When does the groove come?

bbopadoe · #1 08-25-2008, 09:45 PM

Im looking at all these guys on youtube and stuff and there coming out with these unreal lines, just improvising you know, groovin. Coming up with this stuff like it was easy and having fun at the same time.
Now I'm thinking.....woooow i wanna be able to do that. So my question is when does the groove come....u know.
When does it flow out of you.I mean ive got all the creativity and its itching to come out but my fingers are playing dead notes. any advice any one?

baalroo · #2 08-25-2008, 10:16 PM

practice, a lot.

**Pacman** · #3 08-25-2008, 11:14 PM

After thousands of hours.

derelicte · #4 08-26-2008, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pacman

After thousands of hours.

for serious.

Deacon_Blues · #5 08-26-2008, 03:46 AM

When you have learned to feel a groove and play what you hear in your head. Fluently.

bbopadoe · #6 08-26-2008, 08:28 AM

they said the exact same thing when i started, that it would take a long time until i could do what all marcus and stanley can do...but ive been playing for a year and a half now and i can play alot of there songs...ive got the movement and the technique's down but i still cant come up with any REAL juicy lines of my own....

mjolnir · #7 08-26-2008, 08:35 AM

Put in the time and effort, bro, that's all you can do.

Timbo · #8 08-27-2008, 04:07 AM

learn from the groove masters of funk and r&b from days past. Practice learn and internalize their lines and your sense of groove will grow.

ForestThump · #9 08-27-2008, 04:41 AM

Do not forget to work on your life too because groove is in the heart.

dmq89 · #10 08-27-2008, 11:28 AM

Groove doesn't have to be about a million slapped notes, either... Some of the best bassists around can groove on ONE note...

(Trust me, as the whitest bass player on earth, it took me a LOOOONG time to realize this

)

To me, if heads are bobbing in time to what you (and your drummer) are doing, you got it!

If people walk away from one of your shows and your bass lines stick with them (i.e., are memorable), you got it!

Serve the song and try to have fun with what you play - the groove will come naturally if you STOP trying so hard to get it!!!

Of course, YMMV.

**baba** · #11 08-27-2008, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForestThump

Do not forget to work on your life too because groove is in the heart.

Nice.

Big Joe · #12 08-27-2008, 12:24 PM

James Brown would audition bassists and only let them play one note but make it groove.

Get a metronome or a drum machine and own your beats backwards and forwards. Sense of time is more important than how many notes you play. You can make even a couple of notes funky.

StyleOverShow · #13 08-27-2008, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pacman

After thousands of hours.

IMO, its an experiential thing. After playing for a long while, things just come to you. Its a series of small things, like technique and intervals that sound good to your ear, and the amassing of muscle memory how to move from this fret/string to the next given the chord structure, etc.

It's amazing when it happens. One day you just 'step off' and you are in a new place. Its corny, but "Use the force, Luke" in the sense of letting go.

pointbass · #14 08-27-2008, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pacman

After thousands of hours.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmq89

Groove doesn't have to be about a million slapped notes, either... Some of the best bassists around can groove on ONE note...

A lot of relatively new bassists get their priorities kinda messed up (not saying the OP has this issue, more a general statement) and look to blaze their way around the axe and slap like a madman and shred away ..... but they don't have a quarter note of groove in them. As Pac said, long hours of playing will get you comfortable with the bass and as dmg89 suggests, some guys can groove playing almost nothing. Listen to Rocco on TOP's "What is Hip", one continuous 16th note that smokes through the whole tune ...

Speed, slapping, soloing, chording, and all of the other techniques out there are important, but nothing is as important as knowing where you are on the axe, knowing where all of your notes are, knowing all of your tones and harmonics and really getting to lock in with your rhythm section. In time, the speed and tricks will come ... as stated above, one day it'll just start to happen. But you gotta do the time, first .....