Playing on old old blues songs?

Real simple and thumpy, but I'd like to think that if the guys playing bass back then had instruments like ours, they'd be be playing more like us!

 

I play some old delta blues in that vein. Sometimes I pull out my bow and try to play tuba lines.

 

I mean the setup - most of us using steel strings and pickups with planed finger boards

 

I get pretty close to that thump with Jargar lights and a Krivo pickup. Turn down the treble knob and play much quieter than you feel is right. 1 5 1 5 1 5

 

This is a bit later, but I think the bass on this track is a good template.
The bass player even steps out a little in two or three spots.

 

The wonderful bassist here is Ernest "Big" Crawford.

There is no bass in delta blues from before circa 1950. Typically, the guitar plays a bass line... so you're not going to achieve real "authenticity" accompanying with bass.

You are right that the 1-3-5-6/7 patterns from more urban blues styles don't fit these early delta blues very well unless you want an "updated" sound. The best thing you can do is emphasize rhythm and keep note choices simple.

 

That is my absolute favorite track ever recorded. Pretty sure that is Willy Dixon, monster bass player, as he and Fred Below were Muddy’s rhythm section a little later, and it sure sounds like Dixon, especially the slap stuff

 

This song has been a fave of mine for decades for sure.

 

Not Willie Dixon. Big Crawford.

 

Thank you! Glad to find out

 

No, it's Big Crawford as previously noted. Great slap player!

 

I'd guess that when bass first came into blues, they were mostly playing two-beat? That's probably where I'd start, not with walking and shuffle lines.

 

I tend to use descending lines a la 1 b7 6 5 a lot, playing quarter notes, two per note. I do this a lot during instrumental solos to pick up the energy a little. I alternate this with root fifth motion, usually under the singing. If I slapped, I would use 1 3 5 patterns more. Stay in the middle positions, and off the E string, like a bassist who has to compete volume-wise with no amp (unless you’re slapping). Have fun! The fact that there are few recorded examples make this a nice creative exercise. Don’t be afraid of the bow if you feel comfortable with it. I can only hope that some of the other players can provide “chop” for you to play off of, and your violinist can also play fiddle.

 

Yup, simplify your bass lines.

 

This guy is wonderful in that style and has done a pretty thorough study of it.

During the pandemic he recorded 15 or 16 of these videos, analyzing the heavy players of the era.

Here's the first.

 

Cool vids!