5 Tips That Will Make You a Better Bass Player
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- Опубліковано 6 тра 2024
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0:00 Introduction
0:29 Tip #1: Avoid open strings
1:46 Tip #2: Never sacrifice the beat for a fill
3:19 Tip #3: Keep it simple and consistent
5:13 Tip #4: Start on the root note
6:38 Tip #5: Keep it "down"
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“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
― Pablo Picasso
Tip #1 should be "mute any strings you aren't currently playing," that's what fixes the issue of strings ringing out as you play.
Exactly. Play frets when you need that sound or control.
I'm a beginner d'you do that by using your thumb?
@@Dicko1 Use any part of either hand you have free
@@Dicko1 both hands. Eventually it comes naturally
Open strings are a necessity, both as passing tones and transition notes. Learning to mute strings is also a necessity. Example….. play Lynard Skynard, simple man in “ the money area” . Even your fills utilize open strings.
"The band members are giving you nasty faces"
Me, alone sitting on my bed in a hoodie playing bass: 👁👄👁
Felt
👍😄🇩🇪
The thing about rules is knowing when to break them.
stub mandrel #GoldenChild
Just doesn't make much sense when the rules are ways to avoid learning your instrument. When the reason you don't play open strings is because you can't mute then YOU SHOULD LEARN HOW TO MUTE STRINGS...
That really is next-level life advice. Seriously.
yeah but only when you have a solid foundation..in the beginning as your learning its best to keep it simple...experience helps ...exposing yourself to all genres of music so your put in various situations
Amen
Playing open strings is great. Lets you itch your nose, mid song, while you're playing a gig.
And have a beer!
Scratch, not itch.
Jakey C Been there, done that!
Still kinda hard to snort coke tho.
You can smoke!
She's trying to help the beginning bassist. As someone trying to get it right for over 50 years and still pretty much a beginner, I appreciate her suggestions.
"With great power come great responsibility" never thought I would hear this quote in a bass tutorial
@VnM a4acre haha nice! I think now I know who her friendly neighbourhood is
I know so many bass players who break the rules. And guess what? they are my favourites.
We need rules so we can break them
"never use open strings"
Metal songs in E standard: Am I a joke to you?
IKR? And i also think that “ don’t sacrifice a beat for a fill” is BS. You do that to make the beat sound better. But only do fill when you know it’s then right spot
she's just afraid of things she cant play
flmvdvsrg she isn't muting the strings when she plays the open notes, of course it's gonna sound muddy
@@thebassguy0513 I guess the operational word that you may have missed here is "sacrifice". There is nothing worse than a drummer or bassplayer playing a frantic out of time fill.
@flmvdvsrg go listen to JPJ from Led Zeppelin and come back. One can totally do many fills in a song and make it sound good. Particularly, go look at the bass tab for "Good Times Bad Times".
1.Keep It simple
2.Don't miss the beat
3.Count your money
"count your fills" HA
Billy fans in here omg
4.Brag like a Girl xP
That's how I like to play.
I love the face this instructor makes when doing the "don't do this" segments. GOLD.
It sounds like those rules are coming from lead guitarist or singers)
couldn’t have said it better
Signers or singers ?
more like it's coming from producers
THIS
EXACTLY
1) Practice
2) Practice
3) Practice
4) Practice
5) Have abnormally long fingers
MarklarsonTube Lmao im so lucky with the fingers I've got. Perfect for my guitar and bass playing
MarklarsonTube Lmao im so lucky with the fingers I've got. Perfect for my guitar and bass playing
@@t-wrecks6060 same
Obviously, practice is critical. But, as my grandfather once wisely advised me about golf, "you gotta make sure you're not practicing your mistakes".
THAT'S what this video is about. Practice for practice's sake, is just bullshit.
True
“when was the last time you heard a bass solo in a rock or pop tune?”
**rancid, the violent femmes, and red hot chili peppers have entered the chat**
primus
I dont know if count but the bass line of "the chain" could be a great solo
Tool?
They have specific sections for that though. If you so that anythime it sounds awful.
@@richardroberson2564 yeah. If you just slam it into another section it will sound garbage
"Don't do this"
*Outshines guitar*
"And when was the last time you heard a bass solo in a rock or pop tune?"
cliff burton: HOLD MY BEER
So a long time ago?
Using open notes like that is fine as long as have good muting technique.
Just what i was thinking Leo. In fact you could argue against ALL the points in this vid tbh.
I play open strings a lot and...off course...have a great muting technique :o) So...it works if you know how to do it.
Well then, I wonder how she plays an open E elsewhere on the fretboard. 🙄
mrottomaddox mute with your thumb if its resting at the top of the pickup? :/
Facts
I guess as Bass is considered by many as a "simple instrument" (4 strings, not really determined for solo etc...) we, bassists, tend to overdo it a little and losing ourselves with complex fills / inappropriate solos... Keep in mind the basics and your role of timekeeper for your band : You will overhaul the sound of everyone ! Like batman, bassists are "not the hero we deserve, but the hero we need"
It’s not bad to jazz it up a bit. There’s a little known song by Sister Sledge ‘BYOB’. Listen to the bass on certain breaks and verses of that song, jazzy and complimentary if you ask me.
