Never get comfortable. I always sing in the key it was intended from stevie wonder to donna summer. I dont change the melody or if im on guitar i dont go changing the riffs and lines because i didnt write the song so i always show much respect. I also believe this is why i get alot of work. I dont go in thinking I can make the song better by adding my idea. The most important thing is get out of your room and onto the stage because it will give you experience with different rooms and monitors and situations. you will wonder why everytime you play this one club you can nail your hardest songs but the other club it just doesnt fly as well. This cannot be taught. Jeff buckley was an original artist he wasnt in a cover band trying to make people dance remember that, he could take all the chances he wanted to but you as a bass player should just get with the drummer and play the songs into the ground so the song cannot be budged. I play with 100's of musicians in my show bands but there are only a handful i enjoy playing with because they are so solid and groove without trying to be flashy,they just nail the songs so there is no guess work .

I have often thought about how much I enjoy covering songs, but the reality is probably I wouldn't be capable of doing the job you guys are describing with any level of satisfaction.

I'd feel like a zombie regurgitating by trying to reproduce exactly what already exists. It's not really about showing off either, so much as I don't find much artistic value in reproducing something that already exists.

That said, bass is my first instrument I ever played and how much freedom you have with it sonically varies a lot on the rest of the music.

It plays foundational role in the harmonic structure, and constantly redefining chords with every movement you make, which can really alter the feel of a song, but it also has a frequency range that can occupy too much space with other instruments (particularly very distorted guitars).

My favorite bass player is James Jamerson. He was extremely improvisational, melodic, and rhythmic. He'd often play counterpoint with Motown vocalists, so this can work very well in accessible pop compositions on recordings, but even if you were to just include a very heavily distorted guitar he might not be able to fit into such a structure on recordings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAT3aVj-A_E

The live experience might go completely incoherent if there is not only a constantly moving bottom, but frequencies overwhelming each other in that spectrum. So it might depend on the style of your band, Owen.

OwenKorzec said

KillerKu, nice of you to remind me about that video. I think I saw it before I was playing bass all the time and now after all my experience I can see it in a new light.

What I've learned since posting this thread is to just do whatever's necessary to serve the intention of the song. It may feel like over- or under- playing/singing at first but you just gotta develop the taste for what's truly supportive and musical by studying how other master players do it, how your band likes it, how the audience reacts, how it sounds to your own ears if you shut off your ego and be honest with yourself, etc.

Another thing to think about is I didn't listen to Motown songs and think 'wow that's the best bassist of all time. Look at that guy!' Now I've played bass for over a decade and a half, so if someone would notice some kind of bass virtuosity off the bat it might be someone like me, right?

It was more like there was this vibrancy, freshness, and intrigue in even what felt like the simplest of pop songs. Got my toe tapping, my interest piqued, I felt really involved and immersed into this music. It was only when I really paid attention to him that I realized he was a virtuouso at what he did. It was 'felt' not 'heard' even though it was way more complex than most bassists.

I'm still not as good as he is, but it's an aspiration every time I pick up that instrument if I want to try something a little more out there. There's a place for bass hooks, but the ones people remember most are often the simplest (Under Pressure). When people hear the bass jump out with complexity it can distract from the mood, most famously like in Spinal Tap.

We've all done it. So yeah.