What to play over power chords?

[Brick Top]

I'm probably the wrong guy to give advice as I'm not very seasoned...but why not play the root and 5th at the same time? Your own power chords.

 

[gtaus]

I've been playing in a punk-ish metal band for a few years now, and the the songs we're playing are playing are mostly based on power chords. I'm getting a little sick of playing the root and adding a little 5th. But I'm not really sure what else to do...

Just rethinking your original post. The other night I was out gigging with my band. We have some songs on our list that have been there for 2+ years. I can play those songs while reading a magazine, if I wanted. Those songs are anything but exciting for me to play after 2 years. However, the reason why the songs are still on the set list is because they just work well with our patrons.

It occurs to me that maybe you need to change your focus from yourself to your patrons. True, it might be boring for you to be hammering out the same root-5 pattern on the song(s) night after night, but maybe that's exactly what the song calls for and maybe that is what your audience wants to hear on that song(s). Remember, they don't hear the song every gig and/or practice like you do. Even though you might be sick of playing the song, that bass line might be the best thing for your audience who is hearing the song for the first time.

Many of the songs in my band get dropped because we just can't stand to play them anymore. So I can understand where you are coming from. What keeps my sanity is that the band is always working on new songs, and many of our newest songs have different bass lines for me to play. That's all I need to keep my brain engaged. If you don't have much variety in your genre of music while gigging, I'd suggest maybe working on some different genre of music at home in practice, just to keep your brain alive, if nothing else.

Learning other genres of music, and what bass line works for them, may or may not translate to what you can do with your band, but it will at least get your brain out of a rut. Maybe you can apply some techniques from other genres to your music set list. But I would not suggest trying it out on stage. Try it at home in practice and listen to hear if it works for the song. Honestly, when I play bass, I try to make things more simple and in almost all cases that works better for the song. I don't like to stray too far from the original bass line of the song (we are a cover band) or try to force a technique from another genre into a song.

Last weekend we let a young guy play my bass on stage for a couple of songs. He also plays lead guitar. Anyway, he was kicking the bass really good for the song, and then he took a turn on a "bass solo" ripping up the fretboard with his rockstar pose. Actually, I'm sure it was a lead guitar lick he was trying to force on the bass. Point is, he "looked" great, but the whole bottom of the song fell out and the song sounded like crap until he started playing "bass" again. Your rhythm and lead guitarists can't cover the bottom if you are off tapping on the 24th fret. Well, he had a good time playing with the band. What I relearned, is that I play a bass line for the song, not for me or to get me in the spotlight. I do play bass "solos" on some songs, but you won't hear the bottom fall out of the song during my spotlight.

I've worked myself from rhythm/lead to bass at this stage in my life. The more I play bass, the better I get, the more I have learned to keep it simple and like others have said, learn how to let the music breath no matter what your genre. I think about when not to play about as much as when to play. Heck, that hardly makes sense to me the way I describe it. Hope someone understands it.

Bottom line, if you are getting sick of playing root-5 on your songs, but it works for the song, then maybe you could look at doing different songs with other bass lines rather than trying to change a successful (boring) bass line on what you currently play.

And, as always, I'm listening to and trying out the other suggestions offered here.

 

[dave64o]

Someone else just asked that same question recently, discussed here.

How about an explained example of good practice... e.g. "In ... by... the guitar plays ..., and the bass plays ..., which is ... You could play ..., but you can see here how adding ... makes a difference."
I'd be really thankful

Did that in my previous post.

 

[PJSShearer]

Shouldn't the question be:

What to play UNDER power chords?

 

[gtaus]

Studying some music theory/mechanics (unless you already have a background), and even some jazz would really help you out. Walking a bass line involves getting from one chord to the next in an effective, interesting manner...honestly your situation isn't much different. My studying jazz helped my playing in genres across the board, from funk to metal.

If I can walk up and down to a chord, I use that technique on many songs to add interest to my bass line. However, in our punk songs, a walking bass line does not work as well for the songs we play. So I pretty much just hit the root and keep it there until the next chord change.

I have a friend bass player who came from a jazz background. She can play circles around me, to be sure. However, she plays a jazz bass style on some of her Rock 'n' Roll songs, and, IMHO, her jazz influence detracts from the hard Rock 'n' Roll simple power bass line that should be there. Yes, she can play a bucketful of notes around that root and it does work on some level, but, IMHO, it detracts from the song more than it helps. I think if you are playing a cover song, you should at least try to play the actual bass line as close as possible.

I have a video of Godsmack and the lead singer is talking about his bass player. He says that his bass player is just the greatest bassist and that he teaches bass seminars and two hand bass tapping, chording, music theory, etc.... Really, massive talent. But for the music Godsmack plays, many songs he just needs the bass player to be smacking that open E string and letting it ring. That's not exactly word for word, but the idea was that his bassist was much more talented than what he required for bass on his songs in Godsmack. But he appreciated the ability of the bass player to sit back and pound out the root which is what the song needed.

 

[baileyboy]

What's wrong with playing "under" the power chords?

 

[johnboy65]

Here is another suggestion, you can make some great bass lines just from outlining the actual chord since the guitar is not taking up all the notes.
Example: grabbing the Eb on the G string over a B chord. Hammer on from the 4 to the 5 or something else and it gets more exciting. Use some passing notes and open strings to help flavor and get to your next chord.
Now just play it like someone peed on your shoes and you've got punk rock.

 

[joshwilkesbooth]

For punk play the root 90% of the time and just pop a transition into the next chord in there every now and again and you'll be good. Maybe it's "boring" but its not about you being bored... it's about the song, and what the song needs to be the most effective song it can be.

Of note: Play all downstrokes... Dee Dee is watching.

