RogerThat
Kung Fu Bass
Column by Roger Zee (5/05/23)
Top photo by Jeanne Cashman
Special thanks to Rudy Feinauer, Michael Di Leo, Eric S. Morton, Brett Casser, and Arthur Neilson.
In the early Nineties, during a much needed break from playing music, I took up
Taekwondo in Teaneck, NJ at the newly opened
Chon Ji Academy. This training drastically affected my bass playing -- mostly in a good way. Vastly improved my focus, concentration, coordination, and body strength. But also led to some physical deterioration of my hands and feet. I guess that's what breaking boards, bricks, and concrete blocks will do... ;-)
But let's focus on the positive. In ancient times, a student would initially train by learning the battle forms of a victorious army general -- a series of kicking, punching, chopping, and blocking moves. The instructor would then send the novice out into the woods and tell them not to come back until they knocked down a tree using them. :-)
The trick lies in finding the sweet spot in your technique. It's different for everyone. Check out the way Uma Thurman trains in "Kill Bill Vol 2." Today, you can achieve a similar goal by attacking a seven foot standing bag until you knock it over. :-)
Modern music instruction uses a different, more scripted, one-size-fits-all approach. "Do it this way, the right way." When my left-handed guitarist friend started guitar in the Sixties, his teacher forced him to play right-handed. He regrets doing it to this day. Says he struggles to play rhythm guitar in time because he strums with his non-dominant hand. :-(
Everybody who takes up music works with a different, inborn, set of tools. See the photo below. When I first switched over from guitar to bass in the early Eighties to get more work, I played with a pick. The notes flowed like a river. But because the late Sixties and early Seventies saw the rise of Motown and "sensitive Singer/Songwriters," it became cool, then de rigueur, to pluck with fingers only. x-D
Due to an incident involving a woman, alcohol, and a blizzard, I can no longer play using my index and middle finger... But even when I could, no matter how hard I practiced, I just couldn't play fast enough. Probably due to my small hands and fingers -- don't laugh now ladies! ;-)
So I explored alternative picking methods. As the U.S Marines say, "Adapt, Improvise and Overcome!" I tried using three fingers -- index, middle, ring. But that didn't work due to my very short ring finger (see chart below). I explored finger picking but my incapacitated right hand couldn't handle it. Then I tried the banjo thumb and claw (index finger) method. That worked a little better but couldn't play smoothly or evenly enough that way. I tried thumb alone with the same unsatisfactory results. :(
So I turned to Carole Kaye, bassist of the West Coast "Wrecking Crew" for advice. Many years ago, I bought all of her bass books. Even chatted with her online and politely asked if she ever used her fingers instead of a pick. Sadly, she got really defensive and pissed off. But never did directly answer the question. :-*
I began to think about all my years on bass and which method made me sound the best -- playing with a pick and as well as slapping. I can no longer use a pick -- "wait for it" -- due to a poorly healed broken wrist, LOL. But I read about Chuck Rainey, a bassist who played on Steely Dan's "Aja" and double picked (up and down strokes) with his fingers. My friend, guitarist/bassist Arthur Neilsen, also recently reminded me that Wes Montgomery played guitar using his thumb to double pick. Except he grew up with a double-jointed thumb and I didn't. :-(
So I set out to learn double picking with my right thumb. Very hard indeed! Took months and months and still not quite there. About to quit trying, I spoke to my good friend drummer Eric S. Morton who told me the story of a one-handed bass player who taps his part at a church up in Harlem. That inspired me not to give up. Fortunately, I came up with a way to incorporate a slap technique into my upstroke. _^-^_
Last Sunday night, I tested this all out at the Freebird Jam in downtown White Plains, NY. As I walked off stage, a woman reached out to me and said, "I never saw another bassist play with their thumb. "What's up with that?" I told her about the people I knew who did. And then added, "Women love my thumb." B-|
YouTube - "Uma Thurman" - Kung Fu training in Kill Bill Vol. 2
YouTube - "Kung Fu Fighting" - Karl Douglas
Roger Zee -- publisher of TheWorkingMusician.com and a 4th degree Taekwondo Black Belt. B-|
©2023 Roger Zee
