The Bass Sound of Tina Weymouth | Reverb Bass Tricks
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- čas přidán 21. 11. 2017
- Today we're celebrating the bass genius of the great Tina Weymouth. Although she makes use of a number of different bass models, she uses them all to great effect in creating memorable rhythmic bass lines with roots in genres as wide-reaching as Motown and punk. The surprising and fun work she has produced with bands like the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club are instantly recognizable, and we hope that our dive into her repertoire inspires you to dig deeper into Tina's catalog and experiment, using her signature style as your guide.
Read more on Tina Weymouth: goo.gl/xKeXN3 - Hudba
when i was about 16 i was getting into playing bass and i sent her an email to ask her about playing bass and she replied to me! she was sooo nice and cool and helpful. i will always remember that and always be a fan of hers.☺
That is so awesome I've always loved this woman and now well it's cemented for sure
Though she's nowhere near as great as Tina I actually had a similar experience with Lzzy Hale... it's my claim to fame but has nothing to do with this video, sry 😏✌😎
@@MariSundell - Hey, don't apologise! This is CZcams, where most Comment sections are cesspits of nationalism, bigotry and hate, so YAY for your positivity! I did most of my growing up before e-mail and the internet existed, so there were no opportunities to contact famous people like musicians and actors directly. Oh, you could write letters, but even if you got a reply it was a generic, xeroxed, 'pre-prepared' response signed by a personal assistant or agent. That was disappointing for fans, but it must have been really frustrating for the genuinely interested celebrities who wanted to treat each enquiry personally, but couldn't write 1,000 letters every week. With social media sites they can sort-of do that, so everybody's happy.
My 'letter to a hero' was to Neil Peart, the drummer/lyricist with the Canadian band Rush just about the time they were finishing their 'Moving Pictures' album. Neil was terrific, and actually took the time to send me a long, hand-written reply. Inspirational! What a nice guy! I made a frame for the letter and hung it on the wall!
Tina is not just a fine musician, but a fine human being, too. So let's hear it for decent peeps everywhere. :-)
And then let's all sit down together and watch 'Stop Making Sense' after enjoying this excellent 'how to' video.
P.S. - "Yay, Tina!"
so how old are you now? and do you now play awesome at bass? :)
@@EleanorPeterson You little useless SJW.
One of my favorite things about Tina’s bass playing is how grounded it is. On the Talking Heads’ extremely groundbreaking songs, where guitars are drenched in effects and the synths are heavy, through it all Tina’s riff comes in clear. Shes the anchor for the band sonically, like any good bassist should be.
Merci de ton commentaire très éclairant
Agree 100% She does not get enough recognition either. Chris and Tina had to fight and work with Byrne and management since Byrne took the credit mostly to himself even though Chris and Tina had a huge hand in writing a lot of their songs. She came up with a lot of their lyrics, too, because David would get writer's block or not have any ideas. And yet he still treated her like crap. Without Tina and Chris, there wouldn't be that upbeat and groovy rhythm section.
Tina has been dismissed by some commentators as "Chris's girlfriend at the time", thanks for showing the breadth of someone who deserves much better than that.
How do you hear "Found a Job" or "Genius of Love" and say that?
Neil Barnett - well, what do you expect in a basically male chauvinist WORLD ?😳😳😳🤷🏼♀️
@@annalisa14
Oh shut up.. Easy points. No points for actually thinking though - it's not like everyone's feeling that way.
"Some commentators" - those are ignorant and most likely add up to 3 people. Chill and get over yourself, seriously..
@@SonicXRage The bassline on Genius of Love was not actually played by Tina, because her hand was injured at the time. But she did write the bass line.
I mean, she still plays it live while singing @@johnersey
As a guitarist who switched over to bass, I was only interested in virtuosos for a while. Tina Weymouth changed everything for me.
One of thing I noticed about Tina’s playing is how she sometimes stays as much as possible close to the nut, often using the open strings, rather than fretting higher up the neck. It’s really quite a distinctive part of her playing and definitely contributes to the clarity and punch of bass lines. Psycho Killer is a good example of that.
