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Post by Taildragger on Jul 1, 2021 12:33:44 GMT -5
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Post by Taildragger on Jul 1, 2021 13:06:29 GMT -5
I've listened to a fair amount of kora and oud music but was previously unaware of this instrument.
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Post by hushnel on Jul 2, 2021 11:11:17 GMT -5
That was cool. some of the players concepts about the instrument’s use, purpose and techniques, being somewhat different than our standard styles and understanding of bass, expressing foundational abilities of the bass. I may not be expressing my thoughts clearly. For many years I’ve been telling others that their is an underlining function to the instrument that many are not aware of. Particularly with non-classical use of the instrument. I couldn’t really tell but it looked like the two stings being fretted as well as the middle drone are on a round fretless neck, achieving both traditional single note patterns and chords. The thumb working the close string.
The western tradition evolved from the need to make the band or orchestra have a bottom to frame the frequency “bracket of the chord”. leaving all the drive and tempo to the percussion section. The bass has this broader purpose, it can also drive counter melodies and near chordal variations that thicken both the chord and simultaneously drive the beat with appropriate melodies, in different phases to what the other instruments are doing, in a way capturing or defining the intent of the piece in subtle ways. Like a flavor you can’t exactly define. Bass is the web that keeps it all together, making sense of all the other instruments. The other instruments are the “board and the surfer”, we are the wave and the sky.
Occasionally you’ll hear a bass player that seems to be doing it all right but sounds a bit sterile. It’s probably a guitar player. I’m not a great bassist, in the company of Anthony Wellington and Victor Wooten, but in their words, I’m a good bass player. Since the age of 8 I’ve defined myself as a bassist, I played a lot fewer notes back then but they were the right ones, in the right place “o)
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Post by Taildragger on Jul 2, 2021 15:05:26 GMT -5
Interesting observations, Hushnel. I started out as a "weedly-weedly" guitar player, striving for maximum flash but gradually became an adherent of the "less is more" school of thought as I grew older and my musical tastes became more sophisticated (or so I like to think!). About 6 or 7 years ago, I switched to focusing fairly exclusively on playing bass. My original impetus for doing so was painful arthritis in both thumbs which was making doing a lot of chording on guitar and even holding a flat pick for extended periods progressively more and more unpleasant. For some reason, playing bass (at least finger-style) didn't bother my thumbs.
The "less is more" aesthetic I had arrived at on guitar by that time stood me in good stead and (hopefully) has helped me to avoid some of the standard pitfalls into which many guitar players fall when they pick up a bass and "start playing it as though it were just another guitar with 4 fat strings". As you have pointed out above, that is not the "proper" role for the instrument and certainly doesn't serve the music well.
I'll never be a "great" bassist, having started at it so late in life, but hopefully I can attain "workman-like" or "competent" status. In any case, plugging away at it is a way for me to stimulate my mind and at least stay engaged with music in some fashion. I'm finding it challenging and very enjoyable. It's forced me to listen to music from a whole, new direction.
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Post by hushnel on Jul 2, 2021 17:05:33 GMT -5
I was asked a week or so ago to get together with two other musicians, the next day. I was invited by a drummer I had meet at an audition. I mentioned this recently. The bass and drummer bailed on the group to get more bar gigs, it didn’t happen and they came back. Anyhow, the place we meet up at was the guitar players recording studio, the guy built most of the stuff, it was the whole building. It was impressive.
I did get a list of songs I’ve mostly never played previously and ran through it once, figured I’d get more information as I played with these two, I can often work off the tunes themselves if not too complicated. The guitarist mentioned after nearly every tune that he liked my lines, I was playing mostly off what the chords, tempo and changes where doing, its almost like the tune tells you what needs to be done and when you can take some liberties to freshen it up.
I’m a ferrel musician, not properly trained or educated traditionally. The real musicians can totally confuse me in seconds describing the song. I just smile and wait for the first note.
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Post by windmill on Jul 4, 2021 5:39:06 GMT -5
nope
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Post by windmill on Jul 4, 2021 22:15:07 GMT -5
One of the groups I play in has a guitar player who has been playing in bands all his life. A while back he was quizzing me on how long I had been playing. After I said about 3-4 years, his response was that he had played with people who had played bass for 20-30 years "who don't get the bass the way you do". Not sure what aspect of playing he was talking about, but I like to think it was a compliment.  |
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Post by hushnel on Jul 4, 2021 23:03:52 GMT -5
There is an aspect of bass playing that is elusive, maybe with other instruments as well, I wouldn’t know, I’m a bassist. The timing is crucial but not necessarily a metronome, more like a heart beat. Attack also provides room for expression. We can also choose to use other notes of the chord than just the root. It’s difficult to quantify. The cello expresses many of the same qualities, though it can be a bit more obvious.
It was a compliment. We’ve all heard good bassists playing technically perfectly but sounds lack luster in the mix. We can throw in a two string chord on occasion and I’ve done quick finger picking thee note chords in a finger picking style where the notes are quickly played but not at the exact same time. You get a more complicated sound rather than the muddy tone you can get plucking simultaneously.
For the last few years I’ve been trying to do this with finger picking the acoustic guitar. I’m having some success. Instead of using the pick I strum the chord with five fingers varying each of the notes timing and attack ever so lightly. It sound a little more organic than sterile. It’s hard to quantify exactly what I’m doing. I’m trying my best to figure it out.
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Post by oldfartbassplayrwalt on Jul 6, 2021 16:32:17 GMT -5
"fewer notes back then but they were the right ones, in the right place"
isn't that the definition of bass player?
2nd definition:
"one who gets your butt moving with the groove"
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Post by hushnel on Jul 7, 2021 11:00:00 GMT -5
The trampoline for the lead guitarist. How many times have we had to catch the guy coming out of his lead break.
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