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WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en
00:00:00.604 --> 00:00:03.604
["The Awakening"]
00:00:13.575 --> 00:00:15.764
Listening to Primus was
a huge inspiration for me
00:00:15.764 --> 00:00:17.415
when I first started playing bass.
00:00:17.415 --> 00:00:19.320
This is me my sophomore
year of high school
00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:24.320
butchering Les Claypool's
arrangement of Master of Puppets.
00:00:24.339 --> 00:00:25.692
So whether you're just a fan of Primus
00:00:25.692 --> 00:00:27.373
or you're looking to
improve your bass game,
00:00:27.373 --> 00:00:30.432
here are seven reasons why I
think Les Claypool is awesome,
00:00:30.432 --> 00:00:31.660
including bass lesson tips
00:00:31.660 --> 00:00:34.060
you can use to sound weird like Les.
00:00:34.060 --> 00:00:37.227
[BassBuzz Intro]
00:00:38.400 --> 00:00:40.348
When I first heard Les slapping on tunes
00:00:40.348 --> 00:00:42.818
like My Name is Mud or Hamburger Train
00:00:42.818 --> 00:00:44.408
I was just like WUUTTTTTTTT
00:00:44.408 --> 00:00:45.492
That sounds so crazy!
00:00:45.492 --> 00:00:49.202
He must be doing some weird,
crazy, weird slap technique.
00:00:49.202 --> 00:00:50.760
But can I tell you a secret?
00:00:50.760 --> 00:00:52.902
His technique actually isn't that weird.
00:00:52.902 --> 00:00:55.081
And if you can nail
some slap fundamentals,
00:00:55.081 --> 00:00:57.123
you can actually nail
a lot of Primus riffs.
00:00:57.123 --> 00:00:59.331
Les was influenced by slap grandmasters
00:00:59.331 --> 00:01:01.532
Larry Graham and Louis Johnson.
00:01:01.532 --> 00:01:02.740
And if you look side by side,
00:01:02.740 --> 00:01:07.573
you can see his slap hand is
moving in the same basic way.
00:01:10.407 --> 00:01:14.018
Les' slap technique arsenal
includes slaps with the thumb,
00:01:14.018 --> 00:01:15.678
pops with the index finger,
00:01:15.678 --> 00:01:17.605
which is basic stuff that
I teach you how to do
00:01:17.605 --> 00:01:19.268
in my Idiot-Proof Slap video.
00:01:19.268 --> 00:01:22.231
He also uses a lot of hammer-ons,
00:01:22.231 --> 00:01:24.071
As well as fretting hand slaps,
00:01:24.071 --> 00:01:26.244
which is where you smack
your fretting fingers
00:01:26.244 --> 00:01:28.775
against the strings, which
makes this percussive sound
00:01:28.775 --> 00:01:32.827
that allows you to do two hand
drumming kind of patterns.
00:01:32.827 --> 00:01:35.163
So what makes his slap
lines sounds so unique?
00:01:35.163 --> 00:01:37.886
Well, one thing is his quirky patterns.
00:01:37.886 --> 00:01:41.787
A lot of slap lines just go
slap-pop on a bunch of octaves,
00:01:41.787 --> 00:01:43.455
which you can hear all over the place
00:01:43.455 --> 00:01:46.038
from Larry Graham's Earthquake-
00:01:48.355 --> 00:01:51.605
To Freddy Washington on Forget Me Nots.
00:01:52.808 --> 00:01:54.808
To Flea on Tell Me Baby.
00:01:59.065 --> 00:02:00.624
But you'd be pretty hard pressed to find
00:02:00.624 --> 00:02:03.695
basic slap pop octaves in a Primus song.
00:02:03.695 --> 00:02:04.844
Take something like Lacquerhead
00:02:04.844 --> 00:02:07.326
from 1999's Antipop record.
00:02:07.326 --> 00:02:09.546
Most of this bassline
doesn't even have any notes,
00:02:09.546 --> 00:02:11.894
it's just a cool percussive pattern
00:02:11.894 --> 00:02:16.286
that alternates slap, fretting
slap, pop, fretting slap.
00:02:16.286 --> 00:02:18.976
With some funky hammer ons thrown in,
00:02:18.976 --> 00:02:19.973
which sounds like this.
