# Can YOU Headbang and play guitar at the same time?



## wes225 (Jun 24, 2008)

I Can play easy stuff but if its techinical i can't. then i get the twirls and hav ve to stop....lol


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## sakeido (Jun 24, 2008)

hangbang eh?
Riffing I can do it no problem. Solos though, I can't, have to put my leg up on a milk crate and stand pretty still (and watch my hands )


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## wes225 (Jun 24, 2008)

sakeido said:


> hangbang eh?
> Riffing I can do it no problem. Solos though, I can't, have to put my leg up on a milk crate and stand pretty still (and watch my hands )


ok john petrucci, lol


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## 7 Dying Trees (Jun 24, 2008)

If you mean hanging of an object and banging against something while playing, then no, vertigo makes me ill, and the blood clots in the brain impede concentration.

If you mean headbanging, then yes. Just practice the parts whilst headbanging, make sure you get one look at the fretboard per revolution of said head, and it's a sneaky way of fret watching while still moving your head around like a mofo.


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## eaeolian (Jun 24, 2008)

What? It says Headbang. 

Yes, I can, although I have to be careful these days...


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## sakeido (Jun 24, 2008)

wes225 said:


> ok john petrucci, lol



Playing like that lets me avoid that whole chestrockin dweeb thing


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## Naren (Jun 24, 2008)

Yes, I can. However, I can't do it while singing or my voice would be all like "AAnD thAt'S whY yOU cAn't TRust THe PEAnut buTTER!" 

To be honest, I've never tried headbanging while playing a solo, but my band lately has been making me do stupid things at practice such as tapping a solo on my guitar while vigorously tap dancing lol or tap dancing while playing our fastest song (which is around 230-240bpm). So, although I don't remember headbanging while playing a solo, I can probably do that too.


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## Mattayus (Jun 24, 2008)

I used to do it all the time in my old band, but this one time we had this song which had a drop ('beatdown', although it wasn't called that back then lol) and i was swinging my hair so hard i tripped over the drum-riser and dropped my pick 

had to play the rest of the song (including solo) with my fingers, cos i didn't have any picks at the ready! (stupidly)


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## Naren (Jun 24, 2008)

Mattayus said:


> I used to do it all the time in my old band, but this one time we had this song which had a drop ('beatdown', although it wasn't called that back then lol) and i was swinging my hair so hard i tripped over the drum-riser and dropped my pick
> 
> had to play the rest of the song (including solo) with my fingers, cos i didn't have any picks at the ready! (stupidly)



I've done that lots of times, but I always put my fingers together like I was holding a pick and used my fingernails to play the strings. It worked, but my fingers always hurt by the end. Luckily, I haven't dropped a pick during a song in a few years now... Those experiences probably drilled a message into the back of my brain "DON'T DROP YOUR PICK!"


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## Crucified (Jun 24, 2008)




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## wes225 (Jun 24, 2008)

Metal!!!


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## Mattayus (Jun 24, 2008)

Naren said:


> I always put my fingers together like I was holding a pick and used my fingernails to play the strings.



haha yeah man that's what i did/do, i can actually pull off pretty sweet pinched harmonics like that too


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## Naren (Jun 24, 2008)

Mattayus said:


> haha yeah man that's what i did/do, i can actually pull off pretty sweet pinched harmonics like that too



I don't think the term would be "pull them off" since every single note I play/played turned into a pinch harmonic (chords stayed pretty much the same, but individual notes were all pinch harmonics). 

That's actually the origin of jokingly calling my band "Tokyo Pinch Harmonic Orchestra" (even though I never really drop my pick anymore).


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## Demeyes (Jun 24, 2008)

I'm not very good at it but now I'm getting used to headbanging a bit more when playing so I'm improving. My playing gets way sloppier though when I get really into it, and if the riff is too complex then forget about it.


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## JJ Rodriguez (Jun 24, 2008)

I can a bit. I was practicing headbanging and playing at my old band practice, and I made a couple mistakes. After the song was over, the bass player was like "maybe you should practice the song and not headbanging"  I think a couple little screw ups are worth it though. People don't want to pay and watch you stare at your guitar for an hour  The band I was in years ago, I couldn't headbang and play because I had only been playing a couple years and it was pretty technical shit, so I was basically a statue, and people commented on it, so I try harder these days.


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## Carrion (Jun 24, 2008)

Depends on what you are attemping to play.


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## bobbyretelle (Jun 24, 2008)




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## noodles (Jun 24, 2008)

For some parts, I cannot NOT headbang while playing. It is how I keep time, similar to a seated acoustic player tapping his foot.


