#1
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Playing Bass
do you play all the chords when you play bass?
I switch to play bass if needed in my band. but I have no background of bass. I just play bass(root) note and some scales as if I play acoustics.. I didn't get yelled at yet.. but just wonder if I am doing it right.. I have great respect for bass player after I messed up couple times.. like if you play G chord song. do you play all G B D?.. I play just G..and in transition to C .. I play B briefly and go to C .. am I doing it right? help~
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#2
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Depends on the song! Often times going between the root and the 5th note (G-D for example when a G chord is being played) is the simple thing. There are 'walking bass' lines where the bass notes descend or rise through the scale. Listen to the original versions of the songs you are playing to learn what to do. If you're doing originals, do whatever sounds right.
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Mike My music: https://mikebirchmusic.bandcamp.com 2020 Taylor 324ceBE 2017 Taylor 114ce-N 2012 Taylor 310ce 2011 Fender CD140SCE Ibanez 12 string a/e 73(?) Epiphone 6830E 6 string 72 Fender Telecaster Epiphone Dot Studio Epiphone LP Jr Chinese Strat clone Kala baritone ukulele Seagull 'Merlin' Washburn Mandolin Luna 'tatoo' a/e ukulele antique banjolin Squire J bass |
#3
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I agree with Mike that it depends on the song, but I'll also tell you as a closet bass player for nearly 40 years that you're on the right track with those passing tones; many beginning bass players believe that their role is solely to provide rhythm and hold down the bottom end - and while that's largely true, it's equally true that a well thought-out bass line gives a song melodic interest. You appear to have enough knowledge of theory to recognize that the third (the "middle" note in a triad or three-note chord) makes a good transition to the subdominant chord (the one built on the fourth step of the scale - in the case you cite, the C chord in a song in the key of G); you also mention that you use guitar scales - and if you know your upper positions, this is where things can start to get interesting...
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#4
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Sometimes the root is all a song needs. I sought out a YouTube clip of Steve Earl doing Six Days on the Road. The bass was hammering the root the whole song. A step up from that extreme minimalist approach is adding passing notes to arrive at the next change, after that learn some basic walking patterns. A song can sound great with too few notes, horrible with too many.
Take a cue from the kick drum. Sync with that. Bass is all about groove. Listen to any of the hits from the 60s done by the wrecking crew. They knew how to support songs. Listen to James Jamerson on the Motown hits. Then listen to Paul McCartney and how even in the early days he changed classic rock and roll grooves ever so slightly to add interest, then listen to the bass line from Something, IMHO the best bass part ever in melodic support of a song. Avoid the dreaded lead guitar mentality like the plague. I once had a killer drummer tell me he couldn't play anything fancy, but was good at basic solid drumming. I told him that was what 98% of musicians want in a drummer, and I try to have that mind set when playing bass. Listen to some bluegrass too. Simple low end support sans drummer.
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#5
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Lots of good advice here. Stay in the pocket and don't get too busy. I find that listening to what the music wants tells me what to do.
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#6
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on the other hand, in some kinds of music - some metal, for example - the guitar and bass play the same notes, often very fast notes (16s or 8s). and disco and some funk have a lot more going on.
if you head off to youtube, you can search "isolated bass" and find bass tracks without the songs. find some you know, listen and see how the original was done. or check out this guy on youtuve - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiv...DDJPX-rxFgRCPg this guy is awesome - he has over 1100 bass covers that he learns note for note, then plays them to the camera so you can exactly see the fingerboard. |
#7
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What kind of music does your band play?
It doesn't make any sense to study the technique of a jazz bassist if you're playing bass for an AC/DC tribute band. The only other advice I have is to learn your scales. It's boring, I know, but absolutely vital. |
#8
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i do scales pretty much never. i'm a pretty decent bass player; several bands have been very happy to have me, and many more invited me to join, so i guess i'm doing something right even without scales
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#9
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Even if you don't use scales in your playing *as* scales, I think it's vital to know them.
I love playing bass because it removes a bit of the inhibition, in a way... Lots of ways you can very subtly influence the modality and melodic content of a song, that the instruments holding down the "hard" melody and harmony can't do That said I've never been much of a chord-based bassist, I tend to gravitate more toward walking lines and such, more "linear" scale based playing in a way. |
#10
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Quote:
I've played a lot of bass in bands too, and for years I had the attitude that learning scales was for beginners....and like you, I did ok. Only later did I learn that I was using scales the whole time but didn't know it. If I'd spent some time with scales, I would have had a lot more notes available to use, and I would have been a better bass player. A little knowledge never hurts. |
#11
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true, but then i spent years playing acoustic guitar before i started playing bass, so the fretboard and i are old friends.