00:02:19.973 --> 00:02:21.964
One, two, three, four.
00:02:31.815 --> 00:02:33.947
The second thing that stands
out about Les' slapping
00:02:33.947 --> 00:02:35.859
is he's very, very fast.
00:02:35.859 --> 00:02:37.516
Check out the solo break in Lacquer Head,
00:02:37.516 --> 00:02:40.779
he's playing another
cool drumming pattern-
00:02:40.779 --> 00:02:43.138
But at like breakneck speed,
which sounds like this.
00:02:43.138 --> 00:02:45.217
One, two, three, four.
00:02:50.988 --> 00:02:52.747
By the way, I tabbed
out all the Primus riffs
00:02:52.747 --> 00:02:55.017
in this video for you
in a Noteflight score
00:02:55.017 --> 00:02:57.058
if you want to mess around
with these on your own later.
00:02:57.058 --> 00:02:58.558
The link is in the description.
00:02:58.558 --> 00:03:01.056
So where should you start if
you want to slap like Les?
00:03:01.056 --> 00:03:03.857
One, think rhythm first and
just start messing around
00:03:03.857 --> 00:03:06.347
with some patterns you like
between your slaps, your pops,
00:03:06.347 --> 00:03:09.430
your fretting slaps, your hammer ons-
00:03:12.131 --> 00:03:14.116
And two, once your
fundamentals are in place
00:03:14.116 --> 00:03:16.302
you can start working
up your speed gradually
00:03:16.302 --> 00:03:19.422
'cause the secret to
being able to do this-
00:03:19.422 --> 00:03:21.505
Is to be able to do this.
00:03:25.079 --> 00:03:26.647
And work your speed up over time.
00:03:26.647 --> 00:03:28.040
But we're still missing one big piece
00:03:28.040 --> 00:03:31.000
of Les' slap approach, and
that's his signature strumming.
00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:33.608
So gently strum that like button
00:03:33.608 --> 00:03:34.656
if you're enjoying this
00:03:34.656 --> 00:03:38.289
and make sure you tap
subscribe for more bass le-
00:03:38.289 --> 00:03:39.669
okay, I'll stop.
00:03:42.582 --> 00:03:45.409
Most bands don't really have bass chords,
00:03:45.409 --> 00:03:48.071
we just kind of dutifully
play one note at a time.
00:03:48.071 --> 00:03:51.738
But Primus has many,
many, many bass chords.
00:03:57.968 --> 00:04:00.218
Les has a couple cool
but simple chord shapes
00:04:00.218 --> 00:04:02.136
he uses the most, which is good news
00:04:02.136 --> 00:04:04.501
for those of us trying to hone
our Les Claypool impressions.
00:04:04.501 --> 00:04:06.164
**Say baby do you want
to lay down with me?**
00:04:06.164 --> 00:04:09.856
Les' most used shape is
the mighty power chord.
00:04:09.856 --> 00:04:11.415
If you watched my bass shapes video,
00:04:11.415 --> 00:04:13.244
you'll recognize this is just a root,
00:04:13.244 --> 00:04:16.654
a fifth, and an octave all played at once.
00:04:16.654 --> 00:04:18.101
This shape is super versatile,
00:04:18.101 --> 00:04:19.602
it works on major and minor chords,
00:04:19.602 --> 00:04:21.499
and it's not too difficult to play.
00:04:21.499 --> 00:04:23.942
An easy Primus riff you can
get started on these with
00:04:23.942 --> 00:04:26.811
is Here Come the Bastards from
Sailing the Seas of Cheese.
00:04:26.811 --> 00:04:29.611
To strum these chords,
Les just anchors his thumb
00:04:29.611 --> 00:04:30.931
to either the side of the neck
00:04:30.931 --> 00:04:32.423
or the low string he's not using,
00:04:32.423 --> 00:04:34.139
and then strums up and
down with his fingers,
00:04:34.139 --> 00:04:35.503
which sounds like this.
00:04:35.503 --> 00:04:37.924
One, two, three, four, five.
00:04:48.415 --> 00:04:50.574
What makes these power
chords sound really Les-y
00:04:50.574 --> 00:04:54.147
is when he combines the strumming
with his slap technique.
