What's with every jackass thinking the bass is cool, not that it isn't but you're not going to be cool for playing it

what's with every jackass thinking the bass is cool, not that it isn't but you're not going to be cool for playing it

Isn't the bass the least cool instrument and the one that the worst guitarist gets saddled with?

The same can be said for any instrument, if all you can do is play a couple of songs that might be cool for 15 minutes but after that you might as well put your instrument away.

shouts to my nigga thundercat

Anyone who says this is a bass player, guaranteed.

aye

in rock bands ya

What if I play guitar and bass on studio takes and just tell the bass player what parts to play live?

Ayy Thunderkitty is my shit, story time
>sneak into shitty college music festival on acid where Thundercat is opening along with some other artists for SchoolboyQ
>Thundercat is second to play (twin peaks was first)
>be standing in the front of the pitifully small crowd when he comes on
>start coming up on acid w/ my qt
>After the second or third song, I yell 'play jethro that song is my shit!' bc that song is my shit
>i'm in the very front like 30 feet away so he for sure heard me
>looks me directly in the eye and starts singing "Young drifting lights..."
>Jumps into the song with his drummer and synth player
>jams it for like10 minutes, soloing over it while I'm tripping the fuck out
>feel my ears come and thundercat's bass becoming one with my body and genitals
>Rest of the artists after were meh except GriZ
>Schoolboy was also talking shit to all drunk white college kids in between his songs though kek

All in all it was a fantastic experience

About the thread topic:
I've been playing bass since 11 or something and most players i meet either play slap, jazz, or were previous guitar players playing bass for their band because they couldn't find a player

Personally i think guitat is harder to learn but easier to 'master' or sound like you're really good, as opposed to bass. It's all subjective though, if you're Sid Vicious playing bass for a punk rock band you're playing 3 notes the whole song as opposed to some funk-jazz fusion player.

Bass is cool af though, double bass will always be my favorite instrument

>what if i just play on the studio takes
you're explaining why i left my last band, i created every part and those asshats couldn't even play it

>you're explaining why i left my last band, i created every part and those asshats couldn't even play it
>left

You mean it's not a solo project?

In most rock bands they just give it to the worst guitarrist or the friend that wants to join in, but in some cases it can be quite an inversion and if the bass player is really good and knows how to do their job (be the bridge between rhythm and melody), it can be critical to that band's sound. A few examples are Andy Rourke, Paul McCartney and John Entwistle, all of which started on guitar and changed to bass, and knew how to play bass to fit the song even when being really technical at times.

we played in bars an shit, i can't play 4 instruments by myself, i'm not gonna be one of those assholes who plays backing tracks, also they had to big of egos to admit they were anything more that organ grinder monkeys

>The Real Me by The Who
yup

No one's cool for playing an instrument, you're cool for having skill. Anyone who says otherwise is either playing for small kids or hasn't actually tried playing for people.

Is that Kanye West examining a Spector bass?

Somebody should tell that kid only men are allowed to play Spectors. He should find himself a fender or an ibanez instead.

>Plebs in this fucking thread
I'm a guitar player, but bass players are fundamental for a band. They keep everything together. They are the driving force of the entire band.

Have any one of you fuckers got any real experience of creating music, or is it all just bedroom wannabes?

>i'm not gonna be one of those assholes who plays backing tracks, also they had to big of egos to admit they were anything more that organ grinder monkeys

Then hire other musicians who will.

If you're the talent then make it known. No one leaves a solo project, and if you can't even hack it with an acoustic guitar or piano you're not much of a solo act to begin with.

Jah Wobble would like a word with you.

>Thinking you can tell a musician how to play his instrument

Do I tell you how to fuck your wif-- hand? You fucking moron mate

>double bass will always be my favorite instrument

Double bassist here...

I always snicker a little when guitarists ask me how I play with no frets...

>I'm a guitar player, but bass players are fundamental for a band. They keep everything together. They are the driving force of the entire band.

