Reluctant bass player

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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Surf Musician »

Reluctant bass player

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Gilette Joined: May 04, 2014 Posts: 734	Posted on Nov 30 2014 11:19 AM - Last edited: Mar 03, 2022 02:31:39 Top
montereyjack66 Joined: Jul 23, 2014 Posts: 637 LA -ish	Posted on Nov 30 2014 01:14 PM Hey Gilette. I say this as a guy who's gentically a bass player but who can also play guitar. Playing one has made me a better player on the other. There's a lot to think about. It's a different mind set, not just a guitar with lower notes. Some bass players will tell you it's a calling. In a three piece, the pressure is even greater as every choice you make, be it too little or too much, is magnified. Some points and ideas and suggestions in no particular order. The bass has been called the ambassador between melody and rhythm. Make a point of focusing on the bass and drums in the music you are listening to. Chances are, like most people, you tend to absorb the whole rather than the individual moving parts. Listen to what is played and what is not played. In surf music, the drums tend to be more melodic and air oriented rather than thud oriented as in pop or rock music. Guess who gets to supply the extra thud? It is often an unspoken (and often unrealized) expectation that the bass player is the master of dynamics and arrangement in a given song. You need to spend a lot more energy on listening, feeling, and then supplying what is needed or subtracting an excess - often times as it is happening. This is easily truest in a Surf instrumental situation as opposed to when you have a singer. Listen to the bass players you admire and try to figure out why. Listen to respected bass players that you never paid much attention to and try to figure out why. Chris Squire from Yes and BB Dickerson from War have devout legions of fans, but are very different players. BIG-ROUND- and IN THE POCKET tends to pay off a lot more than fast, furious, and impressive. When the band goes off the rails, guess who's job it is to hold it together? People always assume it's the guitarist but really, it's the bass player's job to know where the song is, where it's headed, and to know the way out of a train wreck moment. Physically, playing the bass is VERY different than guitar and it is quite easy to sustain an injury as you transition. Build those muscles slowly and pay attention to what your body tells you. Pain can be your friend if you listen. Please note, Sylvestor Stallone and Chuck Norris DO NOT PLAY BASS. Some folks are architects and some folks drive bulldozers. We need both. Your new job is to move earth, air, and occasionally bowels. You also get to move emotions with the right note choice at the right moment. Well, prior to coffee, that's all I can think of for the moment. Hope it helps. Mj — mj bent playing for benter results Do not attempt to adjust your TV set. https://www.facebook.com/Bass-VI-Explorers-Club-179437279151035/ https://www.facebook.com/Lost-Planet-Shamen-366987463657230/ Top
Gilette Joined: May 04, 2014 Posts: 734	Posted on Nov 30 2014 02:12 PM - Last edited: Mar 03, 2022 02:31:50 Top
montereyjack66 Joined: Jul 23, 2014 Posts: 637 LA -ish	Posted on Nov 30 2014 03:56 PM Glad to hear it was of some modest use and not mindless drivel. I would be very interested to hear updates from you. I suspect this is not that unusual a situation and it might be a helpful thread to others in the future. Chuck wants to hear too! Good luck! mj — mj bent playing for benter results Do not attempt to adjust your TV set. https://www.facebook.com/Bass-VI-Explorers-Club-179437279151035/ https://www.facebook.com/Lost-Planet-Shamen-366987463657230/ Top
JObeast Joined: Jul 24, 2012 Posts: 2762 Finknabad, Squinkistan	Posted on Nov 30 2014 06:51 PM My two cents as a non-bassist who appreciates good bass playing: Learn the chords of the songs and arpeggiate your way through them, learn walking bass lines and play the groove more than anything else through those chord and scale tones. As much a rhythm guitarist, a bassist needs to be musically literate, knowing his way through all the chord changes in all the tunes. He can't get away with barre chord type default voicings as many guitarists do, and must intuit which notes of each chord need to be emphasized. Luckily, in most surf music that's pretty simple triadic stuff. — Squink Out! Top
Gilette Joined: May 04, 2014 Posts: 734	Posted on Dec 01 2014 05:10 AM Oh dear. JObeast said the dreaded A-word. All this time I could get around on muscle memory and power chords, but now I have to learn arpeggio's! But I think you're right. It is important to know where a chord begins and ends. That's what I meant when I wrote bass playing shouldn't be taken lightly, because I don't want to walk up and down the barré chords like a noob. They'll fire me if I did! Last edited: Mar 03, 2022 02:32:15 Top
JObeast Joined: Jul 24, 2012 Posts: 2762 Finknabad, Squinkistan	Posted on Dec 01 2014 09:47 AM Well, a guitarist needs to know chord inversions, what notes they are built from and emphasize, and bass is an octave lower. I bought a Dano Longhorn shortscale bass and a Squier Bass VI, both 30" scale and easy to get around on. It's a different discipline from guitar, but the physical relations are the same, just stretched out a bit. The main difference is how fundamental tones behave differently than those in higher tessitura. I recall hearing Hungarian music where the bass' scale is tuned differently, how it changed the relationship of all the notes throughout the range. That attests to the way bass determines the harmony. — Squink Out! Top
