[Rufus]

Now, as you know, I'm a relative newcomer to bass, so this may be a rally stupid question:

Having learnt Major, Minor and blues scales, I now find myself, (when playing with another musician), always playing major or minor pentatonics. Is this a cop out?

Who will enlighten me please?

[de_axeman]

A cop out? Not necessarily. To me, a great muso plays what's appropriate. Someone who only knows one scale but applies that well, is a better muso than someone who knows all the scales but doesn't have a clue about where to use them.

If playing something that's easy and familliar irks you, then I guess it's time to explore more scales and modes. But everyone uses pentatonics, from the beginner to the pro, so there's a lot to be said for their use.

One thing I do when I want to introduce something fresh into my playing, is to study a song by someone I don't usually listen to. This might mean listening to a music genre that isn't really my 'thing'. But the aim here is to learn, explore and have fun.

I like to listen to Flea (the bass player for The Red Hot Chilli Peppers). I like how lyrical and melodic his bass lines are. Any they're a great example of how simple bass lines can have such a profound impact on a song if used in the right context.

I also admire Nathan East who is probably the world's most highly sought after bass player. Very simple bass lines but oh so classy... He played on Eric Clapton's 'Unplugged' album, he also plays for Phil Collins, and he's the bassist for my favourite jazz fusion band: Fourplay.