#1921547 - 04/03/08 07:25 PM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: suraci]
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The Real MC
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"It's cool when you fool discriminating bass players like that :)"
So what amp keyboard(s) did you use to fool 'em?
Moog Voyager through a Moog Synamp biamp'd to Peavey 2x15 and Bose 802.
Matter of fact, this is a pic from that very gig
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#1922348 - 04/05/08 12:31 PM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: kanker.]
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jimmymio
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For me it depends on the gig. Some gigs, there just isn't a bass player around with fast enough ears to be able to hang with the subs and rhythmic changes the drummer and I get into, and in those cases, I'd really rather not have to work with a bass player.
Right, Good point. Nothing worse than spending the entire gig yelling chord changes, breaks, hits, modulations etc. over your shoulder.
No there is something worse. When the bandleader calls a song and the bass player says he doesn't know it and asks you to cover for him. Then, a minute into the song he starts feeling comfortable and, neither announced nor invited, he starts to play on top of the KB bass. Not wanting to hear 2 bass sounds stumbling on top of each other, you politely drop out. Usually, a few bars later the bassist no longer feels so comfortable and you have to come back in again. Then he starts to feel comfortable again etc etc.
JP
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#1925604 - 04/11/08 05:14 PM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: Mr. Nightime]
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RicBassGuy
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I've earned at least half of my income over the past decade playing left-hand bass in a soul/funk band and believe me when i say I much prefer working with a bass player and I don't hesitate to request one if my input is solicited. However, when i'm hired to do a job I don't really feel that is my prerogative to dictate what other instruments are to be included.
It's all about making music and i think it is narrow minded to fret about what types of instruments are generating the sound waves. Tubas anyone?
JP While I am very capable of playing a gig where I'm the bass player as well, and have done so on numerous occasions, I much prefer having a real bass player there. One more person to interact with. Plus, having to play multiple parts forces me to divide my attention. I'd rather be able to concentrate on just my part. I play better.  )
The bass role is important in most any music, but especially in popular music. Does it matter which instrument is played by the person handling the bass role? That depends.
Of course I did play tuba up through college. I'd love to get an old beat up sousaphone and form a New Orleans traditional jazz street band!  But for the same reason some gigs call for the right "look" -- rockabilly just looks better when you slap an URB -- I wouldn't play LH bass on a keytar while walking up and down Bourbon Street. Would you? 
If it's all about the music then everyone should be taught to play keyboard only. Thanks to MIDI and sound libraries keyboards are the "universal instrument interface". To be a bit facetious, imagine a Who concert with 5 guys seated behind keyboards to play the various parts. (Pity the poor guy that has to play "drums".) Or a symphony orchestra with 50 keyboardists, each playing the part corresponding to their seat, like "2nd violin, 3rd chair".
But if you come from a traditional piano background then you know that there's just something "not right" about playing the instrument one note at a time. The piano certainly begs to be a solo instrument. I remember string quartets and brass octets at solo and ensemble, but never a piano quintet. 
But hey, that's cool. There are other instruments that are capable of chording and can play solo style: harp, Chapman stick, guitar ... and yes even bass. (Of course it helps if you have a 10-string, 24-fret version with a range greater than an 88-key keyboard!)
And some people would look at that bass and say it is no longer a bass. Because it has too many strings. And it has too many chord voicing choices. And the last straw: it can play a melody using the same pitches you'd expect to hear a melody played! Egads!
The "problem" with playing popular music in a solo style, as Mr. Nightime points out, is that there's too many things to think about at once. It doesn't matter what instrument you play. If you're trying to sing and play the exact same music that was originally recorded by 3 or more individuals then it is very likely that your solo arrangement will have some compromises. (Yes, in popular music the voice is used to deliver lyrics, not to hum something to yourself that is out-of-tune with what you're playing.  ) And imagine if you had to cover the drums as well!
Ok, back to the reason for this topic. Yes, venues that still pay musicians the same rate they did some 40 years ago are crying that they can't even afford that anymore. If you have more than a 4 piece then you either work for peanuts or you don't work. But even the 4 piece is becoming the "Big Band" of our time; now venues want duo or solo acts because they don't cost as much.