Never in my life have I heard a guitarist being told that they’re way too busy in a band context and tbh many could learn a thing or two about restrain and it shouldn’t just be a bassist only thing. Riding the root Can be boring as f as a listener/player too 🤷🏻♂️ furthermore there’s plenty of people that look at the bass as a compositional instrument instead of a support machine, take a look at Gustavo Santaolalla and the thing he did with his bass vi for the last of us (the choice)
This is not "how to be a good bass player" this is "how to be populer music basser"
I agree with your philosophy. Simple bass isn't boring, it's the foundation of the song. That doesn't mean just plucking the root note, but the bassist has a job: you're the rock that holds it all together. It might not be flashy, but that's it.
Also keep it low! Up an octave is the 6 string's land, you don't stand out there. Nobody else can play in that octave under that guitar, that's your land. Own it!
Even the "Don't do This" stuff sounds good when you do it!
Yeah 🤣
#1- Learn the notes of the fretboard. #2- Ear training
That's a little simplistic, considering it ignores technique, which is arguably more important on the bass than on the chording instruments.
Tom Tobin #3 have fun
#4 get on UA-cam and crap on other bass players.
Simplistic? What you're describing is what guitar playing weenies do. Players who are all technique and no personality.
#5 be a typical youtube rock musician "know it all" and have your 2 sense worth
I kind of disagree with #1. Open strings have their place, and can be used for great effect. You can control that sustain, it just takes a certain type of technique. I use them fairly often, but I would agree that they should only be used with care, and if you can control the sustain and ringing.
might be different styles, and preferences. i was tripping over it too
@@johnathansaenz672 totally preference... Presented as fact, so I had to disagree... Lol
Agree also tip number 3 was valid but what she said not to do sounded way better lol
I disagree with all of them
Thanks for all of the tips for becoming an average house bassist.
*
The world doesn't need any more lead bassists
@@RideAcrossTheRiver I respectfully disagree.
@@DoggyEffect I mean in bands trying to do actual songs with melody and a singer.
Some of the best bass in songs I listen to use the techniques she is teaching against.
Like Geddy Lee or Billy Sheehan.
you missed the point. Fills are fine if you hit the beat
@@Zepp710 Yeah, I think it's best to record yourself playing and listen to it because it could be hard to notice how crappy a fill sounds while you're in the moment
@@sunnym1821 this is also true... Record... Record... Record.... And playback....
You need to know what the rules are before you can break them
Solid information. I'm a self taught bass player and I innately knew not to use open strings (when no necessary) and not to solo but add accents here and there.
Thankyou , as a guitarist who wants to take on bass to get a more complete appreciation of songs , your tips are “great” 🇦🇺
You can play with open strings just mute them when you’re done 😂 it’s called don’t be dumb
Exactly!
@@ttv_mister_vic467 Seriously anyone who picks up a bass for the first time and spends 5 minutes fucking with it will learn this...not a tip, just common sense...you should always ask yourself, does it sound good? If it does then go with it, if it sounds like shit, or not where you like it, of course change it.
@@kimbaptempura4073 well not everyone is a genius like you. Go find someone who has never touched an intrument. Give them a bass and tell them to mess with it for 5 minutes. 90% of the time THEY WILL NOT FIGURE IT OUT.
Edit: That's like saying singing in tune is common sense and everyone should know it but we all know not everyone does.
"Don't use open strings" and then the reason showed is that, if you don't mute them, they continue ringing. So, how about, instead of never playing open strings anymore, you learn to mute your damn strings? That's something every bass player should eventually learn to do. So do that, instead of giving up open strings. They have a unique sound. They can be used in many creative ways to improve your playing, or just to make some parts a bit easier to play.
I don't know if that happens to everyone, but I am self learned and probably pretty bad in general, but muting open strings was something that happened naturally and pretty quickly. I didn't even think about it until I could suddenly do that
you can also mute with your picking fingers, it's been so long I don't even recall how I came upon doing this other than likely from mimicking recorded sounds, kind of like figuring out how to get the sound of bass played with a pick while using your fingers
milou80 damn, nice dissertation, that would have taken me hours to put all that into words.
Not even "eventually" it should be one of the fundamental early techniques to learn.
Exactly!
No doubt you have skill, but I feel like everything you told me not to do, is exactly the reason why I play bass.. life has no meaning now.
I think the odd fill is good because it takes the mundane feeling out of the bass.
she meant when u play in a gig u need to listen to others for the right timings to merge into the whole presentation. u can still hv life playing urself, then u need jst to enjoy whatever ure doin
Guys look at it like this, you train to do all these fills and extra's and you store that awesomeness somewhere. Those skills are now part of you. Now follow her advise. Keep it tight, clean, and groovy. Find enjoyment in keeping it simple. And when you feel it fits, release some of that awesomeness you have stored within yourself. Do it like this, and you will find you can still rock out but also play in a way that fully fits the song.
literally
"never play open strings, I'll show you why..."
