Failing: A very difficult piece for solo string bass

[musiciangal02453]

This was uploaded on my birthday!

[ocarinag33k]

i just wish we weren't always hoved to the side. we're like the rejects. damn violins think they're so much better

[Walkabout]

that was awesome.

[drmegasalvador]

What a badass

[Bassdag]

Loved it!

[corrda1993]

Where can I get this music?

[therapsids]

FAIL

Wait...

[ZappaFan101]

Excellent playing - the sound is great. I play bass as well, but it's an electric. The tone these double basses sound so warm and inviting. I gotta get me one...

Please forgive me, I'm kind of lost about this piece. Is he reading sheet music and reciting a speech at the same time? Or is he reading both the music and the speech at the same time while he is playing? This is a concept I never would have thought of. Very Interesting approach to composition.

[AJToad]

@ZappaFan101 - The whole thing is written out until the last minute or so, where the speech is completely improvised. Saw a score of this in comp. class. Totally awesome.

[duckshroom]

This was super!

[surfskidude827]

Great multitasking skills and good overall performace...I wish I could play and read that well.

[sasquash12]

Nice!

I dunno how you bassists do this piece - do you start to dream about it after a while? Does it give you nightmares?

[mindbodylightsound10]

always thought this song was annoying. however, you do it nicely nonetheless.

[halfgaf]

Saw this performed yesterday by Robert Balck, it was great fun.

[Thinker2014]

As a wind player, the concept of being able to speak while playing is entirely foreign. It seems strange! . . . I'm kind of jealous!

[montibass]

Very well played. Alot of bassists who do this skimp on the vocal performance and give a flat narration. I really liked you narration style. You bass playing was very nice as well. All around great performance.

[Bassanomics]

love it!!!

[IPstixrawesume]

This was amazing. I also saw David Murray, the double bass professor at Butler University, play this piece when I went to audition for JCFA this weekend.

[oledapra]

not much more tom johnson to be found on YT

except the doobie bros guy or the boxer...

[foowah7]

I love this piece!

[courtcricket]

hes screwed up once. I could do better becuase i know how to play john cage's 4'33" along with talking like this guy.

[oledapra]

OK prove it

[caprimulgo]

russian school :"reading a book while u are playng..." this is DIFFICULT !! bla bla bla americans can't shut the fuck up!!

[wesleyislife19]

you fail F!!!!

[jhkjhlkjh]

epic fail. heh. =P oooh i'm clever.

[bent540]

i bet i can write a piece that sounds just as awful and is just as hard to play :P

this fails

[looktobas]

I'm can't find the music sheet. Can someone help me? A site, adress,... I want to have this piece.

Thanks

[hsu912174]

Try Lemur Music.

I got mine there.

[systemroxr]

Wow.

This is such a skill.

Beast.

Beast.

[yamikaga]

Haha. At first I thought you were giving a speech while playing...

Then about 3 minutes in I realized the text was part of the piece.

[chris1125playsthebas]

great job! ive seen this performed live a couple of times and no matter how many times I hear it played I never get tired of it, great piece

[ChristianDavis629]

MAJOR KUDOS!!! That was amasing!!

I'm going to learn this! Could somebody tell me who wrote this!

[aclark549]

Tom Johnson. Good luck!

[ChristianDavis629]

Wow, how did I miss that in the description.

[THTCRAZYAZN]

Yeah, everyone talks during the bass solo... even the bassist.

[forfunfirst]

Excellent!

[foowah7]

Wow! I can't tell if you failed at succeeding, or succeeded at failing. But I love it. Great stuff!

[deadpoultry]

Fellow bass player here. Very interesting stuff. Keep up the good work!

[SaintNinja]

One time i only failed once trying to do this piece right at the end

[Picklesawksaddict]

yay bass!!! i play bass :D:D

[dumplesdumples]

I counted 7 failures, which is excellent for this piece. My bass teacher recently gave me this (per my request) and I'm just starting to fail a little less. also, the unique new york thing suggested that you weren't genuinely improvising.

but overall it was great.

[Stringed5]

YOU ARE INCREDIBLE..... i find singin and playin the bass hard... but this.... oh man this is genius!!!!!! its like u have to use both side of ur brain to do this.... my hats off to you friend!!!! RESPECT!!!!!

[hentaiwarrior16]

that was great

[ChiyoSumizome]

ok, the people who are saying this is dumb, seriously, do not understand the difficuty of ths peice, i say you are truly talented in paying the string bass, and if i do sy so myself, speaking. You are a very efficient multitasker. but i must say that the text is rather repetitive lol.

[xXmafia77Xx]

great song!!!

I LOVE IT

[SamShreves]

fuck u I would like to see you play it. Send me video of you playing it.

[cityfantillidie]

boring

[EnderoXo]

why do most people not understand that what he's saying in fact is the text written above the music?

[athom50]

That's entertainment!!!

I too play bass...not nearly as well though. lol LOVE this peice.

[vilemonkey]

You must be retarded?

[xXmafia77Xx]

no your a retard? i am an actor and double bass player you cannot understand how extremely difficult this piece is the control in his voice mixed with the bass is incredible if you cannot understand that you are a retard

[cLaUsTrOpHoBiClLaMaS]

XD

its so fun to play!!!

hehe im the only bass player besides this one dude, eh whatever its still fun!

[GrandPatzer]

That's hard.

[HorseCrazyx0x]

Erm... less talking more playing? :( Talented though..

[Michaelthebassplayer]

thats the way that the piece is written

[terriBAMM]

he talks to much.

lol

[hatedcheerleader]

i play the bass thanks for representing us bass players quite well

[crumikins]

btw, very nice job =)

You make it look easy =(

[crumikins]

I play bass =)

And I've seen the music for this piece, it's ridiculous...

[basser119]

can you send it to me, i cant find it anywhere. i want to do it next year.wooooo bass!!! love this guy, got me back to classical contemporary.

[marazm1]

this is great!

[orchadork675]

my best friend plays the bass. he broke my heart when he told me he was quiting:( *sniff*

[fenixfyre200]

Omg I've seen this before. SOOOOO difficult. You did it excellently. Have you seen/ heard Andy Anderson play it? He does it with a western accent :P

Great playing.

[a1s2d3f4g5q1w2e3]

very good. Put composer's name in the title, please

[violinping]

terrible

[frankfurtlounge]

terrible..it hurts me

[jasonpchesney]

Freak! That was outstanding!

[basser119]

that was so incredible that i am failing to succeed in forming words to describe how well i belive you did not fail, but succeeded in the delivery. Truly inspirational.

[margauxmusic]

I thought for a moment that it was a piece by Joelle Leandre - very similar to her style

[wackyruss]

Awesome!

[3rdeyebass]

Conceptually brilliant, for which kudos to the composer. The Bassist's

performance, however, was just astounding.

[TheBassPlayer]

Wow, I never seen anything like that before. The composer is a genius.

[Naut]

very cool, i enjoyed that.

[rogerleos]

good experience. i didn't notice of the composer

[jwtuck]

Composer: Tom Johnson