Maybe I don't get out enough, but I don't seem to recall any local bands here that use LH keys instead of a bass player; except Tony De Nardo from The Muggs. (He of course is a special case because after his stroke he had to re-learn all his bass parts on a Rhodes.) It just seems more popular to build a small piano combo around the core of piano and bass in more of a jazz line up.
Or go solo piano and keep all the money (and gigs) for yourself.
[Although I picked on you guys a bit I am a big fan of solo piano, piano concertos and sonatas, and all that good stuff.  ]
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#1932806 - 04/26/08 01:18 PM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: suraci]
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Kevin B. Selby
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Registered: 04/26/08
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Hey gang! Performed a search on Google for keyboardists playing bass with left hand and came right to your post! Cool! I'm among brethren!
Quick history:
Started piano lessons at age 6.
Played keyboards in bands throughout high school and college and then on into adulthood.
Started playing bass with left hand a little bit in college.
Played in full 4 and 5 piece bands after college and didn't play much left hand bass.
Played bass with left hand for "real" in podunk 3-piece bands (drums, guitar, and me on keys/bass) that played Eagles clubs, VFW, etc. Economic realitities forced us to pare 4-5 piece bands down to duos and trios.
Left the music scene for a few years when babies were born.
Picked up playing in bands again around 2001 and was IMMEDIATELY responsible for drum patterns/machine, bass lines, keyboards, vocals and sometimes acoustic guitar.
Again, due to economic realities, we never were able to adequately fund any configuration higher than a trio and now, 7 years later, it's basically down to a duo of Scott Wilburn on guitar/vocals and me on keyboard, left-hand bass, and operating drum patterns and/or backing trax that we design in the studio.
All during the last 7 years I have wrestled with all the different configurations a duo/trio can have regarding drums/bass and whether you use a simple drum pattern (easier to recover from wrong direction plus you can extend the song) vs. an entire song laid out in a track (you're held to exactly how you built the track and how long the song goes, etc.) vs. programming the bass line along with the drums (now you're REALLY held to song structure) vs. playing the bass line live with left hand (more freedom, but geez...you've just limited your right hand to possibly less than lightening fast solos, plus you can't bend synth patches etc.).
Once we ramped up to a viable duo (sometimes trio), I built a ton of backing trax that usually were comprised of drums and bass only but sometimes I'd add another keyboard part mixed low just to provide a fatter sound. You can hear examples of many of these trax from a Bonefish Grill gig back in 2007 at: http://www.archive.org/details/baja2007-09-01.sbd.flac16 - this gig was about half using trax and half left-hand bass playing. The setlist at: http://ia341241.us.archive.org/1/items/baja2007-09-01.sbd.flac16/baja2007-09-01.pdf will tell you which is which. For a quick reference, the following songs have left-handed bass playing: You Hear Me Knockin', Hope of the World, Trouble, Midnight Drive, Little Bird, Pistons and Gasoline, I Believe, Wake Up and a few more. On some of these, it's probably hard to tell that it's a left hand, on others it's pretty dang obvious.
I really have a love/hate relationship going with all of this because on the one side, if your left hand is literally tied to producing the bass lines, then you have to split your brain when performing solos and lead lines (comping with right hand along with left hand bass doesn't seem to be a problem for me and in fact I kind of like it) whereas when I'm playing bass with left hand and comping with right hand (and operating drum patterns/machine) I actually feel like I'm "in the groove" and VERY in control of the direction of the song...and as a duo/trio we are really the masters of our destiny in that case (and it's actually enjoyable!!) AND...I believe we sound our best in this mode.
Around this area (Tri-Cities, WA), all the venues have kind of turned into "wallpaper" music where you aren't necessarily trying to get the crowd to pay attention to you (although that's certainly nice!), but rather, you have to play stuff with a groove that provides a sonic environment suitable for wine drinking, casual conversation, etc.
We have fought this thing many times and finally..we have just agreed that whether we play covers or whether we play originals (or a combination of both), we will adapt the arrangements to suit the venue because after all, we are providing a "product" that should fit what the customer is after. This has actually been kind of fun to do because it makes you as a musician really re-think the arrangements, sound and instrument choices, and configurations so that you get the best sound for what you're after.