...doesn't mute the notes 🤦🏻♂️
riGHT ??!
That's the point
title - be dont do these things and you'll be a better bass player lol.
@@antianti328 what are you talking about
she says "dont use open strings" and goes out of her way to avoid muting them, even people who have never touched an instrument before figure that out after a few seconds
You do realize that not muting is a very very common mistake among beginners, right??? Not everyone starts out as an expert like you
"The fact that you've got the information doesn't mean you have to use it all the time"... taking that home after so many years...BRAVO! simple and straight to the point.
"Don't do this"
*purposely plays sloppy and out of time*
With the faces added really enjoyed that
Yeh the purposely bad faces lol
Much agreed
Doesn't even discuss muting the strings, lmao.
It is like a informercial
be a servant of the song, not a showcase of your skills basically
ThatOne Ginger what’s so wrong with that? Paul McCartney was an incredible bassist and he never was doing bass solos.
Exactly , just do your job...
The song first!
All of good bass players know the virtue of self discipline. If you dont think so you will be just another bedroom playing hero
Jpkrao have you even heard Hey Bulldog or Something?
Great tips . I keep
Listening basically “ I know you are good but stop showing off and keep the bit, that’s what we want “ . Makes a lot of sense
I taught Bass Guitar many years ago (1970s/80s) and I swear these were almost the exact same lessons I tried to teach my students. The bass is not a solo instrument (rock blues etc), it's job is to 'hold down the bottom'. Fills are primarily for other instruments. The open string occasionally has it's moment but only rarely, if ever. I remember working with a brilliant young drummer (16) like many Bass players he tried to fill every open spot, it hurt, but like most smart musicians he learned that lesson early on, air...space...less is more. Thanks for the reminders.
Never sacrifice the beat for the fill - there goes jazz LOL 😂
She said Rock or Pop! Pay Attention. Jazz is either.
My guitarist can keep the beat with his lower tone rythm while I'm doing my bass-off fill on my higher fret.
That's sounds great....
Now and then I believe it sounds good. So he is doing your primary job for a good fill.
But you are not really a beginner, or?
I didn't get that far in, but I think it means that if you can't stay on beat, don't play the fill. Not that you can't play fills, but don't play fills if you can't play fills on beat. If you can stay in the pocket, then play them to your heart's content.
When was the last time you heard a bass playing like a lead?
New Order's entire catalogue, basically.
Or half of Rush career
Literally primus
Suburban bass players who don't yet have the fundamentals down and watching how-to vids on UA-cam are neither Geddy Lee nor Les Claypool. They had to learn the rules, too, before they learned how far to bend them without breaking them.
Learn to play foundational bass before branching off into "lead bass" territory. Even Cliff Burton knew when to scale it back and establish depth and punch before playing "Anesthesia."
James Jamerson, Carol Kaye and their inspired imitators. Jack Cassidy. Whoever played on many of Serge Gainsbourg's pop hits.
There once was a guy named Lemmy...
and there never will be again.
Some of this is good advice for beginners... sometimes. I'm an amateur at bass but have been arranging and composing for ages, and and even at this level I know that a lot of this is very simplistic and often overstates the case. I feel like all of this could be rephrased as "listen to this, think about this, try that" rather than "don't do this". Arbitrary rules are annoying. Guidelines for what to pay attention to are awesome.
1 - Open strings have a unique sound and can be awesome. Be aware not to overuse them. Probably avoid them in a melodic line, because they can't have vibrato. They only wash out like that if you FAIL TO MUTE, which is independent of the use of open strings. Use open strings if they serve the music. Mute well always.
2 - Heavy syncopation can be cool and super groovy, just be sure not to do it more than the music calls for.
3- A lot of famous songs have bass solos and very non-simple basslines. It's good to learn how to groove out with very simple lines first, though.
4- Usually focus on the root, but not ALWAYS ALWAYS. Certainly always know what the root is, and know when you're the only one playing it. (Sometimes the chart specifically has a non-root note for the bass player, even! How exciting!)
5- Up on the fretboard sounds different. Not better, just different. Just be aware of how different passages sound on different strings and choose the strings that ... guess what... SERVE THE MUSIC.
My number 6 in this vein for most bassists is TURN YOUR AMP DOWN GODDAMMIT.
u add me on Facebook dear
🤟🏼
This video is not about "How to become Geddy, Flea or any other genius playing in his own band". It's about getting gigs and not being fired if you just want to work as a simple bass player. And it's a good video.
And the white knight has entered the chat
@@Powwer69 what the hell does that have to do with it? He’s saying this because there are tons of comments complaining about how “these aren’t good tips”
You can control the sustain even with open strings
Edit: before anyone complains, I play the bass. When you play, you lightly rest your fingers on the strings to stop the vibration.
