What do you say to this?

[westen44]

I have a friend I haven't known too long.  He is really pretty good on bass and has been playing a long time.  Recently, he got into a band after not being in one for a really long time.  I just got an email from him.  I'm tempted to post the whole thing here, but I'll just paraphrase it.  Last night they played a gig and sounded pretty good considering they haven't practiced quite enough.  However, there were two other bands that played and my friend noted that the two bassists for those bands were superb, in fact, light years better than he was.  They were melodic, playing everything but a standard bass line.  Jazzers with a Beckish style of fusion.  They were playing chords above the 12th fret and one was finger picking bluegrass style laying down two lines at the same time .

The bottom line is that now this guy is feeling seriously inadequate today.  And considering what he has told me, I hardly know what to say.  I want to encourage him, but I don't much believe in the pep talk stuff unless it really has substance.  Any suggestions?

[gweimer]

It's not just how you play, it's WHAT you play.  For me, it's like talking about Jamerson vs. Jaco.  Sure, Jaco had the speed and all that, but Jamerson laid down solid foundations without being boring or basic.  Jamerson was the foundation of music that has been popular with the masses worldwide for decades.  Jaco is admired by bass players.

I used to feel like your friend, back in the days when I played for a living.  There was always someone better than me.  One day, a friend of mine told me that he preferred my playing to a few people we were discussing, who played rings around me.  He said that I was the one who knew exactly what to play, where the others just burned up the fingerboard.

Finally, play this for your friend.  There is power in a single note, when used effectively.

[Dave W]

Know what to play, and when. Unless the song is written with a complex bass part, a standard bass line is standard. You can be creative without being fancy.

There's always someone who has better chops. It's okay to admire their technical skill (or not, in some cases) but that has nothing to so with playing the right part for the song.

Think about Dusty Hill's role in ZZ Top.

[westen44]

Thanks, I do appreciate such good advice and I do believe it's very valid.  I can definitely identify with what he's saying.  Because about two and a half years ago I had the experience of being in a studio when a viruoso-type bassist unexpectedly appeared on the scene.  It had the effect of actually making me play better.  But I still had to go through a crisis of confidence which I am still trying to fully deal with. 

[ramone57]

I play because I love music and it's a lot of fun.  there's a wide range of talent out there but there's also room for everybody.  there's always somebody better than me but if I let that bother me, I wouldn't play at all.  besides, once you start playing, who's thinking about the bass player in another band?  tell your friend to have fun and play his best.

[patman]

99 times out of 100, simpler is better....in perfect time is best.

[Aussie Mark]

There is a bass forum in Australia that was started as a local off shoot of TalkBass, and a couple of times every year we have a get together and bring our gear, and sit around and talk sh!t about bass and play each other's gear.  I'm probably in the bottom 25% of playing ability compared to all these trained players and slap masters, but you know what?  Many of them have never had a paying gig in their life.  I take great consolation that I'm smart enough to get great well paid gigs, and have done for 30 years now, without being a virtuoso bassist.  There are lots of people like us out there - Cliff Williams and Adam Clayton, for starters.

[the mojo hobo]

A few years ago I was at a party for a musician where a lot of his friends played and there were two other bassists there who made me feel inadequate, but after I was done playing the guitar player came over to me and told me how good I was. "In the pocket" was what he said. I little well timed praise can go a long way. Give him the pep talk. (And play some ZZ Top for him)

[Pilgrim]

I agree with the ZZ Top comments....and if you listen to Duck Dunn's work, you find that much of it is pretty minimalist.  His embellishments are often two or three notes in passing, or just inverting a blues phrase so it starts high and goes low.

I am no virtuoso, and I constantly hear bassists who are more proficient, faster and who have a better grasp of theory than I have.  But people tell me that the band sounds great, and I also get positive comments from guitarists.

There is plenty of room for different styles and different approaches.

[Dave W]

What you need to do is to be good at playing your own style, nobody can do that the way you can.

[westen44]

He had already told me that it was the lead guitarist's opinion he cared the most about.  Because it appears this is an exceptionally good guitarist.  So, he sent me an email and said the lead guitarist called him.  He is very happy with the way my friend sounded.  Everyone has their own way of doing things.  However, in my experience when I play well and get along with the lead guitarist, that's usually about the best thing that can happen in making a band run smoothly.  It's a team effort, needless to say. 

[ilan]

Everybody will tell you that simple is better. In many cases ignorance is bliss. Many rock players are happy pounding root eighth-notes all night.

But your friend seems to want to know more. I would encourage him to do just that. Studying jazz will do wonders.

[patman]

Music theory is important...it's just better to get past the stage in life where you need to show off, and arrive at the stage where you play for the music, and don't really care about anything but the music. A lot of what I do is almost like meditation, concentrating and locking into the drums.  Even when playing jazz, sometimes Count Basie said more with one or two notes, than other guys said while spewing notes all night long.

[TBird1958]

I'm sure he's a better bass player than me.........Hell, everybody is, just the way it goes 

[Pilgrim]

What you need to do is to be good at playing your own style, nobody can do that the way you can.

This is an extremely sage comment.

Music is art and performance.  No two people will do those things in the same way.  If you are the best YOU that's possible, you have done all you can do.