The final nail in the coffin for my acceptance that I'll probably be playing left hand bass for the rest of my life (and I'd better just DEAL with it!!!) hit us recently with the last two gigs we've done. The first was at a winery for a very prestigious dinner wherein every table setting had about 10 empty wine glasses arranged around the plates because they were going to have a different type of wine for each course of the meal blah blah blah. People dressed up and the whole nine yards. They stuck us up on this little balcony where our music kind of filtered down onto the tables. We instantly knew that we needed to pare things WAAAAY down and in most cases we didn't even use a drum pattern/machine but went with guitar, left hand bass and right hand keys (and most of the time no vocals). The result was absolutely fantastic for us!!! Wow!! It was an eye opener because for several years we had been using backing trax and playing guitar/keys and vocals on top of basic drums/bass trax and when we got to the winery and sat back and really grooved (guitar, and then me on left hand bass and upper keys) we not only totally enjoyed ourselves, but the crowd loved it! AND...we took classic cover tunes and converted them into a trio-type of arrangement many times without drums.
You can hear this gig at: http://www.archive.org/details/baja2008-02-16.sbd.flac16 and decide for yourself whether it "worked" or not.
Right after that gig, we had another gig at a different winery a few nights ago. Prior to this gig, I had purchased a Roland DR-3 (drum machine with bass in it too) and the idea was to sequence the drum patterns and bass lines into the various "Verse" buttons of the DR-3 and have the best of both worlds. I would finally free up my left hand again but we would gain a nice solid drum and bass pattern, BUT it wouldn't be a full length 6 minute backing track that you are forced to comply with. We could dance around using the 3 different verses and fills and extend a song if we felt like it or not extend it.
We forgot one simple thing: if a bass line is pre-recorded, it doesn't matter if you have the greater flexibility of the song being broken down into Verse A, Verse B, Verse C, Intro, Ending, and fills....it is STILL a backing track of sorts and you are totally tied into what's going on with the bass. Since I wasn't playing bass live, I couldn't abruptly switch horses mid stream and either correct the "band" or possibly go into a new direction for a given song and explore different chord structures, etc. In short, it really hampered our creativity. On a broader scale, it actually hurt us because we (mainly me) spent more time fussing with the DR-3 than playing well and our quality suffered that night.
My beloved guitar player wrote me a heartfelt email the next day where he suggested that we should go back to simple drum patterns and left-hand bass playing (oh..and pare down our rather huge stage setup too!!) so that our "product" stays simple, stress free, and yet still maintains a certain quality. He's right on and I guess I've finally accepted this and will simply work forward with this attitude and direction.
Interestingly enough...about 6-9 months ago as a band we decided to see if we could pull together a 5 piece (drummer, bass player, guitar, keys, sax) and do blues festivals. I will NEVER forget those first few practices. Oh my gosh...I could actually LIFT MY HANDS OFF THE KEYBOARD and the song kept going because the drummer and bass player and guitarist were playing just fine. The freedom was incredible. I could NEVER do that in our duo. I had been SO focused on providing nearly all of the infrastructure that I totally forgot what it was like to be in a 4 or 5 piece environment. Would I rather have a real drummer and bass player? Absolutely! HOWEVER...having said that...all the lovely little economic and even personality factors and issues then immediately come into play. As a duo with Scotty...we can be absolutely SPOT-ON with timing, rhythm, chords, etc. simply by looking at each other or listening. Start adding additional players and the communication and other such things really get harder to do...ESPECIALLY with the fact that none of us have the time to devote to polishing a 4-5 piece band. Scotty and I can practice in our studios very easily and be ready, as a duo (and we actually sound like a 4-piece) for whatever is coming up. Trying to get more than 2 people's schedules to match not to mention personalities and all that...is MUCH harder.
So there you have it. Sorry if this post was really long...but I had been looking for a place to vent and/or share my experiences and now I have.
Oh...if you want an example of an album where a keyboardist (me) played all the bass parts...but it's NOT really "left-hand" bass because I was in my studio and could play the different parts individually, then check out Palouse and its free .mp3 files I allow fellow musicians to download at: http://kevinselby.com/gpo and go to the Palouse section. I think the bass lines/parts on this album sound pretty good, but I am not so in love with my left hand as to think there is no room for improvement...I really need to listen to more bass lines in various songs and such and try to imitate some of the things they do.
