Pete Academy Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 If you play cover songs with specific bass lines, do you think the majority of the audience would notice or care if you just root-noted everything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Probably not. I think most people wait for the chorus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I don`t think many people would care. They are interested in the singer and lead guitar usually. And we go to all that trouble learning fancy runs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Don't try any Level 42 though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 [quote name='Pete Academy' timestamp='1422308551' post='2671088'] If you play cover songs with specific bass lines, do you think the majority of the audience would notice or care if you just root-noted everything? [/quote] Such as Clash's 'London Calling', for instance, or the Floyd's 'Another Brick In The Wall, Part Two'..? Yes, I think they'd notice. Would they care..? Maybe not, really, but some could be disappointed, although not enough to throw rocks, I'd hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Totally depends on the song. I think in 99% of cases we are pretty much ok to play whatever we want but occasionally a bass line pops up that is such an integral part of the song that it would sound odd to play something drastically different. Unless of course the idea is to re imagine the song, and then all bets are off! But then, I pretty much play whatever I want whenever I want to play it so you know...whatever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Start the set with U2, bit of snow patrol, Coldplay etc and by then no one will be paying you any attention Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gelfin Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Get the start right, the chorus right, stay tight and hope there's no BC'ers in the audience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Must try that with "Money". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 Probably not. But the tunes wouldn't sound anywhere near as good. Think of a Muse song with all root notes. Or many Motown songs that are transformed by a groovy bassline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 99% of audiences wouldn't notice or care if there was a bass player or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I have a different take on this. The band is playing for the audience, I'm playing for the band. What the audience notices isn't my main concern. My job is to fire up the rhythm section and drive the front line, with the aim that we can impress the audience. I know audiences hear me loud and clear because they tell me but I have to make it work for the band. Root notes or not, the band has to like what I play. A pat on the back from them means good job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadofsix Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Santana's Black Magic Woman just wouldn't be the same! lol Of course, it would make my life a helluva lot easier 'cause, in my band, I'm the singer on it, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 A musician might notice, a non musician in the audience doesn't even know that your playing bass. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Sausage Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 You mean there are other notes than root!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 [quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1422308886' post='2671097'] Don't try any Level 42 though... [/quote] Is this just a general rule in life? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 The audience notices when you come in. They notice when you drop out. They notice when what you play doesn't sit correctly within the arrangement. Whether they know what it is they noticed is another question entirely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectoremg Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Turning it around a bit, I've seen a few guys miss the root note cos they're 'doodling' up the neck, that really grips my sh*t! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratman Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 [quote name='TimR' timestamp='1422346362' post='2671316'] The audience notices when you come in. They notice when you drop out. They notice when what you play doesn't sit correctly within the arrangement [/quote] Agreed. they don't neccessarily know or understand what they're hearing, but I believe they usually know when it sounds 'right'. I wish the same could be said of some other musicians lol. [quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1422346453' post='2671320'] Turning it around a bit, I've seen a few guys miss the root note cos they're 'doodling' up the neck, that really grips my sh*t! [/quote] I know a couple of bassists who regularly start w*nking off up the dusty end at inappropriate moments (during choruses, other peoples solos etc). It's not just badly timed widdling, it's disrespectful to the other musicians and the song being played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 [quote name='blue' timestamp='1422332121' post='2671262'] A musician might notice, a non musician in the audience doesn't even know that your playing bass. Blue [/quote] Totally agree. Where we are concerned about the bass we are playing, the cabs we use, the amp, effects etc, all the audience care about is hearing the song IMO If they can hear the singer, and they can make out the hook, they are happy. Ive played in bands before that were absolutely awful. I can look back and see this now, but we ALWAYS went down well, and were booked up a year in advance because our singer was brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassjon Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 As long as the groove is there I would say it doesn't matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 As others have said as far as the average punter is concerned the song is the vocals and the instrumental hooks. Sometimes the hook is the baseline in which case you should probably play it. The rest of the time so long as your in time, in tune and not treading on another instrument's sonic space you can pretty much play what you like. A few years back I joined a friend's covers band. I'd been to see them a couple of times before I joined and had been impressed with how accurately they did the songs they covered. I did my best to learn the bass parts as they were on the recordings. Imagine my surprise when I heard a recording that the previous line up had done and found that my predecessor had only made a vague attempt at playing the original baselines. Until I actually learnt the songs for myself I had never noticed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Personally I wouldn't feel comfortable just rooting out something that has a distinctive bassline. I don't get anywhere near 'note perfect' on covers that I do but I try to get somewhere fairly close. You never know who's in the audience (I don't mean fellow critical muso's, I don't really bother about them) and it might just be that a certain part of the bassline is what really 'makes' the song for them even if they don't actually realise it is the bassline that is doing it. So you are selling them short by fudging 'their' special moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 [quote name='Pete Academy' timestamp='1422308551' post='2671088'] If you play cover songs with specific bass lines, do you think the majority of the audience would notice or care if you just root-noted everything? [/quote] Don't care... I'll play it for me. I'll get enjoyment making it work. Never too concerned about the audience and what they may or may not notice. Getting them there is the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 [quote name='KevB' timestamp='1422354916' post='2671441'] Personally I wouldn't feel comfortable just rooting out something that has a distinctive bassline. I don't get anywhere near 'note perfect' on covers that I do but I try to get somewhere fairly close. You never know who's in the audience (I don't mean fellow critical muso's, I don't really bother about them) and it might just be that a certain part of the bassline is what really 'makes' the song for them even if they don't actually realise it is the bassline that is doing it. So you are selling them short by fudging 'their' special moment. [/quote] This. Audience members will often know that it doesn't sound quite right, or doesn't sound as good - even if they don't know what's missing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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