improveing playing

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wulf Forrester-Barker on April 17, 2012 at 9:54am

If Diana is only playing quarter and eighth notes then I think the drummer probably has a point. Three routes for improving your rhythm vocabulary come to mind:

1. Listen to and try playing along with songs that don't fall into the rhythmic ruts you are familiar with. Even just tapping your hand along in time with the bass would help.

2. Do the maths. Even with just quarter notes and rests, there are several combinations in a single bar of 4/4: eg. q q q q | q r q r | q q r q | etc. Allowing yourself to add ties and rests adds even more: eg. q_q r q | q r r q | etc. Now try some patterns that repeat over two bars. Once you've got the hang of that, work on the same patterns but count each quarter note as an eighth note (so every bar is, in effect, twice as long). Rinse and repeat. Even before you get down to sixteenths or add in other twists like triplets, you should have found a few patterns ("rhythm riffs" is the name I was given when I learned them) to add some variety.

3. Work with the drummer. A common trick is to play the same rhythm as they play on their bass drum although there are also plenty of other approaches and the drummer might be the best one to show you.

Wulf

Permalink Reply by Diana Jurss on April 20, 2012 at 2:21pm

Thanks guys.  Actually that is very similar to how I learned to play African drum

rhythms (Djembe and DjunDjun drums).  I'd count out loud and play  1 2 3 and 4

  1 2 and 3 4      and 1 and 2 3 4 to get out of our Western music style to the

African style off beats. I guess its just not as easy on bass when I'm thinking about

specific notes as well.

Permalink Reply by Toni on April 20, 2012 at 2:43pm

Quickie question then - eighth notes refers to how the bar is segmented, rather than to sub-divisions of a crotchet? I never needed to know, but in that case it makes guys playing 16ths seem a lot less awesome!

Permalink Reply by Greg Newhouse on April 20, 2012 at 4:53pm

half note = minim

quarter note = crotchet

eighth note = quaver

sixteenth note = semiquaver

 

and clearly, suspenders will not be found in the menswear department, unless you're in one of those kind of shops. ;)

Permalink Reply by Greg Newhouse on April 20, 2012 at 5:10pm

Off topic:

Alas, I shall probably never, ever, ever be able to justify having a suit made at Sir Tom Baker's shop in Soho. But I sure would like to have that done, someday. And I'm pretty sure that his shop is NOT one of those kind of shops.

Permalink Reply by Toni on April 21, 2012 at 3:54pm

Thanks Greg. It's probably down to training, but I've obviously mixed up 1 beat with 1 note.

As for suspenders, it depends (pun not intended) on whether you mean the American or British versions.

Permalink Reply by Greg Newhouse on April 18, 2012 at 8:24pm

On occasion, listen to something besides modern worship and praise music. Even something as dated sounding as 70s disco tracks by groups such as Chic had some pretty good studio musicians (Nile Rodgers - guitar, Bernie Edwards - bass) with profound rhythmic chops. And you have to be really good to keep up with Stevie Wonder, and Nathan Watts did it with style. Listen to James Jameson on all those great Motown cuts. Many rhythmically complex arrangements to choose from, so just pick out one thing at a time and try to figure it out. Don't rely on cut and paste worship videos to learn to play things - try something new, and if it doesn't work, try something else. Then again, I'm not normal - I like listening to and working on many things which are not traditionally church music, so I can use the chops when I do play at church.

Permalink Reply by Greg Newhouse on April 19, 2012 at 1:33pm

Or you could just look at the drummer incredulously and say, "You mean you don't want me to sound just like the CD?"

 

Permalink Reply by Bill Guynn on October 17, 2012 at 2:34am

first of all I think it makes a difference on what kind of music you are playing. next you have to practice alone with the music. over and over, listen to the bass player in the song if you want to sound like the "cd" but by playing over and over you get familiar with the song. that's when you can expand and grow with your bass playing. but also remember how many other musicians are on stage with you. The more musicians blending the less you should play so you don't step on each other and muddy up the music. Also playing in time with the drummer and keeping track of the singer are of utmost importance. Sometimes leaving notes out so the lead instruments can carry the melody increases the quality of sound as well. Notes not played can be the best notes for a bass player. When i started out I found a piece on youtube by Paul Baloche on what he wsa looking for in a bass player and it sounded like he was looking for you. good luck and praise God.

Permalink Reply by David D Waggoner on May 14, 2012 at 1:02pm

I am going to echo what the first reply said: Practice.

 

I would figure what keys you play most of your material in and practice those scales, from the lowest note in the scale** all the way past the octave point on you high G string. (assuming a 4 or 5 string bass) Get to know those scales so well you can play them in your sleep.  Yeah - I know scales are boring.  So do what you can to make them not boring.  for a C maj scale play C E D F E G F A G B A C B D C  going up and reverse it going down. All walking bass lines and fill ins use sections of scales.

 

**  the lowest note in the scale on your instrument.  For example if you are playing in the key of C major, the lowest note in the scale would be your low E on a 4 string. If you are playing in Bb, then the low F would be your starting note.

Permalink Reply by David D Waggoner on May 14, 2012 at 1:13pm

>>  Listen to James Jameson on all those great Motown cuts.

 

I second this.  (and would add Bob Babbit, but those 2 men sounded so much alike even they did not remember who played on certain tracks)

Another one to listen to is Mel Schacker on EARLY Grand Funk RR recordings (Red album, first live album, E Pluribus Funk) He could lay down a rock hook 2nd to none.  Being from Flint MI he was influenced by that Detroit sound like Jamerson and Babbit.

Permalink Reply by Dan Elder on April 13, 2013 at 6:51pm

Listen to some other styles. I have found "urban" gospel to be some of the most complicated bass lines in music where as alot of the "contemporary" worship styles are as you say very basic. 

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