Kevin B. Selby
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#1932825 - 04/26/08 02:24 PM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: Kevin B. Selby]
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TinderArts
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Registered: 07/31/00
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Check out Neal Evans from Soulive to hear some ass kicking bass parts. The guy simply smokes.
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#1933082 - 04/27/08 09:15 AM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: TinderArts]
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suraci
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some have a gift for bass
some do not
left hand bass is perfectly valid
I like it.
the potential is there for a unique
creativity not quite the same as with a bass player
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#1933165 - 04/27/08 12:34 PM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: suraci]
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Joe Muscara
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Kevin - welcome to the forum! That kind of "venting" is enjoyed and useful around here.
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#1933423 - 04/28/08 05:00 AM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: Kevin B. Selby]
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Bosendorphin
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Loc: Maryland, USA
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Hey Kevin, welcome! I agree with Mr. Muscara about your enjoyable "venting." I was in a similar situation as you playing left hand bass for some time. We now have a bassist (who also sings on occasion) and what you wrote about being freed up was SPOT ON. It took me a while to stop my left hand from doing bass patterns and do chords while my right hand did leads and such!
And you're so right about the economic realities about bands paring down to duos or trios. We still do gigs on occasion with a drummer and second guitarist, but more recently like you have pared down to two or three people. I'm in charge of the drum machine/sequences like you. I do occasional left-hand bass when our bassist is doing the solo singer bit but not constantly.
I really enjoyed your comments and background!
_________________________
"I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer!" - Richard Strauss
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#1933427 - 04/28/08 05:10 AM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: Kevin B. Selby]
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Bosendorphin
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"Sorry no flash photography..... Oh it's Dave, that's okay."
HA!!! Good one! Hey Kevin what keys are you using? Nice crisp piano and meaty Hammond sounds!
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"I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer!" - Richard Strauss
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#1933441 - 04/28/08 06:03 AM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: Bosendorphin]
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BluesKeys
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I have just read this thread for the first time. I will state for Dave Horne's benefit the I love working with bass players that don't have issues. 
That said,from that I have read most of what you guys have done with left hand bass seems to be in a band setting or duo with guitarist or maybe sax, or trios adding drums.
What brought me to this thread is a configuration I played on Saturday night that I don't see anyone here doing. I played a small (very small) restaurant with a Drummer and lf (left hand bass) and keys and a chick singer (my girlfriend). We had a ball and though I have played left hand bass for chick singers before and in bands on occasion (no bass player to be found) I have never experienced anything like Saturday night.
It was magical that I didn't have to think about rhythm and could just let my left hand follow his kick. My right hand felt much looser. Does anyone else use the configuration of just drums and keys?
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#1933502 - 04/28/08 08:18 AM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: BluesKeys]
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ProfD
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Does anyone else use the configuration of just drums and keys?
Only in rehearsals. A lead instrument or voice provides another dimension for me.
Now, if I didn't have such a connection to harmony, feeling free to play LH bass lines and right hand leads, I'd perform as a keys/drums duo in a NY minute.
I'll do LH bass, chords and leads, but the music doesn't feel right to me without a consist harmonic foundation (groove) and/or a 'lead' voice.
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PD
"Remember when... is the lowest form of conversation."--Tony Soprano
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#1933893 - 04/28/08 08:07 PM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: ProfD]
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BluesKeys
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PD, what you are saying is the combo of drums/keys needs a lead instrument or voice to go with it? I can see your point in that, and since I sing I don't even think about the need except my chic singer needs work to. I did have some moments when I went to left hand chords and I quickly picked the bass line back up.
I had the bass on my upper keyboard (Triton LE)where I also play organ (VK8m midi'd) and I would just adjust the bass down on the Korg and use the Hammond bass with a slight boost. It was very cool.
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#1933897 - 04/28/08 08:23 PM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: BluesKeys]
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suraci
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left hand bass is nothing new
think stride piano
Yes, I more often than not play as a duo rhythm section
me and drums, a sax or singer or both is gravy.
As I said most pianists and guitarists do not have this particular knack for bass
But it is fun an creative, especially if there is sympatico going on.
/::
may I ask another question
if I am using more than one sound source
eg a keyboard plus a module
how is it possible to equal the fantastic mixing
that the Jack Hotop's of the audio world put in their "Combi- Setup-Performance" deal?
has anyone here achieved a comparable mix with disparate sound
sources.
