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Listening to music as a bass player


ballstomonty
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When I first started playing bass I used to listen to music as a whole. In fact I found it hard to pick out individual elements in music apart from solos etc.

When I look back I had an incredibly poor understanding of what was going in terms of individual instruments and their interactions.

As a result of this it took ages for me to truly get a handle on what the bass does in music, which again slowed down my progress as a player.

However, when I listened to music the fact I heard as a whole made it immersive and magical.

Now my brain immediately picks things apart and can understand the bass part and all the other aspects working together. But it's lost some of the magic as a result.

Anybody else had this experience?

Edited by ballstomonty
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Yes, I know exactly what you mean - I found the same thing when I started playing music. I think it's why punters will know [I]something[/I] is off when a band aren't playing well, but might struggle to tell you [I]what[/I] about the performance is lacking

Though I guess a more accurate description would be "listening to music as a musician" :)

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As I grew up playing instruments, I couldn't tell you when I've not listened to each instrument's part in the song.
I do listen to the song as a whole, but my wife listens to songs very differently from me. She'll like a song just based on the overall sound & the vocal melody.
I listen to it & even if the singer isn't an amazing vocalist, I listen to what they've put with the music, just like with the bass, it's not about how technically skilled they are there, it's about how they've come up with a great sounding part (Adam Clayton is a good example, many great basslines, most which a beginner could play).
There's been many times I've said "Ohh, I like that wee synth sound that comes in here" & the Mrs says "What synth sound?". :lol:

Sometimes I do wish I could hear songs like she does though.

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I think there are two things that I wish I could switch off, firstly I wish I could just listen to songs as a whole instead of just noticing the bass. Also, as soon as I can play a song it seems to lose its magic, I stopped learning songs for a long time so this wouldn't happen as much.

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As a bass player, you should try to listen to the song as a whole, and understand where the individual instruments sit in the mix.

I think that playing an instrument enhances your enjoyment of music, because you CAN hear the whole thing, pick up all the nuances the musicians add to a piece, and how things sit together in the song.

The downside is that you are more critical of "bad" music! :D

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At grammar school, the music teacher asked us to listen to the disk he was about to play, and identify the main changes. When it was over, he asked how many we'd heard. Most of my classmates gave the (correct...) answer of 3 (movements in the symphony...). I'd jotted down over 200..! Every change of mood, every new phrase, each combination of instruments I'd dissected. The teacher was amused, but not pleased. I've learnt since how to appreciate at many levels what is going on, and react accordingly, sometimes to detail, sometimes to the whole.

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Sometimes I'll lapse into 'picking things apart' but usually when it's something at my level (pub hack). When it's a full pro band I like in a decent venue I can still switch off into 'punter mode' fairly easily. I think that's why I still pay to go to gigs.

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Welcome to the curse of the musician.

Bass players however, tend to make better producers because we/they are often better at understanding what is going on in the overall picture, even if we don't hear it as a single sound.

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I hear everything but you have to stream some stuff off............
I never take in lyrics but I hear the pitch of the vox.
I also know what I am listening for and in what style...
but I really zone into the drums..but if something else is off
I'll hear it.

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Thanks ballstomonty for posting this question, it is something that has been in the back of my mind for years

Found it is a bit of an unfortunate trade off in a sense, I sometimes, rarely, hear music as a complete 'entity', but much more often my brain splits stuff up into constituent parts.

There are songs where I like the overall vibe or somehow the song has a logic about it, or even no logic whatsoever, and it is still interesting to listen to, and enjoy.

However most of the time, because it is possible to separate out the bass line, the beats, chord structure etc. I find myself hearing stuff almost like some kind of aural Airfix construction kit.

And I'm always asking myself...why does this bassline sound so good...listen to the drums on this.. the vocals are wonderful...let alone the production and all the other instruments.. the lyrics.. etc.

But then again when a classic song really hits I still love it, but wish I could become unaware of all this, and revel in the completeness of it.

Feels like a shame somehow to have lost that er.. "innocence" or maybe even "ignorance" ?

Timr...... think you are spot on "the curse of the musician"

apologies for rambling good people

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[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1435752305' post='2812075']
As I grew up playing instruments, I couldn't tell you when I've not listened to each instrument's part in the song.
I do listen to the song as a whole, but my wife listens to songs very differently from me. She'll like a song just based on the overall sound & the vocal melody.
I listen to it & even if the singer isn't an amazing vocalist, I listen to what they've put with the music, just like with the bass, it's not about how technically skilled they are there, it's about how they've come up with a great sounding part (Adam Clayton is a good example, many great basslines, most which a beginner could play).
There's been many times I've said "Ohh, I like that wee synth sound that comes in here" & the Mrs says "What synth sound?". :lol:

Sometimes I do wish I could hear songs like she does though.
[/quote]

+ 1

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[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1435757364' post='2812164']
Bass players however, tend to make better producers because we/they are often better at understanding what is going on in the overall picture, even if we don't hear it as a single sound.
[/quote]

I'd never realised, but the penny dropped when I read this, that it's because I'm a bass player that I was the main driving force behind getting everything perfect in the studio.

While the rest of my band were sat there listening to the mix saying "yeah, that's good" I was the constant voice in the room saying "nope, xxx is sat wrong" or "there's too much yyy effect on zzz". Everyone except the producer, who thanked me for making his job easier, was getting really pissed off with me by the end!

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