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Playing with just a guitarist

M

mdsmith

Jan 31, 2008
139
2
#1
Hey guys. Me and my dad have decided to try to do and acoustic duo type of thing. He'll be playing guitar and singing, and I'll be playing bass, and hopefully some sort of precussion. Does anyone else play with just a guitarist? I'm finding it kind of hard to get a full sound with just the two of us. We were talking about trying to work out some sort of bass drum that I could play while playing the bass. I'm sure this will be much harder then it sounds, but Im hoping it will work. I've seen several solo guitarist with a bass drum pedal and a keg tub. I sounds pretty good with an acoustic guitar. It's kind of a dull thud, but it's enough to keep time. Just curious if anyone had any advise on playing with a single guitarist. Thanks.

Oh, and I'll hopefully be buying an acoustic bass soon instead of playing my jazz.
 
#3
One of the bands I play in is just a rhythm guitar who sings and I play bass.

We are Country and old time country at that so there is a lot of R-5 stuff nothing real fancy. Walk up or walk down to the next chord does add a little. Forget about the drum it's not needed.

Main thing I would work on is getting the chord changes down. Nail the changes your Dad is doing. Watch his fingers and see when he changes - do likewise.

You can add a full chord tone R-3-5-b7, etc. if you want some fill, but, understand his voice is the soloist, everything else augments his voice.

Good luck -- building memories. Great.
 
#4
MalcolmAmos said:
One of the bands I play in is just a rhythm guitar who sings and I play bass.

We are Country and old time country at that so there is a lot of R-5 stuff nothing real fancy. Walk up or walk down to the next chord does add a little. Forget about the drum it's not needed.

Main thing I would work on is getting the chord changes down. Nail the changes your Dad is doing. Watch his fingers and see when he changes - do likewise.

You can add a full chord tone R-3-5-b7, etc. if you want some fill, but, understand his voice is the soloist, everything else augments his voice.

Good luck -- building memories. Great.
Click to expand...


Good advice. When I've worked in duos with an acoustic guitarist/singer, I've usually felt that the guitar takes care of the "percussion" aspect. I've added fullness to the overall sound, reinforced the roots (and added interest by playing inversions tastefully and sparingly) and occasionally put in fills where there are holes in the singing. Also, there have been opportunities for solos here and there.
I love the format. Have fun with your father!

BTW, Stanley Banks, bassist for George Benson, sometimes plays a tambourine with his foot while playing bass. He rests it on its edge on the floor and holds it down with his foot (his foot goes through the circle). To play it, he taps his foot.
But you probably won't have to worry about providing that part of the music, I'm guessing, depending on how rhythmic your father's guitar playing is.
 
#5
dougjwray said:
Good advice. When I've worked in duos with an acoustic guitarist/singer, I've usually felt that the guitar takes care of the "percussion" aspect. I've added fullness to the overall sound, reinforced the roots (and added interest by playing inversions tastefully and sparingly) and occasionally put in fills where there are holes in the singing. Also, there have opportunities for solos here and there.
I love the format. Have fun with your father!

BTW, Stanley Banks, bassist for George Benson, sometimes plays a tambourine with his foot while playing bass. He rests it on its edge on the floor and holds it down with his foot (his foot goes through the circle). To play it, he taps his foot.
But you probably won't have to worry about providing that part of the music, I'm guessing, depending on how rhythmic your father's guitar playing is.
Click to expand...

Another trick with a tamborine is to install it in a bass drum pedal. This works best with a round tamborine.
 
#6
mdsmith said:
Oh, and I'll hopefully be buying an acoustic bass soon instead of playing my jazz.
Click to expand...

Acoustic bass guitar or upright bass? Forget about it if its the former and stick with electric.

I play with two acoustic guitarists normally but occasionally with one. You have to pick tunes carefully. On some when the guitar goes into a solo the 'fullness' really suffers.

In general I like the format a lot. Every note counts. I like not having to compete in the mix with a drummer and an electric guitar eq'd into my spot. I use a multi effects pedal and I use effects on many songs, unlike an electric band where effects are pretty much lost in the mix.
 
#7
Thanks for the replies guys.

JSO, just curious why you would not go with the regular acoustic bass. I have no experience with them, so I'm curious. I actually have another thread in the "Basses" section trying to get an idea of some good brands to try out since my local GC only has Breedloves.
 
#8
A lot of people here do not like acoustic bass guitars, but IMHO they're just fine, especially when accompanying just a single guitar. The complaint that you will hear is that they aren't loud enough. I don't agree.

I play upright bass with a guitarist on a regular basis. He plays amplified because he finger picks and would be too quiet otherwise. The only problem we have is that when he solos, things sometimes sound a little sparse.
 
#10
mdsmith said:
Thanks for the replies guys.
JSO, just curious why you would not go with the regular acoustic bass.
Click to expand...

An acoustic bass guitar won't be loud enough to be heard unless you're just playing in your living room. IMHO, why amplify an acoustic with all of it's limitations, when you can use an electric and have lots of versatility. A standup double bass is entirely different of course.
 

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