Panning eq, reverb. Etc?
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The difference between what the most and the least learned people know is inexpressibly trivial in relation to that which is unknown
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#1933922 - 04/28/08 09:45 PM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: suraci]
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Kevin B. Selby
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Bosendorfin said: Hey Kevin what keys are you using? Nice crisp piano and meaty Hammond sounds! - referring to gig recording at: http://www.archive.org/details/baja2007-09-01.sbd.flac16.
Main keys are provided by an M-Audio 88SX 88-key semi-weighted keyboard (believe it or not, at 43 years of age, I really don't like a fully weighted 88-key keyboard for 4 freaking hours!!).
It provided acoustic piano, B3 (running it through a Boss RT-20 rotary simulator), Rhodes, and Wurly. Love that board for it's simplicity, lightness, and decent sounds.
In SOME cases, the other keys (as well as drums and bass) were provided by a Yamaha DGX-305 (believe it or not, even though the DGX-305 is basically home consumer level, it is a FANTASTIC gig machine, ESPECIALLY if you reaaaaaaally want to pare down and only take one single keyboard to the gig that can get drums, bass, AND keys (split-able plus has drum patterns built in with A/B verses and fills and what-not).
Anyhooo...enough gear-mongering...glad you checked it out!!
Kevin
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#1933954 - 04/29/08 03:56 AM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: BluesKeys]
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Bosendorphin
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Does anyone else use the configuration of just drums and keys?
I had the exact same configuration in the mid-80s, BK! Our band's drummer and I were very tight (both musicially and friendship-wise) and often did gigs with just the two of us or with our female lead singer. I was using a Roland MP-600 piano splitting its signal through an MXR chorus box and EQing the lower notes for a nice meaty bass sound. Polysix on top and Mini-Korg to my right. It was a nice little trio and we of course got more money!
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"I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer!" - Richard Strauss
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#1933957 - 04/29/08 04:02 AM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: Kevin B. Selby]
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Bosendorphin
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Main keys are provided by an M-Audio 88SX 88-key semi-weighted keyboard (believe it or not, at 43 years of age, I really don't like a fully weighted 88-key keyboard for 4 freaking hours!!).
Aha!!! I was looking a buying the 88sx a year or so as I was looking for a good semi-weighted piano for gigging. Only 17 pounds I understand. I think I came across your band's music back then when I was Googling for it! Nice sounds and great playing of course!
I ended up with a Kurzweil SP76 which feels good to me and I got it just before the prices jumped up a few hundred bucks. But that 88sx looked great.
_________________________
"I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer!" - Richard Strauss
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#1934152 - 04/29/08 09:53 AM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: ProfD]
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New&Improv
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John Medeski and Billy Martin (of ... & Wood fame) did a really nice disc of Hammond/Drum duos called Mago last year that is really nice. Also, there's Larry Young's classic take on Monk's Dream on Unity, just Larry and Elvin Jones, and doesn't lack a thing.
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It's a keeper
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#1940233 - 05/10/08 11:48 AM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: New&Improv]
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MurMan
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Last Thursday night at a rehearsal, the leader announces that the church is putting a 20% budget cut into effect and there will be no more paid musicians. For us, this is mostly bass players and drummers. We've got a drummer, but no bass for the next few weeks.
Immediately this thread came to mind. I have to admit that left hand bass intrests me. (Played bass in a R&B band, but I haven't touched a bass in 30 years. Yeah, I'm an old fart.) I remember trying left hand bass when I first started playing keyboards, but my skills weren't good enough, so I dropped it.
In the rehearsal, I used a Hammond patch on every song and played the root with just a little rythmn. One of singers is a pretty good piano player so I could concentrate on bass. It was better than nothing and we agreed that it would work.
When I got home, started working on making it work better. I split my keyboard (Nord SC) and connected to a Korg TR-Rack with a few decent bass patches. Then I played along with a few tracks. (We're doing CCM stuff, like David Crowder.)
At some point, the latent bass player woke up and I started playing bass almost automatically. Nothing revolutionaly, but good rythmn and a few walkups and passing notes. Of course I'm not doing anything spectacular in my right hand, but overall it's working.