00:04:54.147 --> 00:04:55.956
Check it out on John the Fishermen
00:04:55.956 --> 00:04:57.563
from the Frizzle Fry album.
00:04:57.563 --> 00:05:00.957
This line starts with just
some strummed power chords
00:05:00.957 --> 00:05:03.046
sliding around, which is a great way
00:05:03.046 --> 00:05:04.920
to wear all the skin off of your pinky.
00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:07.282
And then he switches to
slapping for some single notes
00:05:07.282 --> 00:05:08.833
and then back to the
strums, back and forth,
00:05:08.833 --> 00:05:10.171
and it all sounds like this.
00:05:10.171 --> 00:05:12.542
One, two, three, four.
00:05:21.423 --> 00:05:22.873
What gets tricky with this technique
00:05:22.873 --> 00:05:25.537
is switching back and forth
between the slaps and the strums
00:05:25.537 --> 00:05:28.162
more quickly like he does in Tommy the Cat
00:05:28.162 --> 00:05:29.500
from Seas of Cheese.
00:05:29.500 --> 00:05:32.931
This line starts with a quick
strum or two at the beginning,
00:05:32.931 --> 00:05:34.059
and then he quickly shifts into
00:05:34.059 --> 00:05:37.559
more standard slap gear for the remainder.
00:05:39.821 --> 00:05:41.898
And it's even harder on a
six string fretless bass
00:05:41.898 --> 00:05:43.992
like he originally played it on.
00:05:43.992 --> 00:05:47.825
Let's see if I can make
it through this alive.
00:05:57.419 --> 00:05:59.330
The other chord shape
that Les seems to favor
00:05:59.330 --> 00:06:02.798
I like to call the Batman shape.
00:06:02.798 --> 00:06:04.688
Because it gives you the
old Batman theme song.
00:06:04.688 --> 00:06:07.056
♪ Na, na, na, na, na,
na, na, na, Batman! ♪
00:06:07.056 --> 00:06:09.628
Not like this newfangled
Christian Bale Batman,
00:06:09.628 --> 00:06:12.649
I mean like old-school Adam West Batman.
00:06:12.649 --> 00:06:14.800
This shape is heavily
featured in Too Many Puppies
00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:17.666
from Frizzle Fry, another
great slap and strum riff
00:06:17.666 --> 00:06:18.499
that sounds like this.
00:06:18.499 --> 00:06:23.249
One, two, three, four.
00:06:34.188 --> 00:06:35.718
If you want to get chording like Les,
00:06:35.718 --> 00:06:38.957
start by just practicing
some simple slap, strum,
00:06:38.957 --> 00:06:42.086
slap, strum, back and forth
to get the coordination
00:06:42.086 --> 00:06:46.007
and try out some power
chords or some Batman shape
00:06:46.007 --> 00:06:47.598
and put it all together
and you can come up with
00:06:47.598 --> 00:06:51.431
a pretty decent rip-off
Primus-y kind of riff.
00:06:57.469 --> 00:06:58.302
But what the hell notes
00:06:58.302 --> 00:07:00.716
is Les putting on all
those slaps and strums?
00:07:00.716 --> 00:07:03.549
That's what we'll talk about next.
00:07:06.278 --> 00:07:07.840
With most of the bands and bass players
00:07:07.840 --> 00:07:09.877
that I break down for you on this channel,
00:07:09.877 --> 00:07:11.326
it's pretty easy for me to say, oh,
00:07:11.326 --> 00:07:13.447
they were using this scale on this chord
00:07:13.447 --> 00:07:15.375
in this key, bada bing, bada boom.
00:07:15.375 --> 00:07:16.446
KRUSTY: Bada bing, bada boom, I'm done.
00:07:16.446 --> 00:07:19.326
But that is NOT how the notes
and harmony work in Primus.
00:07:19.326 --> 00:07:20.426
Part of what makes them different
00:07:20.426 --> 00:07:22.486
is the frequent use of dissonance.
00:07:22.486 --> 00:07:24.887
Some combinations of notes
most of us would agree
00:07:24.887 --> 00:07:27.804
sound nice and pretty or consonant.
