PHOTO: TUE NAM TON/TNT PHOTOGRAPHY
BASS
Austrian Ariane Cap is a multi-instrumentalist, educator, author, blogger, and composer. She has covered many styles, from Top 40, rock, jazz,
and folk to flamenco, classical, and even Latin disco. She has performed with Cirque du Soleil, in a duo with jazz bassoonist Paul Hansen, and,
most recently, with Bass Beyond Borders, a collaboration with iconic bassist Stu Hamm. The author of Music Theory for the Bass Player, Ariane also
contributes to leading music magazines and has her own line of instructional programs for bass players at www.arisbassblog.com.
By Ariane Cap
Bass Solo vs. Solo Bass
The question re-emerges: what is solo bass?
Bass Solo
So, there are bass solos – when the band
“gives the bass player some” after laying
down the groove and dutifully outlining
the chord changes for their bandmates
all night for them to play or sing melodies
over. Now, the band steps back and allows
the bassist to abandon those responsibili-
ties and showcase some melodicism and
leads; here, the bassist is featured as the
soloist.
A bass solo can be anything from a
melodic improvisation to a groove solo to
a percussive thumb funk-fest or any com-
bination of these.
So that’s a bass solo; what, then, is solo
bass?
Solo Bass
Solo bass is when bassists play solo. As
in, alone. All by themselves.
The bass is typically not the type of
instrument you would expect in this sce-
nario, given its low range, sonic proper-
ties, and of course, its usually supportive
role in the band. But as is often the case
with limits and conventions, they beg
for someone to challenge them – and
overcome them. Solo bass does that. It
is indeed “a thing,” and it comes in a wide
variety of “flavours.”
From the monstrous tapping extrav-
aganzas of Stu Hamm to the incredible
fretless work of Michael Manring; from
the outlandish tuning schemes of Jeff
Schmidt to the masterful soundscapes
of Steve Lawson; from the “So-Low” (get
it?) six-string fretless work of Steve Bailey
to the creative musicality and thumping
virtuosity of Victor Wooten; from the
mind-bending interpretations of film
scores by Zander Zon to the Super Mario
Bros. theme played on an 11-string by
Jean Baudin, or Cody Write’s cool loops
and jams. Some players use loopers, ef-
fects, customized basses with D-Tuners,
or special tunings, while others keep it
bare-bones and simple with just a four-
string and an amp.
Solo bass is an amazing and exciting
new art form! I never tire of checking out
the latest my heroes are up to and discov-
ering who’s new on the scene!
But Jaco only needed four strings…
Interestingly, not everyone is happy with
the bass taking liberties outside of its tra-
ditional role. They’ll say things like: “That is
not bass playing; get a guitar!” in the face
of anything tapped or chorded, or “But
Jaco only needed four strings” in response
to extended-string basses, or “Bach would
turn over in his grave – that is supposed
to be played on a cello!” in reference to a
Bach cello suite played on bass.
Like everything new, this art form has
its detractors who like to see the bass in
its traditional role only. For me, it’s okay if
a person doesn’t like something because
it simply does not sound good to them,
but to dismiss it categorically because of
the number of strings, or the instrument
itself, or the fact that effects are used?
That has always puzzled me. Isn’t art and
music about expression, exploration, ex-
panding horizons, and challenging norms?
Collaborations
Solo bass players have also banded to-
gether and created amazing projects like
the Bass Extremes (Victor Wooten and
Steve Bailey), SMV (Stanley Clark, Marcus
Miller, and Victor Wooten), and BX3 (Stu
Hamm, Billy Sheehan, and Jeff Berlin).
Not a Comprehensive List
If you are a bass player who is interested
in exploring solo avenues, check out the
cats I mentioned above, though note that
my list is not meant to be comprehensive
by a long shot! There’s a lot of great solo
bass out there, so get exploring!
This article is one of Ariane’s many
helpful resources & courses for bass
players, available at
www.arisbassblog.com.
CANADIAN MUSICIAN 27