"Root noter" style of playing...

[telepbrman]

I'm new to the bass, and read a post about a picker being a "Root Noter" what does this mean? Thanks, dy.

[CopperState]

Nah, it just refers to someone who sticks to the root tone of chords. i.e. If the guitard is playing a G chord, a 'root noter' will play a G as well. If the guitard is playing a Gm7#9#37b79, the bass player will still be playing a G note.

added: There's nothing wrong with being a root-noter or not being one. Just let the song tell you what it needs.

[MarkTAW]

Chords are made up of multiple notes & a bass player can choose to play any of those notes, or a few notes not in the chord.

Each chord has a "root" note that serves as the foundation for that chord. If the bass player plays the root note, it means they're just playing the foundational note & nothing else.

A lot of songs work well with this technique.

[mkandolf]

If you are new to bass, starting off with root notes is generally a good idea if your music theory isn't there yet.

[MrBorisSpider]

Although I'm all for throwing in cool runs and turnarounds, the bass player's main job is to support the music. Nothing supports music like root notes. Case and point:

-Adam Clayton, the man's made a career of pumping root notes...you know what? I like his style. His bassline from With or Without You is among my favourites, all four notes that it is.
-Cliff Williams from AC/DC, usually solid, steady 8ths. No one does it like him. He locks in and doesn't get in the way and because of it, the band sounds solid.
-Dave Ellefson, formerly of Megadeth: The man spent 90% of the time pumping the low E. However, he was key to the sound. Besides, he has shown he can do more.

[rfclef]

Originally Posted by MrBorisSpider

Although I'm all for throwing in cool runs and turnarounds, the bass player's main job is to support the music. Nothing supports music like root notes. .

Yeah.. I would never classify myself as a great player... But I spend a lotta time on the roots. I do the runs and passing tones and neighbors, but lotsa roots here.

[BillyRay]

I paid for my car by playing all roots with the ocasional fifth for good measure so there's nothign wrong with it. Many styles even ask for such playing: can you picture rock bass playing without a fair amount of root pumping ? Greats like Geddy Lee and Chris Squire, who are most often recognized for being "busy" with passing tones and counter melodic work usually take the root approach to a fair amount of songs.

Funny story: I had a guitar player once told me that he liked the way I would take a solo once in a while. Puzzled, I asked him what the hell he was talking about.

He pointed out to me the fill back to E that I would do in the bassline to "Keep on Rocking in the Free World" at the end of the signature riff.

Made my day

[SwamiRob]

If my bass sounds amazing i could play roots all day, but my head isn't good enough to get a clean deep tone, so it's not as satisfying as it should be at the moment as it should be.

Personally I've been getting well into harmonies, sounds good to throw in another chord, or missing one, once in a while.

[BillMason]

Originally Posted by MrBorisSpider

Although I'm all for throwing in cool runs and turnarounds, the bass player's main job is to support the music. Nothing supports music like root notes. Case and point:

-Adam Clayton, the man's made a career of pumping root notes...you know what? I like his style. His bassline from With or Without You is among my favourites, all four notes that it is.
-Cliff Williams from AC/DC, usually solid, steady 8ths. No one does it like him. He locks in and doesn't get in the way and because of it, the band sounds solid.
-Dave Ellefson, formerly of Megadeth: The man spent 90% of the time pumping the low E. However, he was key to the sound. Besides, he has shown he can do more.

I gotta agree with everything you said here.

[MrBorisSpider]

Originally Posted by rfclef

Yeah.. I would never classify myself as a great player... But I spend a lotta time on the roots. I do the runs and passing tones and neighbors, but lotsa roots here.

Hahaha I'll probably never call myself anything more than 'decent'. Good to see I'm not the only one interested in 'holding it down'.

[RiddimKing]

Quote:
Originally Posted by rfclef
Yeah.. I would never classify myself as a great player... But I spend a lotta time on the roots. I do the runs and passing tones and neighbors, but lotsa roots here.
Hahaha I'll probably never call myself anything more than 'decent'. Good to see I'm not the only one interested in 'holding it down'.