00:07:29.865 --> 00:07:33.374
Other note combos sound
more intense and jarring,
00:07:33.374 --> 00:07:35.715
which we call dissonant.
00:07:35.715 --> 00:07:38.595
So Primus leverages these
more dissonant note combos
00:07:38.595 --> 00:07:40.554
to get their signature weird sound.
00:07:40.554 --> 00:07:42.493
Check out the main riff from Fisticuffs
00:07:42.493 --> 00:07:44.583
from 1998's Brown album.
00:07:44.583 --> 00:07:47.863
We have two gnarly dissonances
featured in this bassline.
00:07:47.863 --> 00:07:52.384
The first one is called a
tritone, or diminished fifth,
00:07:52.384 --> 00:07:54.083
which makes this nice shape up a string
00:07:54.083 --> 00:07:55.855
and up a fret from your starting note,
00:07:55.855 --> 00:07:57.098
and we'll revisit that shape later
00:07:57.098 --> 00:07:59.155
when we talk about Les' tapping lines.
00:07:59.155 --> 00:08:01.756
We've also got some heavy
use of the minor second,
00:08:01.756 --> 00:08:04.136
or half step, which is
just moving one fret.
00:08:04.136 --> 00:08:05.559
And that sounds super heavy
00:08:05.559 --> 00:08:08.711
with the notes played one
after the other like this,
00:08:08.711 --> 00:08:09.544
or even clashier
00:08:09.544 --> 00:08:11.599
if you were to play those
notes simultaneously.
00:08:11.599 --> 00:08:13.207
[extreme bass face]
00:08:13.207 --> 00:08:14.859
Here's what this riff
sounds like in the song,
00:08:14.859 --> 00:08:16.259
it's completely filthy.
00:08:16.259 --> 00:08:21.259
One, two, three, four.
00:08:25.728 --> 00:08:27.669
Compare that to a less dissonant bassline
00:08:27.669 --> 00:08:29.248
like Money by Pink Floyd,
00:08:29.248 --> 00:08:33.415
which I've moved up to the
same key as Fisticuffs.
00:08:34.748 --> 00:08:36.069
I chose this song to compare
00:08:36.069 --> 00:08:37.869
because it starts with
a very similar shape
00:08:37.869 --> 00:08:39.398
to the Fisticuffs riff.
00:08:39.398 --> 00:08:42.588
In Money we descend from that
octave down to the fifth,
00:08:42.588 --> 00:08:44.468
then down to the root and
then we play some cool,
00:08:44.468 --> 00:08:48.677
but easy to digest, minor
pentatonic scale notes.
00:08:48.677 --> 00:08:49.766
It's super chill, right?
00:08:49.766 --> 00:08:53.766
You could groove along
to that bassline all day.
00:08:55.305 --> 00:08:58.076
But in Fisticuffs, we swap that fifth
00:08:58.076 --> 00:09:01.125
for that nasty tritone.
00:09:01.125 --> 00:09:05.014
And then we get some equally
nasty minor second action
00:09:05.014 --> 00:09:07.931
in place of those pentatonic notes.
00:09:09.792 --> 00:09:11.482
And now it's like, whoa,
we're not chilling,
00:09:11.482 --> 00:09:12.581
we're at an evil carnival
00:09:12.581 --> 00:09:14.460
and we're gonna die! or something.
00:09:14.460 --> 00:09:15.833
You'll also see these dissonances
00:09:15.833 --> 00:09:18.431
in most of the other riffs
we look at in this video,
00:09:18.431 --> 00:09:20.321
not to mention all of Larry LaLonde's
00:09:20.321 --> 00:09:23.238
super cool and quirky guitar parts.
00:09:25.060 --> 00:09:27.329
I love how these guys
dare to get super weird
00:09:27.329 --> 00:09:29.092
and dissonant with their note choices,
00:09:29.092 --> 00:09:31.803
because if nobody ever went
outside of the right notes,
00:09:31.803 --> 00:09:33.234
we wouldn't get to listen to Primus,
00:09:33.234 --> 00:09:34.645
it would all just sound like this.