True, you can do a lot of thing.
This is aimed for beginners, tho.
For beginners i would recommend to not play open strings as well.
These are all very good tips.
The longer I play, the moved I have moved to this type of thinking.
the most important thing I first learned about music..it's not what you play...it's what you DONT play. A good lesson in self-discipline. Nice vid Yonit.
Excellent !!! One of the best bass clinics I have ever seen. Bass is a different instrument than a guitar. Thank for showing this. You are an amazing player.
3:56 "And when was the last time you heard a bass solo in a rock or pop tune?"
Rancid - Maxwell Murder
Deep Purple - Fireball
The Allman Brothers - Mountain Jam
Dream Theater - Dance of Eternity
Cactus - Oleo
Yes - The Fish
Motorhead - Stay Clean
The Winery Dogs - Time Machine
Black Sabbath - NIB
Primus - Tommy The Cat
Cream - Crossroads
Rush - YYZ
Led Zeppelin - The Lemon Song
Metallica - Anesthetisia
The Who - My Generation
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Can't Stop
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dark Necessities
Anything Flea writes...
Do I gotta keep going?
I love the bass solo in GOAT from polyphia
Blink 182 - Don’t leave me
How many of those were top 10 hits??
The point she is trying to make is that the bass solo in rock or pop music is extremely rare....whereas almost every rock song seems to have a guitar solo.
@@matthewd6306 who cares about hits? I only care about whether I like the music or not
I Don't master open strings, can't make a neat fill, Don't know my neck although I play for 25 years. Happy to discover I'm a good bass player after all. Thank you.
i, for one, find it a relief to know that simple is better.
that's right up my alley.
Thanks for the vid. I've been playing for 40 years and I re-learned somethings. I'll be rethinking the length of some of my solos due to what you taught.
Pretty much every time she had the tag "Don't do this" was when I liked it.
myomai ME TOO
@flmvdvsrg yeah... And?... Sounds like an improvement if you ask me...
I guess you like melody more. Of course you can do melody with a bass, just lower. But then your role is kind of compromised isn't it? Since you are not outlining the chords. I guess it could really mess up the rest of the band members.
myomai lol same. Was watching on my fire stick and and came to the app just to see if anyone commented this. A good fusion of melody and rhythm are important to me on the bass
@flmvdvsrg Just like guitarists always do. That's why we fired our guitarist.
Geezer Butler played most of his notes above the seventh fret. While Tony Iommi player the lower notes on guitar. It worked quite well for Black Sabbath
Yeah and it's essential for a guitarist and a bass player to lock in to be able to play while giving each other room
Geezer would thank her for the video . But if you are apart a band sold over 20 million ablum's your doing some fucking thing right
He sure stayed below the 7th fret for 'Symptom of the Universe' one of the heaviest riffs around.
Everything here is SPOT ON. I compose and play for a living, all over the world (well, I used to until Covid) and I cannot tell you the number of times we have hired a 'session' player from the local talent pool, and then had to go back in later and re-record the bass line with nearly all the tips you are seeing here. No one here is Jaco, no one here is Geddy, and no one ever will be. If you are a gigging player, and let's face it, bassists can ALWAYS find gigs, then listen and learn.
I'm a long time guitar player who recently got into bass. I learned pretty quickly how using notes sparingly can be a powerful thing. Also about open strings (not as much control). These are all great tips, thanks.
So have you called all your old bass players and apologized for complaining that they are not playing enough notes?????????????? hahahaha!
Great tutorial, thanks 🙂
Presenting the DOs, and the DON'Ts with a touch of comedy, really gets them to the point 😀
Thanks for the video and tips. Being a new bass player these tips are helping tremendously with overcoming some of the beginning concerns. I like the idea of muting the open strings by simply using the fretted variations. I know there may be specific occasions for open string but in general I see how just using the fret can make it easier to keep the sustain down while also muting the fretted string as well. Also, keeping the rhythm instead of going crazy with the fills helps to keep the feeling of the groove while playing lower on the neck does give it a deeper feel. All good tips. I can see that some comments on this video have been less than ideal with others expressing their opinion on creativity but I think many missed the point of what you where attempting to explain. I appreciate that you took time to record and share a video in order to help us get better and for beginners to have a grasp of a good foundation rather than learning through bad habits and experience. Thank you and you have an AWESOME day!!
Number 4 is fairly right. I find that at the beginning of the song it's better to play roots but once you get deeper it's nice to mix it up a bit. Also, you can get away with opens if you mute well, but I find that opens are more Poppy and fretted is more mellow.
This is very reinforcing. I just started playing bass in bands again after a 20 year hiatus, so sometimes I'm at open mikes learning on the fly. Keeping rhythm, root notes, and low notes are the key. Then I can concentrate on backing the chord progression and staying with the drummer (if there happens to be one).
5:30 you can go to any other instrument, literally any other instrument.
