charleshaupt wrote: 1.....hi all,just a general question......... saw lemmy of motorhead playing solid 3 note bass lines....... sounded tight and in the groove..... recently saw quite a few bands at the kknk and each of those bassists were overplaying. should the choice of notes always serve the song,or should you play the way you interpret the song? just curious........

I think the bass needs to reinforce the rest of the band (the whole locked with the drums idea), because that allows the rest of the band to do their thing a lot better. Sure, you get plenty of virtuoso bassists who are impressive to listen to during a bass solo, but the majority of good bass playing serves the song, and the other band members.

If the bass player is playing too loose or hitting bum notes in important places, it can REALLY stuff around with trying to play guitar or sing over the chord changes. I remember there would sometimes be sections of a song where things just didn't feel "right" at all, like I was singing the right note but it sounded wrong, or anticipating a chord change in a solo only to fumble around a sort of subliminal "wrongness" somewhere. It was almost always the bass player needing correction (great player, just highlighting how important the bass is to the rest of the band).

charleshaupt wrote: 1.....hi all,just a general question......... saw lemmy of motorhead playing solid 3 note bass lines....... sounded tight and in the groove..... recently saw quite a few bands at the kknk and each of those bassists were overplaying. should the choice of notes always serve the song,or should you play the way you interpret the song? just curious........

Well that's for the artist to decide. And it's for the listener to decide on what they think about it. Different artists and different listeners will decide differently.

What I will say is that tightness is not about the number of notes. It's about timing. If the timing is good it sounds tight. And I think the audience tend to notice poor timing more than they do bum notes or too many/too few notes.

I think all of the instrumentation and vox in a band should serve the song unless you're just a showcase for one particular thing (and then the audience will get bored very quickly). General guitar rule of thumb is don't play 10 notes if one will do... That goes doubly for bass. Foundation rhythm and playing in the pocket comes above all else. Get your groove and/or swing on ?
That said, jazzy numbers are great for a little more bass acrobatics because in jazz, bass is also a lead instrument...

the song will dictate how many of few notes are neccessary

lets face it , lemmy is motorhead and he can do what he damn well pleases and it suits motorhead ..lemmy was initially a guitarist by the way ...

music is a sum of parts , with it being more than the sum of the parts , whatever works in a particular context is all that matters imho

But it's important to remember that the bass is heavily responsible for the perceived tonality of the song and the sense of energy. Too ambiguous and it might be unclear to the audience what key the song is in (they can't get a grip on it). A lack of synchronisation with the drums and song's energy can just die.

The bass and drums are the essentials. The guitars are just decoration. So the bass has to be solid. The guitars can be a little looser.

singemonkey wrote: But it's important to remember that the bass is heavily responsible for the perceived tonality of the song and the sense of energy. Too ambiguous and it might be unclear to the audience what key the song is in (they can't get a grip on it). A lack of synchronisation with the drums and song's energy can just die.

The bass and drums are the essentials. The guitars are just decoration. So the bass has to be solid. The guitars can be a little looser.

Cutting yourself some slack there? ?

This from that recording thread: ?

An explorer is deep in the jungle, being led by a native guide. They are hacking their way through dense tropical growth when suddenly drums start pounding in the distance. The explorer freezes. His guide reassures him: "no worry. drums good."
"The drums are good? No danger?"
"Yes, drums good. Keep going."

The explorer takes a deep breath and they trudge on. As the jungle gets thicker and denser, and dusk starts to fall, the drums continue, pounding louder, ever closer. The explorer asks again, "Are you sure those drums are okay... nothing to be afraid of? It sounds like they're getting louder."
"No. no worry. Drums good."
They continue on.

As night falls and they start to break camp, the drums become even louder, more intense. The explorer cannot shake a sense that they spell impending doom, but his guide continues to reassure him: "drums good."

Then, just as darkness settles most completely over the jungle, the drums suddenly stop. The guide's face goes ashen, a look of horror in his eyes! The explorer asks, "What? What's the matter? The drums stopped-- is that bad?"

The guide responds, "When drums stop, very bad! Bad thing coming! No good for anybody!"

"What!? What is it? What happens after the drums stop!?!"

The guide responds: "Bass solo."

:roflmao:

Victor Wooten said something like: never lose the groove looking for a note

Anther thing is that notes are important ... but so are spaces/rests ?