00:09:34.645 --> 00:09:37.074
[I'm so sorry I just had to do this]
00:09:37.074 --> 00:09:39.562
[I thought it would be funny]
00:09:39.562 --> 00:09:41.611
[I hope you don't get nightmares]
00:09:41.611 --> 00:09:44.070
So you can create feeling and music
00:09:44.070 --> 00:09:45.582
without following the rules,
00:09:45.582 --> 00:09:47.381
it's just gonna be a really weird feeling.
00:09:47.381 --> 00:09:48.972
For established styles of music,
00:09:48.972 --> 00:09:50.681
yes you're gonna need some standard scales
00:09:50.681 --> 00:09:51.860
and chord progressions.
00:09:51.860 --> 00:09:52.749
If you want to play blues,
00:09:52.749 --> 00:09:54.159
you need to know the 12 bar blues,
00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:55.349
if you want to play country,
00:09:55.349 --> 00:09:57.738
you're gonna need to play
some roots and fifths.
00:09:57.738 --> 00:09:59.778
And that's why I cover common harmony
00:09:59.778 --> 00:10:01.137
and chord progressions and stuff
00:10:01.137 --> 00:10:02.676
in my Beginner to Badass course,
00:10:02.676 --> 00:10:05.883
to get you rolling with just
standard normal, popular music.
00:10:05.883 --> 00:10:07.837
But if you just want to
sound wild and weird,
00:10:07.837 --> 00:10:09.575
then go way outside the box
00:10:09.575 --> 00:10:12.992
and just get weird and dissonant with it.
00:10:15.866 --> 00:10:19.366
I don't know if that's
going in the video...
00:10:21.038 --> 00:10:23.337
Well this just wouldn't be a
very good Les Claypool video
00:10:23.337 --> 00:10:25.967
if we didn't talk about
some tapping stuff.
00:10:25.967 --> 00:10:28.047
Tapping is where you
smack the strings down
00:10:28.047 --> 00:10:30.914
onto the fretboard so you can
play notes with both hands
00:10:30.914 --> 00:10:33.247
rather than having to pluck.
00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:35.658
But you won't hear Les doing any like
00:10:35.658 --> 00:10:37.014
Van Halen style tapping
00:10:37.014 --> 00:10:41.591
where the notes all flow
in the same melodic lines.
00:10:41.591 --> 00:10:42.424
That kind of thing.
00:10:42.424 --> 00:10:44.623
His approach is more chordal and rhythmic
00:10:44.623 --> 00:10:47.180
where the hands are kind of trading off.
00:10:47.180 --> 00:10:48.762
Kind of like the slap drumming patterns
00:10:48.762 --> 00:10:49.920
we were looking at earlier,
00:10:49.920 --> 00:10:52.143
which means that neither hand
ever has to work too hard,
00:10:52.143 --> 00:10:55.127
'cause you're trading back and forth.
00:10:55.127 --> 00:10:56.880
You can see this play out on the main riff
00:10:56.880 --> 00:10:59.274
from the Pork Soda album track DMV,
00:10:59.274 --> 00:11:01.405
which is a song I relate
to having probably gone
00:11:01.405 --> 00:11:04.133
to some of the same terrible
DMV locations as Les
00:11:04.133 --> 00:11:07.953
in the north San Francisco Bay area.
00:11:07.953 --> 00:11:09.282
The fretting hand is interjecting
00:11:09.282 --> 00:11:10.892
some low notes periodically,
00:11:10.892 --> 00:11:12.662
so what would normally
be your plucking hand
00:11:12.662 --> 00:11:15.894
is only hitting three notes in
a row at the most, like this.
00:11:15.894 --> 00:11:17.853
One, two, three, four.
00:11:27.084 --> 00:11:28.613
Also remember the tritone,
00:11:28.613 --> 00:11:30.334
that dissonant shape
we talked about earlier
00:11:30.334 --> 00:11:32.976
where your notes are one
string and one fret apart?
00:11:32.976 --> 00:11:34.993
Les loves to use that
shape for the high notes
00:11:34.993 --> 00:11:37.736
in his tapping lines, which is
because of the quirky sound,
00:11:37.736 --> 00:11:40.912
but probably also 'cause
it's a nice natural shape
00:11:40.912 --> 00:11:42.380
for your fingers to make on the neck.
