When is a bass not bass?

[westen44]

I'm going to have to agree with one of the comments below the article which says, in effect, if a bass isn't holding the bottom, if it's losing the groove, it isn't bass.  It's just telling people you can play lead guitar on big strings. 

With a few exceptions (such as Hendrix,) lead guitar solos bore me out of my mind.  Why should I want to listen to someone trying to do the same thing for bass?  Something which a bass really isn't designed for, I might add.

http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2011/12/18/all-bass-no-treble-when-is-a-bass-not-bass/

[Pilgrim]

IMO the bass belongs on the bottom.  If you want to play progressive jazz or some other style which stays WAY up the neck, then I admire your chops, but don't expect me to listen to it. Not interested.  Go get a guitar.

I am currently learning the bass part to Frampton's "Do you feel like I do" (a major milestone of guitar wanking IMO, but our lead guitarist wants to give it a try and he has been very gracious in playing stuff I have suggested).  I looked up tabs for it and GEEEEZ...I can't believe the stuff that some people put in tabs.  The first tab I found had half the notes on the 22nd fret!!!  What a joke!!!  http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/p/peter_frampton/do_you_feel_like_i_do_btab.htm

Other versions are from the 10th to 15th fret.  Better but still unnecessary. Forget that.  I transcribed it down to the point where nothing is played above the 5th fret. That's where bass belongs unless there is a fingering advantage what requires playing an entire number higher.

(Should I add "Get off my lawn?")

I've long had a problem with people insisting on tabs which indicate consistently playing up on the neck when there are easier and to my ear more "bassy" fingerings lower on the neck.  I also have no particular aversion to playing open notes, which some bass players avoid like the plague.

[Dave W]

If it's not holding the bottom then I won't like it, period.

But whether I like it or not, if the music is played on an instrument designed and tuned for bass clef, it's definitely still bass.

OTOH "piccolo bass" is self-contradictory. Is it only played by soprano tenors? 

[Aussie Mark]

I can listen to almost any instrument playing a solo, bar bass.

[Highlander]

ERB territory... virtuoso, and limited appeal...

... I am currently learning the bass part to Frampton's "Do you feel like I do" ...

Fretless original, iirc...

[leftybass]

I hate the whole "solo bass" thing. When I see pics of BP's Bass Day, with all those bass players on stage wanking, it disgusts me. I LOVE stuff like The Ox's solo on "My Generation", bits that serve the song, but a guy twiddling around on a bass all by himself is not for me. I understand the sentiment that says there's no rules for an artist and self expression, that's fine and I agree, doesn't mean I have to like all of it. I will probably admire your abilities but...

[4stringer77]

I have no qualms with basses soloing but it does depend on the style of music and whether the solo is done tastefully while also being melodic and serving the greater composition. Milt Hinton, Ray Brown, Slam Stewart, Major Holley, Paul Chambers, Percy Heath and Sam Jones were great soloists and groove masters. Jaco may be a bit much for some but at least he was playing a Fender Jazz. Once the two handed tapping starts, I usually check out.

[mc2NY]

I do not care for bass solos. They are light years worse than drum solos...which I also rather not listen to.

Tasty fills, yes. Solos, no.

I was playing my first live fill-in gig with a popular NYC area club band years back. Right in the middle of one of the cover tunes, the frontman yells "bass solo!!," without any warning. I deliberately played the most NON solo type of solo that I could think of. Later the frontman asked, " what was with that solo?"  I was clearly pissed off and said " I'm the fking BASS player. WHY would I need to do a solo? If you ever pull that shit again, I'll play the solo on your head with my bass neck."

I'm sure he was just trying to show off that my guitarist and I were playing in his band, a big deal for him, but it sucked to have a solo just dropped on you unannounced...in the middle of a song that was a fast 1-4-5 that didn't even lend itself to a solo. GAK!!

[rahock]

I've long had a problem with people insisting on tabs which indicate consistently playing up on the neck when there are easier and to my ear more "bassy" fingerings lower on the neck.  I also have no particular aversion to playing open notes, which some bass players avoid like the plague.
[/quote]

When I started playing bass in the mid/late 60s , I took lessons from a guy who drilled it into me "play in closed positions and avoid open strings". The object of this was to make things easier when changing keys. That was true, all you had to do was move to a new position up or down the neck and not have to think about converting the open string fingering positions. When I started playing an ABG I learned to appreciate the sound of the open strings and it was tough for me to shake the old habit of not using them. Playing the ABG made me start playing more like a bass player and probably taught me more than anything else I have ever done.
Rick

[Stjofön Big]

There are two (2) bass solos that makes it for me. As mentioned earlier on, My generation, of course. The other is Chris White's opening, and middle short bass part in The Zombies She's not there. I don't crave more!

