iconic Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 (edited) .....there is probably a very good reason why Mr Kemp is using his thumb on the fretboard, not sure if he is muting, playing the notes over a 7th chord and using it for a root or actually just fretting with it? Any ideas gentleman? Edited January 12, 2022 by iconic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 It looks to me like his thumb only comes over the neck when he's playing the higher strings. I'd guess that either he's doing it to mute the low E string, or because he's got relatively poor left hand technique and grips the neck like a baseball bat. 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Looks like his technique has worked for him, being the multi millionaire bass player that he is. Probably not a good role model for others, but who knows. The rights and wrongs of a technique are debatable if the player is very successful. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Sloppy technique from this old boy, too, fretting with his thumb. I can't see him ever making it, either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Curious to know... who established the 'Good technique' rules that we should try and adhere to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 (edited) I think its a relic from the classical guitar and double/contrabass days where it was taught that the thumb should be behind the neck rather than around. Nowt wrong in my view with gripping baseball style, what ever works! Edited January 13, 2022 by Clarky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted January 13, 2022 Author Share Posted January 13, 2022 2 hours ago, Paul S said: Sloppy technique from this old boy, too, fretting with his thumb. I can't see him ever making it, either. Lots of leg and knee raises too, another thread there in it's self😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted January 13, 2022 Author Share Posted January 13, 2022 I just realised I use my thumb when playing guitar to mute the E string.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 21 minutes ago, iconic said: I just realised I use my thumb when playing guitar to mute the E string.... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted January 13, 2022 Author Share Posted January 13, 2022 Just now, wateroftyne said: Guilty 😄I wonder if Mr Kemp was guitar player before playing real ones? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 3 hours ago, Paul S said: Sloppy technique from this old boy, too, fretting with his thumb. I can't see him ever making it, either. This reminds me of why I loooove Bobby Vega...whatever he's doing with his thumb... 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 46 minutes ago, iconic said: Guilty 😄I wonder if Mr Kemp was guitar player before playing real ones? I recently saw an interview with his brother Martin who said that Gary couldn't play anything, but they needed a bass player and they got him in because he was the best looking kid they knew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 11 minutes ago, Huge Hands said: I recently saw an interview with his brother Martin who said that Gary couldn't play anything, but they needed a bass player and they got him in because he was the best looking kid they knew. Over the years this is a familiar story. I know a band where the bass player is in because he owns the PA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newfoundfreedom Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 1 hour ago, Huge Hands said: I recently saw an interview with his brother Martin who said that Gary couldn't play anything, but they needed a bass player and they got him in because he was the best looking kid they knew. That's pretty much the same reason I ended up playing bass. Well...... except for the good looking part. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 58 minutes ago, chris_b said: Over the years this is a familiar story. I know a band where the bass player is in because he owns the PA. Whilst I wish it was down to my looks and my renowned allure to the opposite sex, I think it more likely I have often been admitted to bands because of my experience of sound engineering and my love of driving vans...... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 I'm a bassist largely* because when we were 13, a friend said to me "Let's learn to play - I'll be a guitarist, so you'll have to be something else...you can play the bass". Seeing as it was his idea, I didn't contradict him. He stuck at it for about three months, I'm still ploughing on 45 years later... 🙂 * That and, as I've mentioned before, the gloriously unholy noise Jean Jacques Burnel made 14 seconds in to Hanging Around...: 'What's THAT?' 'That's the bass.' 'Maaaan, I'm doing that...' 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimalkin Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 Come on, he'd only been playing two weeks when he was catapulted to stardom with the band. Same as John Taylor, he had only been playing two weeks when he came up with the line for "Girls On Film." And if you believe that, I've got a lovely bridge to sell you... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddycall Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 In the 90’s there was a bass player around here who played with his left hand upside down so his fretting fingers spanned from the top of the fretboard down. Looked odd but I remember him being a really good bass player Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velarian Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 54 minutes ago, Waddycall said: In the 90’s there was a bass player around here who played with his left hand upside down so his fretting fingers spanned from the top of the fretboard down. Looked odd but I remember him being a really good bass player Was that Bakithi Kumalo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprocketflup Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 Nowt wrong with anchoring the root with the thumb, leaving the fingers free to widdle on the G string 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddycall Posted February 10, 2022 Share Posted February 10, 2022 17 minutes ago, Velarian said: Was that Bakithi Kumalo? Nope, we’re talking Cornish covers band here. Be good if it was! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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