dustybass6 Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 I'm in this speech class at Cal Poly SLO, and i have to give a persuassive speech tomorrow. I'm choosing my topic to be why people should pick up a bass instead of a guitar. I would appreciate any feedback you guys have on this topic. I'll probably have it written by the time of the speech, but I still want to know what the Lowdown thinks. Thanks. "...it might be a quarter-life crisis" John Mayer, Why Georgia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squeennyzim Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 I dabbled in guitar briefly before picking up bass. I have smaller hands, so it's a lot harder to play some of the chords, and I prefer fingerpicking for style. I also feel the bassline is more fun to play for a lot of songs and it gives structure to them as well. Plus a lot of my friends play guitar, and there needed to be more bass players my thoughts As I was going up the stairs I met a man who wasn't there He wasn't there again today I wish, I wish he'd go away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenLoy Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 The biggest reason is gigs. You'll get more gigs if you're an above-average bassist than if you're an above-average guitarist. Everyone needs a bassist, but everyone wants to be a guitar player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 The best reason to play bass is because it is the best instrument. You get to control the whole band, whether they like it or not. If you play strongly enough, when you make a mistake everyone else will think that it was their fault. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prague Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Bass is the instrument of Cool. A main element is the art of subtlety. You have to when to play as well as when not to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoot Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Because Lemmy plays bass. Ah, nice marmot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bear Jew Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 10 points to Scootdog for the right answer. The best reason for anyone to do anything is because Lemmy does it. Oh wait... Lemmy's a sad old alkie who spends most of his time doing meth and holding down a stool at The Rainbow... But he does rule in just about every other way. OK... so maybe this thing about Lemmy only works for bass. Still... Fuckin' Lemmy, man. \m/ Erik "To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." --Sun Tzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Because it is the bridge between rhythm and melody. Because you can do magic with it (I used to push all the china in the cabinet up to the door without putting a hand inside....). Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57pbass Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 The bass is the soul of a band. You are the support for all soloist / vocalist. They only notice you when you are not there? More work for bassist. (dont tell too many people - especially guitar players) Good Luck - I did the same topic while in college it went very well for me. www.danielprine.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibescotty Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Because it's what gets the buts a swinging and the feet a tapping.... sing a line from Brick house in the speech too! Double Posting since March 2002 Random Post Generator #26797 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornbread_medhotmail.com Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Well, I'll volunteer help on the speaking side. I earned my Bachelor's in Communications and can write and give a speech in my sleep. I actually used to write speeches for political candidates. If you need any help on that part of things, feel free to email me or pm me. All my friends use me as a thesaurus, so, why not offer it here, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kooky Mogessi Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Cuz its the coolest instrument out there. Also i know about 5 or 6 bassists and about 300 guitarists (only slightly exagerated). Its also a great instrument to boost your ego. You can play something on guitar and barely get a reaction but you can play the same thing on bass and not only does it sound better people seem to like it more for some reason. maybe its the low frequences or maybe its cuz bassists are cooler than guitarists. "Cliff Burton (the "Major rager of the 4-string mother f***er", from Metallica)" Direct quote from Wikipedia (censored out of respect for the forum) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 there is a lot more room on the bass to express yourself. i think that lies in its eloquence, its fundamental grasp of "less is more". robb. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebrownbass Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Here I go with a giant, cold, wet rag. I personally don't think "people" in general, should play bass. I think bassists have a certain personality, and if someone doesn't have that personality, they will either suck at bass or hate bass. A bassist is bright...very intelligent. A bassist is a "behind-the-scenes" person...someone in charge that doesn't like the spotlight. Wanna know more? Bassplayer traits was covered in this thread. "Let's raise the level of this conversation" -- Jeremy Cohen, in the Picasso Thread. Still spendin' that political capital far faster than I can earn it...stretched way out on a limb here and looking for a better interest rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 DBB, thanks. My first thought was that you have to think like a bass player. I didn't follow my instinct, and responded as if the person knew they were bassists at heart. Your answerr was the completely correct one. Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 DBB gave a great answer. I don't know if you got to read in time for preparing your speech, though! I know that I decided to play bass because there were a ton of guitar players in my high school and hardly and bass players. At the end of my sophomore year in high school I was "signed" on to play bass in a band with two of my fellow classmates (a drummer and a guitarist) even though I'd never played bass. I bought a bass that summer, learned a bunch of stuff from "Led Zeppelin Complete" (really incomplete since it only had music thru the first 5 albums -- BUT, importantly, no tab!), returned to school in the fall, and had a great year playing cover tunes with those guys (we also picked up a lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist). Anyway -- there is certainly a supply/demand argument for playing bass if you want gigs (which someone mentioned earlier in the thread). Oh yeah, one more reason... ...to pick up the bass (at least to give it a shot) [edit] Let us know how the speech goes! Peace. spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebrownbass Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Actually, Tom, I though your answer was beautiful the first time I read it. I have re-read it and remain convinced. "Let's raise the level of this conversation" -- Jeremy Cohen, in the Picasso Thread. Still spendin' that political capital far faster than I can earn it...stretched way out on a limb here and looking for a better interest rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flemtone Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Less strings, no chords, solos not necessary... same money. (Besides, guitar players are