Playing Bass "correctly" with guitar

[KevInDaBassment]

I'd say he has no concept of dynamics in songwriting if he thinks Song 2 should be re-written. That would be like playing guitar through the entirety of In Bloom by Nirvana, the absence of guitar in some parts helps the buildup of the song, thus making it more interesting. But hey, I'm sure Kurt didn't know what he was doing at all

I'd ditch it unless you are really hard up for gigs. I can understand not playing chord tones if you're in a punk band, but this just sounds ridiculous.

 

[lfmn16]

I'm really happy with this band sometimes it just gets super annoying and since I don't have as much experience in music as him or the drummer I can't really defend myself other than say I think it sounds fine.

What part are you happy with? It sounds like the guitard is riding you constantly, micromanaging you, and you aren't allowed to play your own bass lines. Give him an octave pedal and move on.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

....Think of it like anatomy - the drums are the heart and organs of the songs, and the guitar is the skin - the face if you will. Between them is the bass, the bones of the song. It adds the structure while allowing the guitar something to grow from....

I always looked at the group like a sub sandwich, and the bass is like the bun, surrounding it, holding it all together.

 

[Geddaric]

Some styles of music sound better when the bass player "copies" the guitarist. Other times it sound great for the bass to move around more.

Amen to the above. If you`re bored with playing (ACDC bass lines), and that`s all they want you to play, it`s time to move on. If doing covers, learn the original line, then pleasantly inform the guitarist that he doesn`t know what the *** he`s talking about. If its an original, I find it easier to learn one by its root notes, then go home and experiment. If he`s got it in his head what he`s gonna do, have him give you a recording first. That`ll save you a lot of time during rehearsals.

 

[gln1955]

I always looked at the group like a sub sandwich, and the bass is like the bun, surrounding it, holding it all together.

I think of a band as gyros, with the drums being the pita, the bass the meat and the guitar the tzatziki sauce dripping out the end when you pick it up.

 

[DwaynieAD]

bass locks in with drums, not guitar. sometimes you emulate, sometimes you do your thing. the trick is learning when to do what.

 

[Geddaric]

bass locks in with drums, not guitar. sometimes you emulate, sometimes you do your thing. the trick is learning when to do what.

Guitarists: Please refer (not reefer) to the above when this comes into question!
BTW, these Victoria Secret ads distract me from reading this forum!

 

[Real Soon]

I looked up the tabs watched the video and played it exactly like the original but he says "I dont care they played it wrong" And is now having me follow him

This tells me everything I need to know about the guy. He's a goon.


How is he going to say the original band played their own song wrong?


We can't tell you what to do, of course (just like that guitarist can't!), but personally? I'd drop that sucker like a bad habit. He's only going to keep making more poopy calls on how stuff should be played (wrong & boring) to feed his ego.

 

[Real Soon]

You will always be behind the beat if you follow the drummer.

Took me a couple reads to get it, but excellent play, my good fellow!

 

[rtav]

SPEAKING GENERALLY:

Doubling the guitar and other instruments like keyboards should be done sparingly and to provide contrast/emphasis in places (and can be done to GREAT effect); otherwise, rock bass is more concerned with doubling the kick/snare and playing complimentary melodies to whatever other instruments are being played, be they keyboard, guitar, or whatever.

Bass straddles the gap between (what I will call) low tonal value percussion (yes, some drums [notably DW] are tuned for notes, but no one ever complained about a "bad note" from a tom on a DW kit tuned to A while the song was in Abm, for instance) and other instruments with a high tonal value (such as guitar, keys, etc.) It connects the percussion to the chords, melodies, etc. of the song, and is at once percussive and melodic (in addition to "filling in" the lower frequencies of the music).

As noted by others in the thread, your guitarist seems to think that the bass is simply an octavizer for the guitar, and really doesn't grasp that bass guitar is it's own instrument and fills parts of music that guitar generally doesn't - and vice versa.

He sounds completely clueless, and he wouldn't be the first or last.

 

[254 stringer]

Tell him you want to cover some Death From Above 1979 songs and see if his head explodes.

