Dying of Boredom

[Joshi-kun]

To preface this: I understand that bass isn't generally a centre stage instrument, it tends to be backing and that often sticking to the root notes of the guitar can really help a song.

BUT

I'm so tired of playing the root notes, so I've learned to do little walks (because I loathe slap and pop stlye playing... sorry flea fans but, it's just not my thing...).

SOOOO....

Does anyone no any drills or exercises that may teach me something new? Because at the moment I'm resorting to strange little harmonic thingies and living on my walks...

[pklima]

There are a ton of possibilities - cello music, opera arias, trombone etudes... I would suggest getting a jazz fake book - you can practice playing the head to get yourself thinking melodically. Or you can walk the changes. It doesn't matter if you don't like jazz, it's still great exercise.

[Correlli]

Start playing chords, Like the Root and the %th.




See Ya.

[ryco]

Explore the possibilities of starting on thirds of chords when practising. Keep in mind major and minor, and you don't want to overdo this playing with others- a little goes a long way live. And explore M and m 7ths and 6ths for colors.

[Blackbird]

Get the book Standing in the Shadows of Motown. It'll give you years of ideas. Trust me.

[Red Wonder]

Originally Posted by Blackbird

Get the book Standing in the Shadows of Motown. It'll give you years of ideas. Trust me.

That is one epic book.

[RATZAX]

where can I find that book? Is it a Tab book?

[WillPlay4Food]

You can find it on Amazon. It is not a TAB book, you'll have to read sheet music. It's part biography and part musical instruction. It also comes with CDs of the songs played by other bassists. Well worth checking out.

[axlblue]

I can totally relate to this one. I was thinking just today about how I'm bored at the moment with everything. Playing chords on bass at the right time sounds awesome, especially when it gives the song a jazzy sound. Where are the chord charts for bass? Do we need them or do we just try to play the same chords as guitar until something sounds good? I believe the bass player for Los Lonely Boys does this alot and he gets some good stuff from it. I think I read somewhere that chords on bass is the same as guitar only with some of the notes omitted. How do I know which ones to omit?

[All_¥our_Bass]

Originally Posted by axlblue

...chords on bass is the same as guitar only with some of the notes omitted. How do I know which ones to omit?

use your ears and find which notesa to omitt, for metal stuff I often play power chords minus the root on the G and D strings. For more, 'acoustic style' chords I will use the root the Maj3 and an octave. I also suggest playing chords high on the neck and not using E or lower since it usually too boomy, but feel free to find whats right for you

[WillPlay4Food]

Originally Posted by axlblue

I can totally relate to this one. I was thinking just today about how I'm bored at the moment with everything. Playing chords on bass at the right time sounds awesome, especially when it gives the song a jazzy sound. Where are the chord charts for bass? Do we need them or do we just try to play the same chords as guitar until something sounds good? I believe the bass player for Los Lonely Boys does this alot and he gets some good stuff from it. I think I read somewhere that chords on bass is the same as guitar only with some of the notes omitted. How do I know which ones to omit?

Some chord charts are actually setup like X/Y where X is the melodic chord and Y is the harmonic chord. Usually you'll only see this when the two diverge, otherwise the melody and harmony is assumed to be working off the same chord structure.

At the bass lesson I had last weekend my teacher gave me some sage advice, learn the melody. Even if you never play it, you should know it. The keyboardist knows it, the brass section knows it, everyone knows it, so why not the bassist? Knowing the melody would give you a better idea of what chords could go over it since you know what notes you'd be playing against.

[nycon]

damn it, Whats happening with my bass playing at the moment is that i have reached a wall, and i am begining to use the same bass fills as i have done before, it feels like i'm going in circles, also if i do different fills with different notes, it still fits a certain groove i wud play. i've tried learning new scales and also listening to new and different types of music, i feels like i am going no-where. i'm also a self thought bass player, and don't want to learn any one elses style, but wudn't mind learn a thing or two from some one.

my finger are stuck in a box shape, playing notes in blocks...any idea's??

[lemur821]

It sounds to me like you're thinking more with your fingers than you are with your head; following patterns stored in muscle memory rather than making music. The first step towards playing interesting music is to think interesting music! Make up tunes in your head in your spare time. Don't worry about remembering them, even if you come up with something you really like. As you get better at making up exciting lines you'll have more than you know what to do with. After you get your mind doing that, you'll need to figure out how to play them, but step one is to learn how to invent music that pleases you. It's something you pretty much need to come up with yourself, but I can suggest working only with small sets of three or four notes at first. Use odd sets of notes too. Just pick a few, like C, F#, and G, and see what you can do with them. Limiting your materials really teaches you to get the best out of what you have.

[scorpionldr]

yea, you gotta think outside the box...i learned that the only way i was gonna learn to go out of my comfort zone in order to impress was by playing the occasional sour note. you gotta go nuts