novelty stuff you can do with a bass is useless, because 99% of the fancy **** is unusable in a band context.

that being said, no harm in picking up a fancy slap or two to show off for audition time. some les claypool, wooten or marcus miller.. i did a set of auditions for a few bands last year and ran through victor wooten 2 handed tapping bits, chord looper stuff and jaco bass lines. they all wanted me back for a jam or to join on the spot, which goes to show you don't need to know how to play bass to play bass in a band.

if showing off your ability to 2 hand tap or solo is what people want when they audition you, then i say pander even if you feel it's a bit silly. :P

biko · 12-02-2009 8:17pm

Hope it's ok if I put up a song by one of my heroes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfDE-ZvfOwU

Doctor J · 13-02-2009 8:41am

davylee wrote: »

I went to an audition about 4 years ago in sligo and met with the lead singer.
He said plain and simply " show me what you can do"

I'd show them how I walk away from a **** band.

How you lock in with the drummer rhythmically is far more important than any amount of notes at speed. If any band expects to check out a bass player without hearing the drummer and bassist play together, then I'll wager that band is crap.

Playing flashy is one thing, but it won't get people moving. Bass is fundamentally a rhythm instrument. The best players are the ones who know what the bass drum is, who know how to lay a foundation for more melodically orintated instruments to do their thing on top and who can compliment both the rhythm and the melody with their playing, without interfering with or compromising either.

Don't worry about being fast, concentrate on being tight and enjoy the whole thing.

jarain · 13-02-2009 10:22am

I agree 100% with everything that Conanm and Doctor J have said above. The bass imo is an instrument that you feel your way through. Its what makes you swing and makes you dance, a band leader that expects a bass player to shred solo obviously does not understand the place of a bassist in a band.

99% of the time you are in a support role, you lock the rhythm with the drummer, you provide the underlying harmony with your note choice and if you can add to the melody in a subtle and tasteful fashion your ticking all the boxes and your gonna sound great. Your not gonna sound great by stepping into the guitarist's zone or by filling up every second with meaningless rambling. One focused, subtle note is worth 16 aimless ones.

Bass when when played tastefully, is felt by an audience more than heard.

Sounds like you dodged a pretty frustrating experience with that band, you playing with anybody at the moment? Nothing like playing with a few bands, be they covers, originals or whatever to help you improve and let you know where you are.

eastcoastscuba · 13-02-2009 1:29pm

As said in the last few posts, groove and timing is the key to a solid reliable bassplayer,Im playing nearly 20 years and still am discovering new ways to expand my playing and although there are bassplayers who can play faster than me, it means jack sh1t, listen to early motown, James Brown or Marvin Gays bands, they grooved and carried the songs, or players like Carol Kay, her name wouldnt as well know as Stu Hamm, Billy Sheen or Victor Wooten, but she played on nearly every Beach Boy album and numerous other famous tracks by other bands, she to me is one of the unsung heros in bass, she sat into a groove, worked with the drummer and played fancy when it suited the tune. I jammed a while back with a prog rock band and although personalitties were an issue, I felt empty playing as all they wanted was stupidly messy lines to have the guitarist w@nk over, I feel any band worth their weight, will jam with a bassplayer and let it happen naturally, you sound like you know your stuff so dont concern yourself with players like that, you are one of the most important parts of a band, the rythm section, without a bassline some tunes will just die, good luck in the future and keep the flag high for the Lowend!

General Zod · 13-02-2009 2:21pm

Speaking of unsung heroes, Herbie Flowers is the epitome of how uncomplicated playing can make something sound extrordinary.

You may not have heard his name, but you've heard his bass.

Space Oddity- David Bowie
Walk on the wild side- Lou Reed
War of the worlds- Jeff Wayne

to name just a few of his contributions.

Without a Bass and a drummer who know how to lock in together it doesn't matter what either of them are playing.

iplaygutar+bass · 13-02-2009 3:06pm

davylee wrote: »

"show me what you can do"
Any opinions??

A lot of people expect the bass to sound and be like a guitar.

I used to think bass was simple as I played guitar first, turned

out I was wrong and gladly so.

If you can give the music an 'umpf' then yea your a good bass player.

If you can play a simple tune then yea your good.

What makes a really bass player, same for any instrument is how you

use what you know to it's potential.

