I love to play the bass, but I cannot stress it enough when I say that I am merely a beginner. That being said, I was planning to post a blog that showcased a true expert bassist. Coincidentally, the artist I have in mind performed at Penn State earlier this week. Therefore, I will pay homage to one of my favorite bassists, Victor Wooten. In this video, Wooten puts his own spin on the gospel standard, “Amazing Grace”. He begins by using a technique (more like a quality of the electric bass) called Natural Harmonics. If it seems like he is barely pressing the strings while making the high notes, it’s actually because the natural harmonics are played by placing your finger on certain parts of the strings without actually pressing them to the neck of this bass (how you would otherwise play a normal note). The vibrations cause the high-pitched tone you here in the beginning, end, and intermittently within the performance. When he begins to pick up the tempo, he actually plays natural harmonics and normal notes simultaneously, almost making it almost sound like two instruments are playing at once. On top of that, I love the way he has so much control over the neck of the bass; you can tell it by the fact that he barely needs to move his fingers in order to get from one note to the to the other. It’s inspiring to see people performing at the peak level to motivate me to improve my own skills.
Free Songs of the Week
This week’s installment of freebies was surely a treat; so much that I am already enjoying a couple of the offers after owning them for less than 12 hours. Indie Spotlight of the week “Beautiful Girl” by William Fitzsimmons is one track that I have been listening to over and over again. It has quickly established itself as one of the most soothing songs in my 1,500+ song library. I love how the calming vocals, piano, and bass melt into a relaxing ensemble; this is definitely a must-download. If that was not enough, Green Day is also giving out a free video of their classing song “When I Come Around” being performed live in Tokyo.
Ohh, I play guitar and listen to guitar solos all the time, but I've never really heard bass solos! That guy is so good. I'm very impressed. I've always heard that it's easy to be decent at bass, but very difficult to actually play really well.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you shared with us a bassist who inspires you. There is so much we can learn from those who we look up to. I saw you that you wrote Wooten performed at Penn State earlier in the week. Were you able to see him perform?
ReplyDeleteI love the free music on iTunes. Some weeks it's not so good, but then there are some weeks that are absolutely wonderful. I remember one week a long time ago, the song "Tear You Apart" by She Wants Revenge was the free single, and I seriously listened to it for a month straight. I still really like that song. I love getting your opinion on these songs!
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