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I'm not a
flashy guy. Nor am I what people refer to as a world class
player. But I'm a good musician. I love what I do. And
because of my instruments I am part of an incredibly asinine
debate. It starts simply and innocently enough when the
question is voiced:
"Why does your
bass have so many strings?"
Others follow.
Do I play it like a lead guitar? Do I have some weird need
to play a million notes in every song? If four strings were
enough for Paul McCartney, Stanley Clarke, Jaco Pastorius,
and James Jamerson, why does someone like me need more? When
is it enough? There are more, but what amazes me is that
bassists not only join in the fracas, they get really worked
up over it.
And why? Isn't
art about personal choice and how the artist feels he or she
is best able to convey a personal vision? Did Tony Levin
have to field this kind of nonsense when he had his 3 string
bass constructed? Extending the range of an instrument is
nothing new. Wind instruments have been made bigger and
smaller, pulled into different shapes and otherwise
manipulated for ages. Drum kits vary from a single piece to
dozens of percussable objects depending on who's playing and
in what context. Is Peter Erskine griefed for playing a 2
piece kit in an evening's performance of avant garde jazz?
Does Neil Peart have to defend his decision to bring a 22
piece kit on the road with Rush?
So why is it
such a big deal that bassists would want to expand their
tonal palette? After all, the electric bass is one of the
youngest instruments extant. It is continuing to redefine
its role in contemporary music. Such writers and performers
as Les Claypool, Michael Manring, and Mick Karn push the
instrument's boundaries in new and exciting directions and
players like Victor Wooten, Billy Sheehan, Matt Garrison and
Fieldy expand the existing vocabulary in unexpected ways.
They're heralded as groundbreaking. Visionaries. Yet those
of us who've chosen to follow in the steps of Anthony
Jackson, Jimmy "Flim" Johnson, and Jimmy Haslip are labeled
as heretics. Upstarts.
I fail to see
the difference.
Is the music
of Laurence Cottle and Gary Willis less valid than that of
Steve Swallow and Francis "Rocco " Prestia? When rock legend
Jack Bruce switched from a 4 string to a 5 string years ago
did he have to put up with these bizarre grievances? Does
Nathan East get less session work than Will Lee?
To most people
out who might read this, the names are all equally alien.
Few could point to the artists who hired Leland Sklar or
Bernard Odum. Fewer could name the significance of Bill
Dickens' or Percy Jones' contributions to the recording and
live music scenes. The bass most closely associated with the
band the Presidents of the United States of America had two
strings. The man who played for Government Mule was known to
wield an 18 string instrument from time to time.
Why is any of
this worth arguing about? If you like the music, if the
musician plays something that appeals to you, then it's
good. Certainly there are bassists who approach the
instrument with the intent of playing busy lead and melody
lines and throwing as many notes at you as possible. But
it's perpetrated by four stringers as much as anyone else.
You will find these players on most instruments. But there
are bass artists, who groove, who inspire, and who make
music from 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, and 18 strings.
I couldn't
tell you who the first individual was to detune the
instrument or to extend the fingerboard beyond the 21 frets
used in Leo Fender's design. Chances are if I did that
another debate would arise. I know that there were players
in the 70s who liked the lower ranges of keyboard
instruments and some of these individuals lowered their E
strings to D. A few went beyond that and pioneered
instruments which could be played down to a low B through
the use of a fifth string. As the 80s dawned there was a
tiny contingent in the bass community with these extended
range curiosities. By this time Anthony Jackson had been
playing his 6 string instrument for a while. In addition to
its low string he had commissioned luthier Carl Thompson to
install one at the high end of the spectrum. There is no
arguing with Mr. Jackson's artistry or his integrity. He is
as articulate as he is fiercely intelligent. He is also, by
his own admission, opinionated. And he can play a mea n
bass. I don't doubt that his decision to play only the
fretted six-string bass from that point on in his career
brought hardship his way. But his commitment and his
undeniable talent forged a career and laid the groundwork
for so many who would come after. It seems inevitable that
at this point others would pull the sonic tapestry in the
other direction and experiment with higher sounds.
The
aforementioned Stanley Clarke had used a piccolo bass some,
an instrument tuned an octave higher than a traditional
bass. Certain musicians saw the 5 strings and the new 6s and
wondered why no one had pushed the envelope toward a more
solo voiced bass. With Jaco Pastorius' incendiary piece
"Word of Mouth" and the rise of a young hotshot named Billy
Sheehan in Buffalo who was putting the fear of bass into
metal guitarists, the time seemed right. And so lead bass
began to appear. As is the case in any community, there are
artists, poseurs, and those who are more flash than
substance. At points all along the spectrum you could find
valid music and garbage. But the 80s were a time of
scrutiny. Recordings grew more precise with the advent of
digital technology and it was possible to sequence bass
parts through computer controlled keyboards. And bass
synthesizers, which had come to prominence in the 70s, were
now seen as a viable option to hiring another musician for
recording dates: If you had a keyboardist already, why not
just have him or her play the bass line on a special 'board?