Rigsby · 13-02-2009 5:47pm

General Zod wrote: »

Speaking of unsung heroes, Herbie Flowers is the epitome of how uncomplicated playing can make something sound extraordinary

Same goes for Carol Kaye. She's on 100's of albums from the 60's to the present. Most people have heard her playing but not her name. That's her on the Beachboy's "Good Vibrations" (subtle, but strong ).

unclebill98 · 13-02-2009 5:48pm

Its all about being able to play in the pocket. Simple.

spoonbadger · 13-02-2009 6:08pm

davylee wrote: »

i would always have put myself somewhere in between entwhistle and bum-de-bum (nice words). i can play a nice tempo without going mad you no.
Do you have to be a really fast player to be regarded good?

Nopes, what about john paul jones?.

Brilliant bassist, but wasnt playing at incredible speeds, just a good solid tempo. Have a listen to the intro to "dazed and confused" and think about how important that bass line is, despite being just simple repeated crotchets.

biko wrote: »

Hope it's ok if I put up a song by one of my heroes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfDE-ZvfOwU

Aside from the kickass playing, i'm always amazed by his tone in that vid. When i first heard that version (other instruments included) i actually thought that was done on guitar somehow, that's how frickin' huge his bass sounds there

.

davylee · 13-02-2009 7:32pm

thanks for the replies lads.
i agree with what you guys are saying. i always thought you feel your way through the bass even more so than any other instrument.
conanm - that's a good point about getting 2 bassists to play an easy bassline. You can be garaunteed of hearing the better player

doctor j - the band were supposed to e "going places" at the time but i didn't hear of them since

jarain - think they were a shower of plonkers alright. yea playin away now - out at least one night a week and slowly but surely picking up more along the way

thanks for all the repies
that audition always pissed me off
coinsiding with the drummer is surely more important than being flashy as doctor j said

eoin5 · 13-02-2009 10:36pm

If someone asked me in an audition to show them what I could do I would probably be taken aback too.

After considering it if it did happen to me now I'd start playing with or without you for ages until they actually have to stop me

TimeWaister82 · 15-02-2009 2:47am

davylee wrote: »

He said plain and simply " show me what you can do"
I was gone straight away.

Dude, what did you expect before going to an audition? Free coffee and cakes?
What would you do if you went to a job interview and the guy said to you "tell me about your strenghts/what skills do you have/why do you think you would be good at this job ? " You don't have to answer. I already know.

I have read all the posts in this thread and although there is some merit here and there, a lot of what some people are saying here is just bull...t used to cover a simple truth - you're not cut out for, you're not good enough or you're not ready yet.

Of course being a good bassist is about groove, rhythm, locking with a drummer and all that stuff - pretty f....n obvious if you call yourself a bassist at all!
The thing that some people don't get is that there are good bassists and there are good bassists. It all depends on the music you want to play and the band you want to be in. John Myung is an amazing player but he'd probably suck in Petheny's trio. Know your place and you should be fine. If someone goes to a jam with a prog band and feels empty playing to messy guitar lines, WTF were you thinking !?! Bum-de-bum ????

Do you get me lad?

