BigRedX Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Shameless copied from another forum... [quote]Jazz band w/upright Everybody stops but the piano player vamping lightly, the bassist goes way up the neck with a lot of badly intonated poopity poop poop formless twiddling, with optional grimacing & grunting. Bar chatter goes up. Hybrid blues-rock w/Rickenbacker Bassist going off on extended noodling (also in the high register and sounding like pop-pop poopity poopity poop, only much louder, maybe with EFX). Guitar player can't count to 12 and steps in to attempt drunken riff-based call & response pissing match. Drummer rises to the challenge. Organist goes to the bar. Funk w/exotic wood plank Band drops out except for drums, bass solo sounds like small-screen version of Normandy Invasion, lots of chattering machine gun poppitypoppitypoppitypoppity SLAP. Not as prone to high register noodling though. Mid-neck assault and slightly back-bent posture, right and/thumb to appear as a flailing blur. Don't attempt to look serene and spiritual doing this unless you are Vic Wooten. Can sound like angry chattering squirrels throwing nuts at a tin roof..... unless you are Vic Wooten. Classic Blues w/ Fender P There are no bass solos. Don't. Exception: One real slow showpiece grinder at the end of the set...keep the sludgy bottom groove while the rest of the band backs way off so people can marvel at the thick pelvis pushing thump AND the absolute lack of definition in those 30-yr-old BBQ sauce & nicotine - crusted flatwounds. The audience loves to cheer for the quiet kid on the non-flashy instrument. Once. Trad. Bluegrass w/ Kay upright (say "string bass" or "doghouse") Only once per night, and the rest of the band just plays lightly the downbeat chords for each section, the bass player keeps playing the same 1-5 pattern finishing up with a slightly flashy and attention-getting three note ascending run back to one. Pentatonic minor is a hanging offense, eighth notes are edgy. Country w/Peavey No solos. Ever. Bluegrass is the country version of jazz (chops-focused), if you want a solo go there. Roots are deep, keep them there. Fifths always work in country. Maybe if it's a loose night you can play a solo in "mama don't allow", but it better be the normal boogie-woogie arpeggio. Extended chords invite flying bottles. Keep it Dorian. Nu-punk-grass hippie guys with fiddles and mandolins and kilts and dobros and dreadlocks and overalls with no shirts and the bass player is a young college symphony guy who met the banjo player at a party and they shared a hand-rolled cigarette and the most amazing tri-tone arco ragas entered the cosmic flow, maaaaaan....... Coffee-house w/fretless boutique bass Sensitive Singer-Songwriter takes break from introspective lyrical navel-gazing and gives bassist an entire spaciously empty verse in a landscape of pastel wanderey DADGAD-tuned acoustic guitar. Bassist - rip thru some pseudo Jaco Manring cliches - furious Phyrgian fretless smeary honks, growls and noodles, sliding chords with pointlessly overdone clusters of harmonics. Sounds like angry cows in a rainstorm.[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 I'd settle for that. I'm holding the door open for Bilbo though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh3184 Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 oh man i loved that! good post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Like it! I always favoured the 'marbles in a biscuit tin' description of slap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Prejudice - an unfavourable opinion formed beforehand without knowledge, thought or reason. I am not arguing with the accuracy of the original post but I do regret the fact that bass solos as a phenonmenon are judged on the basis of the worst examples and not the best. The reality is that most people have never heard a bass solo so, when they hear one, they don't know what to do with it! Personally, my favourite definition is the bass solo is 'the bit you can't hear in the car'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar South Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 Bass solos have just gotten a bad name because there are too many bad bassists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 damn it! i was hoping for something useful here! i have to write a bass solo for superstition by stevie wonder and just don't know where to begin. and i cant just make it up on the spot cos i gotta join it with the guitar solo, you know, do bits that you play in unison, then let the guitar go off and do what he wants, then i solo etc. i was actually expecting you to break down how to do a solo! twas a funny post anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 [quote name='LWTAIT' post='332558' date='Nov 19 2008, 07:11 PM']damn it! i was hoping for something useful here! i have to write a bass solo for superstition by stevie wonder and just don't know where to begin. and i cant just make it up on the spot cos i gotta join it with the guitar solo, you know, do bits that you play in unison, then let the guitar go off and do what he wants, then i solo etc. i was actually expecting you to break down how to do a solo! twas a funny post anyway![/quote] Do you HAVE to do a solo or are you just trying out sololing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 [quote name='LWTAIT' post='332558' date='Nov 19 2008, 07:11 PM']i have to write a bass solo for superstition by stevie wonder and just don't know where to begin. and i cant just make it up on the spot .