Bassists realized that they would have to fight to stay
viable in the recording and performing venues.
And so we went
back into the woodshed.
Both the
players and their instruments continued to evolve throughout
the 80s and into the 90s. Anthony Jackson was joined by John
Patitucci, Gerald Veasley, Andy West, Steve Bailey, and a
host of others. The legion of 5 stringers grew
exponentially. Custom luthiers appeared and disappeared left
and right. Aside from Carl Thompson, Ken Smith, Fodera,
Alembic, Pedulla, and Warwick established themselves.
Fender, Gibson, Yamaha, Peavey and Hohner were among the
larger companies to branch into manufacturing and distribute
what would come to be known as multistring or extended range
basses.
I remember my
own thoughts on these instruments: Jaco played a 4, so what
more would I ever need? Then I heard some of those low notes
that Anthony Jackson, Jimmy Haslip, and Flim Johnson played,
and I thought that more BASS couldn't be a bad thing. I got
my first 5 not long after that. I took it with me to music
school where I started to write real music and play some
sessions. It would be nice to voice some of those chords I
was using more fully and clearly. It would also be nice to
play through an entire chart in one position while reading
so I wouldn't have to worry about misfretting a note during
an awkward position change, something not uncommon when one
plays a four string. Then I saw one of the students playing
a 6 on stage with such command and fluency that I was
amazed. I talked to one of my teachers about it and he said
that he had a new 6 he hadn't even set up that he was
parting with (it was fretted and he was moving to fretless
primarily). I bought it from him. Then, within a few months,
I sold it and picked up the bass which would become my main
bass for more than a decade.
There I was, a
21 year old living in Hollywood and playing the most
beautiful instrument I'd ever seen. It was mine!! For the
first twenty or forty minutes it was intoxicating if a bit
disorienting. I put on some James Brown to play along with
and help me find my footing. Once I was more comfortable I
started to push and experiment. I was jamming long after the
funk album had finished. Looking down at the monstrous neck
I was playing, I mused -- what would it be like if I had one
MORE low string and ANOTHER high string? I laughed, but the
idea stayed with me. I kept my 6. I even got a few more of
them. But from time to time I would talk to luthiers about
the realities of building the 8 string I had daydreamed. I
was told that it would need a 42" scale (about 8" longer
than a standard scale), that the neck would have to be some
sort of synthetic polymer to endure the tension of all those
strings, that there was no way to create strings that big,
that even if it w as possible it would cost more than $12,
000. And I was assured that there was no way to reproduce
the notes I was describing. In fact, in a range between 23
and 31Hertz, an audience would have a hard time hearing
those notes.
Then, more
than a dozen years after the idea had come to me, I
submitted an inquiry to Bill Conklin, someone that I knew
built 7 strings. It had been so long since I'd gotten my
hopes up, I was absolutely floored when it came back in the
affirmative. And in an almost nonchalant tone! I sat and
read it again and again. I got back to him immediately. He
sent me some literature showing what he had already done and
all of a sudden I was 21 years old again. That fervor has
not dwindled since our correspondence began. Even though I
ran into problems propagative before I finally got to call
the instrument mine, I am like a new musician: focused,
dangerously inspired, exuberant, and open to the new.
Rest assured,
I have not become a crazed soloist. I am not playing all
over the instrument any more than I was before. When I am
playing, the song is the important thing. If I wanted to
draw attention to myself I would not have become a bass
player. Most of what I do stays in the lower registers. When
I am asked to do something else, if the situation dictates I
venture into different realms, or if I'm playing my own
music, then you may have to endure some craziness. But this
new range gives me options. As a composer. As a performer.
As a technician. And I am challenged. I am constantly
reminded that I am a student. I have perspective because I
am as new to this thing as it is to me.
Why are there
so many strings on my bass?
Because it
sounds good to me. Because I think music should be fun.
Because I don't see things as written in stone. A bass isn't
by necessity a four-or-fewer stringed instrument. And if
people occasionally look at it from time to time and are
wowed by it or disgusted by it, or absolutely perplexed, let
them hear me play it and decide for themselves. Maybe
they're right in their opinions.
Maybe they
aren't. |
