Ska bass

[CIan]

Not sure if this is the right section,but seemed about right.
I'm a self-taught bassist and I can play fairly well.I play in punk bands but I dislike playing the root notes of whatever the guitarist plays and love ska basslines.I don't really know how to play them properly as they a little slick for me so I was wondering if someone could give me a hand with the technique,any tips or so forth.
THanks

[Chriso21]

ska bass lines utilize the use of scales - if you get totally comfortable playing at speed with majors and minors, then check bass tab of your favourite ska bass lines. You should see a certain pattern to them. I can't comment on them precisely as its not my thing though.

[CIan]

Yeah I know ythe major and minor scales ok as the bass intonation is always 5 frets apart it works on every string,the problem is the buzzing.It kills me.

[AmazingGracePlayer]

It's pretty much like walking through scales like the previous person said. I'd just work on playing scales with your fingers or a pick (if you use picks). If buzzing worries you, might as well get a fretless. Or try not to move your fretting hand too much. Must of the scales can be played on a 4 string without much shifting of the fretting hand, but it takes practice, like everything.

[Der Bluten Kat]

if you dislike playing the roots of scales then you shouldnt be a bassist

[AmazingGracePlayer]

Der Bluten Kat, send me a pm in a week or two, and you'll hear me play.
On second thought, just go on youtube and watch a Victor Wooten clip.

He doesn't play just roots, and is still a bassist

[Lalabadie]

There's a difference between PLAYING root notes and ONLY PLAYING root notes. If us bassists started to fear root notes, band playing wouldn't be very enjoyable.

And usually, a ska bassist ain't doing a solo job all the time.

[Milk eWay]

...but ska bass lines do move; its not just the root over and over again (you could get away with this, but most ska songs have moving lines)

[dvh]

Seems to me the evolution of a bass player goes:

root --> root/five --> avoid root and root/five, too limiting --> realize the value of the root and fifths --> less is more except when more fits right.... roots are fine

[Lalabadie]

Originally Posted by dvh

Seems to me the evolution of a bass player goes:

root --> root/five --> avoid root and root/five, too limiting --> realize the value of the root and fifths --> less is more except when more fits right.... roots are fine

Words of wisdom

you could add "--> moves to guitar" at the end :P

[CIan]

Right,I said I dislike playing the bass line of what the guitarist plays.Root notes are fine but I played in a band before where all that was played was Sex Pistols and it gets boring very very quickly when it's all you play.
Nothing wrong with playing the roots of a scale but it get's repetitive.

[blackbassist]

depends what kind of ska you wanna play but...

find out what the barre chords your guitarist is playing, and fool around with the arpeggio for that scale/chord.

for instance if he's playing B major, try fooling around with something with these notes:
G------------------
D------------9-----
A-----6-7-9--------
E---7--------------

you could even play a scale in a walking bassline. for instance, the bassline for "gyasi went home" by bedouin soundclash (not really a ska song, more calypso) is pretty much just the bassist playing an A major scale over and over.

you could also play the root note and then improvise on the chord or scale.

some good bands to check out for inspiration:
catch 22
streetlight manifesto
reel big fish
planet smashers
bedouin soundclash
the johnstones
madness
the specials

some songs:
time bomb - rancid
one step beyond - the specials
action - the johnstones
anything by streetlight manifesto


you could even listen to the song "line em up" by my band (lame advertising)
www.myspace.com/onemoreroundmusic


i hope at least one thing in this long ass post helped

[Blow]

listen to the SKATALITES

[tZer]

I have found some common things in a lot of ska bass lines include:

• outlining the chord - using the arpeggios (like blackbassist described)
• playing two 1/8th on each tone
• Slamming down HARD on the root then going to the arpeggio for the meat of the phrase - when moving from on phrase to the next, use a scalar walk up/down

I love playing ska lines! They are energetic without being exhausting - that gots balls! They make people sweat!

Obviously - check out some Sublime...

also, "Tears of a Clown" (The English Beat, I believe) is another nice ska groover...

[blackbassist]

Originally Posted by Blow

listen to the SKATALITES

oh lord yes!

also check out realllly early bob marley and the wailers.

[xiketero]

I suggest checking out the Choking Victim album No Gods/No Managers. Most of the lines are based around the stuff tZer and they're all really fun to play. The song Five Finger Discount helped to turn me onto bass.

[mmjazzbass]

for killer ska bass check out:
Skatalites for trad ska
The Specials for 2 tone
Streetlight Manifesto, Reel Big Fish, Catch 22 for third wave ska.
(and for another lame advertising attempt, "Maybe" by my band kind of blind http://www.myspace.com/kindofblind )
and in the same vein, is there a ska bass club? there seem to be at least 10 of us on this site.

[plankspanker13]

Originally Posted by blackbassist

(with additions by me)
some good bands to check out for inspiration:
catch 22
streetlight manifesto
reel big fish
planet smashers
bedouin soundclash
the johnstones
madness (before they went pop; One Step Beyond album)
the specials (+100; their first album is ground zero for 2 tone)

some songs:
time bomb - rancid
one step beyond - the specials
action - the johnstones
anything by streetlight manifesto
Nite Klub -The Specials; awesome, with biting social comment that predates Living Colour's "Glammour Boys" by a decade
The Impression That I Get - Mighty Mighty Bosstones
The General - The Untouchables (slammin'!)

Enjoy!

[TomBoyd]

Another thing to think about is the rhythm of Ska music. The rhythm is usually accented on the upbeat.

[thecapm]

Originally Posted by TomBoyd

Another thing to think about is the rhythm of Ska music. The rhythm is usually accented on the upbeat.

For the guitar yes, but the bass is usually playing on the downbeat with the drums.