[/quote] Funny how things have changed. I thought soloing...'was making it up on the spot', as you say. Oh well.... Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 [quote name='Josh' post='332561' date='Nov 19 2008, 07:15 PM']Do you HAVE to do a solo or are you just trying out sololing?[/quote] well, ive been asked to do one. i can always back down, but i wouldnt do that! [quote name='lowdown' post='332564' date='Nov 19 2008, 07:18 PM']Funny how things have changed. I thought soloing...'was making it up on the spot', as you say. Oh well.... Garry[/quote] it usually is, but like i said, me and the guitarist are doing bits in unison. so although i will be doing bits that are made up, i also have to write bits that me and the guitarist can do together. basically my task is to write a solo, find out what works well then incorporate it into a guitar & bass solo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 [quote name='LWTAIT' post='332597' date='Nov 19 2008, 08:05 PM']well, ive been asked to do one. i can always back down, but i wouldnt do that![/quote] If it changes the feel of the song from just being a classic groover then I'd politely decline the offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 [quote name='Josh' post='332599' date='Nov 19 2008, 08:08 PM']If it changes the feel of the song from just being a classic groover then I'd politely decline the offer.[/quote] these guys know what theyre doing. theyre all professional musicians, and are all music teachers. last year i did my bass solo in sweet home alabama, i got to say it went down well! it wasnt too complicated though, just messing around around the chords and guitar riff, but on bass, with a few twiddly bits in between. im thinking im probably gonna do the same for superstition. as you said, i dont want to loose the groove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted November 19, 2008 Share Posted November 19, 2008 that's really funny... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 [quote]angry chattering squirrels throwing nuts at a tin roof[/quote] Priceless. And true. That's why it's funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar South Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Everyone criticizes every style until they learn to do it themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 [quote name='LWTAIT' post='332628' date='Nov 19 2008, 09:00 PM']these guys know what theyre doing. theyre all professional musicians,[/quote] By definition, anyone who makes money from an activity is a professional. When preceding the word "musician" that includes homeless people with penny whistles and middle-aged men at wedding receptions playing Mustang Sally. It's the amateur musicians you should trust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jebo1 Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 God I hate bass solos. Absolutely hate them. Like this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 [quote name='thisnameistaken' post='332837' date='Nov 20 2008, 03:20 AM']It's the amateur musicians you should trust. [/quote] Not sure that would work if you were a fixer putting a band or Orchestra together for...erm.. A session for a James Bond Theme... Or a commercial Airline pilot called in sick and said.. 'Dont worry my next door neighbour Dave the postman will cover me, He has done a lIttle bit on his PC flight sim' Other than that, i think i know what you are saying... Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I quite like watching a live bass solo, a player doing something random or unrehearsed I find interesting. Written solos can be really good too, something that's been worked on and rehearsed is just as valid as an improvised part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 at the original post, perhaps a bit more at the tone of some responses! Bass solos - more divisive than religion? To paraphrase, a gentleman is a man who can play a bass solo. And doesn't. Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerboy Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 In the stuff I'm interested in, no instrument ever solos. And I like it that way. Solo on any insturment = time to go to the bar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 [quote name='Bassassin' post='333013' date='Nov 20 2008, 11:57 AM']To paraphrase, a gentleman is a man who can play a bass solo. And doesn't. Jon.[/quote] That is so going in the quotes thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YouMa Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I like bass so i like bass solos space,feel and looseness seem to work for me not to twiddly or long,the solo in the brothers johnson stomp is good and i like the stuff flea does on coffee shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 [quote]To paraphrase, a gentleman is a man who can play a bass solo. And doesn't. Jon.[/quote] [quote name='Musky' post='333082' date='Nov 20 2008, 01:08 PM'] That is so going in the quotes thread![/quote] And here: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 (edited) [quote name='Bassassin' post='333013' date='Nov 20 2008, 11:57 AM']Bass solos - more divisive than religion? To paraphrase, a gentleman is a man who can play a bass solo. And doesn't.[/quote] Who needs a lead guitarist? Edited December 7, 2008 by nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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