Here we are and performing “Johnny’s theme“ and “What Is Hip” on a fat neck five string bass.
What Is Hip is one of those songs that a person could spend a really long time perfecting. I did not and on top of that it was written on an instrument using open strings. That would’ve been much more difficult without a five string. The original song is a cherished classic. The original song is one of those songs that I don’t think people should try to perform anymore. Let it rest, we don’t dig up the people we love either.
The song is in the key of E and the original bass part is detailed and intricate… lots of opportunities to utilize open strings in the key of E.
We are doing it in F because I’m surrounded by a bunch of horn players. They’d rather have my hand inefficiently scrambling around the front board then play a half step off.
The bass part requires a player to jump over two strings repeatedly. I should be looking at this as a good opportunity to build finger dexterity. However, it’s actually a pain in the ass. It’s OK to lack motivation when people want free music everywhere you look.
