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I thought country bass was simple??

#45
Marty Forrer said:
Your ears are your best friend. Often, listening to the melody will cue the change. Go to Youtube and immerse yourself. I think you're thinking this too much. Use your ears to work out where the songs are going. Nashville numbering is only going to help you in Nashville recording studios. I've been playing country recordings, shows and gigs for 30 years and have never once come across a chart written in anything but regular chord notation.
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Yeah, that.^^^^
 
#46
rydin4lifebass said:
Thanks! I thought so but my ear isn't to the point of picking out keys and things like that yet.
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Mine either...what helps is playing notes, single notes, and you should be working towards telling the right note from the wrong notes. Recognizing scale degrees will help you there. The guys and gals chiming in here really sped along my progress getting reacquainted with the bass. Listen close and soak it all up. The wealth of experience and knowledge here(not me for sure) is immeasurable. Peace!:bassist:
 
#47
I agree with the follow your ears! You can get away with very simple lines in country, the more "complicated" bass stuff is still built on the simple structures, and youtube is your friend on that front if you are looking to learn a specific line.

I'm not a brilliant player by any means, I have a foundation in theory from way back, and it helps a bit, but you get used to hearing what is probably gonna happen, after a while you'll just feel the right direction out for some of that random stuff that doesn't seem to make sense on paper.

As for the Thread title, Country progressions are generally simple, country bass is only as simple as the person playing it, same with everything.
 
#48
rydin4lifebass said:
I honestly don't understand any of that. If we're using a I-IV-V progression, how do the ii and vi come into play? Also, how would someone know what progression to play just by sitting in. I guess if I knew a song in G and knew it followed a certain progression I could transpose to C, for example, but how else would you know what to play?
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The chord progression being different in two cases. Any chord progression you get off the Internet is some one's interpretation. To get the artist's chord progression you have to purchase the sheet music, and good luck with that as the publisher may have it wrong.

How did the ii and vi get in there. The ii and vi are flavor chords and are thrown in "willie nelley", in Country I doubt they really have anything to do with harmonization (are needed to harmonize the melody line, just something the artist does).

How do you know what progression to play in a jamming session? You don't, but, if you grab a I IV V and listen and watch what the other guys are doing you will be close enough. Jamming or sitting in with no sheet music you are expected to do your best and flow with what is going on. Don't make waves and do not step on toes. Your job is to keep the beat and call attention to the chord changes. That is done with roots and fives and chromatic runs to the next chord.

Yes I know, if you are asking questions like this you have not played enough to flow with what is going on. So how do you know what to play? Well, Country is going to be the ole I IV V7 with some ii and vi thrown in. So you miss the ii and vi, the sky will not fall. Keep trying and it will come, to jam along you have to have played a bunch of Country.

Your other post on Dixie and the instrumental break. The bass in a Country band will not be getting lead breaks, the lead electric or pedal steel take the lead breaks, so don't worry about that instrumental break. We play the harmony for the melody, i.e. we play chord tones. While the lead electric is taking that lead break, you just continue to lay down the same bass line you were using, in this case it will probably be the ole R-5-R-5. It's now his solo, so back off and give him room, lower your volume, but, keep playing the beat as he will need that to augment his efforts. If you just want to know - a safe way to take a lead break is to follow the chord progressions and play the chord's pentatonic. No not in pentatonic scale order, the tune enters into the picture. Using the notes of the chord's pentatonic scale make a melodic rendition of the tune. Good luck, takes years.

Little something on chromatic runs in Country. Song in C F & G (I IV V) You are on C and F is coming up. OK leave early and grab the C# and D, now go up a string and get the E and land on the F for the chord change. Now you are on F and G is coming up. Leave early, back up and grab the E then F, F# and land on G for the chord change. The chromatic walk is target the next root note and miss it by three frets, then walk to it and be on it for the chord change. The Country walk is a 3 note chromatic walk. You can walk one note, two notes or three notes, which ever one works best in this song.

I IV V and chromatic walks to the next chord is what we do in Country. Most anything else will get fish eyes from the guys. Takes a lifetime to perfect that, so get started.

Hang in.
 
#49
Malcom explains all of this real easy like. I play in a Country band and in a Roots band where there are allot of walking bass.
The best thing I can say in know the chords, be on the 1 and use chromatic runs to the next chords. Adding fill or two is good but remember in country the bass must be solid with the drums and drive the band not lead it.
 
#50
Malcolm - My other post about "Dixie on my Mind" is regarding the chords in the instrumental. It is indeed a basic Root-Fifth in the instrumental break, I was just questioning if I had the chords correct. It sounds using the D-G and A chord as the rest of the song does, just wanted to make sure I had them listed correctly. It sounds right to my ear, but I'm not 100% sure.
 
#51
rydin4lifebass said:
Malcolm - My other post about "Dixie on my Mind" is regarding the chords in the instrumental. It is indeed a basic Root-Fifth in the instrumental break, I was just questioning if I had the chords correct. It sounds using the D-G and A chord as the rest of the song does, just wanted to make sure I had them listed correctly. It sounds right to my ear, but I'm not 100% sure.
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I think you would be OK. When someone takes off on an instrumental break, we grab the chord progression for the verse or chorus he is using and play that. Some time they are not the same, old Hank was pretty basic, Jr. gets a little more sophisticated.........

If D-G-A worked through out the song, it should work under this lead break. That, by the way, was one of the first things I had trouble with, i.e. what to do under the lead break. Finally dawned on me to just play the chord progression of the "tune". I know - tune to the verse or chorus, yes there is still that.