00:11:42.380 --> 00:11:45.069
You can see that shape in DMV,
00:11:45.069 --> 00:11:47.449
and also in probably his
most famous tapping line
00:11:47.449 --> 00:11:48.909
Jerry Was a Race Car Driver.
00:11:48.909 --> 00:11:50.468
Both of these songs were originally played
00:11:50.468 --> 00:11:52.062
on the six string fretless, by the way,
00:11:52.062 --> 00:11:53.449
but I'm adapting them to four strings
00:11:53.449 --> 00:11:55.777
so you can still play them
without a big, crazy bass.
00:11:55.777 --> 00:11:58.731
So the tritones played up here
take the focus in this line
00:11:58.731 --> 00:12:00.920
and they get broken out by some taps
00:12:00.920 --> 00:12:02.740
and hammer ons in the fretting hand.
00:12:02.740 --> 00:12:07.740
And that sounds like this.
00:12:13.319 --> 00:12:14.782
Wow, playing that riff makes me feel like
00:12:14.782 --> 00:12:17.180
I just landed a Kickflip McTwist.
00:12:17.180 --> 00:12:19.211
So if you want to fake
a Primus tapping vibe
00:12:19.211 --> 00:12:20.439
with no theory required,
00:12:20.439 --> 00:12:23.188
just grab that tritone shape
with your plucking hand,
00:12:23.188 --> 00:12:24.860
throwing in some random
notes with the other hand,
00:12:24.860 --> 00:12:26.108
drum back and forth,
00:12:26.108 --> 00:12:27.800
and you'll have a pretty convincing,
00:12:27.800 --> 00:12:31.050
powdered, rehydrated version of Primus.
00:12:37.541 --> 00:12:40.461
[Les] "What drives me is
experiencing new things,
00:12:40.461 --> 00:12:44.187
new music or new musicians,
or just a new challenge.
00:12:44.187 --> 00:12:46.469
I like turning over rocks
and looking for the new,
00:12:46.469 --> 00:12:49.296
whatever's new for me, it's exciting."
00:12:49.296 --> 00:12:51.760
I really admire Les'
commitment to creativity,
00:12:51.760 --> 00:12:53.981
even when it might've
cost him fame or fortune.
00:12:53.981 --> 00:12:55.946
Take his choice to put Primus on hiatus
00:12:55.946 --> 00:12:58.332
after the 1999 Antipop record.
00:12:58.332 --> 00:13:00.468
"I remember towards the
end of the 90s with Primus
00:13:00.468 --> 00:13:02.790
feeling that the well had
dried up on all levels,
00:13:02.790 --> 00:13:05.264
personally, creatively, enthusiastically.
00:13:05.264 --> 00:13:06.985
Getting away from the band
and doing other things
00:13:06.985 --> 00:13:09.533
was the smartest thing I
did for my creativity."
00:13:09.533 --> 00:13:10.366
I don't know about you,
00:13:10.366 --> 00:13:11.863
but I actually love the Antipop record,
00:13:11.863 --> 00:13:13.774
it doesn't sound like a dry well to me,
00:13:13.774 --> 00:13:15.482
but it's cool that Les had the wisdom
00:13:15.482 --> 00:13:17.562
to go find creative juice elsewhere
00:13:17.562 --> 00:13:19.542
and not just keep milking
the money machine.
00:13:19.542 --> 00:13:21.425
As he says, "it's a smart business move
00:13:21.425 --> 00:13:23.434
to nurture your brand and stick to it,
00:13:23.434 --> 00:13:26.321
but for me it wouldn't have
been a smart move creatively."
00:13:26.321 --> 00:13:28.564
Of course, Primus got
back together eventually,
00:13:28.564 --> 00:13:31.092
but Les has kept it spicy
with a ton of other projects
00:13:31.092 --> 00:13:32.134
over the years, including
00:13:32.134 --> 00:13:37.123
Colonel Les Claypool's
Fearless Flying Frog Brigade,
00:13:37.123 --> 00:13:41.456
Oysterhead with Trey Anastasio
and Stewart Copeland,
00:13:42.365 --> 00:13:44.174
Colonel Claypool's
Bucket of Bernie Brains,
00:13:44.174 --> 00:13:47.091
with Buckethead and Bernie Worrell,
00:13:49.146 --> 00:13:51.729
Duo de Twang, and most recently
00:13:54.576 --> 00:13:58.409
The Claypool Lennon
Delirium with Sean Lennon.
