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Ive never seen a worst bass instructional video than this.


bubinga5

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7 hours ago, Tubster said:

Seems that she has achieved a great deal more than she set out to do or were her motives not as straightforward as we glean from the title?

1. How many of us squinted hard at the name on the headstock - interesting new bass?

2. Just enough controversial content to get people talking,  arguing and sharing = more clicks

3. How many of us looked her up and checked out her credentials and videos?

As to her tips, for her stated target audience, I personally thought she had some good ones.

Anyway what are your 5 top “sound better” tips to beginning bass players who may be joining a band; perhaps you have some gems?

1. Practice

2. Listen

3. Communicate

4. Learn

5. Shut Up 'N' Play Yer Guitar ©

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Crikey! Judgemental much? It's a beginner's tutorial ffs! My only beef would be her use of the word 'intermediate' (which it clearly isn't). If you can already do the things on the video then it must be because you're a good enough player not to need the advice. No offence intended, but how experienced players could fail to spot that is not something I understand.

/rant.

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I think it's all reasonable advice if a little oversimplified. It probably *will* help a lot of players to play better. 

My best bit of advice to myself is, "nobody got sacked for playing root notes in time". It's on that kind of level!

...and she's most probably a better player than me and has much nicer hair. Who am I to judge? 😄

Edited by thepurpleblob
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I actually think it's pretty interesting advice. I base this on teaching intermediate level students (let's say Grade 5 and above) and the issues she raises are pretty common things that bass players do. They'll focus on fills, embellishments and using the fragments of theory they know to construct overly complicated lines. 

It's probably a reaction to every video you see from someone like Scott (awesome player) who starts off with some noodling that's useful in about 0.00001% of real life bass situations. 

The open string thing seems weird, but when you play an open string you're not totally in control of the note. If someone is attacking a fretted note with a pick then an open string can jar a little. That's the only incidence it would make sense to prefer a fretted note, or if you're adding an embellishment to it.

There's plenty of plain bad advice on the internet, but I wouldn't class this as such. When I was 15 and starting out, this would have helped. And we all need a reminder sometimes that we should focus on groove, not fills...

Edited by Burns-bass
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3 hours ago, leftybassman392 said:

My only beef would be her use of the word 'intermediate' (which it clearly isn't).

Aye, I picked up on that too. I'm no Suzi Quatro, but I'm definitely a wee bit ahead of that. The first thing I thought was 'HTH do you play Living On A Prayer on a four-string without the open E?' Unless you detune, of course.

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17 hours ago, project_c said:

In all fairness everything she says applies to 99% of young players who are trying to learn to play. The advice she gives is for kids getting into rock bands, not 56 year old Level 42 fans who have been playing furious slap bass since the early 80s. 

It’s all about context. If your teenage kid was trying to get into a band with his mates for the first time, you’d probably give them similar advice: Keep it simple, focus on the root, don’t try to show off until you’ve nailed the basics. It’s pretty good advice actually.

I say this as someone who plays jazz and spends most of his time avoiding root notes whilst noodling as far above the 12th fret as I can get. Her advice is not for me, or for experienced bass geek types in general, but it’s still good advice.

I'm with Lee Van Cleef... also who is your average 16 year old newb, probably a higher proportion of woman than when we learnt, going to associated with? The lady in question who presents a pithy 'let's get to it' tutorial or a Basschatter male pedant who just make opinions, not helpful videos. 

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12 minutes ago, steantval said:

I must I agree with her about avoiding playing open strings

Depends entirely on context!

I've got 3 different songs that rely on either open A or D string ringing to provide a drone to a high melody.

As for an open E, it's the basis of most folks slap technique!

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2 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Depends entirely on context!

I've got 3 different songs that rely on either open A or D string ringing to provide a drone to a high melody.

As for an open E, it's the basis of most folks slap technique!

n/a for me, I don’t slap, not much call for it in classic rock.

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In his autobiography, Phil Lesh (bassist from the Grateful Dead, no less) says the only advice he was give when he first picked up a bass guitar was 'only play an open string if you really mean it". Judging from the countless hours I've spent listening to and trying to copy his bass playing, I'd say he took that advice seriously.

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Whilst not the worst thing I’ve seen, there’s nothing there as far as I can see. Don’t play open strings, always play the root note at the beginning, keep it simple. Great advice to someone who has never played an instrument but hardly inspirational pedagogy is it? Some of the played examples of what you should do don’t sound much cop to my ears. I’m also detecting more than a whiff of pretension. But then that’s YT!

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2 hours ago, FDC484950 said:

Whilst not the worst thing I’ve seen, there’s nothing there as far as I can see. Don’t play open strings, always play the root note at the beginning, keep it simple. Great advice to someone who has never played an instrument but hardly inspirational pedagogy is it? Some of the played examples of what you should do don’t sound much cop to my ears. I’m also detecting more than a whiff of pretension. But then that’s YT!

Beginners don't need inspirational pedagogy: they need a few simple rules to get them started and on which they can build. Everybody has to start somewhere: very easy to forget when you've been doing it for a decade or three.

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I really don't understand this craving for instructional videos and recommendations for lessons. I first picked up a bass in my early teens, in the 1970s. No such thing as an instructional video (pre video age!) and I've never had a bass lesson in my life. I'm still playing and not doing too bad a job. Seems to be a lack of self confidence on the part of beginners today, or a successful con trick by those who make money from providing lessons. Surely everything you need to know is in the music you listen to? Just play along until it sounds right. You can get all the theory you're like to need from a basic music theory book if you are prepared to use your brain and join few dots. Makes it much easier to remember if you've had to work things out than having it spoon fed.

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On 09/10/2018 at 16:29, Hellzero said:

I hope she'll never have to play some jazz or Klezmer music !

Here are the next 5 tips :

"Always play in A on the E string, so remove the other strings !" - Check (though I haven't physically removed the strings, in my mind, they no longer exist)

"Never play fretless bass !" - Check (tried once - useless - gave up)

"Never learn theory !" - Check

“Never learn articulation !" - Check

"Never plug your bass as you are useless !" - Will do

Looks like I'm good to go

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She wrote this note, for the super advanced, freeform jazz, bass soloists out there in Youtubeland, who didn't agree with her video.

This is it:

'

'Note from Yonit: Hey everyone! Thanks for watching the video :) Just wanted to make a few clarifications!
* This video is for beginner / intermediate bass players
* Obviously, there’s exception to all my tips (which are not rules!) but these tips should help you when playing with your band. Of course you can play open strings if you can mute them (which is a difficult technique to master if you’re a beginner), of course you can play fills that are well practiced, on time, from the bottom to the very top of your neck and so on.
* Always play the root - in the beginning of the bar - you can obviously play any chord tone / mode tone you want after. But not straight at the top. We establish the root and then venture out. Of course you can play inversions but that changes the chord, and you probably should make that decision with your band-members.
* I may have said ‘never’ and ‘always’ but this is really me just trying to make a point, don’t take it too literally fellas
* This can be applied in many genres, but mostly for mainstream genres such as pop, folk, rock, funk etc. Yes, if you’re playing a progressive-jazz-fusion-hardcore-metal song this might not be the video for you.
* Here’s a 6 tip for the brave ones who read all of this - make music to be happier and have fun with other human beings. That’s the point of everything, including this video ;)
Peace, love and many low frequencies, Yonit'

 

 
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