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## soldierkahn (Jun 24, 2008)

^ same


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## turmoil (Jun 24, 2008)

yeah, i can pretty much headbang all day long while playing.
i've also been known to walk on water while playing as well


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## Trespass (Jun 24, 2008)

I pace around the stage slightly, its actually pretty weird to watch. Or I sway restlessly, like a whole ton of pent up energy is going on, but I'm all professional (this is with the jazz band on stage, and when I have put on a show I was greatly discriminated for it)


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## JoeyTRabbit (Jun 24, 2008)

I can do any of my bass riffage with my eyes closed to begin with so headbanging comes naturally.


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## JohnnyCNote (Jun 24, 2008)

I think I'd get a headache, or at least very dizzy, if I did the twirling thing. Plus, I keep my hair pretty short, so it wouldn't really work . . .


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## gaunten (Jun 24, 2008)

well... I can headbang to a regular 4/4 beat, if it's not a crazy fast or advanced riff moving all over the fretboard, but when it comes to blastbeats or I don't know the word for it in english but I guess it's 2/4 or something
crash kick
crash snare
crash kick
crash snare etc....
at high speeds I just can't. I want to do the classic "helicopter" but I tend to fall or something... of course when it's played slow "manowar style" I can manage hehe.
and when it comes to odd meters like 7/4 or polymetrics like meshuggah.. well, that's just fucked up...


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## ShawnFjellstad (Jun 24, 2008)

yep.


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## Rachmaninoff (Jun 24, 2008)

Oh yeah I can play during a headbang.
What I never tried was to play during a _gangbang_.


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## wes225 (Jun 24, 2008)

what about the grindcore teabag your guitar type thing the do were they do a squat and headbang during breakdowns


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## kershyboy (Jun 24, 2008)

yeah I can do it. I use to do it all the time when i use to be in a death metal band. The vocalist got pissed off with it though as i used to hog center stage and whip him in the face with my waist length hair while windmilling hahaha. While the other guitarist said he could smell and liked the smell of the shampoo each time i windmilled near him. (how death metal....not) hahaha.

doesnt make a difference really headbanging or not headbanging as my hair always ends up over my eyes anyways, so ive just learn't to deal with not being able to see the fret board


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## dougsteele (Jun 24, 2008)

My new one is singin'/sweeping:



It's toward the end. I had never done it before, and this dude was filming, so like a jackass, I'm like, "Let's see if I can do back up vocals and sweep..." Just put the sweep on auto pilot and fuckin' go for broke.


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## Buzz762 (Jun 24, 2008)

I posses the ability to head bang while playing, but I don't really do it. It's not so much my style. I bounce around far more.. bouncing my upper body in time with the music or moving my entire leg (think Tom Morello),


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## Se7enMeister (Jun 24, 2008)

Mattayus said:


> haha yeah man that's what i did/do, i can actually pull off pretty sweet pinched harmonics like that too



ya the tip of your finger really help


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## ire_works (Jun 24, 2008)

Better question for me would be "do you play guitar while you headbang?"

Sometimes when i'm writing a new riff or composing some stuff , i just gotta get up and headbang to it. Thats how i know whether or not its a good riff.


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## K7_Munky (Jun 24, 2008)

I had to get used to that shit but I got it watching cannibal corpse helped


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## Zepp88 (Jun 24, 2008)

7 Dying Trees said:


> If you mean hanging of an object and banging against something while playing, then no, vertigo makes me ill, and the blood clots in the brain impede concentration.
> 
> If you mean headbanging, then yes. Just practice the parts whilst headbanging, make sure you get one look at the fretboard per revolution of said head, and it's a sneaky way of fret watching while still moving your head around like a mofo.



Supply windmilling videos at once to prove this 









And, yeah I can, never really try to during a solo though (in the rare occasion that I take one). I'm not a windmilling kinda dude though, but I don't have any trouble loosening up a bit and headbanging


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## neoclassical (Jun 24, 2008)

I can't headbang much anymore. I had a car accident in 2000 and my back has never been the same since. Now I get neck and back pain from it, and a headache. lol Damn...

Adam


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## CrushingAnvil (Jun 25, 2008)

I can! heh...I played 'Blind Torture Kill' by Suffocation once whilst doing little thrash metal bobs haha you know where your hair flops on the spot. yeeh...It looks pretty Rad. None of those leaning back hardcore kid bullshit...*PInCh hArMoNiCz* '0h mai god shot fall 0ut b0y!'


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## All_¥our_Bass (Jun 25, 2008)

Simpler stuff, yes.

Tech/mathy/lead/solo no, or at least not more than a slight 'nod' as opposed to the all out headbanging.


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## Desecrated (Jun 25, 2008)

I can barely stand and play at the same time.


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## Metal Ken (Jun 25, 2008)

Furiously. Get right up next to the vocalist at the front of the stage and unleash the fury.


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## Crucified (Jun 25, 2008)

Metal Ken said:


> Furiously. Get right up next to the vocalist at the front of the stage and unleash the FOCKING BURGERS.



fixed.


