Have played bass for 50 years now, 36 of them professionally. I can't double-thumb. I've played a lot of sessions and gigs in my day, and never once been asked to do it. I 've never understood why some players spend so much time on a technique that you'll just never get asked to use, and spend less time on things they will get asked for like music theory knowledge and reading music. THANK YOU for your answer on this, Julia. I agree with you.
That's cause you're a session player and session players are never asked to do flashy interesting stuff. You can always write your own music and use whatever technique you want
@@landrybass0000 - I'm a nerd because I understand music theory and can read? Wow. I didn't realize that! Thank you so much for setting me straight. I'll try to do better in the future. While constantly working. And gigging. And getting paid to do it. Again and again and again.
Thanks for answering my question! I've always thought a pick is the cheapest/smallest part of your rig, but makes the biggest difference in your playing. P.S. I can't play guitar as good as bass (still looking for the right setup), I would recommend you try a Fender Jazzmaster/Jaguar, it's got the vintage bodystyle but is still very ergonomic for standing/sitting. Cheers.
Hello, Julia.....just want to say we LOVE you here in the States. You simply have an infectious energy, and incredible musical talent. I encourage you to learn guitar, if only to strum and entertain in social gatherings, But as to "other" instruments, do you play upright bass? One of my biggest complaints about electric bassists (speaking as a guitarist/band leader) is that they are often way too busy and "out front" in a song. Upright bassists generally seem to "slow it down", playing fewer notes, and holding down the bottom end, and not encroaching on the mids and upper end, where the other performers occupy. Thanks to you and Thomann's for these videos.
Julia, your comment about the instrument being your friend really rang true for me. I've played guitar since I was 16 and although really liked / loved many of the guitars I've owned, have never had that "friend feeling " until now, with my first bass at 61. Maybe I'm just a really sloooow learner, lol.
I was expecting tapping to be her answer. But it's a close call with the double-thumb. Cool to do but it's not a useful technique. Tapping maybe for a difficult chord or just the unique timbre it creates.
It's extremely dependent on the style of music you play. I expect prog bassists use tapping a lot more than others. Likewise, if a punk bassist was answering, they might say that they'd never had the need for finger picking, hence it's useless to them.
Hi Julia thanks for your videos, I love them. I wanted to ask you if the cello technique has helped you to play the bass and if you are going to make a video playing the double bass.
Thanks for saying what you said about slapping. It’s getting pretty tired these days, especially in RU-vid videos, including reviews. Sure it has its place, but there’s so much else with bass to consider.
Tapping is probably the most useless right hand technique. I do however love left hand tapping.... It's really useful when you want to finish your drink but the song starts.
I use the same pick sizes and also use the .73 for guitar. Flats are great because they are easier on my fingers. You can EQ some more highs in somewhat but not too much or it sounds terrible. But then again it's not a sin to actually turn the bass and mids down a bit too...blend more of the bridge p/u into your sound helps.
I agree that pickup choice (and gear in general) is about options. But, it can also be inspirational and functional. If the active pickup sound motivates you to spend more time making music, then make the switch. And sometimes we buy an instrument because the feel inspires us to play, but when it's plugged in, there's something missing. In that case, a gear upgrade can put us back to where we're playing instead of feeling unhappy with basic sonic or technical deficits. But remember that fans don't show up for pickups or amps. They show up because the music grooves. Thanks for another excellent vid, Julia! 🤘😎
That was a great answer to the first question! My #1 is Hamer that is basically a jazz bass. PJ bass would also be a great choice! When I play out I usually take an ATK and an SR655 to have that Stingray type tone and the PJ 5er to cover every tone in between. 🍍👍
Thank you Julia. You are a great help in my journey to learning the bass guitar. I have an Ibanez SR300E Active. And I love learning on it. Only been learning for a couple months but it's a nice way to leave the world behind. Thank you again for all your great! coaching and information.
Hi Julia! in a funny cool song of The Dead South - "In Hell I'll Be In Good Company" there bassist play bass on a chello, (It look's that way to me anyway.) And you have to check out there dance. I don't dare to put a link her, but in you search for the band and song title you find it right away. Thanks for your work Bass goddess!
I think if it’s your own group and you play funk, Jazz or fusion and such, double thumb is important. Not if your doing covers or mainstream though. As a guitarist first, then moving to bass, the technique was easy for me because it’s almost like using an invisible pick. I sort of brace my index finger against the lower part of my thumb.
Hello Julia, This is Roger T.. I 'm 61 years old and want to learn to play the bass guitar. I recently purchased a Squire bass with amp. I'm wondering if I 'm to old to start. I played the trumpet and drums while I was attending school. Now I want to learn the bass guitar. I hope it's not too late for me.
I study virtual bass. I'm an apprentice arranger. Congratulations on your performances. What do you think of the Hoffner violin bass? I would appreciate you doing a presentation with one of these.
on the subject of picking up guitar: Playing guitar as a bass player can make you more flexible and takes you away from bass-world for a while so that when you come back to bass you have a fresh perspective. Learning anything benefits from this alternate perspective. You actually can learn more after a change of instrument than sticking with the one. We tend to think that we have learned all we can until having a change that widens our perspective. I'm sure your cello playing can do this but you've already learned the cello. I suspect that learning guitar will help you learn more on bass. I started out majoring in music as a trumpeter but they made me learn piano and guitar as well. It was shocking how much better my trumpet performance got while studying guitar and piano.