00:14:01.197 --> 00:14:02.765
So what's the takeaway for those of us
00:14:02.765 --> 00:14:05.544
who aren't 10 years deep
into a super successful band
00:14:05.544 --> 00:14:08.022
and needing to diversify
our creative projects?
00:14:08.022 --> 00:14:09.075
The lesson I take from this
00:14:09.075 --> 00:14:11.386
is sometimes creativity needs space.
00:14:11.386 --> 00:14:13.763
Taking breaks and trying
new angles can allow
00:14:13.763 --> 00:14:16.245
fresh ideas to come in so
you don't get burnt out.
00:14:16.245 --> 00:14:18.434
If you apply this to bass
playing and practice,
00:14:18.434 --> 00:14:20.575
maybe that means taking
a break from your scales
00:14:20.575 --> 00:14:23.437
if they're becoming stales
and do something fun,
00:14:23.437 --> 00:14:25.774
like some Bach or... something
that you think is fun.
00:14:25.774 --> 00:14:27.384
I think Bach is fun.
00:14:27.384 --> 00:14:29.106
If you're sick of your
ear training practice,
00:14:29.106 --> 00:14:31.414
maybe try taking a break
and just like listen
00:14:31.414 --> 00:14:34.397
to a whole record without
multitasking, uninterrupted.
00:14:34.397 --> 00:14:36.334
Seriously, like when's the
last time you did that?
00:14:36.334 --> 00:14:38.122
Take a page from the Les Claypool book
00:14:38.122 --> 00:14:42.372
and when you're facing
burnout, give it some space.
00:14:44.184 --> 00:14:46.895
Primus was often lumped
in with other alternative
00:14:46.895 --> 00:14:48.764
kind of rocky, funky bands in the 90s
00:14:48.764 --> 00:14:51.764
like the Chili Peppers and Fishbone.
00:14:53.643 --> 00:14:55.323
But if you listen to just the bass,
00:14:55.323 --> 00:14:56.533
you can hear that tone wise,
00:14:56.533 --> 00:14:59.950
Les didn't really sound like anyone else.
00:15:16.530 --> 00:15:18.311
You can nail the strums and the slaps
00:15:18.311 --> 00:15:19.951
and the weird notes and the taps,
00:15:19.951 --> 00:15:21.720
but to truly rip off a Primus riff
00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:24.119
you need to copy that
Les Claypool bass tone.
00:15:24.119 --> 00:15:26.171
His gear and sound has
kind of shifted around
00:15:26.171 --> 00:15:28.670
over the years, but one thing
has remained consistent,
00:15:28.670 --> 00:15:29.851
at least to my ear.
00:15:29.851 --> 00:15:32.800
The bass tone always kind of
matches the sound of his voice.
00:15:32.800 --> 00:15:34.260
This is a cool thing I've never noticed
00:15:34.260 --> 00:15:35.961
with any other singing bass player,
00:15:35.961 --> 00:15:39.308
but if you listen to Les' bass by itself-
00:15:39.308 --> 00:15:42.077
And then listen to him sing-
00:15:42.077 --> 00:15:46.660
There's a nasal mid-rangy
quality that they both share.
00:15:47.738 --> 00:15:48.571
Like if you're talking
00:15:48.571 --> 00:15:50.146
and you want to do your
Les Claypool impression,
00:15:50.146 --> 00:15:51.255
which I can't get enough of,
00:15:51.255 --> 00:15:52.994
then you just gradually shift your voice
00:15:52.994 --> 00:15:54.634
up, up, up into our nose until it's like
00:15:54.634 --> 00:15:57.697
hello Mr. Krinkle. [Kermit approves]
00:15:57.697 --> 00:15:59.389
And you can do the same
kind of Les impression
00:15:59.389 --> 00:16:00.968
on a bass guitar by shifting
00:16:00.968 --> 00:16:03.037
to the pickup that's
closest to the bridge,
00:16:03.037 --> 00:16:05.008
which is a sound that's
typically characterized
00:16:05.008 --> 00:16:06.245
as being nasal.
