Alvabass
Well-known member
Hi everybody.
I've just posted this question at TalkBass and thought I'd like to share it with my fellow MM players as well:
Just curious after a conversation I had with some friends. This question may be hard to answer for those of you who live in large cities where you can find lots of players, but I think it's easy for you guys/gals who (like me) live in small places where the musicians' roster is easily recognizable.
The question is: Can you tell if there's something in your playing that makes you easily recognizable to musicians and public in general from your city/area? So recognizable that you're the only one associated with that thing in your playing and anybody else who tries to do it is considered an imitator or "influenced by you"?
In my case, I've been told so many times that I fit into that (please notice that I'm not self-praising since I didn't invent any of those things and there's nothing special about them) because:
1- Nobody else wore the bass that high before:
(Which still looks weird to many people here)
2- This. One of my students, who has a kid, brought him once to the university and he said: "Look Ma! The guy who moves his guitar like this!" (While imitating the movement). Then asked me: "Why do you move your guitar like that?" I told him: "Because it has water inside and I'm just draining it".
3- This. Simply put, everybody thinks that the instrument may be damaged. After 14 years, none of my instruments have shown any problems because of that.
Again, there's nothing extraordinaire about wearing the bass like that, shaking it or whacking it. I didn't invent any of those techniques or tricks and that "recognition" is due to under-exposure to different players from people in my city, for sure. Just curious to know if any of you have similar experiences to share. Thank you in advance!
P.S.: I think Steve's licking routine qualifies.
I've just posted this question at TalkBass and thought I'd like to share it with my fellow MM players as well:
Just curious after a conversation I had with some friends. This question may be hard to answer for those of you who live in large cities where you can find lots of players, but I think it's easy for you guys/gals who (like me) live in small places where the musicians' roster is easily recognizable.
The question is: Can you tell if there's something in your playing that makes you easily recognizable to musicians and public in general from your city/area? So recognizable that you're the only one associated with that thing in your playing and anybody else who tries to do it is considered an imitator or "influenced by you"?
In my case, I've been told so many times that I fit into that (please notice that I'm not self-praising since I didn't invent any of those things and there's nothing special about them) because:
1- Nobody else wore the bass that high before:
(Which still looks weird to many people here)
2- This. One of my students, who has a kid, brought him once to the university and he said: "Look Ma! The guy who moves his guitar like this!" (While imitating the movement). Then asked me: "Why do you move your guitar like that?" I told him: "Because it has water inside and I'm just draining it".
3- This. Simply put, everybody thinks that the instrument may be damaged. After 14 years, none of my instruments have shown any problems because of that.
Again, there's nothing extraordinaire about wearing the bass like that, shaking it or whacking it. I didn't invent any of those techniques or tricks and that "recognition" is due to under-exposure to different players from people in my city, for sure. Just curious to know if any of you have similar experiences to share. Thank you in advance!
P.S.: I think Steve's licking routine qualifies.
