When to go low?

[5string5fingers]

Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

So I'm practicing some songs for church tomorrow and a current song I am working on is in the key of G.

I play a 5 string and I am wondering when should we, when we have the option, play notes like C D E on the low B instead of an octave up on the A string.

Typically I play with 2 guitarist,a drummer and a keyboard player.

The bass player in me wants to say ALWAYS play the low notes, MOAR BASS!, but I'm wondering if it can be too much playing down there all the time?

 

[Groove Master]

Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

So I'm practicing some songs for church tomorrow and a current song I am working on is in the key of G.

I play a 5 string and I am wondering when should we, when we have the option, play notes like C D E on the low B instead of an octave up on the A string.

Typically I play with 2 guitarist,a drummer and a keyboard player.

The bass player in me wants to say ALWAYS play the low notes, MOAR BASS!, but I'm wondering if it can be too much playing down there all the time?

This may sound like a cliché but the best thing to do is : Use your ears !! Especially in a church, you want to keep it clear and clean as far as sound definition. The low register brings some energy and it is essential sometimes in the ride out of a song. The best thing is to experiment and ajust it. I love the low register myself. Made my entire career with it ;-)

Good luck

 

[5string5fingers]

This may sound like a cliché but the best thing to do is : Use your ears !! Especially in a church, you want to keep it clear and clean as far as sound definition. The low register brings some energy and it is essential sometimes in the ride out of a song. The best thing is to experiment and ajust it. I love the low register myself. Made my entire career with it ;-)

Good luck

So better to use the low B to add weight to certain areas of the song like a build up/bridge type section?

 

[Mushroo]

Sounds like you're saying there is no sheet music, no written bass line? Is that correct?

Can you get a hold of recordings to hear what the bassist played on the original tracks?

 

[Groove Master]

So better to use the low B to add weight to certain areas of the song like a build up/bridge type section?

Yes I like to use it sometimes as a complementary tool. Again taste and experience will help you to do it musically. I often hear young players using it as a 4+1 instead of a full 5 strings instrument. Make sure you learn the fingerboard as a full instrument. It is all in the concept

 

[5string5fingers]

Sounds like you're saying there is no sheet music, no written bass line? Is that correct?

Can you get a hold of recordings to hear what the bassist played on the original tracks?

Chord sheets are all we have. A lot of worship music doesnt have pronounced bass in the recording. Can be difficult to hear whats being played, a lot of times it is played higher up on the neck for some reason around the 7-12 fret area which contributes to it being hard to hear on a track. Sometimes I can find a video of someone covering the song,but more often than not we are not playing in the original key, all of this typically leads me to figure out what to really play and how to play it just based off the chord sheets.

 

[5string5fingers]

Yes I like to use it sometimes as a complementary tool. Again taste and experience will help you to do it musically. I often hear young players using it as a 4+1 instead of a full 5 strings instrument. Make sure you learn the fingerboard as a full instrument. It is all in the concept

I try approach it as a different instrument not just a 4 string with an extra string. I am guilty in the past of doing this, especially when I was younger, but I've been without a 5 string bass for several years and recently got my deluxe jazz V and have been approaching it differently.

 

[craigie]

Try using a 4 string sometimes. Then when you come back to the 5 you will have a fresh perspective on when to use those low notes to create impact.

 

[Beersurgeon]

When I played for a church, I would use my B string all the time. Because we would change key on a fly, by using my B string, I was to make changes without batting an eye. I don't think I ever went lower than D because the low C didn't fit well with the songs we were playing. So yes, use your B string!!!

 

[Nashrakh]

Since you're in a church setting, you could adapt some organ playing cliches, like playing the low root at the final chord of a song, but only then. Like using the 5th string for the end of songs.

I try to stay off the B string though when the line was written for 4 strings, unless the composition already contains a pretty low bass note (like riding the low D pedal on "Everybody wants to rule the world", which was a synth in the original I think). The key of Eb is a notable exception.

 

[buldog5151bass]

The more often you do it, the last effect it has. As stated above, you have to listen, but I would use it when you want something to have more "oomph".

 

[micguy]

Most songs in a worship set build - they tend to start simple, and end big. One of the tools in your kit is low notes. In a building song, I tend to hold off until the climax of the song, and drop the low notes then.

 

[pappabass]

Probably best to be easy on the 5th. When I played at church, i had a tendency to live on the 5th a little too much. Start easy, then start adding as the song builds

 

[oZZma]

So I'm practicing some songs for church

I am wondering when should we, when we have the option, play notes like C D E on the low B

Beware, it could summon the devil

 

[CavilingCraig]

What sort of instrumentation do you have? When grooving with guitar and drums, I tend to go no lower than open E pitch wise. This keeps the bass part basically an octave lower than the lowest note played by the rhythm guitar player. Sounds nice and tight.

When there are bridges, intros, outros, or builds with lots of space and/or the rhythm guitar drops out, I'll play the lower notes and really let them ring out. In tandem with an electric playing a line in his upper register, it really creates a sense of sonic atmosphere. Then before the groove kicks back in, leap up to the 12th fret area on the G and do a fill to get you back into jamming.

When I used to play for a larger church with keys, organ, synth, acoustic and electric guitars, I'd read from the piano part if there is one, and use those low notes to get below the other instruments and really fill out the deep end, as the area of the A string was pretty heavily occupied by other instruments.

TLDR: Think like an arranger or musical director. What sort of musical space needs to be filled?

 

[Nephilymbass]

So better to use the low B to add weight to certain areas of the song like a build up/bridge type section?

That’s what I like to do with the low B. It’s more dramatic when used here and there. Gets to be kind of monotonous if you use it All the time.

 

[JRA]

Use your ears !!

yeah, if you've got 'em, flaunt 'em! OP: i'm sure that what sounds better to you = actually works!

 

[5string5fingers]

What sort of instrumentation do you have? When grooving with guitar and drums, I tend to go no lower than open E pitch wise. This keeps the bass part basically an octave lower than the lowest note played by the rhythm guitar player. Sounds nice and tight.

When there are bridges, intros, outros, or builds with lots of space and/or the rhythm guitar drops out, I'll play the lower notes and really let them ring out. In tandem with an electric playing a line in his upper register, it really creates a sense of sonic atmosphere. Then before the groove kicks back in, leap up to the 12th fret area on the G and do a fill to get you back into jamming.

When I used to play for a larger church with keys, organ, synth, acoustic and electric guitars, I'd read from the piano part if there is one, and use those low notes to get below the other instruments and really fill out the deep end, as the area of the A string was pretty heavily occupied by other instruments.

TLDR: Think like an arranger or musical director. What sort of musical space needs to be filled?

Typical Sunday, 3 vocalist, an electric guitar,acoustic guitar,drummer,and keyboard, sometimes we have an extra electric guitarist.

A lot of sonic space taken up for sure.

 

[pbass2]

I always just try to consider the arc of the song and play to support that, whether climbing into the upper register or dropping down low. Put on your arranger hat!

 

[interp]

My approach is that the less I use the B string the more impact it has when I do use it. It is also important that your amplification can carry those notes cleanly and without muddiness.