Extremely good, melodic player video.

[enim]

Im not sure if anyone has seen this here, but, this man is nuts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXImi2etl7I&search=nathan%20%20%20hughes

I wish i could slap that quickly and melodicly.

[thelowsoundofbass]

Thread a week or so ago about it, but it is great.

lowsound

[enim]

I havent been here in about that much time, mods can close if they please.

[PainKiller8191]

i made that thread :)

pretty creative, this nathan hughes

[bassmancrv]

yea this guys great, i wish i could sing and play at the same time... :mad:

if you like him, also check out seth horan hes got a similar style

myspace.com/sethhoran


listen to keep to myself its really good

[BassIsPrettyCool]

The idea behind the video was kind of stupid, with the lyrics popping up and what not, but that was some pretty amazing playing.

[sr800bkBassist]

good skill, but i'd rather write a simple, timeless song than a wankfest.

[MyFriendOfMisery]

That was great. I wish I could sing and play at the same time. When I start singing I screw up even really easy lines. I think a lot of it is I don't have a lot of natural singing talent. I tried to sing Black # 1 while singing it, I screwed it up bad. I can sing it when I'm not playing bass and I can play it while not singing. Is it just that I don't practice it enough or is it because of my natural singing capabilities?

[BassIsPrettyCool]

That was great. I wish I could sing and play at the same time. When I start singing I screw up even really easy lines. I think a lot of it is I don't have a lot of natural singing talent. I tried to sing Black # 1 while singing it, I screwed it up bad. I can sing it when I'm not playing bass and I can play it while not singing. Is it just that I don't practice it enough or is it because of my natural singing capabilities?

Well, like everything else in the music world it takes practice to get good at playing bass and singing. Bass is generally a lot harder to play and sing, especially if you're trying to hold a groove and not just following along with the guitar. If you want to get good, just play along with your favorite songs and sing along. That's what I did, I'm still not too great at it, but then again I can't sing for my life.

[sr800bkBassist]

That was great. I wish I could sing and play at the same time. When I start singing I screw up even really easy lines. I think a lot of it is I don't have a lot of natural singing talent. I tried to sing Black # 1 while singing it, I screwed it up bad. I can sing it when I'm not playing bass and I can play it while not singing. Is it just that I don't practice it enough or is it because of my natural singing capabilities?
it has nothing to do with your singing skill.

in my old band, we had a singer/keyboardist.
she wasn't beethoven or anything on keyboard, but she could play. when it came to singing, however, she has one of the best voices i know of. her voice is so perfected that when she uses it to her full potential, she can outdo most of the people in our highschool's top choir ranking (our school's choir ranked top nationally this year).

but no matter how talented she is, she could never sing/play at the same time, and we had to rearrange a lot of things in our songs to make up for that, or sometimes just never play certain songs live and only record them so we could layer both singing/keyboard.

in conclusion, coordination is different than talent.

[Kilalues Guises]

meh

[BassVirtuoso]

Those lyrics made no sense to me, but wow how can he sing and play THAT at the same time. Really good stuff.

[Akira]

yea this guys great, i wish i could sing and play at the same time... :mad:

if you like him, also check out seth horan hes got a similar style

myspace.com/sethhoran


listen to keep to myself its really good
I wish I could even just sing or play at different times.:(

[naut]

good skill, but i'd rather write a simple, timeless song than a wankfest.

how exactly is that a wankfest?

quick, melodic slapping = wankfest?

[sr800bkBassist]

how exactly is that a wankfest?

quick, melodic slapping = wankfest?
the composition could have been much more simply constructed, either a simpler solo bassline (he couldn't even play his his own line in time, as proved by the part where he says "it comes around"), or distributed between an actual band, being than a rhythm section built of little popping sounds was never a "desirable" rhythm section so have. it'd lose it's novelty, of course, because no longer would his speed and coordination be impressive, but it'd show the song for what it really is, whether or not it's actually good.

[Aerodyne]

Yeah, he was almost tasteful with it. It sounded like it was mostly percussive slap/pop with flamenco strumming and the individual notes were only slapped so he could stay in position for the strums and pops. I kinda liked the video concept too. Nevermind the fact that he was doing all of this ^^^^^^ and singing at the same time. Call it talent, coordination, or whatever, the guy's pretty good. He's not as annoying as some virtuoso bassists, he doesn't have the "solo bass" sound.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^ My $0.02 :thumb:

[naut]

the composition could have been much more simply constructed, either a simpler solo bassline (he couldn't even play his his own line in time, as proved by the part where he says "it comes around"), or distributed between an actual band, being than a rhythm section built of little popping sounds was never a "desirable" rhythm section so have. it'd lose it's novelty, of course, because no longer would his speed and coordination be impressive, but it'd show the song for what it really is, whether or not it's actually good.

ah, well maybe you could write him a letter on how to be a better musician, and to stop writing songs like that.

nobody knows better then you.