Good luck.
 
#52
The last two lines of the verse are D-D-G-G and D-A-D-D. To my ear, that’s what’s used on the instrumental break and they hang on D until the 3rd verse comes in, which also starts on D.

On a different note, some chord charts have the last line of the chorus as D-G-D-D and some are F-G-D-D. To me, the F sounds correct but I was like "Where did that F come from?"...threw me off a little.
 
#53
rydin4lifebass said:
The last two lines of the verse are D-D-G-G and D-A-D-D. To my ear, that’s what’s used on the instrumental break and they hang on D until the 3rd verse comes in, which also starts on D.

On a different note, some chord charts have the last line of the chorus as D-G-D-D and some are F-G-D-D. To me, the F sounds correct but I was like "Where did that F come from?"...threw me off a little.
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Yes, happens. Some people are thrown off by things like this and chalk up all fake chord as being incorrect.

Most fake chord is someone interpretation of the original song, if it sounds good it is good, if it does not then change it.

That F, the F# is the third scale degree in the D scale, why the F is a good question. Lot of ii and vi make there way into Country seldom see a iii and as Country is mostly major we seldom, if ever, see a b3. Again some one's interpretation, which I do not mind, I'm glad they did some of the work for me. If I do not like their choice I change it.

We change stuff all the time. We always have to dumb down Willie Nelson's songs. Willie writes good stuff, but, in the country we play some of Willie's fancy chords are beyond our comfort zone, so we take the liberty to change them. That is probably where that F came from - no one remembers how to finger the F# so you got an F. :rolleyes:
 
#55
Malcolm - The F actually sounds good in there. I just root-fifth on the F chord, root-fifth on the G, and back to the D. Sounds good and has a nice "movement" to it.

jeffbonny - I like the quote! This particular song is all root-fifth but it just fits like a glove. If you played anything else in there, it would get the "fish eyes" as Malcolm likes to say!
 
#56
I've played gobs of genres over 30+ years of bass playing, like many of you guys I'm sure, but to this day I always say the best bass education I got was when I was in reggae bands, and in country bands(classic stuff, honky-tonk, etc). That's where I really learned to be a "real" bass player (for lack of a better term...)
 
#57
MalcolmAmos said:
+ 1,000 Yep, it's root five and chromatic runs. Anything else will get you fish eyes from the guys.
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Plus, the major thing in Country,imo, is the feel you're giving each note. Another reason to have the ears on high alert. Very similar to reggae in that the technique of each note is more important than trying to add new/interesting notes or runs.
 
#59
Russell L said:
I always laugh when someone says, "It's easy, just three chords." Well, you still have to know in what order to play them. Sometimes you can feel a change coming, and think you know what chord is coming, but then, it might fool you. I hate sitting in when I don't actually know the songs. I went to a country jam once and couldn't hardly play with them because they all knew a bunch of old obscure songs that I didn't know...

...and I have a theory degree. You just have to know them.
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This is the truth. I periodically play with some folks who have a deep catalog of challenging country and outlaw country tunes - I come to the table with good ears, arranging skills and a jazz/R&B background (albeit on trombone rather than bass), but if you don't know the tunes, you can't nail 'em. It seems like a lot of those tunes are good tunes precisely because they don't do the predictable, sing-song thing. My dealie is to think structure - four or eight or twelve-measure modules, verse/chorus/bridge, and to map them out in my head as quickly as possible in a Nashville-number kind of way, also tracking the melody to help map when the "trick" changes drop. I have an absolute ball whenever I play with these folks, and it only gets better now that I have the tunes down - until the next time, when they show me some new stuff!
 
#60
bassbully said:
Aint that the truth. No matter what theory you have or experience you have to know the song, have it played, explained or written out before you can play it right. Even if you kind of know it you have to know the bridge, stops etc.
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This is true. I play a lot of fill in gigs. :p:
At one time fill ins made up 60% of my year. If you desire to be a pro this is a good skill to develop. But, pros dont make much money so why would you desire that???
When I started doing them I did NOT have a good ear at all. I developed my ear by continuing to do those types of gigs. And I still only have good relative pitch, not "perfect" pitch. Boy talk about being "out of your comfort zone". + I was introduced to styles and artist that I now love, that I might never had heard of.
Now When somebody asks do you know: insert weird old tune I've never ever heard of, Or just screams out in the middle of a Pop song "Raggae" I play it any way.
I listen to a lot of different music all the time, and I've come to the conclusion that you just cannot know every song that there is to know.
I come down on the volume about a click and a half and listen through the Top, 1st verse, and 1st chorus, that will set you up usually-(usually that is) for the next verse and chorus any way.
Important: Keep those ears on, Make eye contact with the other players, Guitarists will usually make sure your aware that a Bridge/Key change is about to happen. The Drummer (if he competent at all) will get your attention to let you know if a stop, time change, style change or a more syncopated rythmic variation is about to happen (usually its just a loud HEY!). Most important of all. Study and write your own grooves!!! Be CREATIVE!!! Study as many styles of music as you can, and dont be afraid to "sit out" a section if you must. This will help you immensly in "Faking" a song in front of an audience, as it builds your vocabulary... If you can instantly or at least reasonably quickly, tell what the groove should be, at least to you, and what key its in. Even if you dont play the notes in the excact order as they were played on the record you can at least give it a "proper feel".
 

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