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What exactly is "in the pocket" playing?

#23
Wow Thanks for all the responses! When I said I had grown up on rock and metal i wasn't denying the possibility and some would say integrity of "pocket" and "groove" in these genres and with most definitions being around the rhythm section locking in, whether that be in a "tight" or "loose" groove I can certainly see a lot of this in rock and metal especially the rhythmically intricate world of metal.

cheers guys :p
 
#25
dmusic148 said:
To me it means playing as part of the team. With the drummer, with the other rhythm instruments, in a way that makes people want to tap their feet or dance. Grooving. Powerful, in a non-overt way. The kind of playing that doesn't stand out unless it suddenly stops. It can be simple or complex.
Simple: Average White Band 'Pick up the Pieces.'
Complex: Tower of Power 'Funk the Dumb Stuff.'
Click to expand...


Completely agree with about 'Pick up the Peices.' Perfect example.
 
#26
I think it's sort of suggesting that there's a place where the bass notes should ideally go to make it groove and you have stuck your bass notes right in it. As opposed to playing something that doesn't sit well.
 
#30
The pocket is a place where the WHOLE BAND is groovin'

The pocket has elbow room

The pocket doesn't require too much thought

The pocket should be hard to get out of once you find the way in

The pocket is in all genres

The pocket lets all the dancers move in all genres

The pocket is what makes anything hip, and is why the hip players can make anything and any style happen.
 
#31
Illbay said:
John Liebman in his tutorial Funk Bass talks (again, in very ephemeral terms) about "being in the groove" (which I take to be a synonym for "in the pocket") as opposed to "floating over the line."

The latter I take to mean a non-organic, not-really-with-the-beat way to play the same notes.

"groove, don't float" is the mantra.

Go figure.
Click to expand...

Yep! There's a time to float and time to lay down a solid line, humbly allowing others to float over us. We're the foundation.

What's important is knowing when to do which, and to do it well!
 
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#32
Hard to explain, but you know it when you feel it. The bass and drummer are playing in sync with each other (not necessarily exactly in sync, can be complementary...

Get a metronome and use it. Good meter is ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL to a groove. Bad meter is the quickest way to kill a groove.

Much of the time the groove requires playing OFF the beat. A little anticipation, or laying back depending on the song. Gives it a bit of a bounce. The trick is having good meter. You AND the drummer have to know where the beat actually is if you're going to fool with it.

First you have to be able to tell when listening to the song if the bass is on the beat, before the beat, after the beat. If youre time is so bad you think its all on the beat when its not.... won't happen.

Then when playing the tune, you have to be able to reproduce that. The drummer has to feel what you're doing and go along. If you anticipate the beat and either of you speeds up the tempo, FAIL. If you lay back and the tempo slows down, FAIL. Only when both of you get what's going on, and you laying back or anticipating doesn't throw the drummer off, and instead, he feels what you're doing and responds appropriately.. THEN you are in the groove.

I see a lot of drummers use the hi hat to keep the beat, its the anchor that allows the other stuff to drift as needed without losing track of the actual tempo.

I do something similar with my body. I bounce with the beat. That's my anchor. I can anticipate, lay back, and rely on my bounce to keep my honest. Someone told me that, same one that told me about using a metronome. You can't groove if you don't moove... It also comes in handy if I mess up, blow a downbeat, or doing a solo and stutter. The body lets me know where the beat is so I can get back on it. You look better when you're moving too, instead of standing there like a statue.

Randy
 
#39
For me it is "un-said". I "get" the band or the drummer, and they "get" me we play.
By that i mean its not laid out what we are going to do, it like an idea. When i'm in a pocket we ebb and flow like the tide, changing together, even dead stops and accents together....."just felt it had happen" is the normal response if we disscuss it later. Even on sheet gigs we have gone against the sheet, because the sheet would have felt wrong to all those involved at that point, but we never decided that...i just happened.
But as mentioned, when your "out of the pocket you know that only to well.
So for me it's a state of mind or an understanding between players.
 

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