I don't like slap

[40hz]

40 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Certainly be good to test that hypothesis.

Here's one YT clip by her that is well regarded (and even includes some tasteful slap to keep it vaguely on topic 😉). Over to you to find a few bass players from the "hundreds and hundreds" of any shape or size who have recorded this one track and played it equally well.

 

I wasn't talking about specific tracks. I was talking generally? 

[Al Krow]

28 minutes ago, 40hz said:

I wasn't talking about specific tracks. I was talking generally? 

Well we need to think about how a following is built on YT and with it multi-million views. That's not done "generally", but one specific track at a time. 

So with this cover, she's chosen an internationally popular and current track which in itself is going to garner a lot of interest; built up a following with her many preceding and well done bass covers, done an excellent job and presented it very well. (FWIW sufficiently good to be the source material for more than one very competent BCer looking to learn this number).

Edited March 27, 2021 by Al Krow

[PlungerModerno]

On 22/03/2021 at 19:55, SteveXFR said:

Am I the only person who plays bass and generally hates slap? 

I think it can sound good when used sparingly (like Billy Gould or Tim Commerford) but I hate songs which are just slaps and pops all the way through. I really dislike songs which weren't slapped covered by a bassist who plays slap all the way through. I don't even like Primus. 

Am I on my own with this? 

I doubt you're on yer own even here, I think it can be awful when it's done badly or clashes in an arrangement.

P.S. Primus sucks!

 

[P-Belly Evans]

6 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Certainly be good to test that hypothesis.

Here's one YT clip by her that is well regarded (and even includes some tasteful slap to keep it vaguely on topic 😉). Over to you to find a few bass players from the "hundreds and hundreds" of any shape or size who have recorded this one track and played it equally well.

 

Call me out if I am being unfair here, and sure she can play, but is it not a rather pointless waste of talent to simply play other people's stuff? I know people will say yes but she is being paid now and getting gear etc. But the question remains can she - and indeed any of these you tube copiers - be anywhere near as creative as those she is mimicking?? 

[xgsjx]

32 minutes ago, PlungerModerno said:

I doubt you're on yer own even here, I think it can be awful when it's done badly or clashes in an arrangement.

P.S. Primus sucks!

 

Sounds like someone doing a cover, very badly & put it to some Primus footage.

Now this on the other hand is a ton of fun to play (though there’s no slap)....

 

[40hz]

7 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Well we need to think about how a following is built on YT and with it multi-million views. That's not done "generally", but one specific track at a time. 

So with this cover, she's chosen an internationally popular and current track which in itself is going to garner a lot of interest; built up a following with her many preceding and well done bass covers, done an excellent job and presented it very well. (FWIW sufficiently good to be the source material for more than one very competent BCer looking to learn this number).

Nethertheless, however you spin it, I've seen hundreds of other 'well done' Bass Covers that don't even have a tenth of the views. More power to her, but her playing in general isn't something that stands out amongst the countless myriad of others on the platform.

As @Nibody suggests, I strongly suspect there is the slightly creepy/sexual element at play here, as evidenced by the comments section on her videos.

 

Edited March 27, 2021 by 40hz

[BillyBass]

1 hour ago, P-Belly Evans said:

Call me out if I am being unfair here, and sure she can play, but is it not a rather pointless waste of talent to simply play other people's stuff? I know people will say yes but she is being paid now and getting gear etc. But the question remains can she - and indeed any of these you tube copiers - be anywhere near as creative as those she is mimicking?? 

No, not unfair but creativity and an ability to play an instrument are two quite different skills.  If you can do both then marvellous, you are in the premier league.  If you can play an instrument but aren't, perhaps, quite so creative, then you are doomed to a life playing in covers bands...like me.

My main issue with Juliaplaysgroove is that she does it all on a £350 bass.  Whereas I need my next GAS fuelled purchase to continue to live.

[Al Krow]

2 hours ago, P-Belly Evans said:

Call me out if I am being unfair here, and sure she can play, but is it not a rather pointless waste of talent to simply play other people's stuff? I know people will say yes but she is being paid now and getting gear etc. But the question remains can she - and indeed any of these you tube copiers - be anywhere near as creative as those she is mimicking?? 

Ah the old originals vs covers band debate. 

Nope it's not a waste of talent to play other people's stuff. Following your logic there would never be another classical music concert. 

Live music done well which connects audiences and musicians is a good thing, full stop. 

Edited March 27, 2021 by Al Krow

[PlungerModerno]

2 hours ago, xgsjx said:

Sounds like someone doing a cover, very badly & put it to some Primus footage.

