I tried the best I could to explain it.
The notes on guitar do not define the chord .. they may set a structure, but as a bass player you must know what the root does to a chord.
Play a C chord on piano with right hand 3 fingers. It's a defined C chord.
Now add a bass note like A with the left hand, what is that chord now? Your one hand is still playing a C chord (like a guitarist plays chords), but that chord is ambiguous without the root defining it

It's called music 'Theory' for a reason. <grin>
It helps us communicate ideas & concepts with some understanding, but it's not written in stone, and sometimes it's hard to explain or grasp.

Again, I think in the example what Jaco did with the chords (interpreted) made the chords themselves ambiguous.

Last edited by rharv; 01/05/26 12:15 PM.
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