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## Mr. S (Jun 25, 2008)

yeah i can but im still getting the hang of wind milling, i seem to recall falling over during a gig last year due to thinking it was a good idea, much to the amusement of everyone in my band and the audience 

I'll have to keep working on that one


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## intereo_luuk (Jun 25, 2008)

yep


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## klutvott (Jun 25, 2008)

YouTube - born aggressive

I think i can.


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## DevinShidaker (Jun 25, 2008)

yes. Playing metal whilst not headbanging is false, and may result in cancellation.







Also let it be known to all that wide angle lenses make fat guitarists look even fatter...


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## LI3G3KILL3R (Jun 25, 2008)

What I'm wondering if there is some sort of writing on this subject. Like "Proper Head Banging Technique while Playing guitar." I wonder what would be the best exersices for increasing endurance/fretboard acuracy while head banging??


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## Emperoff (Jun 25, 2008)

Now that I cut my hair, I guess it doesn't count as headbanging


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## metalfiend666 (Jun 25, 2008)

Yes I can. Having hair down to your waist makes it look very cool too, especially stood on stage next to Mr 7 Dying Trees.



7 Dying Trees said:


> If you mean headbanging, then yes. Just practice the parts whilst headbanging, make sure you get one look at the fretboard per revolution of said head, and it's a sneaky way of fret watching while still moving your head around like a mofo.



Says the man who told his Ibanez rep he wanted his LACS with a reversed headstock so he wouldn't get his hair caught in the tuning pegs so badly


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## metalfiend666 (Jun 25, 2008)

Zepp88 said:


> Supply windmilling videos at once to prove this



Try the Cradle of Filth "Peace Through Superior Firepower" dvd


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## cow 7 sig (Jun 25, 2008)

Crucified
:D[/QUOTE said:


> so thats a yes then kevin?


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## Espaul (Jun 25, 2008)

since I thought them pics were so cool, here's one of mine:






I do mi bangin wih mi whole body


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## Unknown Doodl3.2 (Jun 25, 2008)

yeah I can headbang while playing on stage. That's when I'm not singing though! =\ I also love to the pull the pat o brien, that is... just stay there with al the hair covering your face and most of you guitar haha that's what I do to keep stage presence up when I can't headbang anymore or if I get dizzy.


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## 7deadlysins666 (Jun 25, 2008)

Windmills take practice!!! I can headbang during most solos, but usually during solos I stare at the crowd with my "domination mode" look.....really gets them screaming when they realise im not looking at my guitar at all. hahaha. 









Hell, I headbang at practice! Its like a Habbit!!!


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## WarriorOfMetal (Jun 25, 2008)

yes










it's a semi-recent discovery that i'm capable of windmilling while playing, though.....but it depends a lot on the exact part being played and an intimate knowledge of the song and having it deeply engrained in my muscle memory.


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## Zepp88 (Jun 25, 2008)

metalfiend666 said:


> Try the Cradle of Filth "Peace Through Superior Firepower" dvd



 What do you think I'm referring to?

I'm merely giving him hell 




I just thought of actually doing windmills while playing funeral doom


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## WarriorOfMetal (Jun 25, 2008)

Zepp88 said:


> What do you think I'm referring to?
> 
> I'm merely giving him hell
> 
> ...



hm....maybe if you spent some time with a Van Der Graff generator beforehand, you could get your hair to stay in the air for long enough


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## Zepp88 (Jun 25, 2008)

WarriorOfMetal said:


> hm....maybe if you spent some time with a Van Der Graff generator beforehand, you could get your hair to stay in the air for long enough





Jeremy wants us to do windmills, and I'm like wtf dude it doesn't work.


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## WarriorOfMetal (Jun 25, 2008)

Zepp88 said:


> Jeremy wants us to do windmills, and I'm like wtf dude it doesn't work.



with Withersoul, there are parts where it could. you just have to find the right ones. it can be a useful counting aid at times, too.


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## Zepp88 (Jun 25, 2008)

WarriorOfMetal said:


> with Withersoul, there are parts where it could. you just have to find the right ones. it can be a useful counting aid at times, too.



In "Forever" and "Descent" it's possible, but most of the time the staring off into space doomy foot stomp thing works better 



[action=*]you should drive down to Charlottesville tommorow night, no excuses, there will be doom [/action]


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## WarriorOfMetal (Jun 26, 2008)

Zepp88 said:


> In "Forever" and "Descent" it's possible, but most of the time the staring off into space doomy foot stomp thing works better
> 
> 
> 
> [action=*]you should drive down to Charlottesville tommorow night, no excuses, there will be doom [/action]



 i'm working all week/weekend here in boston


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## petereanima (Jun 26, 2008)

does shorthair-headbanging count? if yes, than i can.


