There seems to be a common misperception that the plectrum is reserved for playing rock or metal, or that it is even frowned upon to play the bass with the pick as it might indicate that the player cannot play with ‘proper’ fingerstyle. ‘Bah! Humbug!’ I say, as I disagree vehemently. Many funky bass tracks have been laid down with a pick. The way I see it, it is never about playing style or techniques – it is always about the funk first.
Get up with the downstroke!
Opinions also seem to be divided on how to play with a plectrum. It seems to be a rite of passage for a young bassist to play fast rock tunes with downstrokes only to be a ‘real man’. Yeah, whatever … I think you should play with however many downor upstrokes you need to make your basslines sound good. The same applies to how to hold the pick ‘correctly’. I guess I have held my pick ‘incorrectly’ for years, but so what? I don’t think someone will come out of the woodwork and fine me for it. Studying the pictures in the excellent book How The Fender Bass Changed The World by Jim Roberts, it appears to me that even bass titans hold their picks in many different ways. The plectrum thickness depends on the sound you are after. I generally use Dunlop Tortex .88 mm picks (the ‘green’ ones; strangely they come in packs of 72 …).
To mute or not to mute?
I personally like to slightly palmmute, resting my picking-hand palm on the strings near the bridge. It sounds very different if you don’t palm-mute and let the strings ring openly. To contradict what I just wrote, here is what Carol Kaye wanted to share with me in a recent email about pick playing: ‘Please let everyone know that they don’t pick close to the bridge at all. Only at the end of the neck do you get great sounds with the pick, and you should only pick with a flat wrist (feeling one of the strings on the bottom of your thumb muscle) for complete powerful picking that you can record with all day and all night … And also, use a felt mute taped on top of your strings for the dynamic clean sounds (without the sound-destroying undertones and overtones you get from the electric bass).’ Again, let your ears be your guide and see which one of the two you prefer.
Inspiration
A pivotal listening experience in my early days was Al Di Meola’s Casino, with Anthony Jackson on bass (and the now equally legendary Steve Gadd on drums) tearing it up with amazing precision, a pick and a modulation effect. His sound had a piano wire quality to it. Although it is a class 70s jazz-rock and not a funk album, it had a lasting effect on me. If a pick was good enough for Anthony Jackson, then surely this was an invite to experiment with it for my own purposes. A few years ago I also came across Bobby Vega playing with a pick (I think he played the bassline for ‘Sing A Simple Song’ by Sly & the Family Stone with a pick) on Bass Player TV. I can’t find this video any longer but I remember that I watched it over and over again as I could not believe how good he made it sound. Surely he is plugged into the funk motherboard. Time to plug yourself into it with this month’s track.
Not Average
This tune was created after I recorded ‘Big Bottom’ with a pick and phaser for the Funkestra’s fourth album, Concubine Chronicles. It made me realise that it was indeed great fun to use the pick outside the rock genre. ‘Not Average’ is in the key of A and features blues-type harmonies by going up to the IV7 and V7#9 chords. The guitar riffs feature both the minor and major 3rd, creating an A7#9 sound; freely mixing minor and major 3rds is a classic trait of many funk tunes. As always, there is a full and a minus bass version on the Funkestra’s SoundCloud page.
Not Average – intro
The bass pickup features 10ths, chromatically approaching the root A. This might be a little tricky as you need to jump from the low E string to the high G string, ie skipping two strings to reach from the low note to the major 3rd, an octave above.
Not Average – A+F section
This is the main riff, partially copying the rhythm guitar. Some notes are in unison and some others create a two-part harmony between the two instruments. Note that the downbeat on beat 1 is always played with the open string, whereas the 16th notes, starting on beat 4, are played on the E string. The last three notes of the four-bar phrase are played on the D string rather than the G string, as I preferred the sound there. Let your own ears be your guide as to where to play these.
Not Average – B+D section
This is a very sparse bassline and surprisingly hard to make sit right with the drums and the feel of the track. Verdine White from Earth, Wind and Fire is a master of this type of groove. Listen to ‘Getaway’ from Spirit or ‘Turn It Into Something Good’ from Faces. Note the long slide in the last bar. Rather than playing a fill, leave the space for the drum fill.
Not Average – C+G section
This is my miniature homage to ‘For The Love Of Money’ by The O’Jays, with Anthony Jackson on bass. The whole section, with the exception of the low notes in bar 4 of the C section, is played on the D string only. The picking hand is playing continuous 16th notes with down- and upstrokes. Similar to the skipping of the strings in the intro riff, it might be a little tricky to cleanly get from the low A played on the E string to the high D played on the 12th fret on the D string.
Not Average – E section
It is time to step on a modulation pedal. My favourite pedals are the Moogerfooger ‘12-Stage Phaser’ and the Electro-Harmonix ‘Small Stone’. This section kicks off with a double stop on the G and D string on the 17th fret, high up the ‘dusty end’ of your bass neck. For the main line play continuous 16th notes similar to letters C and G. The last bar features a bass fill. I based my fill around the A blues scale with a chromatic approach between the 4th and minor 3rd and the major 6th, but probably best to play your own fill there.
Not Average – H+I section
This is an expanded version of the riff in letters B and D. The first eight bars feature a chromatic run-up with octaves, and the last eight bars feature the chromatic run-up with 10ths as in the pickup bar. As indicated, you can play some continuous 16th notes with your picking hand, but watch out to not overdo it and fill up all the space.
Jam Time!
Here’s the whole track with no bass – go nuts 
Not Average-no bass by RB Funkestra
Listening Recommendations
This month’s listening recommendations feature funky basslines played with a pick.
- The O’Jays – ‘For The Love Of Money’ from Ship Ahoy (1973); bass: Anthony Jackson (also check out ‘For The Love Of Money’ by Defunkt on Thermonuclear Sweat [1982] with Kim Clarke on bass)
- Beck – ‘Sexx Laws’ from Midnite Vultures (1999); bass: Justin Meldal-Johnsen
- David Axelrod – ‘Holy Thursday’ from Song Of Innocence (1968); bass: Carol Kaye
- Al Di Meola – ‘Chasin’ The Voodoo’ from Casino (1978); bass: Anthony Jackson
- Chic – ‘Everybody Dance’ and ‘Dance, Dance, Dance’ from Chic (1977); bass: Bernard Edwards. The opening riff is not played with a plectrum but using his index finger like a pick with up- and downstrokes.
- Kurtis Blow – ‘The Breaks’ from Blow (1980); bass: Tom ‘T-Bone’ Wolk (This is a listening recommendation by none other than master bassist Will Lee via email straight from New York City)
Repertoire
Here are a few suggestions with bass riffs that always pop up at jams as they are true classics. All these lines lend themselves nicely to being played with a pick.
- Sly & the Family Stone – ‘Sing A Simple Song’ from Stand (1969); bass: Larry Graham
- The Staple Singers – ‘I’ll Take You There’ from Be Altitude: Respect Yourself (1972); bass: David Hood
- Maceo & The Macks – ‘Soul Power ’74’ from James Brown’s Funky People (Part 2)
Website Of The Month
I think this month’s web pointer should go towards Carol Kaye’s website as she is very much associated with playing a plectrum bass. Go and check out the fantastic resources and audio clips of fine plectrum bass performances.
Follow the Funk!