The part that amazed me was that I was fully aware of playing two different instruments. It was like my brain was split in two independent parts. The only thing I can liken it to was the first time I rode a bike. You're doing something you've never done before and you're not sure why you can do it, but you are.
Anyway, I'm jazzed. I might not have tried this if I hadn't followed this thread. I'm not going to put any bass players out of work, but I think that I can develop this skill enough so that I can pull it out in a pinch.
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#1940644 - 05/11/08 10:47 AM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: MurMan]
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suraci
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I am a bass player
trust me
it is an illusion to think that you could put a bass player out of work
Life may appear logical, and certainly has logical aspects, but it is essentially not logical. More a mystery
Congrats on taking that step into spliting your mind in half.
I rarely play spectacular right hand ( bc I rarely play spectacular? ) with right hand while left hand is playing bass
but as you said, rhythm is the thing
Like drums two or more independent ( interdependent? ) things at once yield one cool groove
_________________________
The difference between what the most and the least learned people know is inexpressibly trivial in relation to that which is unknown
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#1940653 - 05/11/08 11:07 AM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: suraci]
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SK
Platinum Member
Registered: 12/24/06
Posts: 1499
Loc: Va.
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trust me
it is an illusion to think that you could put a bass player out of work
That's ordinarily true. Keyboard bass can never replace a good bass player, so rarely would it put a bass player out of work. This is also because of the sound, etc. of a real bass.
But depending on the musicians, some keyboardists (playing LH bass) can blow some bass players out of the water.
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#1940711 - 05/11/08 01:12 PM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: suraci]
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Eric Iverson
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 08/03/05
Posts: 2354
Loc: Jackson Heights, NY
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It's sort of amazing to me, as a guitarist, where "left hand vs. right hand" can indeed be an issue to some.. since the right hand and left (or vice versa) on a guitar do totally different things.... that this would be the case for a keyboardist, since the fingerings and technique (so I imagine) are the same for both hands.
I would think that a lefty pianist would have started out that way and would have made any necessary adjustments (or NOT) from day one!
It's certainly possible to make lefty guitars and mandolins and basses, but how on earth would you make a lefty keyboard???
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#1940716 - 05/11/08 01:25 PM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: Eric Iverson]
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kanker.
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 08/05/05
Posts: 4250
Loc: Indy
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It's sort of amazing to me, as a guitarist, where "left hand vs. right hand" can indeed be an issue to some.. since the right hand and left (or vice versa) on a guitar do totally different things.... that this would be the case for a keyboardist, since the fingerings and technique (so I imagine) are the same for both hands.
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#1940720 - 05/11/08 01:57 PM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: kanker.]
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MurMan
Senior Member
Registered: 11/17/03
Posts: 370
Loc: San Diego
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My comment about putting a bass player out of work was tongue in cheek.
Well, after playing a little over 20 songs last night and today, my left hand is wiped. But I feel like I covered the bass like pretty well and crossed another musical hurdle.
Our leader wants me to cover bass for the next few months, so I'm going to have to build my chops. Wouldn't want to end up in the "My Bass Player Doesn't Practice" thread ...
Kanker is right. It's the differences in approaches that make it difficult. The left side is listening to the drummer and trying to keep in the pocket and play around his kick pattern. (I'm working the rhythm, not just covering the root.) The right side is listening to the vocals and is playing around their interpretation, which definitely changes a lot. Then throw in a the Leslie sim and a few patch changes mid-song for fun. Yikes.
I noticed that I began keeping time with the heel of my right foot really loud on the songs with a strong bass line. I could feel the stage pounding through my other foot. What's funny is that my favorite and most talented bass player that I play with does the same thing. Just weird! Anybody else do that?
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#1940836 - 05/11/08 07:45 PM
Re: Left Hand bass, keyboard players, let's talk our issues!
[Re: suraci]
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The Real MC
Gold Member
Registered: 05/17/05
Posts: 952
Loc: Painted Post, NY
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I am a bass player
trust me
it is an illusion to think that you could put a bass player out of work
I won't argue with that, but I am also a bass player.
In my town, GOOD bass players are scarce and I often fill the gap with my left hand. Piano being my primary instrument, I am adept at LH independence, and being a seasoned bass player I know the expression of playing like a bass.
I would welcome a bass player in my band, but there are few proficient players around here.
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