Gilette Joined: May 04, 2014 Posts: 734	Posted on Dec 01 2014 12:02 PM Hmmmm, a Bass VI... There's a thought. No, no, no! I'll first concentrate on the four strings I've got. Difficult enough as it is. Top
CrazyAces Joined: Jul 31, 2012 Posts: 4052 Nashville, TN.	Posted on Dec 01 2014 01:53 PM Gilette, It's cool you're taking the bass transition seriously. Most guitar players think "I can do that, less strings, easier" and that's so not the case. Surf comes from rock n roll. Rock n roll is physical, sex. The bass is the booty. It should move the audience's hips. You're job is often to be or to substitute for the bass drum. You can complicate it later if you wish, if you're music calls for it but otherwise you should be the foundation. Timing and groove - very important. Guitar players can and often do push or rush. Bass should not. If your drummer leaves the room, doesn't show for a gig the bass should be able to cover the groove. Besides Surf maybe listen to (and just absorb, you don't have to actually learn notes, study function) Paul McCartney, James Jamerson (Motown) and Duck Dunn (Stax, Booker T and the MG's) Those three not only set the bar they also pushed it musically, all while never straying from where the bass should be. Just my thoughts. Hope some of that helps. Cheers, Jeff — http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAcesMusic http://www.youtube.com/user/crazyacesrock http://www.reverbnation.com/crazyacesmusic Top
raito Joined: Oct 16, 2008 Posts: 550 Madison, WI	Posted on Dec 01 2014 02:23 PM Just remember, keep it on the one! Top
Igorilla Joined: Sep 09, 2013 Posts: 42 Berlin	Posted on Dec 01 2014 02:31 PM Gilette, I was in a very similar situation several years ago. At that time I was paying guitar in a 77 Punk Rock band. The other guitarist was our singer at the same time. As our bass player gave up it turned out that the singer wasn't able to sing and play bass at once. I had to pick up the bass. I am glad I did! I had to learn from the scratch. We needed a fast groovy bass that, at the same time, carries melody because the guitarist/singer was basicaly playing rhytm guitar. I learned a lot by listening to James Jamerson and John Entwistle (The Ox!) of The Who. The former for the melodies, the latter for the wild power. Keep in mind what moentereyjack66 said and enjoy! Igor — Boris Bond @ Bandcamp Top
casey Joined: May 18, 2006 Posts: 521	Posted on Dec 01 2014 07:03 PM Play 50% root note, 35% fifth, 10% third, 5% other. Take how much (how many notes) you think you should play, then cut that amount in half. If in doubt, cut in half again. Always keep in mind the root, fifth, and third of the current chord. Top
Gilette Joined: May 04, 2014 Posts: 734	Posted on Dec 02 2014 03:00 AM - Last edited: Mar 03, 2022 02:32:29 Top
casey Joined: May 18, 2006 Posts: 521	Posted on Dec 02 2014 07:30 AM Playing in a 3 piece with no rhythm guitar it's mostly up to the bass to outline the chordal structure (root - five - 3rd). Is that strat in Ocean Turquoise? Looks like it matches my Jazzmaster. Top
Gilette Joined: May 04, 2014 Posts: 734	Posted on Dec 02 2014 03:28 PM - Last edited: Mar 03, 2022 02:32:46 Top
JObeast Joined: Jul 24, 2012 Posts: 2762 Finknabad, Squinkistan	Posted on Dec 02 2014 03:31 PM Where do you get the cool waterslide decal? And one more thing: just because you gotta play bass doesn't mean a Strat will ever be obsolete! Classic design never gets old! — Squink Out! Top
Squid Joined: Aug 22, 2010 Posts: 1018 Portland, Oregon with Insanitizers	Posted on Dec 02 2014 10:16 PM I gig as much on bass guitar as lead guitar (with different groups), and I record with both. My bass collection includes 1 long, 1 medium, and 2 short scale (30") instruments. I find short scale basses easiest to play and lightest. At 12 pounds the long scale bass is uncomfortably heavy, despite a hugely wide strap. The short scale bass I prefer has a chambered body, a thin neck, and weighs about 6 pounds. It is a Douglas WVEB violin (Beatle-like) bass. (It is sold by RondoMusic.com). It looks gorgeous, has a thin neck with fast action, and has been durable. For recording I use a Fullerton medium scale bass because it has active pickups, a thin neck, and is almost as easy to play as the Douglas. I use flat wound strings on all my bass guitars, and recommend them. They cost much more than round wound strings, but a set of bass guitar strings lasts for several years. Flat wound is easier to play and sounds both fuller and more powerful. Round wound bass strings are relatively abrasive. — Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com Top
casey Joined: May 18, 2006 Posts: 521	Posted on Dec 02 2014 10:38 PM Flats seem to fit best in most of the surf/instro that I like to play. Top
Gilette Joined: May 04, 2014 Posts: 734	Posted on Dec 03 2014 04:31 AM - Last edited: Mar 03, 2022 02:33:01 Top
Gilette Joined: May 04, 2014 Posts: 734	Posted on Dec 03 2014 04:37 AM - Last edited: Mar 03, 2022 02:33:52 Top

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