inundated by airheaded groupies - bass players meet smart women with class and discriminating taste. Obviously only a male's viewpoint, but...grin!) Peace, Tim from Jersey Play. Just play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 A sandwich just isn't a sandwich without bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connie Z Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 I've played the following instruments in that order: Piano Clarinet Oboe Acoustic Guitar Bass My brain definately feels very much more comfortable thinking in terms of individual notes, as opposed to playing a lot of different notes all at the same time. It feels good to me to play a bass "line". A "line" of notes sounds GREAT in my ears and feels great to my hands. I also think it sounds awesome in conjuction with the rest of the music that is happening around me. Each player providing a different layer of sound that somehow all becomes interwoven into a complete song. It's so cool. The Bass just immediately felt right in my hands, after all of the other instruments. Piano is my second favorite. ... Connie Z "Change comes from within." - Jeremy Cohen The definition of LUCK: When Preparation meets Opportunity! http://www.cybergumbo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Originally posted by Bumpcity: A sandwich just isn't a sandwich without bass.No doubt. Although Wonder bread, mayo, and bologna will still take you a long way... spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Originally posted by Sweet Willie: Although Wonder bread, mayo, and bologna will still take you a long way...yeah - all the way to the bathroom. I can't deal with bologna, but with mayo? Ugh. My daughter likes bologna with ketchup and potato chips (that's right - the chips go between the slices). It makes me wonder, but she gets grossed out when I bring home Indian food.... Hey - how'd that speech work out? Persuade anybody? Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Valentino Posted March 6, 2003 Share Posted March 6, 2003 Certainly,a person's choice to play any instrument is a very personal decision based upon how the sound, or even the "role" of that instrument speaks to you. I began as a trumpet player...and along the way took 8 years of classical piano, majored in compostion in college where I studied under Steve Reich and Phillip Glass... somewhere along the way, the sound of the bass, that deep,throbbing resonant, poignant sound spoke to me, and I became a bassist. As I studied the instrument I came to realize that beyond THAT sound was the role of the bass that I found so intriguing. Music is an organization of sound, in which the criterea of Melody, Harmony and Rhythm must be filled and found. The bass, by it's very nature defines these criterea. We are more than just a bridge 'tween the harmony and rhythm; we define both. Shifting a bass note under a chord redefines the structure and puropse of that chord in the music. In rhythm, it is the bassist who defines the pulse of the music, marking time, dancing with beat, or setting up cadences which highlight and illuminate the pulse of the tune. A good bass line is more than a pummped root note...it is played with melodic intention, and functions as a sub-melody of the tune; both supporting and interacting with the top line melody in an internal dialuge which makes music so captivating. Even the sparsest of basslines SHOULD have this quality (check out Larry Graham's one not line to "Everyday People" for an example). The sound of the bass is huge...and it's importance to the music equal. As bassists we are trained to hear the whole of the music and find the appropriate parts and places to fill. It is for this reason many MDs (musical Directors) are bassists...as are many engineers and producers. Our ability to hear the whole of the music, and all of the component parts, understand it and find it in context, makes the bass an ideal "musical" instrument; we think and hear in terms of music not specific instruments (gtrists generally tend hear only gtrs...think about it). And the bass guitar is still such a young and new instrument that there are still possibilities for expression which have yet to be tapped (pardon the pun). Withn expanding technologies, bass is no longer regulated to shadows as a ponderous and unwieldy instrument. Chords, melodic passages, tapping, percussive interplay, all feature into our "role" today. The bass contains one of the widest dynamic ranges and frequency ranges of any instrument...it is so possible to do much (appropriate) musical expression on this instrument. Bass is no longer ( in the words of the fabulous bassist Trip Wamsley), "big guitars for dumb people". BTW...you are in SLO? I will be playing solo bass in SLO on April 5 for the Loopstock festival, which I believe is being held this year at Cal-Poly. I will, hopefully, be demonstrating some of the concepts I just wrote about, in the context of solo bass performance. Hope to see you there. (and anyone else who might be in the neighborhood!) Max Valentino ...it's not the arrow, it's the Indian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan South Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 Interesting thread! Sorry I didn't see it in time to contribute ideas to the speech. I'd LIKE to think that people play instruments because they're drawn to them rather than because they've made a conscious choice based on how many gigs they'd get one way or another. But life isn't that predictable. I started playing the trumpet because I really liked the sound of it, but I wasn't particularly well suited to be a trumpet player (sinus problems). I never thought about playing bass. I started fooling around on bass when I was in a band that couldn't find a steady bass player. Amazingly, I love it right away. I was hooked within days. Six months later, I put down the trumpet for good. I've been playing the bass for decades, and I get excited every time I pick it up. Maybe that's the best reason of all. You play it because you love it. Hope the speech went well!!! The Black Knight always triumphs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustybass6 Posted March 8, 2003 Author Share Posted March 8, 2003 BTW...you are in SLO? I will be playing solo bass in SLO on April 5 for the Loopstock festival, which I believe is being held this year at Cal-Poly. I will, hopefully, be demonstrating some of the concepts I just wrote about, in the context of solo bass performance. Hope to see you there. (and anyone else who might be in the neighborhood!) Iam in Slo, and I will be looking for that event Max, sounds interesting. Thanks everyone for all the replies "...it might be a quarter-life crisis" John Mayer, Why Georgia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 dustybass6, How did the speech go? What did you say? Did you use any of the ideas provided by your fellow forumites? Peace. --S-Dub spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dohhhhh6 Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 Well let's see. Bass is the soul of all music. It creates an extra "dimension" in your music that a guitarist can sure as hell cannot do. Plus bass is very crucial in Ska. Ska = best covers ever. So do we need to say more? Oh and Lemmy plays bass In Skynyrd We Trust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cup Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 Very often groups have more than 1 guitarist, bass is so full it can carry on alone. CupMcMali...this monkey's gone to heaven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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