[MyFriendOfMisery]

it has nothing to do with your singing skill.

in my old band, we had a singer/keyboardist.
she wasn't beethoven or anything on keyboard, but she could play. when it came to singing, however, she has one of the best voices i know of. her voice is so perfected that when she uses it to her full potential, she can outdo most of the people in our highschool's top choir ranking (our school's choir ranked top nationally this year).

but no matter how talented she is, she could never sing/play at the same time, and we had to rearrange a lot of things in our songs to make up for that, or sometimes just never play certain songs live and only record them so we could layer both singing/keyboard.

in conclusion, coordination is different than talent.

Yeah, thats sort of what I ment. I struggle to sing most other people's songs because they aren't in my natural range, so I have to consentrate on singing a lot. That causes me to not think about the bass part and then screw up.

[BassIsPrettyCool]

I think coordination can be improved though with practice.

[MyFriendOfMisery]

I think coordination can be improved though with practice.
yeah, I know thats a big part of it. Ill stick to bass for now tho.

[naut]

...

[Jody LeCompte]

I think Im the only one that liked the whole package.

[enim]

I think Im the only one that liked the whole package.

No way man, i freakin loved that song.

[SüP]

I want to find the mp3, I tried but failed...miserably, I might add.

Anywho, I showed this to my guitarist and he was in awe! Then I showed it to my bassist friend (also my guitarist's girlfriend) and she was completely amazed.

Anyone know if he's got any more vids or songs?

EDIT: I am a dumbass. Under the "Explore more videos" section there is one more. Second one isn't as good though.

[Jody LeCompte]

If this guy was playing that main slap line in a band everyone would be hailing him the best slapper ever. But because hes solo, also playing acompanying percussion and playing a chordal rhythm, all at the same time. Hes a wanker.

Don't you love how things work?

[sr800bkBassist]

If this guy was playing that main slap line in a band everyone would be hailing him the best slapper ever. But because hes solo, also playing acompanying percussion and playing a chordal rhythm, all at the same time. Hes a wanker.

Don't you love how things work?
if he was playing a BASSLINE in a band where everyone covered a certain section, i'd judge the music by the sound of the song.

and, being a very big fan of melodic songs and mellow songs, i still doubt i'd like the song.

[naut]

If this guy was playing that main slap line in a band everyone would be hailing him the best slapper ever. But because hes solo, also playing acompanying percussion and playing a chordal rhythm, all at the same time. Hes a wanker.

Don't you love how things work?

the funny things is, if this video was posted a year ago, everyone would be sucking this guy's dick. now, the trendy thing to do is bag on bassists who play like this.

[PainKiller8191]

123 supernaut...why is it that all of a sudden anyone who plays fast is a wanker? thats such complete bull****...anyone who called that guy a wanker only wishes they could play half that fast and still have it sound that clean

[Polyamarous]

I liked the song, having lyrics pop up showed the possible inadequacy: I didn't like them but then I don't like songs because of the lyrics, it was just brought to my attention this time.
The playing was ace, no denying, I don't see it as wankery, at all.

[skingle]

I actually really enjoyed that. I wouldn't buy an album or anything but it was a pretty cool song.

[sr800bkBassist]

the funny things is, if this video was posted a year ago, everyone would be sucking this guy's dick. now, the trendy thing to do is bag on bassists who play like this.
i've been bagging on guys like this for a long time.
except around '04, when i was in a short virtuosity obsession phase.

[PainKiller8191]

you being a trendfollower is not the point, the point is you thinking that guy is a wanker because he's playing fast...
tell me, how fast can you play without being called a wanker?

[Manticore Guy]

I actually really enjoyed that. I wouldn't buy an album or anything but it was a pretty cool song.

123. I dug it.

[pukeboy66]

If this guy was playing that main slap line in a band everyone would be hailing him the best slapper ever. But because hes solo, also playing acompanying percussion and playing a chordal rhythm, all at the same time. Hes a wanker.

Don't you love how things work?

...

dont you hate solo bass?

[Jody LeCompte]

...

dont you hate solo bass?
I hate solo bass 99% of the time because it's usually tasteless, has enough harmonics to be labeled wind-chime solos, and sounds incredibly cheesy and stupid.