Red Sleeping Beauty · 15-02-2009 12:13pm

[QUOTE=conanm;59012275]taste and groove. that's it.
taste, because to be a good bass player... you need to be like the water. it takes a lot of people a good number of years to understand that just because it feels good to play something, it doesn't necessarily feel good to listen to. you need to know where you're wanted and where you're needed and when you're not. you need to understand how to use silence. you need to feel a song and no when to put a full stop on your plucking or when you need to let that **** ring out. you need taste. you can't teach it. you can train players to emulate people with taste but that's it. you could write a book on it.
as for groove. that's somewhat technical. it's the way you play. get 2 bassists to play the same bassline, one with 10 years under the belt and one [who's pretty good techically], but who's been playing 3. the guy who's been playing 10 is going to sound better every time, even if he can't do the fancy stuff, i've discovered. reason is with experience comes the ability to really drive a bass line. lock in and really cane out a vicious drumbeat.
if you can compliment the drummer as opposed to merely providing rhythmic low notes to match his percussion (understand the difference between complimenting and combining) then you're a good bassist... even if you have only 1 finger available to you...
if you sit in your room and find yourself playing away and staring into space and you're nodding your head and tapping your foot chances are you're a good bassist.
if you have a good knowledge of theory, a set of personal little progressions or lines that you came up with yourself and a good ear then you're probably a good bassist...
i'm a bassist and a i know a good few players. i teach bass, in fact. i think there comes a time for a lot of players that the penny just drops. for me it was realising that i could do so much just by playing 2 notes. if i limited you to 2 notes on the bass what would you come up with? just g and f on the e-string. what would you play? if you can make me nod my head with that... guess what... YOU'RE A GOOD BASSIST! ;)
i know a couple of bassists who think that by playing as many notes as possible in a bar in the scale of the chord is good bass playing so long as they can get back to the root for the 1st beat of every new chord change.
i know bassists that think it's their duty to take every fill in every song... and they don't realise it's sounds bad and cheesy.
i know bassists who think they're victor wooten but don't understand how to drive a drumbeat or provide a real pulse in their playing. dunno how to lock in and get a tune going.
i know bassists who buy 6 stringed bassists and novelty pedals without any comprehension of the key they're playing in or what settings to use on their instrument.
these people are bad bassists. nothing wrong with 6 strings, fills, victor or pedals... but these are just some of the things abused by bassists everywhere... i might write a followup on this because it's a subject i really enjoy..
final point... when it comes to auditions, it's very, very difficult to explain to guitarists and singers the role of the bassist. in fact they misunderstand the very nature of the instrument regularly. a drummer is more likely to understand it, but if a singer hands you and amp and expects you to put a bass on and shred for him or something, he's moronic. testing what sort of novelty stuff you can do with a bass is useless, because 99% of the fancy **** is unusable in a band context.
that being said, no harm in picking up a fancy slap or two to show off for audition time. some les claypool, wooten or marcus miller.. i did a set of auditions for a few bands last year and ran through victor wooten 2 handed tapping bits, chord looper stuff and jaco bass lines. they all wanted me back for a jam or to join on the spot, which goes to show you don't need to know how to play bass to play bass in a band. ;)
if showing off your ability to 2 hand tap or solo is what people want when they audition you, then i say pander even if you feel it's a bit silly. :P

[/QUOTE]

I'd have to say that some of this applies to rhythm guitar also

DerKaiser · 15-02-2009 1:43pm

He just stood there and said show me what you can do? So if you turned around and blew his mind with some Paganini and he wanted a one note bass player you would have still failed the audition, someone should tell this guy that is not the way to run auditions, sounds like a c*cksucker to me.

Most important thing is to play bass like a bass player, most bassists are people who wanted to play guitar but their teenage band needed a bass player and got stuck with that role. Frustrated lead guitarists don't make good bassists in my book. I play guitar and bass to quite high levels, but I know the difference between the instruments. Like someone said, you are rhythm section building, all that matters initially is how you click with the drummer, after that you can start to mould your role, add a bit of technique and flash.

If you want to improve your bass playing, listen to the likes of Victor Wooten, Les Claypool (primus), Flea, might not be your style, but it is your instrument, ya dig?

davylee · 15-02-2009 8:00pm

TimeWaister82 wrote: »

Dude, what did you expect before going to an audition? Free coffee and cakes?
What would you do if you went to a job interview and the guy said to you "tell me about your strenghts/what skills do you have/why do you think you would be good at this job ? " You don't have to answer. I already know.

I have read all the posts in this thread and although there is some merit here and there, a lot of what some people are saying here is just bull...t used to cover a simple truth - you're not cut out for, you're not good enough or you're not ready yet.

Of course being a good bassist is about groove, rhythm, locking with a drummer and all that stuff - pretty f....n obvious if you call yourself a bassist at all!
The thing that some people don't get is that there are good bassists and there are good bassists. It all depends on the music you want to play and the band you want to be in. John Myung is an amazing player but he'd probably suck in Petheny's trio. Know your place and you should be fine. If someone goes to a jam with a prog band and feels empty playing to messy guitar lines, WTF were you thinking !?! Bum-de-bum ????

Do you get me lad?

What did i expect?
maybe more than just to meet the lead singer. maybe to meet some of the other members of the band. maybe i'm way out there but would having a hour hours jam with the lads i could be working with be completely out of the question.
What is it some of these lads are looking for?
rhythm lead and lead bass or some solidity. Maybe i was not up to it but surely the way he carried it out was bull

TimeWaister82 · 15-02-2009 11:30pm

LoL, of course it was bull, I'm not questioning that. Idiots like that are not worth your time!

But neither are those so called 'musicians' who supposedly play their instruments to a high level but when it comes to an audition or a jam, they suck balls - waisting your time and money.

