playing bass…
every now and then i feel this need to have a look at the basics of playing an instrument – the voice is an instrument as well of course. and in my case this works best when i do something i haven’t done in a while or even something i can’t really do at all, for then i have to focus on what it’s really about. this time i chose the bass guitar. it stood there in the corner for about three months but now i’m looking forward to rehearsals with a band searching for a bass player – so i found it was time again to play some bass. now i’m not a bass wizard – or something near it – but the funny thing is, when i play/record bass guitar it sounds good. over the years i picked up some playing technique and i know the notes on the fingerboard through my guitarplaying – but this shouldn’t be enough to play a good bass guitar, now should it?
thinking about this, my guess would be that i focus on the very basics (because i can’t do anything else anyway) and this makes it sound decent. too easy? think about it, what’s the most common mistake bass players make? not just them of course but let’s stick with this example for now… right, overplaying! and that usually causes them to sound anything BUT tight. now, i understand that playing straight eight notes for 87 measures with no more than four different notes seems boring but nothing ruins a tune like a bassist that dreams about being a not-so-good-but-at-least-getting-through-the-song-somehow-guitarist. i find it quite intriguing that even most bassplayers think the bass is the guitar for beginners or wannabes. it’s not surprising that others think that way because, hey, it looks almost the same. and it usually has less strings so it must be easier than guitar! it still is not common knowledge that a bass is a completely different instrument and needs to be treated as such. and believe it or not – it’s kind of more important than the guitar. do you know why Led Zeppelin worked? it wasn’t Page or Plant. without the foundation Bonham and Jones laid down the band would have gone nowhere. same with AC/DC. certainly, everybody thinks Angus does it all but again, without the foundation he’d have no chance.
well, it’s not really that simple, every band member is equally important – sure. i just wanted to make a point here. now where am i going with this? honestly, i have no idea :-) i just picked up the bass guitar and found that i did what i think every bass player should do on a regular basis. and that is playing the bass. not some melody-crap, tapping-licks or mimicking everything the guitar does. just playing the bass. if that’s out of the question for you because you want to be the star or sticking to the bassline is just way too boring – then, and i’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, you picked the wrong instrument…