Hey Julia , I know you get to play alot of basses . Which is you #1 bass ? Is it the Light blue Sandberg Jazz ? I have 5 ,sometimes 6 basses .I find it interesting ,when you just connect with one, and that is the only you wanna play .
The most underused right hand bass technique is using a hand held (battery powered) face cooling fan you can buy in the shops. If you want to know how it sounds, look up Howard Devoto Rainy Season. The ambient noises (intro and middle section) which sound half way between a helicopter and a cello :) are achieved using the fan blades (on a fretless Fender P with a J pickup added)
Seems to me that it’s all about what styles of music one plays. A lot of bass tunes in multiple genres of music only require finger style and/or picking, and the slapping is pretty much nonexistent. Then there’s a few styles of music where slapping and popping is most of it. Btw, Beginners .. 1) Jazz bass 2) Precision Bass 3) Stingray or 4) Whatever you like after that ! If you want to focus on playing Jazz OR are a Rick Danko fan, you’ll need a fretless sooner or later lol
I started as a guitarist. No. Actually I played trumpet before that. Anyway, I had a band and disco became a thing. In order to get gigs we had to play it. The guitar parts were boring, so I played bass for the time being. I began college as a music major. I had to learn piano. I was never good at it, but it made music theory so much easier. I feel that playing the guitar, will also help you become a better bassist for the same reason. Becoming familiar with the chord structures on the guitar, will enhance your bass playing.
Thank you so much for these answers. I loved when you said "we never stop to learn an instrument." This reminded me of an interview with Tommy Emmanuel, when he mentioned that people constantly keep asking him why he doesn't play a 12 string to which he replies "Because I'm busy with six!" which is true. He's a busy player. I love it! On the off chance you read this comment, I want to show you 2 songs that have very rich bass parts within them, and I would love to hear your opinions of them, if you listen to them (or maybe you already have). The first one is Rio Funk by Lee Ritenour ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nXHJvNIFPx0.html played here by Abraham Laboriel. This is one of my all time fav bass solos. And the second one is La Femme D'Argent by Air ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NINOxRxze9k.html . Bit more chill, but I love it.
Hi Julia! I love all the content you put out. I have a quick question, I am just starting out (a newbie) and I am looking at the Warwick Corvette Basic as my first bass. What are your thoughts? Thank you and stay awesome!
I hear a lot of bass players talk about 3rds, 5ths, etc. I’m self taught with no formal training and would appreciate if you could explain what they are referring to. Thanks. Bass with Julia is my favorite. You’ve turned me on to some great bass that I would never have found on my own.
Cool Next time you are at home can you say who does Camera & sound . Don't wait until you are 60 .. it seems so far away to you now But trust me .. Think how fast your childhood went & then you will see . I waited until 60 to take up Harmonica & I should have started 30 years ago .. the same goes for the drums & keyboards & I only wish now I had started Saxophone when I had the chance to get free Lessons .. Even if it is just for your own Backing trks etc I am struggling to make any progress on the drums beyond a basic shuffle But at least I don't have to wish the drummer would stop playing his cymbals so loud Lol .. Since I only have one good knee I record hi hat & bass drum parts completely just one at a time . eek I have gone on too long again .. it's because I am having a Brain overload trying to learn New photo's Editing tools at 65 I 1st learned how to process photos in a Darkroom at a college .. But now it's all small buttons on the screen & waiting .. still I get to practice Piano while I wait .. Stay cool bye
You’re right Julia ..too many instruments hinders your ability to really excel at just one and the road is endless anyway. I play multiple instruments and I’d have to say that bass is the absolute best, because it requires you to have an understanding of many facets of music, Understanding everything that’s happening around you, rather than just certain things, and you feel like the glue holding it down. The only caveat is that certain keyboard players and some guitar players don’t know how to tailor their playing in a group context to make life a little bit easier on the bass player, they kind of encroach the bass player’s territory so to speak, which doesn’t allow for band synergy.. iow, they play too many notes, or throw in surprise substitutions not mentioned in rehearsal. esp. some keyboardists. This can be a tremendous problem in worship music with house pianists, which isn’t exactly always a professional type gig. The ear can only respond so fast when the unexpected puts us in bad light.
Slap is soooooo boring. It was cool (cool?????) 30 years ago, maybe 20. Now you go to a local guitar shop and you can see always a teenager playing slap. (Remains me when guitarist played Stairway to heaven at that guitar shops…) There must be an advise : Guitar: No Stairway to Heaven Bass: No Slap (chili peppers) Drum: No We will rock you It’s a Joke. (But I buy in Thomann just because I hate teenagers slapping in local shops trying to be Davie504.) For me slap is an useless technique, and very boring.
Hi Julia, great video as always. Now I'm curious about your tattoo, what is it??? I couldn't help but notice it. Looking forward to the next video. Cheers 🍍🍍🍍🍍
