Did I just stumble on a way to improve my understanding of the groove?

[Joel S.]

Yesterday I played with a new band at the drummer's family reunion. I was running late (2.5 hours of sleep ) but a friend of the drummer was there, and he happens to be a very talented bassist so he filled for a bit.

Last time we played out, I let him play my bass and through my amp. He was very appreciative so he brought along his Marcus Miller Fender Jazz and let me play it yesterday. Very nice instrument, but while I was playing it I had a bit of an epiphany.

The main feature of this bass that jumped out at me was the fact it had the neck p-up cover still installed. I usually anchor on the neck p-up or E string and play over the p-up, but I couldn't on this one. It was very difficult and uncomfortable for me to play "normally" except over the bridge p-up, but there were a few songs that called for the tone you get playing near the neck.

So, after fiddling around a bit and trying different things, I ended up playing with one finger, a la Jamerson, and using the p-up cover as an anchor. While playing I found myself more consciously aware of the groove, note selection and note placement since I couldn't easily do fast runs, or toss in quick dead notes. It was like a light switched on and things made more sense when it came to the groove. I impressed the hell out of myself with some of the things I was doing and got loads of compliments from the people there including the owner of the bass.

So anyway, I guess my suggestion would be simple: handicap yourself in some way while practicing, it'll make you rethink your approach to how you manipulate a songs groove and you may figure out some new tricks.

[DocBop]

Jamerson used one finger but he didn't anchor. In fact he was probably one of the earliest I've seen use what is now called Floating Thumb technique.

Groove has nothing to do with notes or technique. If you can't groove on a two note line like James Brown's tune The Payback you will never groove with more notes. Groove is all about time, feel, and listening skills. If you can groove, you can groove to a metronome.

Llearning to groove takes listening more and thinking less.

[onlyclave]

Less = More.



Ommmmmmmmmmmmmm......

[mdiddium]

Thanks for sharing. I have certainly had similar experiences, but I don't think it is necessarily due to a "handicap." In other words, any experience where we have to get out of our comfort zone a bit (for you, this would be the new bass) forces us to rethink the way we play, and often yields interesting results. For me, it's a "refreshing" feeling, especially if you are in a rut, so to speak. Just taking another unexpected angle is all I need every now and then to keep things fresh for myself.

[Joel S.]

Originally Posted by DocBop

Jamerson used one finger but he didn't anchor. In fact he was probably one of the earliest I've seen use what is now called Floating Thumb technique.

Groove has nothing to do with notes or technique. If you can't groove on a two note line like James Brown's tune The Payback you will never groove with more notes. Groove is all about time, feel, and listening skills. If you can groove, you can groove to a metronome.

Llearning to groove takes listening more and thinking less.

Reading this, then reading my post again I can see I wasn't really clear, because honestly this is moot to what I was trying to get across. Guess my head's still foggy from the lack of sleep this weekend.

Grooving for me has never been an issue, I've been complimented on my groove by many people, musicians and listeners alike.

What I was meaning was how I approached the groove in the line. Considering I flat out couldn't use the techniques that I usually used, I was forced to approach a song's groove in a different way than what initially felt natural.

(And for the record, I wasn't comparing my anchor point with Jamerson, just the single finger technique.)

Mdiddium: exactly.

Onlyclave: indeed, but it often needs to be seen in practice to be really understood.

[Jim Carr]

When playing Jazz on an upright, it is well understood that using one finger (or two at once as though they are one) is the most rock solid way to control your time.

Works on electric, too.