An example where the 80/20 rule applies to more than just business.
“Poe, not everything is a sports or military analogy!”
-A former colleague
Years ago a rock star colleague challenged me to explain complicated things with greater simplicity. Like many males in industry, I tend to fall back on sports or military analogies to make something clear. Their point was that trying to find something more universal communicates clearer. One idea was cooking analogies; not everyone is a baseball fan, but everyone eats.
So I thought I’d apply the 80/20 framework to something more universal like music. One of my life passions is playing bass. I’ve studied the instrument since my early teens, and got quite good in my late high school and college years. So I thought I’d take something with a lot of nuances and details – decades worth – and distill it to several key principles.
“The 80” of Jazz Bass
- Play a pulsing, incessant, swinging quarter note.
- Play the root of the chord on beat 1
- Bonus points for the following:
- Try to get that pulse happening on beats 2 and 4.
- Try to lock in with the drummer’s ride cymbal.
- A clean linear line that is 1-2 octaves up and down. It lends a certain “flow” to the music.
- Grab the 3rd or 7th in the chord if you can manage it.
- Think of 5ths as “just another tonic”… they’re legal but often boring.
- At natural transitions in the tune (e.g. coming out of a bridge), try to play a turnaround to signal to the audience (and band) of the transition.
- Study the greats like Ray Brown and understand where the placement of his quarter note is.
- The bass player is the key timekeeper for the whole band. Do that.
To be sure, there’s a lot of practice and detail and craft in accomplishing a good bass line. You can’t, for example, play a great quarter note without a lot of practice with a metronome and/or records.
“The 80” of Rock Bass
- Play a pulsing, incessant, swinging quarter note.
- Play the root of the chord on beat 1.
- Bonus points for the following
- Most rock listeners want to feel beats 1 and 3. Don’t fall into the trap. Swing comes from beats 2 and 4.
- Keep your hand in 1st position most of the time. Listeners need the rumbling low end.
- Try to lock in with the drummers kick drum (not ride or high hat cymbal).
- Lots of bonus points, study the greats like Bernard Edwards to understand where the placement of his quarter note is.
To be sure, there’s a lot of detail and craft in playing great rock bass. The answers are on the records.
“The 80” for a Legit Gig (e.g. pit orchestra, community band, etc.)
- Play what’s written
- Your job is to service the ensemble. Be a role player! No one cares about your chops. They care about your professionalism and accuracy to play what’s written.
- Get your eyes out of the music and let the conductor tell you the time keeping. They’re in charge.
What is “the 20” of Bass:
- Everything else
Key Takeaways:
- The 80/20 rule applies to more than just business.
- Something as abstract as a musical instrument can be distilled to a critical few handful of principles.