Flea's most precious advice for all the Bass players out there

Playing bass is like playing a medic in a multiplayer game...

“One thing I like to stress as a bass player is the spirit of givingness” Walks out on stage naked

I didn't know flea owned any shirts

"It provides the bottom for the band." You could say it's the... base.

My three tips for beginner bassists as an old dude: 1) Get a drum machine and practice against it non stop. Timing is everything when you are in the rhythm section. 2) Learn chords and understand how they fit into scales. Yes you won't use them directly, but a chord is just an arpegio played all at once. These are the basic notes you'll be writing your baselines from. So if the songs in A minor. The chords will be triads that fit that scale. Theres your notes, now use them to make the drummers beat pop. 3) Keep it simple, and follow. By supporting the beat, and supporting (not defining! Unless thats what the song is, of course) the chords and melody, you make the whole band sound great, and hopefully they'll pass it back and give you a chance to pop your own spotlight. and finally, when your competent, go learn jazz. Seriously, those cats have some fucking great theory going on, and even if its not your first choice of music , it WILL make you a better musician. Oh and in Jazz, the bassist gets to solo....every.....damn.....song. Mingus, Pastorious, Wooten, all those guys are/where fucken amazin

he shines bright in the band. bass players are unappreciated sometimes.

I'm not a chili peppers fan really, but geez, FLEA IS THE man. What a cool guy he seems to be despite the fame and wealth. Rock on Flea

This is not just an advice for bass players. Its a advice for other musicians who allways look down on that guy who just plays rooted instead of playin 'machine gun slapping' and tapping around all the time.

What an absolutely top bloke flea is, no ego, not bothered about trying to be cool or fashionable just a decent humble brilliant musician.

Thanks Flea. You're the man.

Frusciante said the same thing in an interview '''hear what the others are playing and try to compliment them''! That's why their jams was so pure and fantastic,both were playing for the music!

5:53 the bassline inside Flea must be fucking awesome

Playing with a solid rhythm section, bass and drums, when they are in time and in the pocket, it's the greatest of luxuries you can have as a guitarist.

I started playing bass because I couldn't find any good bass players to play with, just failed guitarists who couldn't hold chords. When I started learning bass, I looked at it as inferior to guitar. After 6 months of lessons and practicing, my guitar had dust on it and I only wanted to play bass. I no longer saw it as an inferior instrument or even compared it to guitar because I realized that comparing it to guitar would be like comparing a harp or violin to a guitar. It's a completely different instrument and should be played that way. Bass should be felt more than heard, it's what moves people and bridges melody with percussion. I completely agree that it's a supportive instrument and is reactive. After mastering modes and developing my technique I could play without thinking. I would feel the music and my playing became a reflex to what my bandmates would play. I love the bass, it was the instrument I was meant to play and wouldn't be happy playing anything else.

"After a while, you become one with the music, and the music becomes you...and it becomes like breathing" 💜💚💛💙

Dude I just wanna hug him man, Flea is just too good man

this videos has 60k views, while the slap bass one has 800k views. this, was the more important one. this is why most will fail.

"Always follow the drummer" ....unless he completely sucks... good god i have some stories.

Such humility. I didn't necessarily expect to hear this level of musicianship from Flea.

This is why I love Flea. Play the obvious. Serve the song. Play on the kick drum. Then, when it's your turn to shine, Shine. And Flea, you are Magic Johnson of bass.