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At 9:15 PM -0400 5/1/03, Nemoguitt@aol.com wrote: >i recall reading a post within the past few daze about "GUITAR" players >picking up the "BASS" and doing something weird that a real genetic bass >player would not do..... At 6:43 PM -0700 5/1/03, Dan Shapiro wrote: >There is a reason for bass players sometimes souding like guitar players; >the >instrument you are talking about is the bass guitar; it is capable to >filling >numerous roles as counterpoint, harmony and soloist. Anyone who plays >bass is >playing bass because they are "thinking bass". It is an elusive >thing shared by composers, pianists and other countermelodists. I started out as a singer and rhythm guitarist, and when I became an electric bassist by default in my last rock band (1978-79) I naturally approached the instrument in a very rhythmic fashion. It was also natural to do this because it was a punk band. Everything was fast and "white." I played with a pick and used a Kramer with a very snarly sound. The advantage (for me) of coming to bass from rhythm guitar rather than lead is that I was not inclined to play elaborate melodic lines or flashy riffs. I stuck to the root a good deal of the time and listened to the drums. As a singer and songwriter I was also keenly aware of vocal phrasing and song structure, so I kept my parts well integrated. It also helped that I didn't have amazing chops, so I played it safe and solid (something I've wished some of my bassists would have done). Having done that, and then having spent a number of years collaborating with a "real" bassist (meaning one who performs as a soloist on acoustic contrabass) I have a real appreciation for the difference between bass guitar and "bass." The latter instrument in the right hands can cover most of the range of the violin family and can function as a percussion instrument as well. It has to be one of my favorite instruments. -- ______________________________________________________________ Richard Zvonar, PhD (818) 788-2202 http://www.zvonar.com http://RZCybernetics.com