This fellow however takes more of a role similar to that of a acoustic solo guitarist/songwriter

[naut]

i'm assuming 99% was an exaggeration?

[Jody LeCompte]

Dunno, I suck at math, but there's only a handful of bass solo peices I've heard and dug.

[naut]

LOMYALE.

o i c.

[Skit]

I love this guy, he's one of my fav bassists.

I've got 4 songs of his:

Glove (live - the youtube version)
Glove (studio)
Bass to space
N.C.F
Victory Blues

[tomtom]

well, i do backing vocals, and yeah, it is hard to sing and play together, especially when i'm doing one of my more elaborate lines. the fact that he played what he played, and that he sang as well is a positive, but the lyrics where dud, and he's voice isn't quite as developed as it probably could be.

from a bass perspective, awesome, overall, ..................... just really good.

[kev_trb1006]

he couldn't even play his his own line in time, as proved by the part where he says "it comes around"), .


Dude, a bass player with just the slightest clue about rhythm and time would immediately hear that in that bit he changes into 6/8, its not out of time, just different

This guy is awesome. I aspire to write solo stuff like that.

[tomtom]

he couldn't even play his his own line in time, as proved by the part where he says "it comes around"


being slightly out of time can be a good thing ............... most of the time it isn't, but imperfections give a song character. besides, i could imagine how difficult it would be to keep a song like that in perfect time, and do i need to mention he's singing as well, which can throw you off a fair bit !!!

[Roulette]

I love this guy, he's one of my fav bassists.

I've got 4 songs of his:

Glove (live - the youtube version)
Glove (studio)
Bass to space
N.C.F
Victory Blues

Can you yousendit or something? I really liked that song.

[VelveT]

From a bass perspective, very good.

Can't say the same about his singing though. Just didn't like the vocal rythm.

Seriosusly, as said above, www.myspace.com/sethhoran

Similar, but much better IMO

[PainKiller8191]

today at band practice i was assigned a backing vocal part that was so ****ing impossible to sing while playing, and usually I can sing while playing and it comes really easily to me but goddamn...and it's like 2 words...gotta work on that man

[erk5000]

I LOVED THIS vIDEO AND THE MUSIC! I really enjoy this kind of stuff. I would personally buy his CD's. This is the kind of stuff id love to play.

[Bass_swede]

Those lyrics made no sense to me, but wow how can he sing and play THAT at the same time. Really good stuff.

They did make much sense to me, I thought they were very original and at the same time inspiring :)

[ericlepoutre]

Hey Y'all thought i would drop in and lend some context to this discussion. Nathan Hughes is out of Boston, original bassist having spent many of his early years in bands, since deciding to strike out on his own. The video was produced by a friend of his (5 years ago) who made it for free of charge for a school assignment on production. Since I took the video, put it up on youtube.com and wham just as i suspected, I wasnt insane, Nathan Hughes is really a brillant musician. A singer, bassist and songwriter on the bass, He's not just a dude with chops, he's got some amazing Jeff Buckley (if I may) like vocal pieces and some really beautiful and creative bass pieces any piano player would drewl to accompany. Youtube.com has two videos that contain his music with a third on the way in the next few days. He also has a simple myspace page with a few other tunes. (search his name and you'll find the music)

Nate's doing some great stuff with the bass guitar that stands in stark contrast to the usual albeit super-talented bass players we commonly see jamming out in the group scene. Thanks for all the props and drop him a message on either the youtube or myspace if you like.

[Aukai]

They did make much sense to me, I thought they were very original and at the same time inspiring :)

We spend out time, drinking beer, watching cable, and going down

Respect his craft, but he writes worse lyrics than Elton John.

[funkyhoney]

he wrote "glove" 6 years ago, even he agrees its quite amatuer at points
(i talk to him on myspace sometimes)

hes currently bringing up new songs, jsut mastering and recording them, he also only plays 4 and 5 strings, which is quite impressive.

[Akira]

Really sweet playing and overall video, but he was definately sturggling with the vocals. That might be different nowadays.

[Naveed Afzal]

ME LIKES IT!~

http://www.garageband.com/mp3/Nathan%20Hughes_Glove.mp3?|pe1|WdjZPXLrvP2rZ1OyYmA


http://www.garageband.com/mp3/Nathan%20Hughes_N%2EC%2EF%2E.mp3?|pe1|WdjZPXLrvP2r Z1K2Y2w

[HaVIC5]

I like Seth Horan better, but this guy is pretty good.

[Jody LeCompte]

Respect his craft, but he writes worse lyrics than Elton John.
I like Elton John...