Pretty sure this used to be a general bass thing before the current era of acrobatic bass lines. No hate for acrobatic bass lines, I'm actually trying to play more beyond the 5th fret as well... there's a lot of neck to discover and use to your advantage.
Tina is so damn underrated, she grooves so hard and makes each song pump. Super informative and entertaining video, thanks guys!
Patrick Hunter oh nice! what's up man! i'm subbed to you lmao
Damn right 👍 And I need a Mustang now lol
hahaha thanks dude!
RIGHT?! I want to try that new JMJ Mustang!
Patrick Hunter Pretty sure JMJ originally picked up the mustang because of Tina and Holger Czukay of Can. And I'm right there with ya, really wanna pick one up now...
I always loved her bass lines and her sound. One thing I notice is the precise duration of her notes, I mean, specially the way she mute the notes. Her lines have a sense of happiness and joy, just like motown. I can listen to it forever.
she really does use different note lengths to great effect. even when it's the same note, she knows just how long to let it ring or when to do some staccato style double stops or something. just an all around super creative player
Doo a great bass héroïne
Actually, it is her bass playing that hooked me in on Talking Heads. She was simple yes but she could find and hold that groove that propelled the song along so nicely.
That in-the-pocket funk of Weymouth and Frantz was what gave Talking Heads that slippery, earthy groove that most "New Wave" didn't have. I suspect the band would have had a drastically different sound without them. VERY influential.
Agreed, with the exception of Duran Duran in the 80's
@@ricardojmestre kajagoogoo had an excellent bassist as well.
Wouldn't have really mattered what the TH lineup was as long as David Byrne was fronting it. He was the magnetic one. As bass players go, she wasn't any great virtuoso. And then again their music didn't require that so I guess it worked well enough. Her hubby was probably a more proficient drummer than she was a bass player, but again, she was okay for what they were doing. But David Byrne WAS that band. That's why when he left they couldn't keep it together and Tina and her hubby went to great and uncalled for lengths to do a lot of finger-pointing and trash talking about Byrne in many interviews and in that book that they wrote, even though he never responded in kind..It appears they tried to lay all of their lack of subsequent success after the breakup at Byrne's feet instead of acknowledging that maybe they didn't have enough of 'whatever it takes' to make a go of it on their own as he did. I guess Byrne was just too busy being creative, which he seemed very good at, after the breakup of TH and therefore didn't really have time to blame anything on anybody else because he was too busy pursuing his muse. 🤔
@@Mark-bw1wx Well, Tom Tom Club ended up being a huge influence on hip hop. Whether you like it or not, hip hop is here to stay and Tina Weymouth had a lot to do with the early influences. Just ask Grand Master Flash and any hip hop artist. Without Chris and Tina, David Byrne and the Talking Heads would be nothing; they were half that band and rhythm section. They had to fight with the management when they saw they weren't properly credited after helping him out with lyrics and parts of songs. Their talent and creativity helped carve the journey of hip hop. Talking Heads was a launching pad for David. He just didn't want to look back and wanted to move on and just kept the band dragging along until he finally ended it in the early 90's.
The simplest bass lines are always the most memorable.
Agreed. Psycho Killer is a great example: bassline only has a handful of notes (but used to a great effect) and doesn't require a great degree of skill to play--perfect for beginners. Very catchy and inventive.
Less is more.
Ah.......NO.
Joe Dart wants to talk with you...
Like Psycho Killer, Smoke on the water, Under Pressure
Tina and Chris are AWESOME!! I did work on their house and they are very humble,down to earth, real fans of music! Ran into Chris after their induction into Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at Barnes And Noble in Westport, Ct, and he remembered me( it had been a decade since I saw him last) and we shot the breeze for 15 minutes! I believe Tina has Dee Dee Ramones pink Mustang bass as well! Their studio above their garage is really cool too!!
