Skinnyman Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Does anyone else have a guitarist in their band who reckons they could play bass if they wanted and insists on telling you what to play and how to play it? Or is it just me? I need to know before I deck mine..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Not me although he can and does play better than me, so did the guy in the band before who wrote and played his whole album other than the slap bass I played on it and some violin his dad played. Deck him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Skinnyman' timestamp='1409428748' post='2539679'] Does anyone else have a guitarist in their band who reckons they could play bass if they wanted... [/quote] Give him this to play... [attachment=170503:Weat_Repo_A_Rema_You_Made_Bass.pdf] It's a pdf of 'A Remark You Made' (Weather Report, but you knew that...). Save it, re-naming the file as 'Weat_Repo_A_Rema_You_Made_Bass.pdf'. Best played on fretless... Hope this helps. Edited August 30, 2014 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Never happens to me. At worst I'm described as a 'good bass player', my reputation tends to arrive long before I do and I'm pretty much given free reign artistically from day one. The only occasional 'curb' is some musicians that don't consider anything other than a Fender bass as being suitable. No big deal to me, I have a JB as a standby instrument for those occasions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Deck away, but give him a chance to remove spectacles and/or dentures first. Puts me in mind of a tale about the last days of the Police (before their pension-boosting comeback tour): Sting (to Stuart Copeland): Why don't you play it like this? Stuart Copeland: Why don't you f*** off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman Steve Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 The trouble is that a bass is the bottom 4 strings of a guitar and so they can play the instrument but they don't have the approach. It's easy to spot a guitarist playing bass because the choice of notes is almost always 'wrong'. I'm not a violent man myself but I would understand you being one on this occasion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinnyman Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1409429772' post='2539694'] Give him this to play... [attachment=170503:Weat_Repo_A_Rema_You_Made_Bass.pdf] It's a pdf of 'A Remark You Made' (Weather Report, but you knew that...). Save it, re-naming the file as 'Weat_Repo_A_Rema_You_Made_Bass.pdf'. Best played on fretless... Hope this helps. [/quote] Brilliant. The dots will be enough to put him off. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinnyman Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 [quote name='Bassman Steve' timestamp='1409433001' post='2539733'] I'm not a violent man myself but I would understand you being one on this occasion. [/quote] Seriously, it's every bleedin' week and has gone on for months. Every time there's a small bass fill (think "crazy little thing") I see him look across and smile and nod, like I'm a three year old and just managed to tie my own shoelaces for the first time. Patronising t**t. Hmmm, perhaps this is symptomatic of a wider issue with my band mate. But one of these days, he's going to get a bass chucked at him with the words "well you 'kin play it then" as I stomp off to sulk.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 [quote name='Skinnyman' timestamp='1409435238' post='2539763'] Brilliant. The dots will be enough to put him off. :-) [/quote] ...and the dynamics? 'But my amp goes up to 11!' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Depends. If we're just about to play a new original and the writer politely asks me to - say - play quarter notes under the verse and eighths under the chorus, dead-stop after the bridge, keep it simple - then I'll happily comply. It's his song and I'm there to support it. If someone tells me to 'make it more punchy' then I'll ask them to be more specific. That usually foxes them. I haven't had to deck anyone yet because no one has annoyed me enough in this respect. Well, not where 'how to play the song' is concerned, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 [quote name='Skinnyman' timestamp='1409435629' post='2539768']...I see him look across and smile and nod...[/quote] I play drums; it's our youngest on bass. Whenever we play 'High and Dry' (Radiohead...), there are a few little licks in there that provoke exactly this in me, they're so apt. I glance across, a smile of joy. Most of the time he's not looking; that's normal, he's busy playing the bass..! That doesn't lessen the welling-up in me of a fuzzy warm feeling. It has to be said that the song is written that way, so no great surprise. The same effect when we play 'Grace' (Jeff Buckley...). Sometimes it just takes off, and I glimpse across and smile. Far from condescension; it's a real emotion brought out by the subtility of the playing. I realise that this may not be the case in your situation (more's the pity...); just wanted to say that, sometimes, rarely, there can be a sign of appreciation. ... and yes, I can tie my laces now, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulbass Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 I tend to focus on grooving with the drummer and providing we are doing our bits right the guitarist should be playing to us. If the guitarist doesnt sit with that i'd question him! I'm willing to listen to any positive input if it improves the track. If he is questioning the style of your playing maybe your in the wrong band and your styles/personalities clash. Dont deck him that would only get you a bad reputation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 (edited) Guitarist with that sort of attitude, it comes under the catagory of " not cool" and not the type of person I would want to be in a band with. Blue Edited August 30, 2014 by blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Decking is soo last year...everyone at Chelsea had limestone slabs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 