I prefer to describe myself as a "utility bassplayer"

[Mingus]

Maybe for rock and some other styles. If I sat pumping out root notes, I'd get bored.

[winstonthecat]

It is sometimes more important to vary your rhythm than vary your notes. I find I can do a lot of root-5 stuff, but using syncopation can add a lot to the sound, and is generally more interesting than just pumping 8ths.

But of course, if the song calls for pumping 8ths, that's what you should do.

[rutty24]

Originally Posted by winstonthecat

It is sometimes more important to vary your rhythm than vary your notes. I find I can do a lot of root-5 stuff, but using syncopation can add a lot to the sound, and is generally more interesting than just pumping 8ths.

But of course, if the song calls for pumping 8ths, that's what you should do.

+1 pumping 8ths on a fretless doesn't really work for me so a bit of variation is required.... might get a stingray that'll solve the problem!!

[dj150888]

Depends what you want to achieve as a bass player. I like to hold down the foundation of the band but I want to add a bit of spice to it as well. Sometimes I'll be playing the root note if its whats called for, sometimes I'll be playing a note thats harmonising with what the guitar is doing, sometimes I'll be playing chords (especially when dual guitar harmonies are being played, sometimes it sounds like the arse falls out if there are no chords there, whereas sometimes its a really nice lift to the song if I just keep pumping my roots)

I'd get very bored just playing entire sets of root notes though.

I like the Root fifth octave combination in 6/8 though, holding the foundation down with the root and just throwing the fifth and octave in where it fits, simple, easy, effective.

[WayneS]

I personally cant stand hanging around on a root note. Bores the hell out of me. I subscribe more to the Steve Harris style of playing. I keep it solid, make it sound good, and try to completely avoid playing the same freakin note over and over.

This is the epitome of a bass player. To me, those who stand out are the ones like Steve Harris, Geezer Butler, ect.

[WayneS]

Originally Posted by dj150888

Depends what you want to achieve as a bass player. I like to hold down the foundation of the band but I want to add a bit of spice to it as well. Sometimes I'll be playing the root note if its whats called for, sometimes I'll be playing a note thats harmonising with what the guitar is doing, sometimes I'll be playing chords (especially when dual guitar harmonies are being played, sometimes it sounds like the arse falls out if there are no chords there, whereas sometimes its a really nice lift to the song if I just keep pumping my roots)

I'd get very bored just playing entire sets of root notes though.

I like the Root fifth octave combination in 6/8 though, holding the foundation down with the root and just throwing the fifth and octave in where it fits, simple, easy, effective.

+100

[dj150888]

Originally Posted by WayneS

I personally cant stand hanging around on a root note. Bores the hell out of me. I subscribe more to the Steve Harris style of playing. I keep it solid, make it sound good, and try to completely avoid playing the same freakin note over and over.

This is the epitome of a bass player. To me, those who stand out are the ones like Steve Harris, Geezer Butler, ect.

Geezer Butler spent a huge amount of time hammering on the root notes. I think thats part of what made him great! When he played his flourishes, they just stood out more. If the playing is too busy, you don't notice it as much. Get the foundation there, then worry about putting stuff on top of it, luckily something both Steve Harris and Geezer Butler did, but neither were "above" root notes when they were right for the song.

[MrBorisSpider]

Originally Posted by WayneS

I personally cant stand hanging around on a root note. Bores the hell out of me. I subscribe more to the Steve Harris style of playing. I keep it solid, make it sound good, and try to completely avoid playing the same freakin note over and over.

This is the epitome of a bass player. To me, those who stand out are the ones like Steve Harris, Geezer Butler, ect.

Steve Harris pumped a lot of roots and put in some pentatonic runs; I'd say he does this 80% of the time. He's still amazing.

Also, if you play Children of the Grave or War Pigs by Sabbath and then analyze what you played, you'll notice it's primarily pumping the Em (unless it's a different key and my ear is off).

[Sneckumhaw]

Originally Posted by telepbrman

I'm new to the bass, and read a post about a picker being a "Root Noter" what does this mean? Thanks, dy.

Using picks and sticking to the root notes are unrelated.