What, in your opinion, is the minimum 'gold standard' BPM a bassist needs to sustain in order to be acceptable/respectable?

[fleabag]

That kind of dust ?  Fluff

[Maude]

S'pose not, but Fluff Freeman is pretty dusty these days. 

[MacDaddy]

7 minutes ago, Maude said:

S'pose not, but Fluff Freeman is pretty dusty these days. 

not half!

[TJ1]

1 hour ago, Cato said:

No idea whether OP is genuine or whether he's just winding people up

 

Genuine and I think important question, particularly for those at beginner level, I could have worded it less obnoxiously though.

I'll get my my coat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bass_dinger]

I am more likely to worry about hitting the right notes, locking in with the other musicians, and playing in a sensitive way so as to support the song and the band.  

I am not sure whose respect I would earn, should I be able to hit an arbitrary number of beats per minute.     

[steantval]

41 minutes ago, TheLowDown said:

I didn't know that talent is equated with speed.

What you sayin.

 

[ped]

7 minutes ago, TJ1 said:

 

Genuine and I think important question, particularly for those at beginner level, I could have worded it less obnoxiously though.

I'll get my my coat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t think it helps that you seem to post every thought that comes into your head as a thread on the forum. I mean there’s no rule against it but perhaps a more considered  (and maybe more bass related) approach might be a sensible way forward. I also think you’d like Google, it’s amazing!

 

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited March 12, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Ricky 4000]

10 minutes ago, TJ1 said:

Genuine and I think important question, particularly for those at beginner level, I could have worded it less obnoxiously though.

I'll get my my coat.

Don't take any notice of them, they're all pink torpedos. 😛

[Newfoundfreedom]

10 minutes ago, Ricky 4000 said:

Don't take any notice of them, they're all pink torpedos. 😛

Very offensive and uncalled for! I'll have you know I'm a brown starfish! 

[Teebs]

2 hours ago, Bobthedog said:

My bass tutor once told me I sounded better when I did not play! What he meant was leaving a gap occasionally

Are you sure?

[paul_5]

The gold standard of BPM is staying with it, knowing where the ‘one’ is and looking good whilst doing it.

pick any two.

[MrCrane]

7 hours ago, Teebs said:

*Or 0

And for proof of that, check out the bass line on the verse of Alright Now. 😀

[bass_dinger]

4 minutes ago, MrCrane said:

And for proof of that, check out the bass line on the verse of Alright Now. 😀

But . . . . the bassist does not appear to play ANY notes at all!

 

I guess that's your point - no notes at all, no beats per minute - but such a tasteful interplay of the instruments.

 

 

[Rich]

3 hours ago, TJ1 said:

Genuine and I think important question, particularly for those at beginner level

 

The important thing for those at beginner level to know is: FAST ≠ GOOD. There are a million things that matter more than BPM.

[fleabag]

1 hour ago, bass_dinger said:

But . . . . the bassist does not appear to play ANY notes at all!

And Wentz didn't on Play That Funky Music in the chorus !

[Japhet]

Has the OP confused us with lead guitarists by any chance? Notes per bar as opposed to BPM is often very high on the agenda for them.

[Cato]

4 hours ago, Ricky 4000 said:

Don't take any notice of them, they're all pink torpedos. 😛

Wise words.

[Downunderwonder]

5 hours ago, Cato said:

I can guarantee that almost no bass player or any other intrumentalist for that matter knows how many notes they can play in a minute, because it's never occured to them count.

Challenge accepted.

I have played a few weddings but I don't consider myself all that flash as your average wedding band bassist.

Playing straight quarter notes perfectly is a lot harder than it sounds. Walking at the same time ramps it up some too.

About 180BPM for me. It's right there on the chart! If I was to set to 220 I could probably mash it out leaving out the twiddly bits.

[MacDaddy]

24 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

Challenge accepted.

I have played a few weddings but I don't consider myself all that flash as your average wedding band bassist.

Playing straight crotchets perfectly is a lot harder than it sounds. Walking at the same time ramps it up some too.

About 180BPM for me. It's right there on the chart! If I was to set to 220 I could probably mash it out leaving out the twiddly bits.

Fixed 😉

[Marvin]

This thread needs to be deleted...or something. The title is way too long and it's upsetting my OCD every time it appears, it looks out of balance with the other threads

 

[Downunderwonder]

36 minutes ago, MacDaddy said:

Fixed 😉

We mainly play American charts so don't make me crotchety!

[StickyDBRmf]

I had to go back to the initial wording of the question to give my answer and I still don't know why you are asking this. Talk to a teacher either in the same room or on skype or zoom and get these demons sorted out this is not how to go about learning the bass or any other instrument.

[bass_dinger]

8 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

Also our instrument is easy to learn, but hard to master. So the level a respectable bassist needs to get to be accepted is fairly low. I've no issue with people at the start of their learning journey.
 

Agreed.  I have taught a teenager how to play the four root notes for a I IV V VIm progression in weeks 1 and 2, and watched her play it in week 3.  One note per beat, and she was very pleased to be playing it.  It was acceptable - not least because the church audience set the bar of attainment very low!

The original question was a good one - it made me think about what "good" looks like to others.  I have learnt a lot (and already knew that I not a fast player!).   

 

 

[Maude]

3 hours ago, bass_dinger said:

But . . . . the bassist does not appear to play ANY notes at all!

 

I guess that's your point - no notes at all, no beats per minute - but such a tasteful interplay of the instruments.

 

 

Could it not be said that the bassist is still playing at 120bpm throughout the verse, but just playing no notes? The song is still being played at 120bpm while the bassist waits to play some notes in the chorus. Even though the bassist isn't playing the song is never 0 bpm.