*Plays double bass*
Note from Yonit:
Hey everyone! Thanks for watching the video :) Just wanted to make a few clarifications!
* This video is for beginner / intermediate bass players
* Obviously, there’s exception to all my tips (which are not rules!) but these tips should help you when playing with your band. Of course you can play open strings if you can mute them (which is a difficult technique to master if you’re a beginner), of course you can play fills that are well practiced, on time, from the bottom to the very top of your neck and so on.
* Always play the root - in the beginning of the bar - you can obviously play any chord tone / mode tone you want after. But not straight at the top. We establish the root and then venture out. Of course you can play inversions but that changes the chord, and you probably should make that decision with your band-members.
* I may have said ‘never’ and ‘always’ but this is really me just trying to make a point, don’t take it too literally fellas
* This can be applied in many genres, but mostly for mainstream genres such as pop, folk, rock, funk etc. Yes, if you’re playing a progressive-jazz-fusion-hardcore-metal song this might not be the video for you.
* Here’s a 6 tip for the brave ones who read all of this - make music to be happier and have fun with other human beings. That’s the point of everything, including this video ;)
Peace, love and many low frequencies,
Yonit
Hi Yonit. Thanks for reading and responding to the comments your vid has prompted. I appreciate your clarification, it shows you genuinely value feedback and respect the other bassists who took time to comment.
Apologies for "jumping the gun", you know what bass players can be like!
Lessonface it’s sad so many people can’t just think a little and realize who the intended audience of the video is. Your video was very clear from the beginning but hopefully those hell bent on arguing will get some clarification here. Great work. Thanks.
Omg i love so much your video, thanks, this will really help me. Kisses from Brasil ;)
i may have said never and always...i also may have meant would instead of wouldn't
Elieser Cedano exactly. The bottom line is that people either are determined to understand or determined to misunderstand.
Thank you! I’m not a pro nor have I had any training by one. In fact I’m mostly self taught and can’t read a note of music. I play by ear, memory, heart and feel. But I’ve been a firm believer in #5 for decades. My view on playing bass is that I’m a bass player so I should spend 99% of my time where the tones are low. That’s where the real meat of the music is to my ears. So the first 5 frets are where I live so to speak. I call it living in the “bass-ment”. I just make the foundation of low end groove and leave the excess noodling and showing off to guitars. You just got a new subscriber 👍🤘
I am a pretty ordinary bass player but a lot of bands like my playing especially the drummers. Now after watching your video I seem to use all the 5 tips. I feel relieved that I am on the right track. Thank you.
Open strings are OK, just need muting when going to tne next position
@Zarozapa CnJ but if you want to be a better bass player you can not avoid to do something just because is less easy
She's not teaching anyone to be Victor Wooten. If you are that good you can skip this lesson. She's teaching common sense bass concepts! And she is not wrong in anything that she said.
I wish all bass players would know these basic rules. But boy oh boy you should hear some of them playing...songwreck
She is, she's teaching them to be a guitarists background beat not being a bassist. But only standing behind and give the background beat instead of expressing your emotions no your instrument
@@DeeepBeeep Heaven forbid that a bassist play in the pocket.
@@dlawlis its not about it would be a problem to play in the pocket from time to time, but she is telling mostly beginners or intermediates here to step back all the time and not to improve their abilities anymore.
You can show this to a guitarists play bass tutorial, but not ti bassists
@@DeeepBeeep exactly. Which is strange, since she shows a very good knowledge of her instrument
Although I get what she is trying to teach beginners I do not agree with most of this lesson
Everything she said you cannot do , you actually do on bass as long as you do it tastefully , think more in colouring the song than playing parts hold down a great groove it colour when it’s appropriate , I get the whole slap happy tap happy thing and that is a take it or leave it thing for me , but if you explore the instrument as a beginner and you take in all different kinds of music then you will see there are places where these things can be used
As far as always playing the root I would disagree with that as well , it does not hurt especially in some intros of songs to play up the neck and play melodic ! Holding the root on a blues shuffle over the 4 creates a great tension in the song waking in those blues changes also is a great groove and colour
I don’t know about you guys but the money part of my bass is the whole bass , if you don’t know how to pick and choose right then you get into trouble but that like everything else practice. And practice as much as you can
I’m heading into my 46 years of playing professionally and I practice everyday
If you stop learning then it’s over
I realize these tips are aimed at begginer bass players and that even more experienced ones should always remember to not stray too far from these points.
But the emphasis given to these, as if they're hard and fast rules (DON'T DO THIS!!!), just helps to perpetuate the idea that bass is boring. Worse yet, we're there exclusively to perform a function. Might as well use a bass synthesizer on loop for that.
I believe the Picasso quote mentioned in another comment is spot on. Use these directions to avoid the common mistakes and being afflicted by the "4-stringed guitarist syndrome", but don't be afraid to break each one of them once you know better.
Music is expression. Some is more popular as with everything, but it can never be "wrong".
