Church Players how do you approach playing hymns?

BetterBottomEnd · #1 08-22-2007, 10:58 PM

Title basically says it. I've tried going through and writing out the important changes also tried playing the line straight out of the hymnal and realized my sight reading is not up to . So if you're playing straight out of the hymnal what do you do? In my case this week I'm on vacation and have no access to my bass but I do have copies of the music.

JansenW · #2 08-22-2007, 11:24 PM

I generally do one of the following:

1. Sight read from the hymnal (write out the bass notes if you have to). I find that many hymns have excellent bass lines (The bass line for the hymn "O Sacred Head Now Wounded" was written by Bach).

2. Listen and get the bass lines by ear from a recording of the hymn. (You can find recordings of hymns done in various styles).

3. Get a chord chart for the hymn and go from there.

Improvise with your drummer. I also find that I had to work with the keyboard player so the bass lines wouldn't get too heavy and/or lost.

markjazzbassist · #3 08-23-2007, 12:19 AM

i just try to hit the 1 of every measure and do the important chords (ie a unison line/lick). other than that i try to do a lot of walking/moving around/licks in between to keep the music moving with the lyrics.

ras1983 · #4 08-23-2007, 02:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markjazzbassist

i just try to hit the 1 of every measure and do the important chords (ie a unison line/lick). other than that i try to do a lot of walking/moving around/licks in between to keep the music moving with the lyrics.

I take a very similiar approach.

I'm trying to improve my sight reading because some of the written basslines are pretty cool; but i just can't play them on the fly.

Unfortunately, at the moment it takes me a long time to read a notated line.

Thank God for Lead Sheets.

TheCiscoKid · #5 08-23-2007, 12:41 PM

I try to play the lines as written. I will usually write the notes out by name.
With most of the hymns, I don't know them and don't have a CD of them. I will usually practice the songs with the metronome starting at 80 and working my way up to about 130/140 and hope the song is no faster than that.

Jazzerbone · #6 08-25-2007, 12:11 PM

Difficult task to read out of a hymnal. I play in a church where we may play 17 different styles while just reading out of the hymnal the whole service.

My #1 rule is "Don't get in the way". If there is a question between being too complex or being too simple, you can always get away better being too simple rather than being too complex. You ever want to throw an ensemble for a loop, play too many notes and feel the musical tension in the room elevate by the second.

#2 rule for me is "Listen to the drummer". If you have a good drummer, listen to his approach, especially the bass drum. When in doubt, follow the bass drum... unless he's a bad drummer. Some drummers will either not use the bass at all, or they will use it constantly. Either way, try to "fit inside" of what he/she is doing rhythmically. Definately pulls things together for the group.

My Rule #3 kind of goes with #1, "Listen to the piano/keyboard". Piano players always put the bass notes in the left hand and they can signal to you what notes you need to be using and to a certain extent what to do rhythmically. Unfortunately though, many times they forget you're there and they go nuts with their left hand. This is where #1 comes in. If they play a whole bunch of bass notes and you play a whole bunch of different bass notes, you get a hurricane of bass mush. Try to "fit inside" of what they are doing. If it is rhythmically opposite or just really different than the drummer, follow the drummer.

Torch7 · #7 08-25-2007, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markjazzbassist

i just try to hit the 1 of every measure and do the important chords (ie a unison line/lick). other than that i try to do a lot of walking/moving around/licks in between to keep the music moving with the lyrics.

+1

I don't play from a hymnal, but it seems like this would work if I did.

malicous · #8 08-25-2007, 01:07 PM

When I play at my church, or when I sub in other churches, I find it very useful to keep a close eye on the pianist/organist/keyboardist's left hand. These gals/guys usually have formal training and are very able with music theory and sight reading. Whenever I am in doubt when playing in a church, usually because it is a song that is very old and I am not familiar with it (like hymns), I keep my eyes glued onto the keyboard player's left hand (their pinky in particular). I first started this because of an interview I read of Marcus Miller, where he said if he ever did a bass camp, reading the keyboard player's left hand would be one of the most important things he would cover.
There could be some problems with this if your keyboard player is not up to snuff, and if you are not familiar with the notes on a piano (which is an easy fix), but it has helped me greatly with the more tricky church songs, such as hymns.
Hope this helps.

Torch7 · #9 08-26-2007, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malicous

When I play at my church, or when I sub in other churches, I find it very useful to keep a close eye on the pianist/organist/keyboardist's left hand. These gals/guys usually have formal training and are very able with music theory and sight reading. Whenever I am in doubt when playing in a church, usually because it is a song that is very old and I am not familiar with it (like hymns), I keep my eyes glued onto the keyboard player's left hand (their pinky in particular). I first started this because of an interview I read of Marcus Miller, where he said if he ever did a bass camp, reading the keyboard player's left hand would be one of the most important things he would cover.
There could be some problems with this if your keyboard player is not up to snuff, and if you are not familiar with the notes on a piano (which is an easy fix), but it has helped me greatly with the more tricky church songs, such as hymns.
Hope this helps.

I learned to play almost exclusively by watching the keyboard players, pinky finger @ my church.

BetterBottomEnd · #10 08-27-2007, 10:04 AM

What I ended up doing this week was sight reading one line that was really easy, notating a few that were a bit harder, and the hard lines I wrote out the chord changes for the song and did that. Worked out pretty well.

manbass · #11 08-27-2007, 01:11 PM

Good...thats the way I'd have done it given the sightreading status.

99% of our songs I get the lead sheet/guitar chord chart only, no bass clef, and at rehearsal, find the drummers right foot and create a pattern of Roots on one and transition runs within key(ascending or descending) while not playing over the A-Vocals or B-snare. I will write those 3 or four note transitional runs right over the top of the vocal line in hi-liter during rehearsal.

Sounds easy in writing....but on the fly its acrobatics for me at times.

BetterBottomEnd · #12 08-27-2007, 01:13 PM

We usually do alot of more modern stuff chord/lead sheets and the like. Worship leader went "retro" this week. It's nice to change it up though.

livingstone · #13 08-27-2007, 01:38 PM

Smooth full-running bass lines seem to work nicely on hymns. Call on your inventiveness and ear to make the bass line interesting without limiting yourself to what's written. Emphasize dynamics--especially the soft parts. Listen for the softer verses and play them lightly an octave or two up. Lots of fun especially if you don't have to play them too often.

chicagodoubler · #14 08-28-2007, 12:24 AM

Seems like you've solved your problem.

Another point, though.

Don't be afraid to stretch out if the spirit moves you. There is a big gap between gospel and ccm when it comes to bass playing, but I find that by bringing some gospel attitude to my contemporary worship band gigs, the worship leader always brings compliments, the pastor always thanks me for "feeling it," and I enjoy the worship much more.

Remember that bit about making a joyful noise?

Etbass · #15 09-05-2007, 07:17 PM

I'm not a massive fan of playing hymns traditionalwise. Get the whole band in on it, and turn every hymn into funk, jazz, reggae, metal, or rap. Then have fun!

Stinsok · #16 09-05-2007, 07:30 PM

How do you interact with the organist that uses the foot pedals?

BetterBottomEnd · #17 09-05-2007, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stinsok

How do you interact with the organist that uses the foot pedals?

Stomp on their toes? Seriously though if it's a song or two I would just not play. If its more then that I would say think like an upright player playing arco. Maybe some sustained chords if the organ player is playing a moving line or a moving line if they're playing the sustained chords.