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how to be a "tight" bass player!?

#25
It seems like a lot of people giving very vague answers... practice with the drummer, listen, know your part... every good drummer I know wants the same thing, a bassist who knows and can count rhythm.

If you can count the rhythm of the drums, while playing and play a groove that fits in either to the same pattern as the kick, or in between the pattern of the kick, count it, and execute it, that's when it begins to sound good. I see too many guys who can do a lot of flashy stuff, but then you ask them to tell you what type of note they just played, and they're lost. Or they can come up with what they call a sweet groove, but can't play it to a metronome.

Know your rhythms. Count your 8ths and 16ths. Don't play fills you can't count. Subdivide your beats.
 
#27
RockStarsMusic said:
It seems like a lot of people giving very vague answers... practice with the drummer, listen, know your part... every good drummer I know wants the same thing, a bassist who knows and can count rhythm.

If you can count the rhythm of the drums, while playing and play a groove that fits in either to the same pattern as the kick, or in between the pattern of the kick, count it, and execute it, that's when it begins to sound good. I see too many guys who can do a lot of flashy stuff, but then you ask them to tell you what type of note they just played, and they're lost. Or they can come up with what they call a sweet groove, but can't play it to a metronome.

Know your rhythms. Count your 8ths and 16ths. Don't play fills you can't count. Subdivide your beats.
Click to expand...

i am not exactly getting your totally. by couting you mean knowing which sub division of the beats are the kicks and snare on and all?
 
#28
RockStarsMusic said:
It seems like a lot of people giving very vague answers... practice with the drummer, listen, know your part... every good drummer I know wants the same thing, a bassist who knows and can count rhythm.

If you can count the rhythm of the drums, while playing and play a groove that fits in either to the same pattern as the kick, or in between the pattern of the kick, count it, and execute it, that's when it begins to sound good. I see too many guys who can do a lot of flashy stuff, but then you ask them to tell you what type of note they just played, and they're lost. Or they can come up with what they call a sweet groove, but can't play it to a metronome.

Know your rhythms. Count your 8ths and 16ths. Don't play fills you can't count. Subdivide your beats.
Click to expand...

I agree and as you practice subdividing the rhythmic pattern more and more, you will have to think about it less and less. Practice all your favorite grooves with a metronome! If you feel like your notes aren't lining up, slow down the metronome, get it under your fingers and speed it up from there. It is actually harder to play a groove you feel (or think you feel) comfortable with slower because you have to be conscious of stopping the note as much as you have to be conscious of starting said note. I know I'm in the pocket when :
1. I am playing the intended pitch.
2. I am using dynamics purposefully.
3. I am agreeing with the drummer on when the note starts.
4. I am agreeing with the drummer on when the note ends.
5. My timbre sits correctly in the mix.
This is an overly analytical approach but since I became aware of what being in the pocket means to me, I don't have to think about it that way anymore. Music is as cerebral as it is emotionally involved, there is a balance.
 
#29
RockStarsMusic said:
It seems like a lot of people giving very vague answers... practice with the drummer, listen, know your part... every good drummer I know wants the same thing, a bassist who knows and can count rhythm.

If you can count the rhythm of the drums, while playing and play a groove that fits in either to the same pattern as the kick, or in between the pattern of the kick, count it, and execute it, that's when it begins to sound good. I see too many guys who can do a lot of flashy stuff, but then you ask them to tell you what type of note they just played, and they're lost. Or they can come up with what they call a sweet groove, but can't play it to a metronome.

Know your rhythms. Count your 8ths and 16ths. Don't play fills you can't count. Subdivide your beats.
Click to expand...

You can do all this and still sound like crap with no lock in with the drummer. It's all that vague stuff that's the difference. :D
 
#33
okcrum said:
Yes, though I thought the thread was about being a tight bass player. Shall we expand the definition then? :)

Let's start with "Who lays down the time (as in tempo)?"
Click to expand...

Ok. Maybe I misunderstood the question. So I'll start over. Have you ever heard of the phenomenal musician that can't play with others? Would you call that person "tight"? A musician can't be tight alone. He needs someone to be tight with. Who lays down the time? That depends on the song. Most times the drummer sets the tempo, but everyone is responsible for time and tempo. You can take the best player in the world and put him with other musicians that cant keep time and you WILL have a hot mess. There is no way for him to pull them all together if they have no sense of time. Playing together as a unit not individuals is what makes it "tight" The bassist has a role in that, but so does every one else. So to answer the question properly, There is no such thing as a "tight" bass player. There can be good bassist, great bassist, incredibly bad bassist. But to be "tight" denotes being a "part" of something. One piece can't be "tight" by its self, but when you put all the pieces together and they form a perfect fit, thats "tight"
 

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