norvegicusbass

Its not a muting issue its more that I mess up lines that have a lot of open strings its as though my left hand feels pissed off at the right playing a note it doesnt participate in. I have no issues when playing lines where I fret A for example on the E string. Its bizarre really but its a problem that I am working on with the good advice of you kind folk here so thanks for all your replies

I mean I know there are no bass police out there so I know I wont be arrested but I cant help feeling naughty for doing this but is it ok to use your index finger to fret a note then using it to bar the other strings so you arent using the pad of the finger but the whole finger instead? An example might give you all a better understanding of my crime. While playing the octave part of Hysteria by muse I play the root with the pad of my index finger then the octave with my pinky. Now when I go back to the root again with the pad of my index I am just not quick enough to release it and use the pad again to play the seventh and hammer on to the octave so I kind of bar it instead. Two questions, does anyone follow my lousy description and does anyone else play it like this?

Dont know why it is but playing a tune with a lot of open strings really kicks my arse. Its like I need to be fretting a note or otherwise I mess up. Its bloody frustrating as I love the sound of the open strings ala James Jamerson but whenever I play I sort of transpose it so I am fretting the notes ( all but the E obviously ). Why do you think I struggle with open strings?

Is there any tab/score writing software out there preferably cheap or free? I have Tux Guitar but I cant seem to make it play bass or show a bass guitar fretboard all it shows is steel guitar. I want to try and write out tabs so as to give me a better understanding of how music looks on the page with the ultimate aim to be able to transcribe bass parts to sheet music. Cheers All

OP your not playing this in Newcastle are you?

...were you confident enough to proclaim you were a bassist? Is it after mastering a particularly dificult song or is it when you join a band? Or maybe when you begin to earn money via your playing? I am still at the level where I say to people I play a little bit of bass as a hobby because I dont feel I could play with enough skill to have them think I am a musician. I have though learned a few tricky numbers (for me anyhow ) that make me feel as though I could make a fist of playing live in a not very good never called back pub band. Songs like Nantucket Sleighride, Goodbye Toulouse, Last Train To London songs of that level.

Love this song and trying to learn the bassline anyone know of any tabs? There is a great clip on youtube with this man sat infront of all these masks playing this really well but I think I need some tabs or transcription any ideas?

[quote name='arthurhenry' timestamp='1355822447' post='1903050'] Isn't chucking essentially pick style, without a pick? [/quote] Yeah but it offers a totally different tone very funky like old style

Apart from what I would call the big three, Fingerstyle, Slapping and Pick playing there are other types of playing out there that arent anywhere near as popular but still offer a great way of playing. Just been listening a lot lately to Bernard Edwards and ( where possible )his chucking style and was just wondering why this style never really caught hold like the others. TBH I hate the modern version of slap much preferring the older style of funk bassists like Larry Graham but could listen to chucking no problem at all. Got me thinking though any other styles that sound great and offer a unique tone that should have caught on.

And anything by The Tubes like Primetime

Sister Sledge Thinking Of You springs to mind cant find it anywhere

Using only the EQ settings on your guitar and amp to modify your tone do roundwounds have more options than flats? Is the range of tone greater when using roundwounds than the rather dead sound you get from flatwound?

[quote name='mart' timestamp='1348731162' post='1817348'] Ah now, you see, your mistake was to try to use the pencil sharpener. Before you did that, it was both working and not working. But then you went and stuck a pencil in and collapsed the wave function .... Er, sorry, wrong topic. Right, er, stereotypes, eh? Isn't there something about lukewarm water? [/quote] Very clever response truly fitting the stereotype of a bassist

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1348692142' post='1817091'] I didn't, sorry! I was dressed like this, but without the sweatbands: Perhaps it was the Bass I was carrying that gave it away? Oh no, I'd left that at home... [/quote] That shopkeeper needs his eyes tested you are obviously a harp player or at a stretch a lute

