User:TablaBassist/Jayen Varma

World Record in Bass Guitar

Jayen Varma from India set a World Record in Bass Guitar as “Fastest Percussive Bassist” in 2008 with Registry of Official World Records™ (Record Holders Republic)USA&UK. His fastest playing in Bass Guitar is recorded by the Registry as 36 percussive notes per second[1]

Percussive Bass 1920 till 2008

Bass Guitar makes music live. The instrument is designed to add vibrant shades to the music. Many changes have occurred in making and playing the instrument during the last century. Since the acceptance of electric bass guitar in Jazz Music and subsequent evolution of percussive bass in 1920’s, percussive bass which is otherwise known as 'Slap Bass' has been increasingly attracting music lovers all over the World. When funk music became more popular, slap bass has been subjected to various experimental playing techniques. In the West there have been many great bass players like Jaco Pastorious, Abraham Laboriel,Victor Wooten, Tony Levin, Jeff Berlin, Billy Sheehan to name a few.

The traditional slap bass style is ‘thump and Pop’. This is played by slapping the strings with thump and popping the strings with index and middle fingers. However Bassists like Victor Wooten, Tony Levin and many others experimented and innovated different styles. During the changes in the music of the West, fusion music was silently having its own innovations. Guitarists like John McLaughlin and others interacted with music of East India. Though there are many great Guitarists in the Indian music world, they were not noticed much in the western world during the last century. When the information age started, interaction between Indian and Western musicians became easy and contributions of Indian guitarists became more notable in the world of international music. In the West, one of the inevitable instruments of India for fusion music has been ‘Tabla’. And musicians especially bassists found interaction of bass with tabla very easy.

Groove is what everyone expects with bass. But with the new generation music like death metal etc, playing fast bass has become a passion for guitarists. It is in the meantime, Jayen Varma from India, who has background in Indian percussion instruments, started applying Tabla style finger slap on Bass Guitar. Obviously, he could play bass at high pace and he set a World Record in Bass Guitar in 2008, as Fastest Percussive Bassist playing 36 percussive notes per second with The Registry of Official World Records(Record Holders Republic)USA&UK. Instead of applying the traditional thump and pop style, he plays bass like Tabla. There are many fast bassists in the world, but only few have attempted to make it official. Jayen Varma himself wishes somebody to break his record, since there are many fast bassists in the World.

However, interaction of music of different countries can change the music entirely in the age of information with fast communication.

Reference:

• http://www.recordholdersrepublic.co.uk/recordholdersdetails.asp?id=484

External links:

• http://www.jayenvarma.net
• http://www.myspace.com/jayenvarma
• http://www.4to40.com/recordbook/index.asp?id=2945&category=featured&guinness=Jayen_Varma
• http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/kickapps/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=2700383&as=7691&b=