Tip 6: Break the rules
Thank you for the tip,,,s lol
What brand of Bass is that U are playing. I love the p/j set up and the astetciics look easy to fret! Thankxx and a big Cheers to you!
Great tips! I've watched a LOT of bass videos, and some of these were completely new to me (like not using open strings). Thanks so much for making this video!
Lex Starwalker it's new because it's wrong
You can use open strings, if you have a good muting technique.
Holy MAMA! Thank you thank you thank you. Ok, I know I'm a bit excited here, but I have to share why.
I'm finally taking time off work, it's just been a HAUL of a few months.
Non-stop. I needed a break and wanted to try something new.
And fun. So I thought I should start playing and singing and learning about music. And then I found THIS!
It's incredible, I mean, there are so many channels and videos and sites online that have been so helpful.
I LOVE THE INTERNET!
I am going to share this and other channels with my friends at work. Well, we'll see what happens.
Thank you so much for this video!
Great teacher, competent, clear, direct and with a sense of humor.
Take it all with a pinch of salt and it's great advice.
The morale is play to the song, leave place for the other instruments and enjoy what you do. Good video :)
Thanks, good tip about not playing open strings. I was confused about this. I just started learning and I have two tabs for When I Come Around by Green Day. One has open strings in the tab, but the other tab version shows the same notes as fretted. I wasn't sure which one would be best (but I started learning the tab version any way because its a Guitar Pro file as opposed to Ultimate Guitar Tabs.
I like this instructor.. Concise, well spoken and easy to understand.. Would love to hire her for private lessons
This is great advice if you always want to be invisible and just tell yourself you're great.
This is my approach. On gigs, I stay on back stage
Evracer : Exactly ! I don't know that woman and I suppose she has good intentions, but her arguments are bad. She should say her "don't do that" in front of dozens of famous bassists doing just what she says not to do.
I love this ... and you are AWESOME!
Great tips!
You made great points in ...
keep it "simple"
&
less is more.
Great tips! I play guitar, and I want to be able to play my own bass lines for recording songs. I'm a beginner, so none of this was "obvious" to me. Thanks for putting this together!! 🤘😎
This is the 1st video I've seen from you and you make more sense with 5 little tips than are just about every baseplayer I've ever seen on the Internet you're a Queen and I'm going to follow you
I am a guitar (advanced) player now expanding my horizons to bass....This video is awesome....Keep it simple!!!....No band wants a bass player that sounds like a guitar player...
Lmao, there’s ton of band with very complex bass, bass solos and the like, ever heard of squarepusher? How about thundercat ?
I feel like a lot of these things can be well executed, but definitely still amazing tips
Her : "Never sacrifice the beat for the feel"
Tetsuya (l'arc en ciel) : hold my beer
Thanks for this. I tend to overplay, maybe it’s ego wanting to showcase my part in the song. Maybe it’s boredom with staying subdued. But you’re right. The rhythm section keeps the rhythm. It’s not about flashy soloing. Unless you’re doing a solo! And my band already had two guitarists, a violinist and a mandolin player who ALL like taking solos… I can sit back a little and hold it down!
All these tips made me think. All are things that I never thought of, and make a lot of sense! Thanks!
I love the faces you make when you’re goofing it. Love all this advice
More like tips for gigging in a pop rock radio friendly band. The tips really apply to most drummers too. Too many fills, extra notes, off beat accents, clashing with the vocals. The bass note colour changes as you play same pitch in the higher frets, use it as a variation to add a fatter tone. I totally agree with the tips if you're playing in my production. Just play smoothly in good time, follow the groove and stick to standard tones and don't stick out unless it's your turn to solo. If you can do that first, good band leaders or producers will consider engaging you.
Fred Google I can't say much about a perceived resistance to instruction based on gender of the instructor. She looks and sounds pleasant, an advantage surely. I feel it's topic encourages discussion and sharing, it's what a teacher would think of bringing up and possibly leave open to debate. Generally, if some one says you "should and should not do this" in the creative arts, they will receive many other viewpoints from everyone. I think the instructor was giving tips on how to get job in working band. That makes sense must if the time. In reality, if we get invited to play, we need to know what and how to play. I was asked to play the bass along with the pipe organ, choir and guitar ensemble, piano in a cathedral, there was no score parts electric bass. I ran through all the scores and created a bass part. It was rather strange sounding on its own. It broke every rule mentioned in the above video, probably because it had to be like a cello part and the tone of the bass playing had to blend with that of the choir. About gender and sexuality? I think not. Women have been professional musicians since pre-classical period. The only thing I can't stand is an uptight female piano teacher who thinks rapping your knuckles with a ruler is going to improve your playing, along with those who frown upon "excessive" vibrato on the violin. :-p Why because most of us guys just want to chill out when we play music.
Solid advice for beginners. Many people consider themselves advanced but lack in the fundamentals, so I appreciate her tips. It's always good to be reminded of the fundamentals of bass playing. Sure, once you have the foundations end to end you can start find your expression by breaking the rules, but no great bass player has ever advanced without learning the fundamentals first.
