So my drummer approached me the other day...

[zombiecatz]

I have a band and we actively play local shows with out own music. The other day the drummer approached me and told me that i needed to change how i was playing. he said that I follow the guitar players too much and that I should follow more rhythm and change away form what the guitar players are playing. Now I play in a Alt-rock indie band and I mostly just play the root note and the occasional riffs in the songs. Any advice as to what I should do? what area of music should I try to learn to make real good basslines given a song structure/progression?

 

[buldog5151bass]

Thank the drummer for his feedback - move on. Think chord tones next, and the melody. Listen to and learn basslines you like in your genre.

 

[punchdrunk]

To liven things up a bit simply begin to employ approach notes (walking up/down either diatonicly or chromaticly to the next anticipated chord)... This can open a lot of possibilities up within the context of the song structure as you will find. You can begin your approach notes at almost any point that you've stated the chord tone (most usually stated on the one)... Remember that if it's sounds good/right then it probably is, but maintain a disposition of openness to critique from your band mates during this time... They can accelerate your musical growth a tremendous amount (granted that they aren't unkind)...you'll find that maintaining objectivity to your mates opinions can be more of a challenge that coming up with spiffy new lines!

 

[tangentmusic]

Depending on the "open-ness" of the material, you can do some fun stuff on bass.
"Walk" from one note or key change to the next.
Go against the grain with an alternate pattern of ascending/descending scales or develop some dynamics with the drummer.
Try not to mirror what the guitarist is doing. Get adventurous.

 

[hhirbe]

Being a drummer and also a bass player, I'm thinking that maybe your drummer is talking about your right hand (not fretting hand) technique. Lock your right hand into what your drummer is doing with his/her bass pedal, and I guarantee it will please. After that, your job becomes how to bridge the melody and rhythm, which gives you UNLIMITED POWER!

 

[zombiecatz]

Thanks for the responses Im putting them to practice as I write this...does any of you guys know how to implement slash chords with the bass? what notes work with each chord?

 

[Dogbertday]

Typically, it's a chord tone, thus make the chord inverted ie. Playing E under a Cmaj chord.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Use lots of diminished 7ths and flatted 9ths in your upper chordatures at the end of phrasamatic stanzas. Use lots of rootature at the onset of the tunes, then get more complexified with dotted 8ths and triplet arpeggiated overtones and harmonicoids starting about the middle. At the end of the song play the open 5th chord of the key signature. You'll be brilliant!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[buldog5151bass]

I don't think he's quite ready for advanced chordature.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Being a drummer and also a bass player, I'm thinking that maybe your drummer is talking about your right hand (not fretting hand) technique. Lock your right hand into what your drummer is doing with his/her bass pedal, and I guarantee it will please. After that, your job becomes how to bridge the melody and rhythm, which gives you UNLIMITED POWER!

This is so true. Here's a mind-opening experience which you can pull off at any rehearsal....or gig if you're really brave! Pick any tune and play it with drums, bass, vocals but no other instrumentation. I like to do this with something simple & bluesy like "Kansas City". You'll find yourself supporting the melody and rhythm simultaneously. It's hard to describe it but you'll know it when you hear it. Sidenote: as you may guess, this happened to me by accident when somebody's gear decided to crap out at an inopportune moment.

Riis

 

[zombiecatz]

I do play drums I know how to keep a basic rhythm with whatever the band is playing in fact whenever our drummer is not able to practice I usually substitute for him. I'm not that good tho. but I know the basics of rhythm but only in a slow pieces but most our songs are moderately fast i.e 156-165. so I usally do 16th note pulse on the root(when im playing bass of course)

 

[zombiecatz]

I don't think he's quite ready for advanced chordature.

yes to be honest Im quite new to music theory Im still learning. but I do know how to spell out almost any chord.