They all give you advice, tell you what makes a good bassist and how important one is in a band but the fact is, they are all bloody amateurs with very average skills and very little talent.

Know your place!

eoin5 · 16-02-2009 2:16am

TimeWaister82 wrote: »

LoL, of course it was bull, I'm not questioning that. Idiots like that are not worth your time!

But neither are those so called 'musicians' who supposedly play their instruments to a high level but when it comes to an audition or a jam, they suck balls - waisting your time and money.

They all give you advice, tell you what makes a good bassist and how important one is in a band but the fact is, they are all bloody amateurs with very average skills and very little talent.

Know your place!

dbs_sailor · 16-02-2009 8:55am

TimeWaister82 wrote: »

LoL, of course it was bull, I'm not questioning that. Idiots like that are not worth your time!

But neither are those so called 'musicians' who supposedly play their instruments to a high level but when it comes to an audition or a jam, they suck balls - waisting your time and money.

They all give you advice, tell you what makes a good bassist and how important one is in a band but the fact is, they are all bloody amateurs with very average skills and very little talent.

Know your place!

you don't play bass, don't you not?

TheBandit · 16-02-2009 9:56pm

I'd say TimeWaister82 is a great bassist and he got there without thought or consideration....the name says it all really

TimeWaister82 · 18-02-2009 8:33pm

I do play bass but I'm not great at it. I know my place.

DerKaiser · 22-02-2009 4:13pm

TimeWaister82 wrote: »

LoL, of course it was bull, I'm not questioning that. Idiots like that are not worth your time!

But neither are those so called 'musicians' who supposedly play their instruments to a high level but when it comes to an audition or a jam, they suck balls - waisting your time and money.

They all give you advice, tell you what makes a good bassist and how important one is in a band but the fact is, they are all bloody amateurs with very average skills and very little talent.

Know your place!

You are confusing people who play to high levels and so-called virtuosos, virtuosos are generally machines who can play amazingly well in their own spheres but take them out of that and they are pretty lost,

People who play to high levels could be feel players as well, who can busk just as well as they play contrived stuff

And I don't agree with you, I listen out for and watch bass players in bands, if they are a background one note bass player, I switch off, bass players should be bass players but be imaginitive, inventive, push down the boundries, or else be just another boring/bad bassist, whoever thinks bass is simply accompaniment, take your bass back to the shop as you are either too unintelligent, unambitious or too f@*king boring to own one

TheBandit · 22-02-2009 5:18pm

TimeWaister82 wrote: »

I do play bass but I'm not great at it. I know my place.

Knowing your place is not necessarily a good thing because it can limit your progress. Take some advice from the tread and you never know your place might change

Rigsby · 22-02-2009 6:36pm

DerKaiser wrote: »

I listen out for and watch bass players in bands, if they are a background one note bass player, I switch off, bass players should be bass players but be imaginitive, inventive, push down the boundries, or else be just another boring/bad bassist, whoever thinks bass is simply accompaniment, take your bass back to the shop as you are either too unintelligent, unambitious or too f@*king boring to own one

It all depends on the song being played. IMO a good bass player is one who knows exactly how much ( or how little ) to play in order to enhance a given song, and provide a good foundation for the others to play off. Also, I'd much prefer a one note bass player who can keep a good groove going, than an "imaginitive, inventive" bassist who knows f--k all about groove and only ends up getting in everyone's way.

reniwren · 23-02-2009 11:02am

Just skimmed through this but i believe that the general public dont want to see flash but it can work if its tastefully done,
But what I think really makes a good bassist is the abaility and want to lern and be able to adapt to any project be it 3 note songs or 1000 notes, all comes down to putting work in and just bloody enjoying what you do or else there's no point in it at all.

i57dwun4yb1pt8 · 23-02-2009 12:06pm

if you want to hear what i ( as an experienced drummer )
and an alrightish bass player ) consider a good bassist listen to CHIC

bernard edwards would be my " this is what a bass player should be "

check out you tube for it .