Bass and Drums desu. they hold down the rhythm. Drums are really more important, it's not really rock music without drums in some form. Bass is somewhat ancillary but essential for groove.

>I always snicker a little when guitarists ask me how I play with no frets...

I want a fretless desu because there's no way I'd play it like a typical guitar or bass at all.

i can hack it with a piano but people just look at you as that bar piano guy, you can't really play the music i want without drums and a backing bass at least

if i can play it better than then, ya i can tell them how to play it, do you have any concept of skill, maybe you live in some world where free expression gets paid money to show up to a bar and not look shitty so you'll attract people to the bar

I think people who say bass isn't important have never actually been to a live show and felt the bass shaking the whole room

You're a pleb. Fair enough if you're a cover band or something... but if some fucker told me how to play my instrument in the way you described, it would be wrapped around their head

One hundred percent agreed.
Bedroom faggots, as I said

>I think people who say bass isn't important have never actually been to a live show and felt the bass shaking the whole room

That is ENTIRELY CORRECT, It's the one thing I love about bass in a rock band. You're fucking the audience with your instrument. When I write metal riffs I prefer writing them on bass because bass is an actual heavy instrument and guitar kind of sucks for the low end.

>writes a song
>sounds good when i play it
>bass player decides to go off on his own riff and totally sucks
>people leave the bar
hold your ideal of free expression high w/e, but if you suck you fucking suck, and if i write the song and it doesn't suck maybe you should play the damn song

Yeah, that's all well and good, but it's then on YOU to find a better bass player. You can't go telling people how to play their instrument. Well, maybe you can in the circles you travel in, but you can't elsewhere.

The bass player in your band must have been a fucking faggot for even listening to you for a second

>bass player decides to go off on his own riff and totally sucks
This happened to me the last time I played live, the drummer was excellent and knew exactly what to do, the bassist did some funk shit that didn't even match what I was playing. I love funk bass, but it didn't work with the song. So many bassists are retarded and useless and don't know how to play more than one style of music.

People who shit on any instrument are those that never took it upon themselves to try and learn one themselves and fear of their "image".

>you can't go telling people how to play their instrument
maybe not but if i can play it better than you it becomes less about individual expression and more about your inability to take constructive criticism, and while we live in a post modern world, just because something is sincere doesn't mean i have to enjoy or respect it, the circles i travel in tend to have a lot of musicians in it, and while we respect your ideal, if you can't back it up with skill, and you sound like shit, well we laugh at you

>you can't go telling people how to play their instrument
You can if you're telling them to play what was written.

Not interested in your virtuosity, I want you to play the part of the fucking song.

Good luck finding a single self respecting decent musician who will listen to a fucking word you say if you are demanding they do shit how you want it.
Imagine I walk up to you and start demanding you play your instrument. Laughable.
It might work on shit faggots, though, so do as you do.

I doubt you'll be creating any good music though

Explain noise rock bands without bass players

1) I already wrote it
2) I already played it and recorded it
3) You're here to play it, if not, then why are you even here?
4) Dicking around and playing it in a unmusical way purely for the sake of your own virtuosity doesn't do any good

you're obviously not in a band, and you don't create music, you live in this world where you're the best at what you do cause you're doing it how you want to, so i guess keep living in that sad little world where i seriously doubt you're actually creating anything worth listening to

If they're pro musician and it's a paying gig, you're 100% right. That's what they do. They show up, the play what's written. They do a good job playing. They get paid. They go home and have sex with their wives.

If it's not a paying gig and it's just amateur hour, well, you get what you pay for. Expect the bass player to spontaneously start playing Higher Ground or something.

seriously, even punk bands know how a song goes, and what not to do, i'm honestly under the opinion that that the guy arguing with us doesn't actually play an instrument

He doesn't understand that making music is more than just improvising or throwing shit together. Songs have a structure and there is a way of playing them where all of the instruments work together. tl;dr he doesn't understand composition in the slightest.