Oh indeed. If that's Primus they're waking up from surgery or something. Primus are always fun to mock, they embrace it and let the innovative masterful musicianship make it's own case!

2 hours ago, xgsjx said:

Now this on the other hand is a ton of fun to play (though there’s no slap)....

 

Oh what joy! Sounds nothing like the record, but that's never what they're about, each show is a series of experiments on the theme of the record more than a miming or straightforward playing it verbatim. 

[Reggaebass]

I normally know fairly quickly whether I’m going to like a slap video, the groove has to get me first, then the sound/tone of it, I do struggle a bit to get a nice slap tone, it’s either too bassy or too twangy, but that’s probably my poor playing 😁, this one has a nice groove and sounds great to me , and the double thumbing is amazing 

 

[Belka]

3 hours ago, P-Belly Evans said:

Call me out if I am being unfair here, and sure she can play, but is it not a rather pointless waste of talent to simply play other people's stuff? I know people will say yes but she is being paid now and getting gear etc. But the question remains can she - and indeed any of these you tube copiers - be anywhere near as creative as those she is mimicking?? 

If she put original stuff up on YouTube she would probably get very few views, unless, ironically given the nature of this thread, she was performing slap pyrotechnics on the bass. How many original YouTube videos demonstrating how 'less is more' get millions of hits?  From interviews with musicians, with the decline of music sales and especially recently with lockdown restrictions curbing live music, I've learnt that for many, YouTube has become an essential income stream, so I say more power to any musician who's making money from their videos.

Also, I would  definitely describe her playing here as creative. She takes the original bassline and never departs from its main structure, but puts in lots of embellishments, all appropriate in terms of timing and the song's harmony - that's certainly creative in my opinion. 

It's a little bit off topic but generally the more you transcribe and practise, the more creative you'll get. I don't think that many musicians are born creative, although there are differing levels of talent.

 

Edited March 27, 2021 by Belka

[chris_b]

What do you guys want from an18 year old bass player? Playing a musical instrument well is an end in itself as every" proper" musician will tell you. Playing it this well is something that many of her critics can't do.

There are composers and musicians and sometimes there are guys who do both. It's very boorish to criticize one for not being able to do the other.

[Barking Spiders]

3 hours ago, BillyBass said:

My main issue with Juliaplaysgroove is that she does it all on a £350 bass.  Whereas I need my next GAS fuelled purchase to continue to live.

And she demonstrates the decent quality of the SUB Ray 4 and that probably spending much more is a bit of a waste of dosh!😲

[P-Belly Evans]

6 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Ah the old originals vs covers band debate. 

Nope it's not a waste of talent to play other people's stuff. Following your logic there would never be another classical music concert. 

Live music done well which connects audiences and musicians is a good thing, full stop. 

Agree about music connecting, and understand why someone would want to go out, have a few bevs and dance their head off to a load of ska covers for example, so I wasn't really commenting on the originals vs covers debate. I have done both and get a buzz from both too. A good cover however should possess an element of the players soul (or conductor in the case of classical - I am sorry but I do see many classical players as mere conduits for expression by a conductor), therefore transforming it to some degree. I would not really want to see someone else's paint by numbers picture, but would happily do one myself to alleviate boredom in private if I felt so inclined. I do take on board that she does embellish her covers, so for this I do stand mistaken. It would be great for me if she used her platform to show us something a little more personal though

[Al Krow]

14 minutes ago, P-Belly Evans said:

A good cover however should possess an element of the players soul (or conductor in the case of classical - I am sorry but I do see many classical players as mere conduits for expression by a conductor), therefore transforming it to some degree. I would not really want to see someone else's paint by numbers picture...

I think you're over complicating it.

At the Dog & Duck on a Saturday night, the audience wants to have a decent night out with their mates. 

At a work party, the office team wants to let their hair down (without getting fired) and have a good time. 

At a wedding, the guests want to have a good time. 

Simples, right? The job of a covers / function / party band is to deliver that for their audiences and hopefully have a really fun night out themselves, whilst usually getting paid for the privilege.

Painting by numbers would mean striving for a perfect copy. But you're never going to do a "perfect" cover unless you have all the original band members with original gear and playing in their prime. In fact a lot of original bands don't always do great "covers" of their own material from 30 years back...😁

[BillyBass]

32 minutes ago, P-Belly Evans said:

 A good cover however should possess an element of the players soul (or conductor in the case of classical - I am sorry but I do see many classical players as mere conduits for expression by a conductor), therefore transforming it to some degree. 