I could listen to this guy all day , bass is the honey that glues the band together , never been a fan of flashy bass players or drummers
i prefer the subtle - "wow thats kool , but I dont know why" type of flashy that the punter hears
and the musos go " wow thats kool and i know why "

i also feel that john mcvie , in fleetwood mac , john paul jones in zep
are all wonderful players.

that said i also love mark king , and hes a good advert for bass players also learning to drum ( and vica versa ) .

i also love steve harris in maiden for his speed- but thats just me.

if your timing , tone and groove or swing are foot tappingly sexy then you are good , id nearly say great .

and one more thing - a great recording or song is only as good as

1/ the vocal
2/ the drum sound and part
3/ the bass line and groove

the rest is just earcandy.

i57dwun4yb1pt8 · 23-02-2009 12:13pm

by the way , if anyone can suggest good grooving stuff with great bass players I may not know ( off the beatn track so to speak - but not clinic type guys ) please name em here id like to hear new stuff.

Irishcrx · 23-02-2009 1:49pm

A good bass player should have a good ear, good rhydhm, timing and hopefully be able to lock in well with the drummer. If I went to an audition and someone said show me what you can do, it would put anybody off a little. I'm a drummer and i've had good sessions with bands and bad ones it all depends on if you suite each other. A useless player to one band could be a god to another.

Rigsby · 23-02-2009 2:44pm

DaDumTish wrote: »

by the way , if anyone can suggest good grooving stuff with great bass players I may not know ( off the beatn track so to speak - but not clinic type guys ) please name em here id like to hear new stuff.

Check out "The Crusaders" early albums. Wilton Felder generally doubled on sax and bass. He is nothing if not a groover IMO. Robert "Pops" Popwell is in the bass chair on this "Crusaders" track. He is also a great player. Not heard of much these days though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMcErHwbzVA&feature=related

Nalced_irl · 23-02-2009 3:27pm

davylee wrote: »

well lads.
i'm playing bass since about 15 (8 years now) and trying to find out how good/bad i am. i'm not the quickest player in the world. I do have a good ear and would be able to play most new songs without having the bass in my hand. When it comes to original anyone i've played with said my basslines are very good. But i'm not a flashy player.
I went to an audition about 4 years ago in sligo and met with the lead singer.
He said plain and simply " show me what you can do"
I was gone straight away. The way i understood it he wanted me to go 100mph. Why weren't the band there to have a jam to see what my understanding of music was rather than "show me what you can do"
Any opinions??

IMO, what makes a good player is being creative, having a good tight relationship with the drums and writing lines that suit the song, simple as that. No point putting a 100mph bassline over a slow ballad or whatever so speed of play isnt the most important at all. Also, being able to play somebody elses song at 100mph doesnt at all mean your gonna be able to write your own, so id say the guys you went to see didnt quite know what they should be looking for. IMHO, fast basslines can often look and sound really flash, but most of my favourite lines are slower, more melodic and nicer ones.

Bosphorus · 18-03-2009 9:04pm

antbody on here in a jazz band and looking for a drummer??.....i decided to go looking for band members this way!......really want to be out there making money by doing what i love..

af_thefragile · 18-03-2009 9:31pm

dynamics and groove is what i say.

You've gotta be able to stand out from just another guy playing notes on the bass.
Bass is the most subtle instrument in the band but it holds the whole song together. You've gotta develop the dynamics to be able to create the million different sounds from your bass from the same notes.
Anyone can pick up a bass and go CCCCGGGGAAAAFFFF. No big deal there.
The difference comes between just playing those notes in a 4/4 time flat and playing those notes in a dynamic groove.

The bassist needs to have the knowledge and understanding of where to give the right ascents, where to go harder, where to go softer, where to let the notes ring out loud and where to let them die, where to support the other instruments and where to rock it out.
That is what makes a good bassist. Its the knowledge and right use of all these subtleties.
Or else again, anyone can pick up the bass and pick the notes in time in a progression. Difference comes in the feel.
You don't hear the bass, you feel it.

davylee · 20-03-2009 11:45pm

af_thefragile wrote: »

dynamics and groove is what i say.

You've gotta be able to stand out from just another guy playing notes on the bass.
Bass is the most subtle instrument in the band but it holds the whole song together. You've gotta develop the dynamics to be able to create the million different sounds from your bass from the same notes.
Anyone can pick up a bass and go CCCCGGGGAAAAFFFF. No big deal there.
The difference comes between just playing those notes in a 4/4 time flat and playing those notes in a dynamic groove.