Usually when I think up a bass line I just sort of sing it in my head then try to replicate this on the fretboard. I tend to do this for existing songs that I am quite familiar coming up with lines often markedly different to the original. However when faced with things like chord charts I can only at best come up with the roots. I think I have read somewhere that you select notes from the chord scale. So for instance if the Gmaj chord is played does that mean I can select ANY note from the Gmaj scale and it will work? Say for example there is a full bar in the key of Gmaj could I play a full bar of C which is the fourth note of the G major scale? It doesnt seem right. What happens if I just noodle around playing random notes from the Gmaj scale? Would that work? This post comes from watching this excellent video which seems to imply that you can just play random notes within a certain scale and they will fit into the overall sound of the music. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="[url="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VJNq4GVoy5I?rel=0"]http://www.youtube.com/embed/VJNq4GVoy5I?rel=0[/url]" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Excellent these will help a lot thanks for your efforts

I think there is a general feeling that pick playing is easier than playing with fingers. I certainly don't subscribe to that point of view and my attempts have made me have a much greater appreciation of JJB, Chris Squire, Carol Kaye et al. Just been having a go at Immigrant Song and there is no way I can do the octaves at speed. The scales are doable just but the octaves no way. I think JPJ used a pick on this sometimes.

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1347033824' post='1796303'] I know Steve Harris can do it,but there's no way I can play 360bpm 32nd's with my fingers. [/quote] Wow I dont think I can do anything 360bpm

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1347005526' post='1795800'] A program called Here comes the summer is on bbc4 tonight, 9 45, the story of the Undertones. Looking forward to this! [/quote] Brilliant looking forward to watching it. Seen them a few times late seventies early eighties.

I am currently trying to play with a pick as I have always been a finger player and thought it wise to broaden the scope of my playing by incorporating the pick into my playing. I am progressing slowly to say the least and find it almost impossible to do octave skips with any speed or fluency at all. For example when I play the octave skips on the chorus to ELO's Last Train To London I can play this quite easily with fingers but I cant play at all with a pick. This got me thinking for those who played almost exclusively with fingers and then tried using a pick what was the hardest thing you had to master and likewise for those who grew up on picks when you switched to fingers what caused you the most trouble?

[quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1345504086' post='1778396'] Something worth considering is that when you hear the lemon song it is JPJ playing with complete freedom of thought and expression as Zep were there own bosses so to speak. With Jamerson, all those basslines we adore and love were created within a more restrictive environment; the 'hit factory'. It was his day job. The funk brothers were pretty much told what they would be playing (arrangement wise) and of course they got their freak on within that set up but they weren't calling the creative shots really. jamerson famously would not allow the motown stuff to be played at home complaining that he had to spend all day at work listening to that Sh*t. Jamerson was a jazz cat at heart and would play exactly that during his down time. I guess what I'm trying to get at in a long winded way is that Jamerson has blown us all away with his talent and yet we may never have actually heard him really being himself, creating what HE really wanted to... I also agree that music is not a competition by the way. Both these guys are killer talents. [/quote] Wow I never knew this. I wish I could have heard his stuff when he was really letting his hair down. Its amazing he called his Motown stuff sh*t it begs the question what he called great. Of course music isn't a competition but there isn't a soul on this site who hasn't at one time or other expressed an opinion on who was the best bassist. Well maybe one or two.

I know that one of JPJ's heroes was James Jamerson and I think this is his most Jamersonesque basslines but call me biased as a huge Zep fan but it is better than all of JJ's lines combined. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbnKzRvNTD8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbnKzRvNTD8[/url]

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1345186999' post='1774615'] I use audacity to slow down tunes all the time and never had problems. How much are you slowing it by? [/quote] I have tried all speeds from say 30-90 percent. It also doesnt allow me to alter the speed or EQ while the mp3 is running so I have to stop it and alter it then restart.

Thanks for the replies. Never heard of Reaper but going to give it a try.

I have a copy of Audacity from which I am trying to slow down and part isolate bass tracks to be able to learn them more accurately. Thing is when I try to slow down the track even a little bit the level of distortion makes listening to the line virtually impossible. For those of you who have tried Audacity what manipulations do you use to better hear the bass part? I used to have a copy of transcribe which was superior in my opinion so I might just end up buying that instead.