In general most of the guitarists I`ve worked with can play bass in the same way I can play guitar, a bit, but they all appreciate that they are guitarists who can play a bit of bass, and that they are not actual bassists. I`ve no problem if someone writes a song and says how they want the bass to go, as it`s their vision. I look at it as if someone pays a decorator to paint their kitchen, they know what colour they want. That said in my current band, in general I put what I think is right to the songs and so far it`s worked fine. Did have a guitarist years ago who always wanted more fiddly bass lines, until he started playing bass himself. He then admitted that my reasonings for keeping the bass simple at the time were right, but it was only due to him now playing bass that he understood that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 [quote name='blue' timestamp='1409441138' post='2539829'] Guitarist with that sort of attitude, it comes under the catagory of " not cool" and not the type of person I would want to be in a band with. Blue [/quote] Yes, that would be my take on it. Sounds like the tip of an iceberg type thing going on. The 'decking' impulse is understandable but unlikely to yield any long term results, just a way to speed up the inevitable parting of the ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 In one of my bands the guitarist is also a bass player, he's played bass for years but his approach is very different to mine. It's quite hard for me to implement his ideas, and I'm going to have to start ignoring him I think. So yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Been in bands with musical dictators, and musical collaborators...I don't bother with the first type any more. As has been said, it's usually indicative of wider personality issues, and to be avoided in the long run. Constant undermining of another band member is nothing short of bullying, and you don't have to put up with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slumjacket Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Yeah deck him! I used to play with a similar bloke, he used to pick up my bass and play fiddly licks to try and explain what he wanted me to play. I just ignored him and played what I wanted, but in my mind id knocked him out. I can't really play guitar that well, but I can get by. I think the techniques used in guitar are similar to bass but not the same, there are people who play both regularly but I'm sure even they have a preference. Therefor I think everyone is either a guitar player or bass playee.g. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Im not as clear cut as everyone on the idea of being a bassist as such, there are bands I see regularly where the bass player is also a guitarist in an other band, those bassists are often better players than the full time bassists in plenty of other bands. If you are playing bass you are a bassist, when you are playing guitar you are a guitarist, if you play drums you are ....(insert your own joke)..a drummer, the only difference is your own ability on each which has no effect on other peoples ability does it? I can play a little bit of drums and I mean a little bit but there will be a spoilt brat collecting his pearl export from a shop today who has never played a beat, by the rules of basschat he is a drummer and im a bassist on our primary instruments but who is the better drummer at the moment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbitraptor Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 [quote name='Skinnyman' timestamp='1409428748' post='2539679'] Does anyone else have a guitarist in their band who reckons they could play bass if they wanted and insists on telling you what to play and how to play it? Or is it just me? I need to know before I deck mine..... [/quote] Used to. He even went so far as to buy a new bass amp 'for the band' to help 'improve my tone' I walked, and don't regret it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eightbitraptor Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 (edited) [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1409479153' post='2539980'] Im not as clear cut as everyone on the idea of being a bassist as such, there are bands I see regularly where the bass player is also a guitarist in an other band, those bassists are often better players than the full time bassists in plenty of other bands. If you are playing bass you are a bassist, when you are playing guitar you are a guitarist, if you play drums you are ....(insert your own joke)..a drummer, the only difference is your own ability on each which has no effect on other peoples ability does it? I can play a little bit of drums and I mean a little bit but there will be a spoilt brat collecting his pearl export from a shop today who has never played a beat, by the rules of basschat he is a drummer and im a bassist on our primary instruments but who is the better drummer at the moment? [/quote] I agree with most of this, I play guitar and bass, and I sing a little, but in my mind what other instruments I play is irrelevant in that situation. If I'm in a band playing bass and they've hired/chosen me to play bass, then I would like to think that they respect my ability as a bassist. And there is definitely a difference between telling someone what to play and giving constructive advice. I'd always absorb advice from other musicians. But dictators just make playing a soulless, unenjoyable experience for me. Edited August 31, 2014 by eightbitraptor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 [quote name='eightbitraptor' timestamp='1409480382' post='2539997'] He even went so far as to buy a new bass amp 'for the band' to help 'improve my tone' [/quote] Yes... That would do it for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Quite the opposite with me My guitarists are always looking to me to help them with chords and song arrangements. They nick named me the "Chordmaster" as I always seem to know what chords go where and ask me for advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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