 

[Berkowitzum]

Hey Shimmi, i can tell you that the role of a bass player in a band is to give the grounds of the music, and with his low frequencies to add colour and make things sound warmer. in Musical terms bass is almost 100% a Harmony instrument, different to the guitar which i see it as 50 harmony 50 melody, so, when you play you can explore the limits and chances that a chord progression gives to you, your ear will show you the limits, you just have to explore, and soon you will be getting better and better, that doesnt mean you will put 12342372358183 notes on a 2 chord progression on a nice n slow ballad , sometimes the best lines are meant to be just 1 note, EVEN on a 3 chord progression.

You can play the guitar parts, the drum parts, the key parts, but you have to create your own, which is a synthesis of ALL your musical surroundings (rythm n melody). i came across with this thinking by the "learning by doing" i play as Principal Contrabassist of the Professional Symphonic Orchestra of my State, also im founder of the Big Band Jazz of the State too here in Venezuela, and ive played in rock bands a little late after, and i had to hit that synthesis in a hurry, because i used to play very basic over the songs and i wasnt pleased. so i figured this out

sorry for the long comment. hope this works for your problem. (and your guitarrist F**k him)

 

[mambo4]

So many responses that are basically "f*** the guitard / don't let others tell you what you should play" etc etc
Everybody should listen to the example the OP posted.

The basic task is to serve the song, not the ego of either the guitarist - or yourself.
the only way to know is to listen
bass players are not slaves
but we are also not magically superior in taste
sometimes other players hear things you don't
sometimes the guitarist is right, however poorly they say it.
if a fellow player hears something "wrong" in your part
why not try to figure out exactly what that is
perhaps you will be enlightened
the only way to know is to listen

 

[hrodbert696]

woah a bit harsh I wouldnt call anyone in my band a moron

You don't have to, we're all doing it for you.

Seriously, everything in that initial post says this guitarist is treating you as his whipping post when you're not an extension of his ego. And I'm not hearing such musical brilliance in the recording you originally posted to warrant putting up with it for the privilege of working with his genius. Just calling it as I see it. Every really good guitarist I ever played with has wanted the bass to function as an independent instrument that contributes to the whole. Sure, they have had times they've wanted a phrase in unison, or corrected my error on a particular bit, or asked me to lay back and keep it simple. That's fine. But it's fine because it's coming from guys who have shown they understand the song and the role of the bass in it.

So many responses that are basically "f*** the guitard / don't let others tell you what you should play" etc etc
Everybody should listen to the example the OP posted.

The basic task is to serve the song, not the ego of either the guitarist - or yourself.
the only way to know is to listen
bass players are not slaves
but we are also not magically superior in taste
sometimes other players hear things you don't
sometimes the guitarist is right, however poorly they say it.
if a fellow player hears something "wrong" in your part
why not try to figure out exactly what that is
perhaps you will be enlightened
the only way to know is to listen

The guitarist is certainly right, if he says something that makes sense and shows awareness of what he's talking about. Not the case if he thinks that song will be improved by the bass playing in unison with the guitar. I did listen to the clip (though it seems to have gone missing now - did the OP delete the link?). I thought the bass line was fairly good, could use some rethinking in spots and some tightening up in the pocket. But it absolutely did not need to follow the guitar closer.

 

[slipknotmaggot3]

While he's being unreasonable in his demands, you could consider trying to work out a compromise. I'm not saying to feed the guitard's ego but by the same token, you need to mesh as a cohesive unit. I worked with a guy like this once and turned out the overall issue of the situation was the fact that he was still really new to lead guitar playing and not having the bass locked in to his playing threw him off since he was usually a rhythm player. You'd be surprised what the underlying issue really is.

 

[DwaynieAD]

This tells me everything I need to know about the guy. He's a goon.


How is he going to say the original band played their own song wrong?


.

I've heard plenty of songs in which the bass line should've and could've been done differently to great effect. Giving the guy the benefit of the doubt we could assume that's what he meant, but he does seem like a douche so its probably not what he meant.

 

[katalyzt13]

Where is everybody finding the Soundcloud account at?

 

[mambo4]

Where is everybody finding the Soundcloud account at?

hmmm
the example seem to have been removed
odd

 

[Coolhandjjl]

Yes, he (the guitardist) must be corrrrrected....

 

[squidtastic]

The moment you come up with a formula -- whatever it is -- the music will likely become boring to both band and audience. So whether you double guitar or not is beside the point, IMO. If you guitarist thinks you should always double his lines, that's problematic. If you think you should never double his lines, that's (probably less) problematic. Surely he doesn't believe you should double every note he plays... does he?