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## intereo_luuk (Jun 26, 2008)

No it doesn't


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## Naren (Jun 26, 2008)

intereo_luuk said:


> No it doesn't



And long hair headbanging doesn't count unless your hair is at least 3 and a half feet long (or 107 centimeters long if you use the metric system).


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## Leec (Jun 26, 2008)

I've always been able to mosh my way through anything I can play. I can talk whilst playing anything, too.


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## Shawn (Jun 26, 2008)

When I had long hair, I used to headbang while playing. I've had short hair for about 9 years now and I still throwdown at shows.


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## 7 Dying Trees (Jun 26, 2008)

Zepp88 said:


> Supply windmilling videos at once to prove this




should give everyone a good laugh

and yes, that's a PRS. 3 months after this video it got slung across a stage in anger, then went back to playing ibanez.


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## metalfiend666 (Jun 26, 2008)

What was that one at an old ballroom or something where you did your best impression of a helicopter trying to take off? Looked like it was shot on a dodgey camcorder from the top left of the venue.


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## petereanima (Jun 27, 2008)

intereo_luuk said:


> No it doesn't



BOO-URNS!


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## wes225 (Jun 27, 2008)

you know the more-less deathcore headbang body pounce thing they do during breakdowns? i can do that, and flip my hair around. but not really headbang, more less makin my hair move instead of my brains


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## Universalis (Jun 27, 2008)

I used to be a bass player for 4 years in a band, we splitted some months ago. Well, I realised I can do whatever I want with my body while playing any tune with a bass, headbanging included, but I'm pretty static when I play guitar. Strange, isn't it?


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## lucasreis (Jun 27, 2008)

Hmmm.... not really, wish I could though.

I have motion sickness and even when I´m not playing guitar I feel dizzy really fast...


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## dream-thief (Jun 27, 2008)

I can headbang and play no hass


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## Cancer (Jun 27, 2008)

I used to headbang more when I had more hair, now as a baldy, meh, not as much.


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## Michael (Jun 27, 2008)

I can't. If I try to windmill my timing goes down the drain.


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## hairychris (Jun 27, 2008)

A little.

But as I don't have any hair now I look like an idiot!


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## Lucky Seven (Jun 27, 2008)

Naren said:


> Yes, I can. However, I can't do it while singing or my voice would be all like "AAnD thAt'S whY yOU cAn TRust THe PEAnut buTTER!"



Fixed


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## Esp Griffyn (Jun 27, 2008)

Never tried it cause it just looks a bit silly, anything more than the James Hetfield style nodding along just looks a bit daft imo. Sorry Meshuggah, I love your music but your daft headbanging antics are awful!


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## wes225 (Jun 27, 2008)

i think you could play a bass while blindfolded and lefty while headbanging and still able to play good, sorry bassers but unless you play jazz nothing in that instrument really impress' me. its just "bum bum bah dum, bum bum"


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## toolsound (Jun 27, 2008)

I can, but I'm not into the headbanging for the sake of headbanging thing...

If you WANT to headbang because you're into the music then that's cool, but forcing it is just kinda ridiculous.


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## Esp Griffyn (Jun 27, 2008)

wes225 said:


> i think you could play a bass while blindfolded and lefty while headbanging and still able to play good, sorry bassers but unless you play jazz nothing in that instrument really impress' me. its just "bum bum bah dum, bum bum"



Sorry thats just ridiculous. If we aren't talking impressive jazz bassists, then listen to Billy Sheehan, Mark King, Bakithi Kumalo, Stuart Hamm, Victor Wooten, Michael Manring, Juan Alredte (Racer X), Sean Malone and do it while head banging. Oh wait, try playing like that, full stop. Do you live under a rock?


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## wes225 (Jun 27, 2008)

Esp Griffyn said:


> Sorry thats just ridiculous. If we aren't talking impressive jazz bassists, then listen to Billy Sheehan, Mark King, Bakithi Kumalo, Stuart Hamm, Victor Wooten, Michael Manring, Juan Alredte (Racer X), Sean Malone and do it while head banging. Oh wait, try playing like that, full stop. Do you live under a rock?


no, i play a guitar. maha


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## Esp Griffyn (Jun 27, 2008)

wes225 said:


> no, i play a guitar. maha



Nothing like broadening your horizons eh?


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## ballr4lyf (Jun 27, 2008)

wes225 said:


> sorry bassers but unless you play jazz nothing in that instrument really impress' me. its just "bum bum bah dum, bum bum"



Tom Green??


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## Jongpil Yun (Jun 27, 2008)

In any x/4 time signature, with a straight rhythm (ie, 8ths, 16ths, or triplets only) then yeah. Sort of. But I don't like headbanging because it hurts my head.

Can't tap my foot worth shit while playing though.


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