God, I suck.

[Bass_masta16]

My band is playing a show on the 24th (2 Fridays from now), and they asked me to write a bass solo.. (we're like modern rock)

Well, that's what I've been trying to do for the last 3 hours.. I can't do anything..

I just realized that I know nothing.. Whenever I try to do something, it ends up out of key. I don't know where to start, and if I do manage to get something, it turns into a big mess.

Gurrhh.

I was also trying to play with a metronome, but I keep losing my timing, and.. Ughh

This is so frustrating..

Can anyone point me into some kind of direction? Please??

[J. Crawford]

IS it in Major, Mrnor, Dominant 7th, etc. You could just play the arpeggios, and stay "inside the box" as my teacher says. Works well, and sounds great.

[Mike Shevlin]

http://playbassnow.com/

[J. Crawford]

I should have thought of Marlowe. Good call.

[backline112]

This is why scales are important when you're starting.

What's your level of expertise and theory knowledge?

I suggest two approaches:
-Memorize the scales of that part of the song and fiddle over those memorized scales (chord changes.)
-Feel it.

Music is made of bits and pieces of scales, arpeggios, and chords.
Chord changes should be called Scale changes.
-Jamey Aebersold.

[southernrocker]

The right note is always just a half step away!

[Mikio]

dude, God doesn't care, stop bothering him


anyway, if you can't do it, just don't, I mean.... people doesn't like bass solos anyway, lol

[Shoot_A_Hostage]

Steal one lol.
Seriously, if you know the key of the song and thats a bass solo that matches it, take that one. You might wanna say the name of the song its from, but i f you want ALL the glory go ahead.

[tegnoto89]

Just improv up and down the major scale (not literally up and down, like in a scale, but use the major scale). Or minor, if it's in a minor key. Or use your major or minor pentatonic

[nortonrider]

Simple can be totally cool!

Here's a great example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yjm_qcezWIw

[fearceol]

Have a try at humming a potential solo to yourself without the bass. That way, muscle memory wont keep dragging you back to the same old riffs. If you can sing it you can play it.

[sevenyearsdown]

how is that someone named bast masta can suck?

[BillyRay]

Norton I wouldn't call that solo "simple". Sure he stays pretty much in the same position and he uses chromatic passages a lot, but that thing would not be easy to play unless you have the feeling and groove Andy Hess has.

When you say solo, does the band drop off or not. This makes a huge difference on how I would approch the whole ordeal. I'd just quote the melody of the song with some changes if I couldn't manage a full wanking bass solo. Gets the job done. +1 to humming it beforehand too.

Also, learn the structure of the songs, the chords and how they relate to each others. This is basically what you need to construct a rock solo. No need for the Egyptian bbZ minor pentatonic groovy scale of 1975 for this.

[Din Of Win]

I'm in a similar sittuation and I've found this thread super usefull! Thanks guys/gals!

Not to threadjack, but:

Any tips on tastefulness? When does a solo turn into just wankering on the fretboard? The solo(s) i would(will) do are in a Ramones/Go-Gos style power-pop band, so the majority of the songs are preeeeeeetty simplistic. So, are there any rules of thumb as to how crazy things should get? I'm usually a fan of less=more, but this is the first band that actually has encouraged me to "do my thang" and i just don't want to get too carried away!

[xzzy]

Originally Posted by Din Of Win

Any tips on tastefulness? When does a solo turn into just wankering on the fretboard?

Generally, when you're trying to impress people, it turns into 'wankering'.

Taking into account he's a guitar player, go to youtube and look up some David Gilmour solos. He uses a lot of very 'safe' patterns, but the end result is every single note sounds like it belongs. It was put there because he specifically intended it to be there. I know several guitarists who find him boring because of this, but when you're in the audience it'll be just about the best thing you ever heard.

Keep the theme of the song in mind and restrain the urge to melt faces, and you're halfway to a tasteful solo.

[JeremyJJackson]

Usually songs have a basic underlying chord progression. Ex. E A C G. Make Sure you hit those down notes and really just fool around in between those notes and you cant really go wrong.

[rathole]

God, I suck.

apparently you haven't heard me. I am the all time master of sucking!!!!
that's why I stay in the basement--my faithful dog doesn't expect much of me.

I'm sure you'll do fine--I got faith in ya
some good suggestions from the others--I can't offer much more than ecouragement
rathole

[tigerbass]

Maybe just write some simple runs in whatever key the song is in, and as you are going along start introducing some effects, if you have any, and adding a few more notes to your run or scale, and keep building on that. Depending on what you are using sometimes even playing fewer notes in your runs/scales can really turn into something crazy. Or maybe build up into a big climax, I know, I said climax...haha, or something like that.

[FunkMetalBass]

I have a similar problem in that I can't ever figure out the right "feel" for the solo. Only advice I can offer is to learn your scales and modes. Also make sure you really look at the chord changes and change scales accordingly.

For example, if the progression is Bm, Am, G, Em (a progression my guitarist uses way too often **smacks**), you can mess around in the B phrygian, A dorian, G ionian, and E aolian, respectively.

B phrygian (minor scale, flattened 2): B C D E F# G A
A dorian (minor scale w/ major 6): A B C D E F# G
G ionian (major scale): G A B C D E F#
E aolian (minor scale): E F# G A B C D

If you post the chords (and key) you're playing over, I'd be happy to help by posting tabs of the modes and arpeggios of each chord.

[lunarpollen]

It's difficult to advise you based on what you have said so far. In what context do they want this bass solo? Is it just for a portion of one particular song, in the same way a song might have a guitar solo? If so, what does the song sound like, and what does the regular bass line sound like? And is the solo to be played over a regular verse or chorus (or both) or is it for a bridge or breakdown part?