[maxschrek]

Yes, I agree with all here, bass solos blow donkey cocks...as do drum solos.

[lowend1]

I am currently learning the bass part to Frampton's "Do you feel like I do" (a major milestone of guitar wanking IMO, but our lead guitarist wants to give it a try and he has been very gracious in playing stuff I have suggested).  I looked up tabs for it and GEEEEZ...I can't believe the stuff that some people put in tabs.  The first tab I found had half the notes on the 22nd fret!!!  What a joke!!!  http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/p/peter_frampton/do_you_feel_like_i_do_btab.htm

Other versions are from the 10th to 15th fret.  Better but still unnecessary. Forget that.  I transcribed it down to the point where nothing is played above the 5th fret. That's where bass belongs unless there is a fingering advantage what requires playing an entire number higher.

I suppose one can nitpick regarding the talkbox portion of DYFLWD, but that is essentially an audience participation thing. The actual lead breaks are, IMHO, not self indulgent, and are, in fact very lyrical. I played the song in one of my cover bands for a couple of years and really enjoyed my time with it (we cut out the talkbox stuff). If you're planning to nail down Stanley Sheldon's part (and it's a great one) note-for-note, then you may well find yourself up above the fifth fret, because some of the fills run up the neck. IIRC, that was all played on a fretless anyway. It's a fun song to play, especially if your guitar player really "gets" Frampton.

[Pilgrim]

I played the song in one of my cover bands for a couple of years and really enjoyed my time with it (we cut out the talkbox stuff). If you're planning to nail down Stanley Sheldon's part (and it's a great one) note-for-note, then you may well find yourself up above the fifth fret, because some of the fills run up the neck. IIRC, that was all played on a fretless anyway. It's a fun song to play, especially if your guitar player really "gets" Frampton.

Nicely said, and thanks. Minus the talkbox part, it's a lot more appealing. I'm not looking to duplicate the original, just to com up with a passable, playable version of it that carries the tune.

When I started playing bass in the mid/late 60s , I took lessons from a guy who drilled it into me "play in closed positions and avoid open strings". The object of this was to make things easier when changing keys. That was true, all you had to do was move to a new position up or down the neck and not have to think about converting the open string fingering positions. When I started playing an ABG I learned to appreciate the sound of the open strings and it was tough for me to shake the old habit of not using them. Playing the ABG made me start playing more like a bass player and probably taught me more than anything else I have ever done.
Rick

My tolerance of open strings may come from learning on upright bass. I always found that on that instrument, an open string is a good friend and a momentary break from the work of holding down those big strings.  I also found that a open strings had resonance that I REALLY liked!

[Rob]

Nicely said, and thanks. Minus the talkbox part, it's a lot more appealing. I'm not looking to duplicate the original, just to com up with a passable, playable version of it that carries the tune.

My tolerance of open strings may come from learning on upright bass. I always found that on that instrument, an open string is a good friend and a momentary break from the work of holding down those big strings.  I also found that a open strings had resonance that I REALLY liked!

Jammerson said that also.

I played brass stuff in school but when I wanted to learn bass the only instructor was a country guitar picker.
If I dared grab anything above first position he'd get pissed.  Also learned to play with my thumb on the finger rest rather than fingers "that's why they built it that way kid"

I remember someone on the pit saying that if the girls butts aren't bouncing you're not playing bass     Sorry Jaco

[uwe]

DISSENTING OPINION:

There are no rules on bass nor should there be, period. Any preconceptions of how a bass should be played only limit development and artistic expression. If Jack Bruce and JAE and Macca and Chris Squire and Larry Graham hadn't broken boundaries in their time, the bass world would be a poorer place.

I like bass solos. But I like them to be in a band context, not the whole band stopping and the bassist throwing in some technical chops and the band then returning, that bores me, "bass clinic solos" as opposed to "musical solos". But a bass solo over a harmonic backing (that is the way I prefer drum solos too) where the bass is free to do what it wants is to this day relatively rare in most types of music. Unfortunately, because it sounds nice - whether played with high, medium or low notes. I don't know what that has to do with guitar playing unless melodic solos on all other instruments are somehow handicapped guitar solos too.

And I never understood why an instrument that is fretted up to the 20th fret or more should sacrifice a third or more of its potential playing area for a non-play zone that someone decrees. That just doesn't make sense. A note fretted on the G string at the 22nd fret can have as much meaning as an open E string tone. Even (or especially!) if its unexpected.

Free your mind and your (b)ass will follow. And get an untuned one string boom box if "holding down the rhythm" is all you want to do, why bother changing a note, if you're low enough no one will care? The beauty of bass is the combination of rhythm, harmony and melody - in a word: music!