She was the music in the band. All due respect to David Byrne but Tina is why one can dance to those songs.
It's the jerky Mr. Byrne who had that incredible feel for rhythm.
Seriously that drummer and Tina mixed with his voice Damn that's a spicy meatball.
amen
lamgefyoutoob yes would agree totally.
Well, Tina and Chris are the reason. David is nothing but a pretentious pompous ass. Tina (and Chris and Jerry and later, Bernie and Steve and Nona and Busta, et al) is AWESOME!
The song "Once in a lifetime" still blows my mind. Drums n bass don't change from start to finish, yet it works perfectly somehow!
She's has such a talent to pick the perfect riff, then even funk it up a bit. And big kudos to you for playing "Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town"
77 was a freaking masterpiece. So many amazing debut albums by artists, and this one stands as one of the best.
He didn't mention that they (Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club) are one of the most sampled bands out there.
shes fuckin so cool, i love the way her lines can just go anywhere but still stay rooted in the space of a track
She's self taught which is why she has a sound like nobody else. She evolved without anyone telling her how it should be done, and as a result, there's nothing else like it.
What's up with the past tense!? She's still with us!
Julian Shakespeare haven't you heard!?!
when was the last time talking heads played?
Julian Shakespeare I thought the exact same thing. I'm never a grammar Nazi, but when people combine or alternate present and past tense, not only is it annoying as hell but it can give people entirely the wrong impression.
Rick Hankins Haha yeah, I actually thought she was dead after he said that.
kakarotting she's been psycho killed and David Byrne is the prime suspect
Do one for Andy Rourke of the Smiths, criminally underrated player
Good call... as well as Michael Dempsey and Simon Gallup from The Cure!
My favourite ever, i think "Bigmouth Strikes Again"s is one of the best basslines ever, i as a bass player can't imagine how it was created
YES! The Cure had some great bass lines back in the day! I instantly think of ""Fascination Street" and "Disintegration".
Paul Simonon of The Clash was pretty great, as well, especially starting off not knowing how to play bass, to giving us "London Calling" and "Rock the Kasbah".
*A. DudeMan*... Paul Simonon's bassline on London Calling is just as iconic as the album cover itself!
Phil Trujeque Yeah, it's such a groovy line! If you haven't listened to the isolated bass track from London Calling, I highly encourage you to do so.
I got to see Tina and Chris play with some of my friends last year, and the thing that really jumped out at me was her bass tone. It's SO GOOD.
She also seemed nice in the very brief interaction I had with her, and everyone else seems to say the same thing.
Tina is without a doubt one of the most underrated bassists in the world. Every line she plays is solid, clean and articulate. Exactly what is needed at exactly the right time it is needed. That is harder to do than most people think. Honestly as a bassist for over 50 years that is IMO what bass guitar is supposed to be. A Solid and strong foundation to build off of. Tina Weymouth delivers that in spades.
Psycho Killer would be half the legendary tune that it is without her. She made that song what it is and she was such a big part of that band, especially early on. It seems so sad that David and the others looked as if they shoved her aside later on when it came time to doing Stop Making Sense and everything after that.
Oliver Cant - David Byrne’s charisma was the attraction & he was the brains behind Talking Heads, everybody else was expendable.
I'm intrigued by Byrne, but the other heads were shit hot, too. The band wouldn't have hit the same heights without Tina -- her basslines are so catchy and danceable.
@@jasonjackson5696 what a dink.
Cj Taylor - it proved out my friend.
Jason Jackson I don’t think any real fan believes that. Even when the band was more about Byrne, Zeno was pulling all the strings for him. The fact that Tom Tom Club set out to create something bridging new wave with Hip Hop and “Genius of Love” became one of the most sampled songs in history is proof of that.
I've dug Tina Weymouth for YEARS. Ever since I heard Talking Heads, & then saw them.
Blew my little mind.
I have a newfound appreciation for Tina's bass playing.
I always knew she was good, but this is a good reminder of just how very good she really is!