Redding, Simonon, Cupin, Hook, Weymouth, Gordon, James, Pege and many other innovative players would strongly disagree 😉Some people might benefit from gaining a scholastic foundation first, but it's just as likely holding back creative vision.
Thank you for some of the most important bass facts that tend to go over our heads in many situations!
Getting a bass line "wrong on demand" like you did in the demonstration is probably a testament to your playing ability, it's quite hard to "play wrong" to order.
I live the 8:45 i literally want to listen a bass /gutar player pulling this in a live concert :)
Great tips. Thanks for the video. Some of her no-go’s sounded good! But overall, great advice.
I totally agree with #2 and #3. The others are good if you don't know the song well. Avoiding open strings is mostly if you can't mute (or end the note quickly). Keeping it Low? That's not possible on Californication by RHCP, and many other songs for that matter.
Just dabbling in bass and find exactly what you're saying about wanting to 'Solo' or go to high. I like the videos! Keep at it, us rookies need da help!
If you are playing swing bass, bebop bass, big band bass, or modern jazz bass lines, the entire neck is yours to use tastefully.
Good tips.. Im a guitarist, but from time to time i pick a bass if I need to make a recording and sound like a whole band. I dont know much about bass scales and stuff so I try to keep it simple and i use what i learned on my guitar. I try to stay to the rhythm and as much the same tones the guitar is played in. I dont do bass solos tho i know one guy who learned bass like a pro in TURBO time and played in a 3 man band. They played funk. The music without that bass was nothing. He did allot of fills and he was given time to solo too. I guess that was the right type of music for the guy. It sounded so funky.
You are a guitarist, thats it.
I gota admit, i was skeptical when I saw the title, but all of your points are valid, i was somehow leaning towards this but you confirmed it.
I really enjoyed the video. I've been hooked on 6 string electrics, and acoustics to a lesser degree, all my life. I'm now thinking of taking up electric bass for the first time, so it's experimental. I actually liked all your demos, even when you said 'Don't do this' !!
I only play at home to amuse myself, so maybe I don't have to follow any rigid rules.
What if the rhythm guitars are too simple? I think that the busier style of bass fixes that problem.
Of course it depends on the song. But I do love counter point.
Paul McCartney did well with independent bass melodies. It depends on how much you want to avoid stealing the show from a guitar riff that needs bass presence but room to be the main thing showcased.
Open string issues are tied to bad eq issues.
By the way, I was enjoying Yonit's busier playing very much, each every time, when suddenly that don't do it sign flashes, then she looks up shaking her head in disapproval of her own awesome playing.
Anti-Flag kinda does that. Like reversed rock band formula, where guitars play simple rhytms and bass goes for melodies on upper registers
Everything she played sounded good to me.
Yeap, pretty much bad advice on this one, and more so because most are not completely false, but half-truths that create all kinds of misconceptions. Either you will be a beginner and spend years being distracted by such tips before you see the problems behind them, or you may have be just picking up the bass but already have a musical background and it will be immediately obvious how unhelpful they may be. I will elaborate:
1. Possibly the most problematic of the lot. There are tons of bass lines that are written on the assumption that they are playable because the root note lies on the open string, freeing yourself to fret other notes at a different part of the neck. A metal player would probably say "this is like telling me I cannot play the song". Also, this could stifle your creativity: James Jamerson would choose to play on the open string in every available occasion, even if that was mentally harder because his fingers were already in a position to fret the same note elsewhere. In jazzy settings, where you're playing walking bass and don't want to be repetitive, it's a great idea to use open strings as an anchor that provides you with free time to move your hand elsewhere.
The worst thing with this tip though is that it is presented as a substitute for learning how to mute strings, which should definitely be one of the first things to practice, if not the very first. There are so many occasions where each note you play should be coordinated with muting the previous one, otherwise you might be playing the "right" notes, but getting a completely wrong vibe, whether you're hitting open strings or not. Other times you may need to fill spaces with ghost notes - even worse, you might have to play them on open strings. I don't see how thinking "I can't mute notes, so I'll just avoid hitting open strings" is going to help you improve. Quite the contrary.
2. As a general rule, this is the most correct one mentioned. It would have been more constructive if it said something like "if and when you decide to do a fill, it's imperative to make sure it matches to the beat of the song". It shouldn't sound like a haphazard set of notes thrown around to prove you can play flashy stuff. Or she could have said "do not throw fills all around a song, find the right place for this". For example, do it when the arrangement leaves open space for that. Her example of doing it wrong was a good one. Drummers need to pay much more attention to this one.
