Such fantastic James Jamerson..

[bubinga5]

just love his bass playing on this record. his notes from chord to chord are such a joy to listen to, just compliment everything on the track.. but in the same, makes the track better, because he bounces around so much... Ive never got my head around his one finger style but there you go.. just a genius

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyhBwuEIwCY

[Drax]

He brings so much to that track, would be empty without him. Listenting to lines like that you really wonder how / why the 1 finger thing prevailed.

[chris_b]

[quote name='Drax' timestamp='1417820192' post='2624408']
.... Listenting to lines like that you really wonder how / why the 1 finger thing prevailed....
[/quote]

It's comforting to realise that even geniuses have their limitations.

[EssentialTension]

One finger playing was common and is not a limitation as long as you can play the line. One finger may be funkier. There have been many one finger or mostly one finger players. Watch Jack Bruce with Cream. Especially common amongst upright players converted to bass guitar.

Tim Comerford talking about Geddy Lee and himself:

'When I'd go see Rush as a kid, I would wonder why Geddy Lee used one finger all the time. Did he do that because it made it easier to play while he was singing? I didn't get it. Later I realized that if you're just riding a note or trying to play a real straight part, it sounds more pulsating if you play with one finger. So I took every bass line and learned how to do it with one finger, and I started doing it that way as much as I could. Back then I thought I looked goofy, but now here I am using one finger whenever I can. One finger is ultimately the funkiest sound of all. If you can do it with one finger, you should. If you can do it with two finger, you should choose over three.'

Edited December 6, 2014 by EssentialTension

[EssentialTension]

http://youtu.be/R7I3LTRCF7Y

[spacey]

I would say this one finger thing is more of an urban myth.
Jamerson was a trained double bass player, he would have needed slightly more than one finger.
I am quite sure he used what ever fingers he required at the time.

[chris_b]

No he didn't.

[interpol52]

Have a look at this live video of Marvin Gaye performing Whats Going On with Jamerson on bass. He is using 1 finger but uses it in a back and forth motion in some parts to enable the quicker lines it seems. Check it out around the 2.34 mark and see what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S67ETkOzAck

Edited December 6, 2014 by interpol52

[bubinga5]

its hard to tell.. I'm think he just uses a raking action.. but what a great vid that was.!

[interpol52]

Raking! Thats the word I was looking for! Yeah its a great vid!

[BetaFunk]

There are a couple of threads on here about Darling Dear......


[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/240536-motown-on-tv-tonight/page__st__30__p__2495913__hl__darling%20dear__fromsearch__1#entry2495913"]http://basschat.co.u..._1#entry2495913[/url]

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/221825-jackson-5/page__p__2270791__hl__darling%20dear__fromsearch__1#entry2270791

Edited December 6, 2014 by BetaFunk

[chris_b]

Yep, lots of raking but only down strokes. It's the extension of his DB technique.

JJ's style has been analysed in the Standing in the Shadows of Motown book and by Bob Babbitt.

[BetaFunk]

Sit back and listen............
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdHbbdCLaPg

[EssentialTension]

It also looks like a very light touch, no lifting the finger away from the string before stroking the string.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1417869819' post='2624700']
I would say this one finger thing is more of an urban myth.
Jamerson was a trained double bass player, he would have needed slightly more than one finger.
I am quite sure he used what ever fingers he required at the time.
[/quote]
Commonly (though not always) upright bassists use just the index finger.