 

[masterFlash]

I say first focus on the rythym. How can you play those roots to groove with the kick drum, where can you pull out a note so that it emphasizes the notes you do play twice as much. Use your bass line to add an undercurrent to the song. Just like a vocalist who adds a melody on top of chord patterns, but don't lose the bottom end. Also a good tip from Nikki Sixx is make the chorus bigger than the verse. So maybe use quarter or 8th notes during the verse then hit it big on the chorus with pumping 8th or 16ths(double time it).

 

[Porx]

I think everyone is a little over-concentrated on the "punk" part of the question... Though I do appreciate all the effort so far... I think the "punk-ish" part of the description of the genre we play is just our excuse for being bad... Though we do have a few good heavy punk songs... I think I have the punk bass thing down... I'm struggling with advancing as a metal bassist... Some of the songs we're working on are sounding a little hollow and monotone, so I guess I was wondering how to make those work...

 

[countrybassist]

+1. until you get an idea what to do on your own, lift ideas you like that you hear from other bassists and try to work them into your tunes.

That's just what I was going to say. Listen to a bunch of punk players and borrow their licks.

 

[3tsb]

You could always learn the melody of the song. It will also aid in what works harmoncially without stepping on the vocal and creating too much tension.

 

[dogofgod]

I started to think of myself as the guy responsible for the chord that's coming, instead of the one we're on. As a result I'm playing a lot more interesting stuff, and not all the time either.

I'll listen to the entire progression as it loops. I'll figure out where the climax is, the low points, whatever, and then I'll fiddle with what works by ear, Ignoring the supposed key. I don't mean play stuff that sounds bad, but for me when I say oh, we're playing in A major, I play the pentatonic scale in a really uncreative way.

So pass notes along for the next power chord. If it's a fast progression, pick one or two changes that could use something extra and hit a note in between.

Before you know your mates will be stealing your lines for little guitar licks. Happens to me all the time. Whatever, for the better of the band.

I do this as well. It really works, and the guitarists usually try to steal your lines, but oh well, its all good .

There is no doubt that when you know the charts backwards and forwards you will start thinking about where the song is going and how you will take the band there with your bass lines. It is kind of like taking the band on a ride and you are the captain. My guitarist will come up to me after a gig and tell me that he listens now more to the bass line than the drummer because he 1) knows i am keeping time, and 2) he likes to bounce his solos and lead guitarist work off of the bass lines that i am producing. it creates a sonically improved song and the audience can really start to feel the groove. music is all about the groove. and when the band is working full steam on stage, its great to know how to bring the band to another level or another place.

 

[gtaus]

...My guitarist will come up to me after a gig and tell me that he listens now more to the bass line than the drummer because he 1) knows i am keeping time,....

Problems with the drummer? We have a great guy sitting behind us, but his day job gets him up at 5 am. By the last set on a Friday night, and a few beers, he is not always spot on either.

I too prefer a walking bass line to/from the root of the chord, if it works in the song. Especially in Blues music. We don't play Metal, so I don't know if that would work there. We do play some Punk, and I have tried some walking bass lines, but it does not work well for me with the Punk songs we play.

Since the OP does not want us to concentrate so much on the Punk aspect of their music, I wonder what Metal songs he is playing. OP, are you covering some standard Metal songs, or writing your own originals? If covering other songs, maybe you could list the songs and someone could suggest some bass lines for you. I know the drum beat also plays a big role in determining how I approach my bass. Maybe you could upload some of your originals, sans bass, and somebody could help you write an interesting bass line over/under those power chords?

Heck, it's not me. I don't play Metal. But I'm sure someone around here has a good idea of how to work the bass on a Metal track.

Come to think of it, that would be a great collaboration type of project where someone could upload a song, sans bass line, and guys could submit their interpretations on bass for the song. Better yet if they could explain what they did and why it works for them. That could be a teachable moment that goes beyond the text messages of these posts. Instead of "talking" about bass lines to play over/under those power chords, it would be great to "hear" how real bass players would actually play a bass line and learn from their experience and interpretation. Just a thought.

 

[Metal Bassist]

You could play the same power chord. Experiment, If the song sounds like it's more major than minor you can put a major 3rd in there, but if it sounds more minor then you might be able to put a minor 3rd in the mix.

Experiment to see how it sounds first before you play it live though.

If you're more metal than punk, don't be afraid to put some chromatic notes in.

 

[sonic assassin]

i always filled space with 3rds, 5ths and octaves. my last band was a great deal of power chords. i would take that opportunity to VOICE the chord as they arent. if they arent playing a 3rd, you make everything more musical by hitting one in the bass line. move around inside the chord if they arent.

say your line is AAAA-FFFF-CCCC-GGGG. pretty simple. 2 strings. 4 chords. boooooring.

AACA-FFCE-CCEF-GGBG. soooo much more interesting. still 2 strings. same number of notes, but a LOT more music going on.

this chorus (and this player) is the perfect example. i learned everything i know from he and tim C.

 

[Shakin-Slim]

^ This is a good point. A power chord, depending on what exactly you mean by a power chord, might contain nothing more than a 1, 5 and 8. That gives you a whole lot of musical space to play with to define the harmony a wee bit more.

 

[Beginner Bass]

The answer to what you should play is dependent on what the band is playing. If the guitar parts are really complex, it's probably not a good idea to get too crazy. However, if the band is playing some fairly simple parts, then you have a bit of a longer leash. It's really a matter of what's having the attention drawn. It gets muddy wheen everybody wants to take a solo at the same time.

A power chord is effective, yet simple. They give you a whole lot of space to do what you want. There's a lot fewer feet to step on. You can get melodic if you want. Just know when you've overstepped.