bass alongside piano

[Low Sound Love]

So I might join a band that's centered around a girl singing and playing the piano. Other instruments are violin, guitars and drums.

I've never played alongside a piano before, and I was thinking about what to do to make sure the bass and piano don't get in each other's playground and mush up. On some of their songs, the low end is well covered by the piano, I'm afraid playing the root on the 1 would either just get lost or muddy up the overall sound.

Anyone have experience or a word of advice on this topic? Thanks. Any references to pop songs where bass and piano work together will also be greatly appreciated.

[BassChuck]

Good piano players can be a blessig and a curse for just this reason. If a piano player is used to doing solo work, they've got the low end covered. Savy players will change their voicings when playing with a group. You may have to police that yourself and remind them to get out of your territory. Usually the problems crop up in the matter of chord inversions and rhytms. Keep an open ear, problems are rarer than cool sounds.

[foq1978]

It could be a good idea to study some bands that use similar instruments. The album "No More Shall We Part", by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, has some serious piano going on, and the bass still shines.

Here's a song with great piano/bass dynamics from this album for you to try. I hope it helps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fd821NgM-Y

Good luck with the new band!

Take care!

[MalcolmAmos]

Yes gospel piano will/can be in your territory big time. Here is a video of each staying out of each others way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g35zS1tVO3o

Same generic bass line through out.

[Low Sound Love]

I'll check those links when I get home, office has blocked as many streaming media as they can. Thanks for the input guys!

[Arranger]

Get copies of the material ahead of time and work it out to try to step around the harmony. You might end up in strictly bass or strictly tenor territory. I'd be prepared to voice my bass accordingly. Try a Precision and be prepared to go to the Jazz or vice versa.