3. This is not completely wrong, but presented in a way that might limit you creativity again. Keeping it simple is a good principle and goes a long way, but great bass lines still tend to deviate from the principle of just following the root note all the time. So sometimes you may be searching for a "better" bass line, whether flashier, or less obvious. Problem is that the more notes you "add", the likelier it becomes to end up with something that sounds busy in a messy and distracting kind of way - yeap, even in funk you need a sense of what is excessive. What seems to work for me is rehearsing the song and playing all the busy stuff you can come up with in order to realize when it becomes excessive and then develop these into simpler, but inventive ideas. Take a busy, but solid line of yours, pick the non-essential notes, simply discard them and maybe use the remaining ones as an arpeggio that forms a creative and surprising bass line. It can carry the song further without making it sound like you're in a bass soloing project.
4. Too much conviction, again: Bassists do have the power to play a note and make it sound like the chord is in a different key. It would kill creativity though if you took it as a rule that you should not do this. Listen to the first bass line in Strawberry Fields Forever when the drums come in, to name only one case. More so, if you follow this tip and don't just stick to the root note on the first beat of a bar, but everywhere, it's almost as if your bass lines are on autopilot. Or if you're trying to play walking bass - even if not in a jazz setting - a frequent tip is the exact opposite: to save your lines from being repetitive and boring, try not to start with the root note in every chord change. Miraculously, it doesn't make it seem like you're playing in a wrong key. Her example of doing it wrong sounds bad mostly because it's not a well-thought-through deviation from the root notes. She could be going up in the chromatic minor scale alright, but playing the root note on the chord change, for example, bringing some life into that dreary backing track. Or she could decide the song needs some ambiguity and start with the fifth note and follow with others in the pentatonic scale, in which case, every next note would slowly clarify the key. It's all about creative choice. Not everyone plays bad renditions of generic pop and rock in their local bar to consider this an imperative.
5. Woah, wait. First tip was not to use open strings, now we have to avoid playing in the upper part of the neck as well? Yeap, there's a difference when playing the same notes higher up the neck. It's completely detrimental though to suggest not to play there instead of saying "you need to understand the difference and play where it seems more appropriate tone-wise". Playing higher up the neck sounds sweeter, less trebly and with looser bass, so it may be ideal in a really soft part of a song, for example.
Then, she conflates the issue of playing in a higher octave. Yeah, having the same note in different octaves doesn't mean you have to play all of them, but implying that you should play only in the lowest register is absurd. "You don't want to drop the bass as a bass player" is a completely useless statement without context of what you want to achieve and what the rest of the band is doing. Deviations from this fictitious rule are countless, even in the most pop music out there, but let's suppose that your line happens to be the most melodic thing going on during that part of the song: most bassists would elect to bring this forward to the listener by playing it at a higher register than in the "money making zone".
I guess a pretty good tip might be "don't follow tips that you only need to listen to a couple of your favorite songs to see how absurd they are".
As a budding bass player I fully appreciate this video as it provides an elementary baseline for me to learn from. But, more so, I appreciate that you took the time and effort to refute different elements of Ms. Spiegelman's notions set forth in this vid. You provide a wonderful flourish from which to learn and I thank you for that. Rhonda
@@rhondalyn100 Really glad to see that you found it somewhat helpful. I wish you all the fun in the world playing the music that you love.
@@immatureradical Thanks. Trying to branch out from my ukulele. :-)
Technically you have a point but most bands support the advice posted here. Otherwise they will let the keyboard play the baselines. They are tired of guitarists and bass players that only support their own egos and don't care about the songs.
@@fuglbird I guess your comment mainly refers to my point regarding simplicity. I did concede that opting for simpler bass lines often goes a long way. But still, this involves not conflating "simpler" with permanently doing the obvious thing of looking at the base note and religiously sticking to it, as she suggests in this video, dismissing any unexpected choices regarding harmony. Her tips make it seem as if no creative choices should be made at all while playing the bass.
Of course I did not delve into what the role of a bass player is in the context of the rhythm section, or the idea of locking in with the drummer, but obviously, answers regarding what degree of complexity is most appropriate lie mostly there and far less into blanket statements creating the impression that you should be playing as uncomplicated stuff as possible.
Also, depending on your preferred genres or instrument of choice, there's a lot of bias regarding which players of which instruments support the song and which are all about their egos. You're talking as if you've never heard of a keyboard player overplaying everyone else to sleep. Cheers.
Thanks!
That confirms all that I thought as an intermediate bassist :)
Great advice I’ve been playing bass guitar for almost 40 years and I would give the same advice if I was teaching someone the basics of bass guitar
That’s a gorgeous bass you got there
Tim. bass
Thatsagor geous bass you
What brand or who makes this bass
Edited Caption: 5 TIPS THAT WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER BEGINNER BASS PLAYER!!
That's not what your band would say!
5 tips to not annoy the guitar player and literally stand behind them
But that's kind of the point of these videos, I guess... Even at the beginning you know she's addressing beginning bassists. I know I did too many of these things, badly, when I was in bands. It's important to keep the sights on what is important and what's important is the song and the bass.
or could be 5 tips for advanced bass players to help get and keep gigs
A long time ago I was in a band with a friend that could’ve benefited from this video, especially # 2-3 but, (#4) starting with the route note wasn’t really a problem, till he switched keys in the middle of this song!