One of my customers is a cellist.  Retired now, but she used to play in an orchestra.  I commented on how professional I thought classical musicians were etc and she commented that she was impressed by us lot as we can improvise.  In all her 40 odd years of professional cello playing she never had to improvise.  It was always doing what the conductor said!

[Stub Mandrel]

On 27/03/2021 at 11:05, Belka said:

Also, I would  definitely describe her playing here as creative. She takes the original bassline and never departs from its main structure, but puts in lots of embellishments, all appropriate in terms of timing and the song's harmony - that's certainly creative in my opinion. 

This ^^

Unlike most YT bass-cover channels she interprets basslines rather than aping them, so the answer to:

On 27/03/2021 at 07:26, P-Belly Evans said:

But the question remains can she - and indeed any of these you tube copiers - be anywhere near as creative as those she is mimicking??

Is apparently yes.

[Bilbo]

I don't think I have replied to this yet. I am in the odd position of finding myself being strangely attracted to the skill of slapping but of having almost completely failed to find any application of the technique that does anything for me. It is like having a fantastically sophisticated power tool that you don't know what it is used for. I cannot even post any 'this is what I call great slapping' because, whilst there is some great juggling out there, I just don't like the music it is used in. Any of it.

[Nail Soup]

On ‎27‎/‎03‎/‎2021 at 16:24, P-Belly Evans said:

Agree about music connecting, and understand why someone would want to go out, have a few bevs and dance their head off to a load of ska covers for example, so I wasn't really commenting on the originals vs covers debate. I have done both and get a buzz from both too. A good cover however should possess an element of the players soul (or conductor in the case of classical - I am sorry but I do see many classical players as mere conduits for expression by a conductor), therefore transforming it to some degree. I would not really want to see someone else's paint by numbers picture, but would happily do one myself to alleviate boredom in private if I felt so inclined. I do take on board that she does embellish her covers, so for this I do stand mistaken. It would be great for me if she used her platform to show us something a little more personal though

I think that even a cover of a painting has it's place. There may be a famous painting you'd like on you wall, but can't afford to the buy the only existing copy.

So you have two choices in your budget:

- Buy a good hand-painted copy.

 - Find an original but not-famous painting which you also like.

Both are valid in my book.

 

Similar for cover bands.... they have their place alongside originals. 

[Leonard Smalls]

38 minutes ago, Bilbo said:

I just don't like the music it is used in. Any of it

I think this thread could easily be renamed "I don't like Funk" and we'd probably get exactly the same for and against as we have for slap!

Me, I like The Funk. And I'm not enormously keen on 60s and 70s rock, therefore, I like slap! 

However, I don't like slap for the sake of it - in my book slap without an element of The Funk is like chips without salt and vinegar...

[meterman]

It’s weird, soul and funk are my two favourite genres of music. So it follows that I ought to like slap, I guess? Musician pals always seem to think I must do, but... nah.

I don’t hear a lot of slap in The Meters, or the J.B.’s, or Cymande, or the early (and best) Mandrill, or Lee Dorsey, or Dyke & The Blazers, or Black Heat, Ike Turner, The Daktaris, The Poets Of Rhythm, Jungle Fire, Vaudou Game,  etc etc... maybe in some of the Sly & The Family Stone records I’ve got, sure, but otherwise I’m not hearing it in the stuff I truly love. 

Later period funk and soul, and disco, is chock full of slap, and while I like later period funk, soul and disco, I like it despite it having slap bass in it. I love soul, funk and disco but not slap at all. Doctor, is this normal? 🤔

[Reggaebass]

I’ve tried slap reggae, it really doesn’t work, trust me  😁

[Barking Spiders]

4 minutes ago, meterman said:

Later period funk and soul, and disco, is chock full of slap, and while I like later period funk, soul and disco, I like it despite it having slap bass in it. I love soul, funk and disco but not slap at all. Doctor, is this normal? 🤔

A doctor writes: - No, this is a very rare, abnormal condition for which you'll need to see a specialist.  In the meantime I'll prescribe you a week's supply of Graham Central Station

 

[Bilbo]

I think it is an emotionally limited vehicle. Its full on or nothing. I may be missing the nuances by avoiding the genres where it is used but I just don't hear the emotional depth I look for in music when the clanking and clunking starts. 

[Nail Soup]

21 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

I’ve tried slap reggae, it really doesn’t work, trust me  😁

I don’t get it..... slap would be the ideal way to fill up all that silly space in the reggae bass lines 😉