I love the bassine in Born Under Punches. I think it might actually be 2 bass parts
Yep, i think so. I'm pretty familiar with that record and it does sound like two, but I seem to recall reading it in an Eno biography as well
yeah, there's a great Live In Rome video from that period where they have two bassists playing it. such a funky line! almost all of the basslines on Remain In Light are just killer. that album is a masterclass in syncopation
"lost my shape, trying to act casual"
oh, that's the wrong song. but I did...
+Bernie Gelman Yeah, that album also had Busta Cherry Jones on it.
You guys have to do one about Kim Deal/Gordon and Andy Rourke. Three incredibly characterized players.
barbarism begins at home is cool...I know he used a p bass with a brass nut on that...
I thought it was a Yamaha
That was a Yamaha, specifically said so in an interview.
It took me forty-three years of listening to Genius of Love to discover that Tina Weymouth is an awesome musician.
So appreciative of her, very lovely to see you take apart her HUGE contribution to that band and as a bassist overall!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you ever so much!
Tina is one of my favorite bass players. Simple, punchy, groovy yet melodic is her style. I love playing along to "Found a Job". Something about that bass line always brings a smile to my face every time I play it. Great video!
YES!
That's the only way I can describe it, too!
"Something about that bass line always brings a smile to my face..."
Playing or listening, I can't avoid grinning like a child.
Plus, that slide makes my shoulders lift every time!
wish i'd listened to her more back in the day. i didn't really listen to new wave back then but she seems like a solid musician. it always pays to keep and open mind and keep our ears open.
Tina Weymouth is a hero of mine and one of my main inspirations for picking up and learning the bass guitar (along with Este Haim and Tony Levin). I cannot put into words how much I love Tina's sound and play style. Listening to Making Flippy Floppy on the Stop Making Sense live record and film literally blew me away, along with Life During Wartime on that same record. She is WAY underrated as a bassist.
Really glad I could hear about her. Every time I listen to the Talking Heads I think of her music. Makes me wanna dance!!!
She’s great!! I said to myself the same thing prior to watching this vid about the Motown and JJ influences. The vid cements it. Rock on girl!!! Thanks for making the vid👍🏼
Tina is a great bass player. I really like her style, I read way back she had to try twice before she was allowed to join the band. I can't imagine Talking Heads without her bass lines. Thanks for the great video.
Great video and a long-overdue recognition of a phenomenal bass player! Thanks so much for doing this.
She was well known and recognized in the 80's
In my opinion, Tina was the only player who really had funkness in Talking Heads.
The other three are essentially punk/new wave players. Of course, this is just to say that they have different character, not to underestimate the other members.
But that's why they needed support players later, and Tina was putting the original and supporting members' beats together.
Without her, it would have been impossible for them to explore Afrobeat.
What is "funkness" and how many really accomplished funk bass players have you actually listened to in order to make such a statement? Just curious.
It's good that she is getting credit these days for her amazing work. Go Tina!!!!
Absolutely love these bass guitar videos from Reverb. Keep em coming!!!
A great video, thank you, and I like how she composed 'motown' a/b and 'blues' type licks and put them in her songs and crafted music that sounded new vibrant and fresh to many of us.
Found a Job has to be my favorite bassline by Tina. It's so damn funky. I just don't understand why he plays it in a different position. It sounds like Tina is always messing with that open A (open D string during the 2nd half of the riff) when played in the first position like how she plays it in the video. It makes it so much more funky.
Thank god someone else noticed, he gets the line completely wrong, not just positioning. It's all down at the nut, she's doing pull-ons on the A string and pull-offs on the G.
also super apparent he slides up too far in the 'genius of love' example. especially when the video shows it back to back at 4:24.
yeah he doesn't even do the hammer ons which are what makes the riff great in the first place
he emphasises the slide up but it's all about the llong down slide
Yah people often play "Psycho Killer", as in this video, in a different (wrong?) position. Tina uses uses open D to start and was generally not afraid of open strings.