>seriously, even punk bands know how a song goes, and what not to do, i'm honestly under the opinion that that the guy arguing with us doesn't actually play an instrument

It's either that or he's a complete and utter douchebag that doesn't know how to play anything improvised at all.

Even I've known when to bend to a jam and play stuff that works with it instead of the composed material.

also user doesn't know i play in a fucking jazz fusion band so free expression ya, some shit just is bad though

Billy Corgan posts on Sup Forums??

>also user doesn't know i play in a fucking jazz fusion band so free expression ya, some shit just is bad though

There are so many jazz "musicians" that don't understand this, thinking that they are real jazz musicians and missing the underlying musicality of it.

>Billy Corgan posts on Sup Forums??
Kek, and the chemtrails in your water are making frogs gay.

you don't need a good bassist just get a good pianist and perform the superior original version.

>you don't need a good bassist just get a good pianist and perform the superior original version.

This is true, you can perform the bass parts on keys in the bass range.

Suck it bassfags.

I play in a jazz group too. That's the expectation in jazz groups. But if I hire you to play in my rock band, or my symphony or whatever and I'm paying you to play it as written, and you start in with the "muh self-expression stuff" you can fuck right off and I'll hire somebody else

Hardly, but whatever you say man.

Listen though, if you're playing in a fucking Jazz fusion band, and you expect the bassist to just stand there and play exactly what you want him to play, what the fuck do you expect? It's a fucking Jazz fusion band. Fair enough if he was in your band precisely to stand there like a fucking moron playing someone else's music, then yeah. What the fuck do you think he's playing bass for? If he's in anyway decent, he will want to contribute.

Jesus christ, you morons are retarded.

>I play in a jazz group too. That's the expectation in jazz groups. But if I hire you to play in my rock band, or my symphony or whatever and I'm paying you to play it as written, and you start in with the "muh self-expression stuff" you can fuck right off and I'll hire somebody else

Literally this, I don't have time for bullshit.

You are not a musician, stop fucking lying. And if you claim to be, post some of your music so I can laugh at it.

>"muh self-expression stuff"
>oh btw here's what I wrote for you
?

>Listen though, if you're playing in a fucking Jazz fusion band, and you expect the bassist to just stand there and play exactly what you want him to play

This isn't about that, this is about bass players being retards and not sticking to the composition, if you were improvising it would work, but that's not the case. You're assuming that other members of the band don't know how to improvise and that's really stupid of you, bass players typically don't drive the improvisation, they work with the drums. Understand your role in the band and how to use it.

t. Morons
I don't believe for a second that any of you have ever played in a band with decent musicians.
If you expect them to stand there and play note for note what you tell them, then you are fucking delusional. Unless, you are literally paying them to work for you.

If it's a jazz fusion band, then the bass can fucking improvise, you silly man.
Also, if the musician you've been working with can't improvise, and he's fucking it all up... then find a better fucking musician. Simple as.

>You are not a musician, stop fucking lying.
I've recorded 4 albums by myself, lol, and written every single part of them.

Yes, and my band are listed in the rock and roll hall of fame, but who'd fucking believe it anyway right?

>Unless, you are literally paying them to work for you.

Every single post I've made I mentioned paying them to work for you

So it's confirmed that you're a moron that can't play anything by ear, if I understand your posts correctly?

Alright, my apologies. If you're paying them to do a job, and they aren't doing it... fair enough.
Your reading comprehension is fucked

>Every single post I've made I mentioned paying them to work for you
I'm sure he doesn't even understand this even if it was stated, yes, you get a cut if you play the part as it was written.

>bought a nice fender jazz
>practice continually
>a year later, and it still makes no sense to me

Should i just accept i dont have the talent and go back to just enjoying music?

>Your reading comprehension is fucked
Your ears are fucked, use them.

>Alright, my apologies. If you're paying them to do a job, and they aren't doing it... fair enough.

Hey, no problem. There's like 3 people here at least, arguing with you.