[naut]

ELTON JOHN IS GAY!!!

and not in the homosexual way, in the crappy way.

[muthafunkabass]

good skill, but i'd rather write a simple, timeless song than a wankfest.
It seems that in every video soembody posts in here wtih a fast tempo, you complain......

:p

[bassistuvdoom731]

I liked the entitre thing except the last line of lyrics, they kinda ruined it for me. It seemed really awkward because I dont know about any of you, but in my head that last line was sex innuendo that came out of nowhere. That and it sounded forced. The music was sweet though, with the execption of the little bridge, where IMO it sounds like its about to fall apart.

Other then that, it was really sweet.

[naut]

"you're the one who got scared and backed off when we did not fit just like a glove."

...

.....

...

°_°

that's sexual innuendo to a 12 year old. unless you've got your hand on your **** watching Debbie Does Dallas, it's pretty apparent that he's referring to their compatibility, as PEOPLE, not genitals.

i didn't see it in a perverse manner, and for ****'s sake, we're talking about ME. i get a hard-on when Goldie makes an appearance on Ducktales. i jizz when my butcher asks me how i'd like my meat - AND HE'S A 63 YEAR OLD AMPUTEE.

[EADG]

I thought the playing was amazing, and it's even more impressive that he can sing overtop of that. His voice is also unique, although I didnt like the lyrics that much.

Overall creative song, I liked it.

[funkyhoney]

out of all his songs on myspace, "glove" is the worst IMO.

still very good, but the others are better

[Mailman]

Wow, Jack Johnson bought a bass, shaved, and started writing even gayer lyrics.

[ericlepoutre]

For all who havent heard some of his other material which was also written several years you probably should. In particular listen to his other song on youtube.com at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5ImoDgIvYk

Then head over to his myspace and listen to "Victory Blues" for anyone who knows their history and its characters. Obviously songs about love lost and broken hearts can be a bit cliche, but as someone learning to write and finding their message, love lost lyrics often show up as the vehicles to greater expressions.

As to the vocals, I would assume as most of you know, growing up bass and getting good at it, implies a particular type of ear. A type of hear that translates into a particular type of vocal. Second to the drums LOL, i cant think of a more difficult mainstream instrument to not only compose real multi-layered and timed pieces to, but also sing with. Nate's talents vocally, lay in his ear or ability to conceive harmony and sound that most would never know where there. Maybe not in these pieces, but after playing with him a few times (keep in mind i SUCK at guitar), it was most amazing to watch and listen to him follow me and compliment the most basic Eminor, d, c crap i was doing with amazing bass melodics and vocals base simply on counting out the time. I know some real good musicians in Boston, but only a few can step out of the Berklee trained box (dont get me wrong Alex Howland and Johnny Trama are both awesome Berklee gads and Local rockers) and actually compliment what Nate is up to or naturally comes out of him. Check out my youtube page below and you can see more of Nate's video in addition to the equally impressive Gary Backstrom and a few others I routinely get to drink beers and watch pound away night after night for the all the music lovers enjoyment. Thanks to all the guys out there gigging giving us "appreciaters" someting to get juiced about night after night.

My videos: some mixed some not.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ericlepoutre

[ericlepoutre]

A New 40 second vocal piece by Nathan Hughes here for those who care to listen to more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7DNYH1RmEo

[Naveed Afzal]

A New 40 second vocal piece by Nathan Hughes here for those who care to listen to more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7DNYH1RmEo

I Like it... its dope... im a fan.

[FunkMetalBass]

The vocal melody REALLY needs to be changed. I thought the choice of words and their melody lacked emotion. I couldn't listen to his voice for more than 5 minutes.

[Akira]

The vocal melody REALLY needs to be changed. I thought the choice of words and their melody lacked emotion. I couldn't listen to his voice for more than 5 minutes.
To me it sounded like a matter of not being able to sing a real melody while playing.

[iamreprogramed]

this thread has opened a new door for me. until now, i had never heard of solo bass, and it never really occured to me to give it a go. i think i might fiddle around with writing out a full song on my bass (you know, lyrics and all). i sing back ups for the band i'm in, so playing along won't really be a problem for me. like mentioned before - it just takes practice.

[ericlepoutre]

its 40 seconds of a 4 minute song, hum back to the drawing board for me LOL.

[BassVirtuoso]

Wow, Jack Johnson bought a bass, shaved, and started writing even gayer lyrics.

:lol:

[Jody LeCompte]

That comment was unncessary :(

[Mailman]

:lol:
(h5)