Very melodic and groove-based playing, she really anchored that band and made those songs so listenable
When a "Tina" song starts everyone in the house knows what the song is going to be and is ready to get up. Love you Tina.
I read the Talking Heads biography where she says David wrote all those bass parts for her. To her credit she played them very well and her tone was always amazing. Love that Mustang with flats.
Yes, why don't people know that, and it's so obvious???
Thanks for mentioning it
She is incredible. Don't worry, People who know know. They're called fans. She is incredible. No doubt.
I believe you man. I mean, you said “she is incredible” twice.
@@mapledoodle5516 She is incredibly incredible. Not to mention unaproachably beyond reproach. Righteously righteous & not at all a bad bass player. Sorry, I love the Talking Heads. Tom Tom Club too.
What's crazy about Tina, is that she wasn't a bass player. They had to convince her to play bass in the band
im assuming thats why theyre so melodic
Is she a bass player?
@@DUSTYBASS no, she played rhythm guitar. this video may confuse people
That's the best thing about her, is she didn't even play bass. But wow did she take to it, like a duck to water!
@@michaeldunton6876 Kind of reminds me of how Paul McCartney started playing the bass.
Same circumstances.
She knows when to speak (drive the song) and when to lay back: the mark of a great Bass Player
Saw the Stop Making Sense tour in Austin waaayyy back in the day. I remember I couldn't take my eyes off her on stage.
thanks!!!! It open my eyes/ears to Tina's playing. Veeery cool lines!
She played with soul, and she is having fun with it. Nice respectable funk grooves, and we had fun too. Nice video.
Thank you reverb! for helping us discovering some new music everyday, this is such a cool groovy and funky stuff, great!
When I sat down and learned some talking heads bass lines I was surprised at how stripped down they were. At the same time they were perfect for the song. I listen to more Tom Tom now a days than Heads.
Such a great tribute to Tina's awesome bass playing! Thank you for this vid!
'Found a job' on stop making sense is amazing. Such a creative player.
Great choice! I haven't played these lines in years. Definitely time to revisit Tina's playing.
As a kid, I listened to a lot of R and B on the a.m. radio. Tina Weymouth's bass hooks are GRAVY to my ears!!!
Reverb is one of the best content creators in "guitars" and popular music appreciation and this video is among the top of the heap. NOBODY else is making this video. It's so effing good.
This girl is BAD!! That bass line in Once in a Lifetime by the Talking Heads was funky!!! Play on, Ms. Tina!!❤️❤️
This video was vital to me when I was rehearsing for playing bass in a Talking Heads tribute show
Loooove Tina's work with both bands!!
Everyone recognizes the hits, but I never thought of the bass lines for "Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town" or "Found a Job!"🎸
Back in the day, my brother brought home "77" by this new band with a weird name. I remember scoffing out loud at the "girl bass player" (I was 12). ...By the end of only one side, that girl was my second-favorite bass player, second only to Chris Squire.
Brad K ... awesome comparison I never thought of til now , happens I’ve been listening to Chris all morning. My Bass Hero !! Miss you Dr. Squire.
Wow, I could have written the exact same comment back then too.
Tina has always been, and always will be, amazing.
Great instructional video, and Tina is just the tops. Thanks for the posting. Learnt a lot.
Thanks for making easy for those of us who are not musicians but who like to understand the music as it is played...
Being physically attractive was almost secondary to Tina. She had this intensity on stage that for me was completely magnetic.
The best thing about her bass lines were you could add all sorts of frilly stuff and it still sounded solid.
She is fantastic! Natural talent and can sing at the same time too, shes very underrated
Nice video. I would have liked to see more comment about all the aspects that went into her tone. You mention the Mustang bass, you could also mention the strings (flats, I presume) and any signal chain things including playing thru an Ampeg B-15 or equivalent vintage amp, stuff like that.
Thank you for opening my eyes to this monster of bass! I had no idea how tasty her runs were!