 

[tangentmusic]

Hi,

Use lots of diminished 7ths and flatted 9ths in your upper chordatures at the end of phrasamatic stanzas. Use lots of rootature at the onset of the tunes, then get more complexified with dotted 8ths and triplet arpeggiated overtones and harmonicoids starting about the middle. At the end of the song play the open 5th chord of the key signature. You'll be brilliant!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

You ought to write a book.
Science Fiction of course...

 

[eyeballkid]

Hi,

Use lots of diminished 7ths and flatted 9ths in your upper chordatures at the end of phrasamatic stanzas. Use lots of rootature at the onset of the tunes, then get more complexified with dotted 8ths and triplet arpeggiated overtones and harmonicoids starting about the middle. At the end of the song play the open 5th chord of the key signature. You'll be brilliant!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

I feel like a damn dirty ape.

 

[eloann]

punchdrunk's and hhirb's are both sound advice but rhytm and note choice very much go hand in hand.

It's usually easiest to add the 5th (up or down) and 7th, sometimes a 3rd to spice it up. Other intervals will be trickier to sneak in (as in guitarists don't like) but you can use them as passage notes.
Work with your drummer (make sure you're not always the one following him : make suggestions too !) for the rhytmic placement of those notes. Sometimes you'll lock in with the hi-hat, quite often the bass drum, occasionnally other accenty stuff or some combination of the above but rarely nothing in particular. Play with note lenghts too. Something I like to do is attack a note on the bass drum then mute it on the snare.
Don't forget about your other bandmates though : do you want to emphasise the guitarist's phrasing or play against it ? What about the vocals ? Should you accent on this word or is that one more important ? Again, you don't always have to be the one changing your bass line - whatever sounds best.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Cover some Eagles basslines in your spare time. Then some James Brown.

Your drummer sounds less enthused with the straight ahead 16ths but he can't drag the guitars into a groove without you.

 

[BassCliff]

Hi,

yes to be honest Im quite new to music theory Im still learning. but I do know how to spell out almost any chord.

I was being very tongue-in-cheek, absolutely silly. Reference THIS THREAD to get the joke.

There is some good advice in this thread. Some of my best licks I've lifted from other's recordings. Study, practice, listen, experiment, keep what works and toss the rest. Best of luck to you and break a leg! (Try not to get too upset with the drummer, and don't take him too seriously either.)


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[mattyb5000]

The way I interpret what your drummer said, it sounds to me like what he's really saying is the two of you need to get locked in more. The best trick I've implemented in the last year is to zero in on the kick drum and the hi-hats and create bass lines in sync with those. It creates more syncopated bass lines and a much nicer groove. Even if you're just playing root notes and octaves.

 

[zombiecatz]

Hi,



I was being very tongue-in-cheek, absolutely silly. Reference THIS THREAD to get the joke.

There is some good advice in this thread. Some of my best licks I've lifted from other's recordings. Study, practice, listen, experiment, keep what works and toss the rest. Best of luck to you and break a leg! (Try not to get too upset with the drummer, and don't take him too seriously either.)


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

hahaha ok I see now, srry I guess im a noob, but yeah everyone else have given me great advice that I will take strongly when Im at practice next time

Thanks to everyone for the replies!

 

[TroyK]

Being a drummer and also a bass player, I'm thinking that maybe your drummer is talking about your right hand (not fretting hand) technique. Lock your right hand into what your drummer is doing with his/her bass pedal, and I guarantee it will please. After that, your job becomes how to bridge the melody and rhythm, which gives you UNLIMITED POWER!

I was speculating the same thing and thinking back to the "If I can groove with a CD is practicing with a metronome a waste of time?" discussion.

He might be telling you that the band has an elastic sense of time and you're grooving with the guitar players, who are inconsistent and not working with him to establish the rhythm of the tune.

Maybe that's what he means, maybe it's not. i'd ask him. It's not that uncommon of a conversation between bass and drums and see that thread for the conflicting opinions on it, but I'd start with understanding what he's saying.