ballads

[marine18]

how do you play a ballad bassline

 

[Darkstrike]

Slowly...




Seriously,
I usually stick to mainly root notes, with a thick deep tone, maye some walking between chords, but not a lot.

Get that big pillow of low end goodness under the song.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

The bottom line is that you have to approach this like everything else, you need to hear what you are playing in the actual aural environment you are in. No shortcuts.

 

[Nashrakh]

Seriously,
I usually stick to mainly root notes, with a thick deep tone, maye some walking between chords, but not a lot.

Get that big pillow of low end goodness under the song.

+1

 

[PJSShearer]

Find a recording of a ballad you like, work out the Bass line and use that as a "template" to work from.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

The story is the important part of any ballad. Thus we should not interfere with the story. Provide the background beat and vanish into the woodwork. Here less IS MORE.

http://www.last.fm/music/Norah+Jones/_/Cold+Cold+Heart

 

[Rudreax]

Depends on the song, really. Some ballads will have you focusing on the root note of the chords within the song. Others will have you interweaving a flowing bass line as the tune goes from chord to chord. Listen to a bunch of ballads in different genres and see how different players make their way through the pieces.

 

[251]

I think of them as one of life's pop quizzes. They always test my music ear.

If it's a performance piece & you can practice from rehearsal recordings, find the places where silence needs to be filled & decide how few & which notes will sound good there. Stay alert for places where silence is the best music. Find the dramatic passages & work on them. I stay in the lowest register the key will allow & go to double/triple stops & octaves there. Your musical taste may say something else.

If it's spontaneous go with your instincts & expect to learn from your mistakes.

 

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Depends on the song, really. Some ballads will have you focusing on the root note of the chords within the song. Others will have you interweaving a flowing bass line as the tune goes from chord to chord. Listen to a bunch of ballads in different genres and see how different players make their way through the pieces.

+1. Listen to The Beatles' "Something" and then listen to The Rolling Stones' "Angie" and you'll notice two totally different approaches to ballad playing.

 

[Dave1955]

The story is the important part of any ballad. Thus we should not interfere with the story. Provide the background beat and vanish into the woodwork. Here less IS MORE.

Cold Cold Heart — Norah Jones | Last.fm

I love that song. Well that whole album. But Jazz ballads aren't the same as a say Eric Clapton's You Look Wonderful Tonight.

 

[BassChuck]

Many times a ballad is more difficult than a fast tune. One way to keep your time straight is to sub-divide the beat in your mind, so if the tempo is quarter notes, you count 8th or if it's in 12/8 time, keep the plus divided in 3 parts (triplets).
Also, ballads are more often about the lyric, or the melody (a lot time both) so keep the line simple and direct. No time to get inventive on harmony. Someone earlier mentioned "Something" by the Beatles. Note that Macca puts the moving stuff away from the lyric. Never step on the words.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

The story is the important part of any ballad. Thus we should not interfere with the story. Provide the background beat and vanish into the woodwork. Here less IS MORE.

Cold Cold Heart — Norah Jones | Last.fm

There is SO MUCH of BASS in that song.