Last time I was in Nashville, I took a stroll down Broadway one late night and saw all the Top 40 Country Western bands playing in the bar windows. Almost every guy in those bands was covered in tattoos, dressed in black leather, mohawks, chains, spikes, etc. Punks, metalheads... But what are they doing? They're playing top 40 country hits for tourists... because they gotta pay rent.

No, musicians don't have talent. They have skills acquired by years of hard work and study. If you're having a hard time with learning, the best thing you can do is get a private teacher. Even a few lessons, even one lesson, will be a bit help getting you started.

We don't give a fuck about rent motherfucker

Music comes before all, even myself

>should be "big help getting you started."

Not that guy but bruh, there's a reason why people hire live musicians. If you aren't a bonafide band member and are being payed for a service, then provide the service, don't give unwanted extras.

Nother double bassist here. We are probably the only ones on this board. Kek.

Name 70 of them

He's playing in a jazz fusion band
what did he fucking expect in all honesty?

If he;s playing shitty bars, he's probably nothing special to being with

Or living in a shitty town that only has shitty bars to play in

so then make a scene

A real artist would leave the town and find a better audience and join a scene.

Don't how that's relevant, someone payd you to do something and you don't or can't then what good are you?

i agree

Except user is being paid (by the venue) for him to perform. He can't because he doesn't have people who can play it. Then what good is he?

That only increases the responsibility a live musician has to put out accordingly.

The boss should be held accountable, not the workers.

Maybe user shouldn't have made such "complex" music if he wanted people to play it

It's not boss and workers, it's a mutual contract. If user pays them to play it how he wrote it then they have to oblige. Violating it proves you're an unreliable business partner.

>business partner.
Oh do they get an equal share in royalties and credit?

i'm noticing that a lot of "new" bands that are touring (bands that started within the last 3-4 years) don't even have bass players anymore. its weird

Is the solution to this problem to find people who share your taste, outlook and goals, and just be in a normal band with them where they will have a style compatible to what you would have them play, or at least involve them in the composing process?

Why don't you spergs just play both?

If they wrote it sure, but in this context he's paying for them to play. He has to offer them a sum of money both parties agree is reasonable, or alternatively agree to their set price and they in turn have to hold up the service they're being paid for. If they don't provide what he ordered then he doesn't have to take it.

>he's paying for them to play.
Then they are not business partners. They are employees.

Nice try though

Bass is easier to play at a "good enough" level for most bands, which means that they end up with some a bassist with a very mediocre sense of rhythm and melody both. This essentially just leads to a mediocre bass and people think it's the least important instrument. I can't even think of a decent band with a shitty bassist, even Krist Novoselic who mostly played root notes had a great sense of interplay between instruments.

The worst part is that theoretically you can notice the bass a lot better and more clearly in your bedroom, but most fucks don't even bother paying attention that part of the music.

Honestly, if you focus on the bass, you're not gonna find much, to understand the bass' impact, you have to focus on the drums and the song's rhythm. It's weird, and most people that don't go to live shows or play instruments don't notice that.

>I can't even think of a decent band with a shitty bassist

Live shows are a separate business, there's two ends to hold up per user's wish to have a transaction of service and it's on the other party to uphold the deal.

>Live shows are a separate business
Not really. All the side musicians I've hired were not "partners" in any sense. They were there to play, and got paid for it. They were employees.

Maybe you don't know what a "business partner" means.

I hate to say it but talent is a very real thing. Sure no one picks up and instrument and plays it perfectly at first but some people are naturally better. You can work for it too but they will get there faster and easier.

See: Brian Wilson and David Byrne. Even at a very young age they were already really good.

That doesn't mean that you can't become a good music player even with little music skills - one of the best guitar players I know told me that his sense of rhythm was genuinely awful when he was starting out to the point where he couldn't keep a simple 4/4 beat - but there are people that will have their brains hardwired for a headstart beyond just the whole part of dedication and the desire to make great music - that kinda goes for everything in life, really.

Thank you for writing that user. You wrote it better than I could have.