00:16:06.245 --> 00:16:08.718
On Les' main Carl Thompson
basses, the pickup,
00:16:08.718 --> 00:16:10.517
which translates the
vibration of the strings
00:16:10.517 --> 00:16:11.797
into the sound you hear,
00:16:11.797 --> 00:16:13.658
is approximately where the bridge pickup
00:16:13.658 --> 00:16:15.399
on a Fender Jazz is placed.
00:16:15.399 --> 00:16:16.877
Even if you're not a bass tone nerd,
00:16:16.877 --> 00:16:19.269
you'll still be able to
hear how crucial this
00:16:19.269 --> 00:16:22.439
mid-rangy nasal sound is
to the overall Primus vibe.
00:16:22.439 --> 00:16:24.817
Let's test it out on the
verse from Tommy the Cat
00:16:24.817 --> 00:16:26.044
that doesn't usually have bass on it
00:16:26.044 --> 00:16:27.588
so you can hear it in the mix.
00:16:27.588 --> 00:16:29.000
Here's the standard jazz bass sound
00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:30.950
where you're hearing 50/50 the signal
00:16:30.950 --> 00:16:32.728
from the neck pickup
and the bridge pickup,
00:16:32.728 --> 00:16:34.561
that sounds like this.
00:16:41.249 --> 00:16:42.600
It sounds kind of out of place, right?
00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:44.670
It's a good, solid bass
tone, but it's just really
00:16:44.670 --> 00:16:46.951
not what you're used to
hearing in this context.
00:16:46.951 --> 00:16:49.842
So now let's try it in Les
mode with all bridge pickup,
00:16:49.842 --> 00:16:54.009
it's going to sound a lot
more nasal and Primus-y.
00:17:00.549 --> 00:17:02.970
As a bass teacher, I'm
guilty of leading my students
00:17:02.970 --> 00:17:05.480
towards more classic, standard bass tones.
00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:07.209
I want you to have good all around tone
00:17:07.209 --> 00:17:09.321
for a variety of genres
and be able to cover
00:17:09.321 --> 00:17:10.441
your favorite artists.
00:17:10.441 --> 00:17:12.128
But if Primus is what you're aiming for,
00:17:12.128 --> 00:17:13.838
or some other experimental sound,
00:17:13.838 --> 00:17:15.627
you're gonna need to
go off the beaten track
00:17:15.627 --> 00:17:17.294
and follow your ear.
00:17:19.338 --> 00:17:21.178
In a music industry
where he saw other bands
00:17:21.178 --> 00:17:23.808
compromising their visions
and opting for money,
00:17:23.808 --> 00:17:27.140
Les Claypool has always chosen
to just be Les Claypool.
00:17:27.140 --> 00:17:29.288
LES: "I think we were able
to stick to our ideals
00:17:29.288 --> 00:17:31.809
and not be too terribly dickish about it
00:17:31.809 --> 00:17:32.849
and that's why we've been able to
00:17:32.849 --> 00:17:34.300
stick around as long as we have."
00:17:34.300 --> 00:17:37.328
From the wild sounds,
to the quirky get-ups,
00:17:37.328 --> 00:17:39.980
to the sweet dance moves,
Les has never been afraid
00:17:39.980 --> 00:17:42.099
to defy the laws of tradition. [get it?]
00:17:42.099 --> 00:17:45.469
At the same time he doesn't
force being intentionally weird.
00:17:45.469 --> 00:17:48.139
According to Les, "I've been
told how weird our music is,
00:17:48.139 --> 00:17:49.980
but to me it all seems normal."
00:17:49.980 --> 00:17:52.738
I also love his low key
understated humility,
00:17:52.738 --> 00:17:54.968
which really comes
across in soundbites like
00:17:54.968 --> 00:17:56.554
"We're lucky because
people have always wanted
00:17:56.554 --> 00:17:58.899
to come see us waggle
our fingers and stuff."
00:17:58.899 --> 00:18:01.978
So thank you Les for all the
great music and inspiration,
00:18:01.978 --> 00:18:05.580
and thank you for watching me
waggle my fingers and stuff.
00:18:05.580 --> 00:18:06.413
[Weirdo] You're the guy
00:18:06.413 --> 00:18:09.080
from the Hamburger Train, right?
28802
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