Rhythms

[Raynier]

Hey guys time for my question yet again in my quest to become a BAMF on bass I'm looking to incorporate rhythmical play into my playing i.e. Not Just standing there chugging Eights the entire time but playing some complex syncopated rhythms

I do this quite well when I can hear it when my band writes an original number and I've been asked to do more of it so advice?

I did play on a line for 4plus years and played Drums for 11 years during school so I'm familiar with Rhythmic notation and counting so shoot the suggestions at me.

 

[Marty Forrer]

Listen to some Latin jazz or Latin rock. These guys are badass rhythmically. I played in a latino band for four years and it gave me a much needed insight into rhythm and flowing. You can apply the 2/3 or 3/2 clave to most music, and it will give you some great ideas.
African rock is great too.

 

[Elrend]

counting

You need to internalize it, you won't be able to play "complex" rhythms if you're counting them as you go.

And the best idea is really just to practice subdivisions and combinations of them. Also learn to emphasize the time signature less and the pulse more.

 

[Raynier]

You need to internalize it, you won't be able to play "complex" rhythms if you're counting them as you go.

And the best idea is really just to practice subdivisions and combinations of them. Also learn to emphasize the time signature less and the pulse more.

I meant counting when your learning it. The Music Lesson taught me how to internalize in a way and Thanks Marty Ill take a look at it

 

[basskidd]

Try to incorporate some rhythm sheets into your practice routine. Something like this: Link Removed

Start off playing it on one note, then move up to scales, then incorporate it into your improv, maybe try and adapt a bass line to it, see where it takes you. Just do a google search for 'Rhythm Sheets' and see what turns up.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

I'm listening to some "more-experimental" jazz music of Michael Dessen trio.
Here is a snapshot from one of their compositions' transcription.

I just wonder how much that kind of kaleidoscopic time signature changes add to the music.

Here is that song.

 

[BassChuck]

It will probably always be a hassle if the goal is for 'the bass player to play complex rhythms'. They've got to fit the music, and not just style, the parts have to compliment each other. If all parts are equal, nothing is anything. The different parts of music have to play well together. Just like your Kindergarten teacher said, "Take turns".

 

[mambo4]

Explore 2 and 3 part hand drum patterns from West Africa, and Afro- Cuban percussion as mentioned.

 

[JimK]

Have you guys heard of two time sigs playing in two different tempos?
A drum guru I used to know talked about this...some of it's math.
Example: If a line in 4/4 is at 100bpm...a line in 5/4 would need to be at 125bpm. This keeps both "1" s at the same place in time.
6/4 would be at 150bpm.
7/4would be at 175bpm.

Never tried this in a real band.
I did see a transcription of a fairly well-known Mingus tune...a certain version of "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting"? Anyway, line 1 was in 4, line 2 in 5 (IIRC).

 

[Bob_Ross]

Have you guys heard of two time sigs playing in two different tempos?
A drum guru I used to know talked about this...some of it's math.
Example: If a line in 4/4 is at 100bpm...a line in 5/4 would need to be at 125bpm. This keeps both "1" s at the same place in time.
6/4 would be at 150bpm.
7/4would be at 175bpm.

That's just another way of thinking about tuplets: The 5/4 line @ 125bpm is really (or, alternatively) quarter-note quintuplets @ 100bpm.
I'll often employ tuplets to give the impression of different tempos.
Admittedly some musicians insist that there's a difference, that the quintuplets will (or should) always imply that underlying 100bpm, whereas true "polytempos" will simply [sic] sound like a juxtaposition...but I'm tempted to call BS on that claim.

 

[mambo4]

Have you guys heard of two time sigs playing in two different tempos?...Example: If a line in 4/4 is at 100bpm...a line in 5/4 would need to be at 125bpm. This keeps both "1" s at the same place in time.

That's a Poly rhythm, and they are more common than you might think

3 against 4 is common in modern pop music


and the classic 2 against 3

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Admittedly some musicians insist that there's a difference, that the quintuplets will (or should) always imply that underlying 100bpm, whereas true "polytempos" will simply [sic] sound like a juxtaposition

If I were educated - I would use the following term.
(I love unusual terms.)
"Metric modulation

The term metric modulation is related to modern art music and Elliot Carter's compositions. The same phenomenon was, however, present in the change of time values/tactus in Renaissance music.
In metric modulation, the time value of the pulse changes and causes an abrupt change in the tempo. For example, if a triplet rhythm is perceived to consist of sets of two successive quavers and when this becomes the new beat unit, we have a metric modulation:

At the beginning, the tempo is 120 MM. In the second bar, we have six notes instead of four (a slow triplet written out). A new tempo derived from these triplet parts is 180 MM. The notation above the staff is common when the new tempo can easily be derived from the previous tempo. It is wise to give a new time signature, for example 6/8, if the alternative would be to continue writing as in bar 2. The new tempo in this context is actually 60 MM; in this time signature, a dotted crotchet is the typical beat unit."

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Whousedtoplay]

From Avishai Cohen's interview:

"In Invalid Link Removed, he talked about the song Dreaming:

[There's] this one tune in 13/8 that's very challenging to play, to improvise on. Opening it up is another thing. I have no one to study that from. I don't know anybody who really does it so I have to invent my own ways, and my piano player has to invent his own ways of learning a whole new way of improvising fluently on 13/8 with the movement of chords and everything. It's not easy. That's a new challenge."

 

[Rev J]

Listen to some Flying Lotus. Some of his drum programming is almost like an African drum choir here is tutorial on how to make a beat in his style:



C/S,
Rev J

 

[Lownote38]

Have you guys heard of two time sigs playing in two different tempos?
A drum guru I used to know talked about this...some of it's math.
Example: If a line in 4/4 is at 100bpm...a line in 5/4 would need to be at 125bpm. This keeps both "1" s at the same place in time.
6/4 would be at 150bpm.
7/4would be at 175bpm.

Never tried this in a real band.
I did see a transcription of a fairly well-known Mingus tune...a certain version of "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting"? Anyway, line 1 was in 4, line 2 in 5 (IIRC).

That's called a poly-rhythm. Very common is jazz and fusion.