The bassist needs to have the knowledge and understanding of where to give the right ascents, where to go harder, where to go softer, where to let the notes ring out loud and where to let them die, where to support the other instruments and where to rock it out.
That is what makes a good bassist. Its the knowledge and right use of all these subtleties.
Or else again, anyone can pick up the bass and pick the notes in time in a progression. Difference comes in the feel.
You don't hear the bass, you feel it.

agreed

DerKaiser · 21-03-2009 12:55pm

Check out Stevie Wonders' 70s recordings, The Meters, Funkadelic, early Chilis, Victor Wooten, and if you want to hear groove but a little more technical (but not clinical) check out Bob Daugherty (played with the Buddy Rich big band)

DerKaiser · 21-03-2009 12:59pm

af_thefragile wrote: »

dynamics and groove is what i say.

You've gotta be able to stand out from just another guy playing notes on the bass.
Bass is the most subtle instrument in the band but it holds the whole song together. You've gotta develop the dynamics to be able to create the million different sounds from your bass from the same notes.
Anyone can pick up a bass and go CCCCGGGGAAAAFFFF. No big deal there.
The difference comes between just playing those notes in a 4/4 time flat and playing those notes in a dynamic groove.

The bassist needs to have the knowledge and understanding of where to give the right ascents, where to go harder, where to go softer, where to let the notes ring out loud and where to let them die, where to support the other instruments and where to rock it out.
That is what makes a good bassist. Its the knowledge and right use of all these subtleties.
Or else again, anyone can pick up the bass and pick the notes in time in a progression. Difference comes in the feel.
You don't hear the bass, you feel it.

Couldn't put it any better than that

Funk is the notes you don't play

MonkeyTennis · 21-03-2009 1:11pm

the bass is rarely the most stand out part of a song so the job of a bass player is to anchor the whole thing together. Keeping the rhythm , be nice and melodic and if you want to play something to show how good a player you are you probably shouldnt ;-).
Of course try and be as technically adept as possible and if your band and the songs you play are any good there should be a space for you to show how good you are if thats your bag.

PeterBailerBass · 24-03-2009 5:51pm

Nalced_irl wrote: »

IMO, what makes a good player is being creative, having a good tight relationship with the drums and writing lines that suit the song, simple as that. No point putting a 100mph bassline over a slow ballad or whatever so speed of play isnt the most important at all. Also, being able to play somebody elses song at 100mph doesnt at all mean your gonna be able to write your own, so id say the guys you went to see didnt quite know what they should be looking for. IMHO, fast basslines can often look and sound really flash, but most of my favourite lines are slower, more melodic and nicer ones.

I've been a Bassist for 20 Years, and another thing I learned is when playing with different Drummers, Guitarists and other Musicians, obviously you might be more comfortable with some than with others. If you can learn to adjust your style to compliment each Musician or Group your playing with and jell with the Music, that can be a handy exercise and help your flexibility. Even if they're playing the same type of Music, it can feel very different, cos every musician is different.
Just my opinion.

Baggio · 24-03-2009 8:39pm

ya need to listen to and watch one man IMO...Geddy Lee of Rush...he's forgotten more about great bass playing than many of the other so called greats put together...best bassist Ive ever seen/heard...sooo much melody in his style,,serious technique and singing and doing foot keyboards while doing that kinda bass,.,,,just sets him poles apart...he basically plays bass guitar like a lead guitar....it just never ends - the stuff he keeps coming up with.

different class............. Doc..J. surely my man you agree?

goood luck with it bassist...ciao'...Baggio.....

BumbleB · 25-03-2009 1:23pm

all you need to know about great bass is James Jamerson .

davylee · 25-03-2009 6:41pm

BumbleB wrote: »

all you need to know about great bass is James Jamerson .

is he the fella out of the funk brothers. saw a documentary on them a wile back. brilliant

BumbleB · 25-03-2009 8:36pm

davylee wrote: »

is he the fella out of the funk brothers. saw a documentary on them a wile back. brilliant

yep , he played as a session musician for berry gordy ,originally an upright bassist . Fantastic bassist.

PeterBailerBass · 26-03-2009 10:58am

davylee wrote: »

is he the fella out of the funk brothers. saw a documentary on them a wile back. brilliant

He was one of The main Session Bassists during the Motown era and played on tonnes of the great classics such as 'My Girl' and 'Reach Out, I'll be there' by the Four Tops. Absolutely brilliant stuff. Sadly he passed away in 1983.

greendom · 26-03-2009 11:17am

If you haven't done so, you need to check out Geddy Lee, bass player with Rush. Absolutely sensational

what makes a good bassist

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