Better Soloing

[Lowender]

I'm not sure how everyone will take this, but it's something I learned early on and has been a big influence on me. It's a bit humbling. Take it for what it's worth.

It seems that when it comes to soloing, almost any good guitarist will play a better solo on a bass, than most bass players. (Ulp!)

Think about it . Guitarists solo. The instrument is better suited for soloing. So they "live" in that place more often which in turn gives them a better understanding of it. Bassists have other requirements and honestly soloing is down on the list.

Is it any wonder they tend to solo not as well as guitarists?

Now, some people may argue that a bass player shouldn't play like a guitarist ...and rhythm and groove playing is something else altogether. But the way I see it, it's a guitar. When it comes to playing a solo, why just play a busy bassline? I'd rather pass.

Learning solos on other instruments helps as well. The Charlie Parker Omnibook is great for this. I found it interesting that Billy Sheenan did something I also did early in his playing -- jamming with the guitar and keyboard solos on first Santana album. They're simple and melodic and sound good on the bass. And playing a little blues guitar doesn't hurt either.

[xilddx]

I agree with you. Most bassists don't understand and develop the techniques and emotional requirements of soloing. And the ones who do, especially in jazz, often transcribe and learn John Coltrane licks, so they all sound the bloody same anyway. It's boring and very unmusical most of the time.

[discreet]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1382187752' post='2249053']
Most bassists don't understand and develop the techniques and emotional requirements of soloing.
[/quote]

This is true. I'm one of them. Because I don't 'do' bass solos... why? As I've said on this forum about a billion times, I really don't think electric bass guitar lends itself to being a solo instrument. But then I don't much like solos on any instrument. A guitar solo? Yes OK, but only if it's very simple and doesn't last much more than eight bars.

I suppose it's because as a tender young lad I was brought up on 'progressive rock' and have heard enough solos of every type (particularly drum solos) to last the rest of my life, thanks. I find them boring. To me it's the ultimate in self-obsessed Narcissism. In my opinion live solos are pretty much just tolerated at best and are received by long-suffering audiences with patient half-hearted applause - if you're lucky. Stop it at once!

[paul_5]

Big +1 to the live solos are boring posts! I think electric bass [i]can[/i] have just as valid a coice for expressive solo performance, but finding a player who can put all the pieces together is a real needle in a haystack affair. I was listening to some Marcus Miller tonight and I genuinely enjoyed his playing and musicianship.

All the usual suspects (Jaco, Flea) etc... are superb musicians who just happen to have chosen the bass guitar as the tool of their trade. Players like these can stop an audience in their tracks at 20 paces. Expressive soloing transcends simply repeating charlie Parker/Jaco licks over the changes and enters the realm of communicating emotional content through sound. THAT, my friends, is a tall order.

It's like stepping up to the microphone without knowing exactly what you want to say, and that can only end in embarrasment and airborne fruit.

[M@23]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1382190992' post='2249091']


This is true. I'm one of them. Because I don't 'do' bass solos... why? As I've said on this forum about a billion times, I really don't think electric bass guitar lends itself to being a solo instrument. But then I don't much like solos on any instrument. A guitar solo? Yes OK, but only if it's very simple and doesn't last much more than eight bars.

I suppose it's because as a tender young lad I was brought up on 'progressive rock' and have heard enough solos of every type (particularly drum solos) to last the rest of my life, thanks. I find them boring. To me it's the ultimate in self-obsessed Narcissism. In my opinion live solos are pretty much just tolerated at best and are received by long-suffering audiences with patient half-hearted applause - if you're lucky. Stop it at once!
[/quote]

Well said!

[Les]

Totally agree with the OP. A (talented) guitarist in one of my bands picked up one of my basses and did a really impressive tuneful (guitar) solo on it, I was impressed.
He still knocked on my door when he needed a bassline recording for one of his tracks though, by his own admission he can't think like a bass player.

[Telebass]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1382190992' post='2249091']


This is true. I'm one of them. Because I don't 'do' bass solos... why? As I've said on this forum about a billion times, I really don't think electric bass guitar lends itself to being a solo instrument. But then I don't much like solos on any instrument. A guitar solo? Yes OK, but only if it's very simple and doesn't last much more than eight bars.

I suppose it's because as a tender young lad I was brought up on 'progressive rock' and have heard enough solos of every type (particularly drum solos) to last the rest of my life, thanks. I find them boring. To me it's the ultimate in self-obsessed Narcissism. In my opinion live solos are pretty much just tolerated at best and are received by long-suffering audiences with patient half-hearted applause - if you're lucky. Stop it at once!
[/quote]
Bang on!
And I'll say it again (although I haven't said it for some time):
It's not a guitar. It's a bass. And solos rarely sound good on ANY low register instrument. Why? Because solos broadly sound better on instruments in a similar frequency spectrum to the human voice, or in that part of the instrument's range.
Simples.
As above, stop it. Please.

[xgsjx]

To solo on any instrument requires an actual understanding of the key that you're playing in, the feel of the song & what benefit it's going to have on the listener.
Some songs have brilliant bass solos, other's don't. Some of my fave bass solos are from Billy Sheehan, but then so are some of my least liked.
Jazz often makes good use of bass solos whereas the bass can be playing something so sparse it barely sounds like a solo & just a bit with some chords & a couple of bass runs, but done right, it sounds superb.
There's many solos on guitar, keyboard, trumpet & so on that sound equally as bad as any you'll hear on bass. It's not the instrument, it's the player.

[tedmanzie]

I was at a jazz gig the other night down in Kingston, all very good but one of tunes was [i]really[/i] great - real rolling grooving funky number - the bass player was excellent but when it came to his solo it was so frustrating (for me) to listen to him basically kill the groove in favour of some upper neck widdling. The drummer stopped playing, as they often do for the bass solo, and the whole tune crumbled into funky dust.... Admittedly it came back in, but for me it would have been preferable to do a bass solo while keeping a solid groove, which is what bass players should be good at! Better than guitarists!

[Mike]

I do agree in general. I always think that the sax players I work with can 'get away' with a lot more than bassplayers. A silghtly 'out' lick will always sound better on sax than bass in my opinion. It means we have to work extra hard to sound good.