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#12
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welcome to the dark side
I have been playing guitar since 1964 and had fiddled with bass off and on until about 5 years ago when our church band lost the bass player and we needed that more than two guitar players so I slid into the bass slot. I've been playing bass since then and I think I am now truly a bass player. Here are a few observations. YMMV. Bass is a completely different instrument than guitar. Yes, the notes are in the same pace, but the role in the music is radically different. Commit yourself to learning to be a bass player rather than a guitar player playing bass, and you'll find it a lot more fun. The interaction of the bass and the drums is foundational for everything else. If there is no drummer, then the groove and the rhythm are all on the bass player. Unlike guitar, bass usually requires you to be playing with other folk. That is good and bad. Simple is generally good when it comes to bass lines. knowledge of theory and fretboard makes playing simply a lot more interesting Practice with a metronome or a drum track There are some great bass teachers online. Check out Scott's Bass Lessons on youtube. He is an excellent player and teacher. He also has a paid arrangement but I've found the free stuff to be extremely helpful and all I need at this point. There are others too. I have found that spending more time on bass has impacted my guitar technique in a negative way, not the least of which being that my right hand nails are toast from the heavier strings. And there is the fact that I spend more time playing bass than guitar... bass players are less conservative than guitar players so there is some crazy gear out there and the new technology always hits basses first - extremely low weight/high power amps (I have a 900 watt head that weighs less than 5 pounds and sounds amazing), flat frequency response speakers, and extended range basses are cases in point. Still, you don't have to succumb to GAS. FWIW, I have fallen in love with bass and find myself playing it more than guitar these days. It went to the degree that I spent serious money on a great amp and a handmade fretless bass (that I love. The only GAS I might get would be for backups to my rig... have fun! |
#13
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Quote:
Bass is a COMPLETELY different instrument from guitar. Different attack, approach and mindset all together. It's definitely a case of "less is more". If you approach it as a guitar with two fewer strings, you'll never lock in with the drummer because you'll be too busy flying all over the neck and, as a result, the groove will never develop. FWIW....I play bass with fingers, thumbs, flat pick or thumb pick. Don't get too hung up on that. Regardless of what the purists and snobs may say, they're tools I've added to my toolbox in my over 50+ years of playing bass. I've learned that EACH of those methods has their use and application. Choose the method(s) that works easiest for you initially then, expand and grow from there. Have fun!
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#14
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This is timely for me. I'm a newer guitar player (~2 years) who is very much not a natural. I don't give theory much thought most of the time, but have managed to absorb some at the "20,000 foot" level. When I play guitar, I don't think theory. I know a bunch of chords and I simply look up the chords for a song and play 'em. If I don't know a necessary chord I'll try to learn it. Any individual notes that I play are simply remembered from wherever I picked it up (usually a youtube video) or played just because they sound right. I keep thinking that one of these days I'll dig deeper.
I was watching a friend's band recently and started to think about what the bass player was doing. I got to thinking about it and figured he must have been playing notes contained within the chord or scale that the guitar player was playing. That thought process prompted a quick scan of my local craigslist last weekend for bass guitars and one trade of an unused keyboard later, I owned a cheap Korean no name bass. I have about 40 minutes total playing time at this point, and I'm finding it to be very interesting. I also think it's helping me learn my way around the fretboard in terms of note placement. I'm just playing roots, 5ths, and octaves and the process of identifying those notes is getting easier. As I'm trying to play along to the songs I do on guitar, I'm trying to decide on the fly if I want a root, 5th, higher/lower octave, etc. I can already at a glance spot notes on the fretboard that I couldn't before. Because the exact note/chord isn't spelled out for me like the way I play guitar, I'm using my ear to decide what to play. I do this to some degree now when I choose different chord voicings and variations, etc., but those choices usually come after I learn the song as written out on my chord sheet. The way I'm fiddling now, I'm having to make a choice for each note and in a hurry. I'm sure there are bass tabs available, but I think I'm going to intentionally not look and try to continue using my ears. They can very much stand the practice and development. I think it's going to be fun. To quote my bass playing coworker: "If you know the root notes and the I-IV-V progression, you can go on tour with Garth Brooks." |
#15
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Plenty of great advice already given only thing I will add is:
Timing Practice counting the different time signatures and learn how to tap your foot in time. |