How to hold down to groove in a blues trio?

[Jmassie]

Im starting up a blues trio with an amazing guitarist. Im kinda nervous for when he solos, Any tips for staying with the general groove? or any sites that can teach some good blues bass?

If it helps i listen to alot of cream. SRV. Allman brothers and alot of bebob

[lopxtc]

I would say a nice shuffle when he solo's so that you are keeping the foundation there and the groove going, and then let the bass live when his solo's are done.

Aaron

[Oratorio]

Sounds like you're getting the right type of inspiration. But there's someone I'd like you to meet, one of my favourites actually.

His name is Pino Palladino, man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcgeNeCh5CA

[von buck]

To really get into the groove you need to listen to the old guys! Listen to Muddy, all the Kings. Don't get over active. Laid it down solid with simple solid consistant playing. Don't get fancy until the right time.

Andy

[CapnSev]

Originally Posted by von buck

To really get into the groove you need to listen to the old guys! Listen to Muddy, all the Kings. Don't get over active. Laid it down solid with simple solid consistant playing. Don't get fancy until the right time.

Andy

+1, However you are going to have to get fancy sometimes (Cream/SRV/Clapton/Mayer/King/Duarte anyone?). You and the drummer are it when the guitar is soloing. You are going to have to move around a bit to keep things interesting, and hold down the groove perfectly too. Most important of all, move with the guitarist. If he builds up and goes crazy - you do too. If he quiets down and plays soft, long notes - you go and quiet down too. All three of you have to learn to feed off each others playing.

You have complete bass-freedom staring you in the face man, grab it!

I played in a blues trio for years with two of my best friends, and it was the most fun I've ever had!

[DocBop]

You are the entire bottom and harmony during the guitarists solos so keep it simple and full. Listen to old Blues the Chess Masters and others of the era. The bass was simple and laying down the groove. Bebop is simple too, there are tons of chord changes and analyze the bass lines they are outlining the harmony and keeping the groove. I would say instead of listening to Cream listen to ZZ Top great example of holding down the bottom in a Blues trio. ZZ Top sound great because the song and groove are of first importance. Check out SRV too. Stevie could do whatever he wanted because he had a great rhythm section creating a solid foundation.

[acubass]

Lock in with the drummer...hold on tight!

[sevenyearsdown]

Play all 12 bars! j/k

[Frankjohnson]

Stay in YOUR register. You have NO buisness going up for air while the other guitar is "doin his Thang".

Chromatic walks are also your friend.

[RedSubway]

I was in a blues trio for a while, what I usually did was play either a riff underneath, especially during the guitar solos (examples being things like "Sunshine Of Your Love" or "Damn Right I Got The Blues"). A lot of the time, the guitarist (also the singer) would drop out entirely during the verses and it was up to me, the bass, to keep the song going.
Depending on the song, you can just shuffle or do chromatic walks, etc. and really go crazy, just not at the expense of the song.

[johnpaulbass]

go find some joe bonamassa videos on youtube

for example "taking the hit" live from Rockplast

GREAT performance

[bigblondeafro87]

You have to be able to keep a full sound going without a chordal instrument to help you. Chromatic runs and playing licks that keep the listeners' ears interested help. Also, you gotta think FAT for every note. It doesn't hurt to emulate SWEATY or GREASY either. Strategically placed double stops can help build intensity as well.

[Phalex]

Stay below the 7th fret, and don't step on the guitar players toes. Pay attention to dynamics. On one of the blues tunes we play, I play a shuffle for the first 2 bars, and play 1/4 notes on the root for the next 12. It's simple as hell, but it's really cool too!

[DocBop]

Another thing especially if playing traditional Blues. A lot of guy new to Blues start treating everything as mixolydian and using b7's in their lines. A lot of the riffs and traditional stuff doesn't have that 7th so keep your ear open. If in doubt just use the 6th like a major pentatonic.

[CapnSev]

Originally Posted by DocBop

Another thing especially if playing traditional Blues. A lot of guy new to Blues start treating everything as mixolydian and using b7's in their lines. A lot of the riffs and traditional stuff doesn't have that 7th so keep your ear open. If in doubt just use the 6th like a major pentatonic.

Very true! Usually anything from the "Delta Blues" era is lacking that b7, unless it's your own interpretation of the song. I'm glad that this was mentioned, because it's probably the most common mistake I hear in blues bands. The b7 sounds awesome in the right spot, but "off" in delta stuff.

As a side note: Check out a guy named Chris Duarte out of Austin, Texas for some cool blues trio bass. His bassist uses a Conklin 7, but holds things really tight, and it sounds great.

[daffy]

Couple of things I found helped me enormously:

- jam with a metronome set to play on the '2' and '4' instead of every beat. This gives you a feel for the back beat (snare) and will give you a great feel for blues swing. I found a dramatic improvement in my blues groovin' (to the point where people commented) in even just a week or two using this method.

- find a nice simple pattern and stick to it for the solo. When the guitar is soloing, they want to know what you're going to do next so they can bounce off it - make sure you are predicable. Keep the pattern solid and grooving and don't go changing around too much. If you are going to change, make it obvious and then stick to it for a while.

[Johnny Crab]

+1 to everything above and listen to/play along with as many "old blues" players as you can.

Relax a bit and IF you can, somehow record yourself(I use a Zoom H4 at every gig). This will help you hear what things sounded and "felt" like(i.e. Groove was there? Sounded too busy? sounded empty? Was perfect...memorize the line you played! etc.).

Besides the technical note above concerning note choice, you must always realize your purpose is to serve the song and either push yourself to do so(i.e. underplaying in a "go crazy" part) or restrain yourself(play less or quieter if led there by the vocals or guitar).

I do understand your position as I'm in a 3 piece + vocalist band now and have been before. It is you and the drummer painting a canvas on which the guitarist can solo on PLUS hold the "feel" of the song.

[DocBop]

Playing real Blues is a very dynamic music and you have to keep your eyes and your ear open all the time, but that is what makes it so fun too. Whoever is singing or soloing at that moment it their band, so you have to stay alert to catch changes in dynamic, breaks, punches, even grooves or key may change.

You play with real old school cats they don't want no busy bass, your job is keeping the bottom and keeping the groove. It you start messing around you will get the EVIL EYE and I ain't kiddin'. If you really get them mad your ass will be off the bandstand and it will be a long time before they let you up again. They take their Blues serious and if you do your job you will have a great time, especially the stories they can tell on the breaks.

[CapnSev]

Originally Posted by DocBop

Playing real Blues is a very dynamic music and you have to keep your eyes and your ear open all the time, but that is what makes it so fun too. Whoever is singing or soloing at that moment it their band, so you have to stay alert to catch changes in dynamic, breaks, punches, even grooves or key may change.

You play with real old school cats they don't want no busy bass, your job is keeping the bottom and keeping the groove. It you start messing around you will get the EVIL EYE and I ain't kiddin'. If you really get them mad your ass will be off the bandstand and it will be a long time before they let you up again. They take their Blues serious and if you do your job you will have a great time, especially the stories they can tell on the breaks.

Way true again! I think I should just start +1ing everything you are saying.

[prattguy]

See you grab it by the neck, and scream to its face that if it moves (the groove) you´ll choke the heck out of it...
Worked for me a couple o´times.

But seriously, +1 to everything said by DocBop