This is great for you to put up. Always loved Tina's playing - now more so. :-)
One of my favorite bassist ❤
Thanks for the post,always love The Talking Heads.
Her performing born under punches live,performing a mix of both baselines from the album version,is funky as hell,and a damn fun groove to listen/play to
Tina will always be one of my fave bass players! She dropped bombs that will always be sampled
Nice to see Tina getting some respect. She's one of the greats!
Love her work! Seems very nice too. Her lines are very recognisable
Tina is truly blessed - by Grace.
AWESOME. Love your analysis and love your playing!!!
Tina was basic but VALUABLE. Her lines were so happy and melodic.
I love Talking Heads and Tina, I love, love, love...
Small thing, but thank you for calling them Talking Heads throughout instead of The Talking Heads like so many do.
That wouldn't bother me so much if they hadn't released a live album specifically called THE NAME OF THIS BAND IS TALKING HEADS
Whatever,dude.
You good buddy? No one cares.
the "THE" completely ruins the name
Sorry, but you're wrong. They're actually called The Talking Heads Group Band.
"Happy Guy" some people are just passionate about art
Great video and excellent production! Tina is under-rated. Learning Psycho Killer as my first bass song was a big dose of happiness.
love Tina on so many levels
Great bass player, for sure! Thanks for making this.
Tina Weymouth plays perfect glissandos every single time, e.g., "I Zimbra"
she proves there is such a thing as talent
First off, I'd like to say that I'm a big Talking Heads fan. Now that I've said that... I spent a lot of time recording at The Power Station during 1991 - 1992. During dinner breaks, I would often spend time talking to Tony Bongiovi, who was overseeing the project I was involved in. He's a very funny guy (in a Joe Pesci kind of way) and told me a lot of stories. He straight-up told me that Tina Weymouth did NOT play bass on the Talking Heads '77 album. (Which he produced.) He simply said her timing wasn't that great and that they'd replace her parts after she left for the day. (The rest of the band being aware of it.) If I asked him who it was that replayed the bass parts, I can't remember. This was 27 years ago. That's the only bit of this story that I'm hazy on. Just felt like getting that off my chest. 😄
Tony Bongiovi is full of shit! Bob Babbitt played on one song and I didn't use it in the mix!
I’ve always loved the bass lines from these songs! She’s simply awesome!
Excellent what a nice enjoyable video
Looks like you had fun doing this
The motown sound influence is amazing
Great video. Thank you. another criminally underrated bass player is tiran porter of the doobies! he just played the perfect part for every song
She doesn't get the respect because she's not a Jaco Pastorius, or Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten, John Entwhistle kind of player.
She doesn't take the Bass into the realm of lead playing, she's at the bottom of it all though.
If the song doesn't have a groove that gets your hips shakin', what's the point?
Tina can do that as well as anybody.
Tina is more like Bernard Edwards or Rick James type of bassist
"Fire yo bassplayer" - Charlie Hunter
Tina is a great example,that you don"t need a billion notes to sound good! and nobody does it better than tina!
I hear that, Bro!
Jaco: the most overrated bass player of all time! He's nothing more than EVH on a bass.
No groove, no feeling, no funk..... :(
Excellent, interesting and refreshingly modest video. Thank you :)
A lot of the groovy bass players I liked over time, and who’s hooks I can remember, really could have been played on 2 string basses pretty much sticking with E and A and maybe heading to the D, but not often
Learned a lot from this!!! Many thanks !!!
Congratulations for a very nice video, and speech. Please note the use of left-hand position open strings on many songs that you seem to have played on other parts of the neck - it does make a difference too.
Loved this.
She is a beast!
The reason my favorite TH album was More Songs of Buildings and Food. Tina bass.
Fun era in music
Love this . A great tribute to Tina Weymouth.
And Chris Frantz. My favorite rhythm section so far.
She is a genius with lots of talent 😌👌💯
Grew up with Talking Heads...always fancied Tina as well..;-))