Red Light Spells Danger cover- a question about timing

[bass_dinger]

This bass cover of Red light spells danger feels rushed to me - as if the bassist is playing ahead of the beat, and faster than the underlying song.

 

However, each bar seems to start in the right place (which implies that the timing is in fact right).

 

So, why does it sound rushed, but count correctly?

 

 

 

 

[velvetkevorkian]

I think the subdivisions are a bit rushed, maybe? When she starts playing straight 8ths it seems less pronounced. During the verse the 1 is in the right place but the others get a little ahead.

[Huw Foster]

Because it is.

 

It's mostly ok, but there's the odd moment when a phrase is rushed, pushing and pulling at the time in a very elastic way that throws you out of yourself.

[bass_dinger]

8 minutes ago, Huw Foster said:

Because it is.

 

It's mostly ok, but there's the odd moment when a phrase is rushed, pushing and pulling at the time in a very elastic way that throws you out of yourself.

Yes, that is what I thought.  Very elastic, a bit sloppy.  Sometimes late, often rushed, with the band on the track keeping time so that the bassist does not have to.

 

I think that I was confused by the YouTube comments, that seemed to agree that it was good. 

 

I like her left hand technique for the root-3rd-5th over the A and B chords  - so, I shall take that from the video.

[chris_b]

She's thinking about the bass line in isolation and not playing with the track.

 

She not a bad player. She's hitting the notes OK, just has to get the timing and groove right.

Edited December 28, 2022 by chris_b

[lozkerr]

There's a coincidence! I decided to learn this one over the Christmas break and this video seemed odd when I first saw it. After getting it (mostly) under my fingers though, I think where the groove is going wrong is that in each bar, the first rest is too short and the second one too long - and when they get too long, she's adding extra notes to fill the gap. I'm counting it like this:

 

| 1 & (rest) & 3 & (rest) & | 1 & (rest) & 3 & (rest) & | 1 & (rest) & 3 & (rest) & |

 

and so on. She also seems to be adding extra notes after the straight eighths when it should go back to the groove counted above.

 

Does that sound right, or have I got it wrong too?

[bass_dinger]

5 hours ago, lozkerr said:

 

| 1 & (rest) & 3 & (rest) & | 1 & (rest) & 3 & (rest) & | 1 & (rest) & 3 & (rest) & |

 

Does that sound right, or have I got it wrong too?

 

This one feels, and sounds, and looks, right.  And it seems to match what @lozkerr said.

https://youtu.be/6OmEmT9_fwE

 

 

[lozkerr]

35 minutes ago, bass_dinger said:

This one feels, and sounds, and looks, right.  And it seems to match what @lozkerr said.

https://youtu.be/6OmEmT9_fwE

 

Just had a play-through with it. Yes, I think that one's pretty much spot-on.

[bassalbert]

On 28/12/2022 at 16:27, chris_b said:

She's thinking about the bass line in isolation and not playing with the track.

 

She not a bad player. She's hitting the notes OK, just has to get the timing and groove right.

if you don't have the timing and you don't groove, you are not a good player.

and elastic time is not the same as sloppy, this is sloppy

[Guest]

The person the the video is just playing the notes as @chris_b said. She’s not tapping her foot/leg/head in time with the beat and in my previous life teaching students that could do this and listened (the other issue on the vid) could grove with a track just fine. Of course I don’t know for sure but I suspect she may struggle with this and therefore playing many lines in time. Playing the right notes in the right order isn’t enough. I’m always surprised how many musicians really don’t listen to the music they’re playing and just hammer out their part…