Moderators Kindness Posted December 7, 2007 Moderators Share Posted December 7, 2007 Your point about the bass note defining the chord is an extremely powerful musical concept that too few people are aware of. Even fewer take advantage of the power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted December 8, 2007 Moderators Share Posted December 8, 2007 The band I play in does a couple of my songs. Why only a couple? I don't think my style meshes very well with the rest of the band. Anyway, one of my songs has a descending chord structure with an ascending bass line. Specifically, the chords go Am, G, F, E, while the bass line goes A, B, C, E (actually, it goes AEA, BGB, CAC, EBG#, but you get the idea). Really threw the new keyboard player the first time he heard it. He thought the chart was wrong. The point is that even a slightly unusual bass line can take a simple, even clich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 I am having such a hard time finding a good bass player for the band I'm in. I'm actually contemplating just not using a bass player and turning up the bass frequencies of the guitar because it's so hard to find a bass player into the "styles" of music we play. I had one come try out who was really good at jazz improv and stuff and liked that aspect of what we played but didn't like how we had some elements of metal.Am I {censored}in crazy? You're not crazy. Open your mind & think a little harder ... Go Old Skool and find yourself a tuba player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Death Hands Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 I think that it adds to the sound, even if I'm not up front. I like to fill sonic space before I fill my ego box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Darkstorm Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 Do youn have a keyboard player? if so, they might be able to add in some heavy bass arps, pads, and such to take care of low end for most stuff. But yeah, guitar aint gonna do it for bass fill in, even if barritone. Needs either bass player or synth player or both doing low end for that aspect only low end can give. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WynnD Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 I remember a band that played in the club across the street. There was no drummer. Think five musicians. Keyboard, guitar, bass and other stuff. Jazz oriented and very good. Club was small and a loud drummer would have been bad news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members karma279 Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 No. You cannot function without a bass player if you play any form of "rock". An amazing bass player can make/break your band.I know Jack White does it.... but he's just a f*cking bad ass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Death Hands Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 No. You cannot function without a bass player if you play any form of "rock". An amazing bass player can make/break your band. I know Jack White does it.... but he's just a f*cking bad ass! I think it's more musician than position that fill sonic space, myself, man.That's how we have solo artists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 I'm in a band right now. There's no guitarist, no drummer, bassplayer. I think it's killer and super creative:D The best band you've never heard. Dan No guitar, no bass, no drums ...Just one guy & a skin-flute, playing Tuesday night gigs in dive bars in the seediest parts of town."Often heard: "Good Lord, how many more skin-flute solos do we have to suffer through????" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ministryoflower Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 I have in fact seen a band in which a man played duelling noseflutes......they also had a solidbeefy grooving rythym section and a sexy ethiopian? chick singing and playing congas.... ECCENTRIC SOUND SYSTEM..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bob O'Brian Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 bass is just a guitar with 4 strings on it. C7 I'm quite surprised nobody took the bait on this one yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Perfessor Posted December 8, 2007 Members Share Posted December 8, 2007 My argument (and it is obviously only my opinion) is that there is no such thing as an instrument's intended purpose. That's much too closed minded for me. I used to play duets with a violinist. I played the melody and she played the rhythm/harmony. It was gorgeous to us. There was never a single moment that my bass objected that it wasn't being used for it's intended purpose. There might not be an intended purpose but the practical use of the bass is to define the chord structure of a song, at a low frequency, and to add depth and feeling without interfering with the melody. The bass can also add flavor or mood. Too little bass makes for a song focused on the performance of the melody and is better suited for accapella performances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted December 8, 2007 Moderators Share Posted December 8, 2007 There might not be an intended purpose but the practical use of the bass is to define the chord structure of a song, at a low frequency, and to add depth and feeling without interfering with the melody. The bass can also add flavor or mood. Too little bass makes for a song focused on the performance of the melody and is better suited for accapella performances. Clearly that is one accepted function in certain given genres. However, the discussion is bigger than that. Since it looks like you've read the thread and understand our conversation, your statement takes a very strong tone. Two questions: 1. Why is that the bass's function? 2. Why is bass more suitable for that function than any other instrument? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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