make room for the snare (TB advice I finally used)

[mambo4]

Just thought i'd share:

My band was rehearsing, and in the more sparse basslines, I was giving some attention to the lenth of the notes I was playing. Do I sustain the note right up until the next note? do I play it stacccatto? do I choke it part way though?

then i rembered someone metioned stopping the notes from ringing an instant before the snare hit, to help it sound tight.

so I tried it and wow, it sure as heck does.
leaving space for the snare really serves the groove, in many cases.

hooray for TB!

[Ach]

Thanks for that advice!

[jaywa]

Originally Posted by mambo4

then i rembered someone metioned stopping the notes from ringing an instant before the snare hit, to help it sound tight.

so I tried it and wow, it sure as heck does.
leaving space for the snare really serves the groove, in many cases.

hooray for TB!

YES! One of the great hidden groove secrets of all time. I remember the first time I stumbled on it and it was like, "holy s**t, we sound like a real rhythm section now!" I've shown this to some younger players and their eyes just light up when they realize the difference it makes. Essentially you are "gating" your bass note against the hit of the snare and the overall impact can be huge.

The importance of note duration is something too often overlooked.

[JBP-Douglas]

I've found out this when i was working on a Sly and The Family Stone tune, in which Larry Graham stopped the bass just a 16th. note before the snare. I tried this on one of my band songs and sounded awesome. Since then I do this thing almost of the time

[BigOldHarry]

Space between the notes, boys - leave some space! Makes that groove fatter!

When in doubt, under play!

[anothercreation]

awesome advice right there

[Corey_Bass]

Hey, that's one hot tip!!!. An old teacher of mine told me that and once that I've found that, it was like a major epiphany!

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by mambo4

I was giving some attention to the lenth of the notes I was playing. Do I sustain the note right up until the next note? do I play it stacccatto? do I choke it part way though?

then i rembered someone metioned stopping the notes from ringing an instant before the snare hit, to help it sound tight.

Ideally, all of those options are available for you to choose & use when appropriate.

It will definitely sound different if your notes sustain over the backbeat versus a quick release just prior to the snare, but whether one is "better" than the other is entirely contextual. Sometimes you deliberately want that space; sometimes you deliberately want to fill that space and connect all your notes. Or some notes, but not others.

The important thing to remember is not this one specific trick (sic) but rather that you have to be aware of note length. It's a critical parameter of any groove.

[mambo4]

Originally Posted by Hoover

The important thing to remember is not this one specific trick (sic) but rather that you have to be aware of note length. It's a critical parameter of any groove.

agreed...hence the qualifier "in many cases"

[JustinCase]

I just don't get how to stop the notes from ringing, do I need to palm mute the strings just before the snare backbeat? Little help, please

[mambo4]

I play 2- finger style.
After plucking, I hover my RH finger just above the string and put my finger down to stop it. I use the other finger (I or M, depending) to pluck the next note.

sometimes I will use my LH fingers to mute the string too.

Keep in mind that in my case, the sing is not anything too fast, BPM wise, and the notes are pretty long.

[tobie]

Originally Posted by JustinCase

I just don't get how to stop the notes from ringing, do I need to palm mute the strings just before the snare backbeat? Little help, please

Lift your fretting finger just enough to release the string from the fret, with the finger still resting on the string.

[whoatherechunk]

sick sick advice

[Aged_Clayman]

I've found out this when i was working on a Sly and The Family Stone tune, in which Larry Graham stopped the bass just a 16th. note before the snare.

What tune is it?

[tobie]

Originally Posted by whoatherechunk

sick sick advice

How about adding something more useful?

[BassChuck]

So true. Cut that note off before the snare, really cleans up the sound. And on the same page, if you have a note that needs to accented, cut the note short before leave a little silence and the next note sounds louder.

If you need to be quiet, but will get lost in the mix with less volume, play shorter notes.

Length of note is a major tool to playing with emotion.

[jaywa]

As a 95% fingerstyle player, most of my muting happens with my plucking hand. On tunes where I use a pick, then the muting function shifts to my left hand but that is not nearly as comfortable for me.

[jaywa]

Originally Posted by Aged_Clayman

What tune is it?

If I had to guess, I'd say "Everyday People". The most groovin' one-note bass line ever.

[jarrod cunningham]

just play so many notes that there are no spaces ..... lol lol lol .... "i play in a band .. yeah , i play lead bass " !!!! lol lol im in the floor laughin at myself ...

[J. Crawford]

Originally Posted by BigOldHarry

When in doubt, under play!

Just found this post. Sig'd, because that last line is ohhh so true.