Which bass lines to play?

[mcontour]

So I am a fellow bass player with my own band, and I run sound for a very popular (and busy) local power pop band. For a gig coming up in a few weeks, their bass player cannot make it and they want me to sub in on bass.


Since I have been running sound for them for a long time, I have all the arrangements memorized, so no issues there.


Their bass player mostly plays very simplified versions of the bass lines for the songs. In the band’s case it works as she keeps a steady groove going, and the performance really highlights the four-part vocals anyway. Their crowd dances the entire show and I don’t think anyone notices the incorrect bass lines.


My dilemma is this. Should I just mimic the same simple bass lines, or play the correct bass lines? As a purist, I have trouble playing something that I know is wrong, but on the other hand I’m being paid to play so maybe I should just suck it up and smile??


I’m interested in your thoughts and experiences in this regard.


Cheers.

 

[Lobster11]

Here's a question: Apart from the bassist, is the rest of the band playing the songs exactly like the originals? I ask because the original bass lines were composed to work in a particular arrangement, and with particular instrumentation, so a different arrangement of any given song might call for a different (and perhaps simpler) bass line. That is, the bassist might have good reasons for simplifying the bass lines -- other than simply being lazy or not knowing them.

 

[Oddly]

I'd ask the band. It might surely throw them completely to suddenly hear different bass than they're used to.

 

[RattleSnack]

If there is no other reason she simplifies, except that she personally prefers it that way - you can do what you prefer. Just make it sound good and no one will complain.

 

[dc-upright]

I find it interesting the OP used incorrect bass lines and As a purist, I have trouble playing something that I know is wrong,

just because they are not the same line as the recording does not make them incorrect or wrong.

If it were me I would play the hook and do my own thing from there.

 

[bassdude51]

It can be difficult to copy what another bassist plays. It's like trying to imitate someone's hand writing.

Ask the head guy in the band what kind of bass he/she wants. It's only a one night gig.

IMO, since the bassists keeps it simple, perhaps you should try to do the same.

It sounds like the band's music is a crowd pleaser. Stay with the program.

 

[FullumMusic]

Gonna second what @Lobster11 said. Bass-lines don't exist in isolation. They're just part of a song. All the instrument-lines exist as part of a song. The purist "correct" bass-line is only the right bass line if every other member of the band is exactly replicating their part from the original song. Right? There's a reason it was written recorded that way, with all the instruments that were written and recorded that way. But once you start changing any of the pieces (including vocals), all the other pieces need to adapt/change/adjust so they all fit together to become a whole again: A functional song.

So it's a mix of, what's your goal? What's the band's goal? What does playing the bass exactly like the recording accomplish in the context of the song and what everyone else is playing? What does changing the bass line accomplish in the context of the song (and does it actually work for the situation)? Either or both options are the right one depending on the situation.

Also, it's probably not the bass-lines that are driving the fans to sing and dance all night. I mean, the bass is part of it. But, it's part of the bigger picture of what the band is playing.

One thing i've learned in my years of being a musician, producer, DJ, and audio engineer is: In general people love vocal harmonies.

So, it's not necessarily that people like her over-simplified bass-lines better than your recording-accurate ones. They don't care either way. They're sucked in by the vocal harmonies, and the supporting music has to leave enough room for the harmonies. Support the vocals and give the audience just enough of a pulse to dance to.

This is also, to some extent, gonna be genre dependent. It's also gonna be listener dependent. I'm talking about people in general who like music enough to sing and dance to whatever strikes their fancy. But, maybe not necessarily die-hard fans of certain genres. Just like you prefer playing recording-accurate replications of songs, there's probably a few people at the venue who prefer to listen to recording-accurate replications and aren't into these 4-part-harmony remakes. But they're probably in the minority when compared to the general public who just likes music.

All that said, for myself, i feel like the better i get, the less i play.
But that works for me and the music i play. Might not work for someone in a prog-rock 3 piece.

 

[Bass Viking]

I find it interesting the OP used incorrect bass lines and As a purist, I have trouble playing something that I know is wrong,

just because they are not the same line as the recording does not make them incorrect or wrong.

If the bassist is dumbing down the parts because of her musical limitations then I would say they are wrong. This is assuming the arrangements are like the original recording. On many tunes the bass part is an integral part of the song. I saw a video of a band playing Love Shack and the bassist played a simplified bass part. What a travesty! The original bassline is essential, it drives the song.

 

[WI Short Scaler]

As has been said, a quick discussion with the band is needed. Keeps the surprises to a minimum. If what you're playing is radically different you may want to stick to a simpler bass line. But if what the regular bassist is in the right key and just simplified all should be good.

 

[Killing Floor]

If you are a sub play what the band is used to and if playing the proper lines doesn't throw anyone off then feel free.

Will you have a rehearsal? Because that's the easiest way to find out.

 

[ctmullins]

Based on your description, the simplified bass lines contribute to a very successful show.

So why would you want to upset that dynamic?

Also, there is no such thing as the "correct" bass line. In pop/rock music anyway. Have you ever noticed that when famous bands perform live, they alter the arrangement at least a little bit? Music is a shared experience, and replicating a recorded bass line for the sake of alleged "correctness" robs the audience and the band alike of the spontaneous creativity that can (and should) occur during a live show.

In summary - serve the song and keep the booties shakin'.

 

[gln1955]

If her bass lines work for their performance, then do something similar. You are subbing for her, not for the original recording bass player.

 

[Aussie Player]

Be you, play like you.
If you are a better bass player, live it.
There is always a possibility of another band member in the audience looking for a player like you. Never, ever, undersell yourself.

Buddy Guy played what he was told, until he snuck in a little piece of himself with every song. Those snippets made him world famous.

 

[WestyBassBob]

Here's a question: Apart from the bassist, is the rest of the band playing the songs exactly like the originals? I ask because the original bass lines were composed to work in a particular arrangement, and with particular instrumentation, so a different arrangement of any given song might call for a different (and perhaps simpler) bass line. That is, the bassist might have good reasons for simplifying the bass lines -- other than simply being lazy or not knowing them.

I think you should play the bass lines the band is expecting. My experience is that when the bassist changes from what the rest of the band is expecting it tends to mess them up. Not in every case. The last band I played with was three very experienced musicians. I could have played anything and they would have just kept doing their parts.

 

[Michedelic]

You’re subbing, just go in and do it their way.
But…if I’m a regular member of a band, and I have a say, I always insist on playing parts as close to, if not exactly like, how they are on the recording. A cover band is basking in the glory of the original rendition, the song is making them cool, they’re not the geniuses that wrote, performed, and recorded it. Respect how the original artist wanted to song to sound, or the effort put into composition. Unless it’s understood that a band does “interpretations” or are “stylists” with others’ material, they’re just a cover band, and it’s lazy or pretentious to dumb down, or in some cases leave out, parts.
If someone thinks they can do better, they should write their own songs. If the original artists slop through their own material live, that’s their call, but it’s sad and lazy.

 

[mrcbass]

For me, I'd try to mimic the band's bass player if it's in my wheelhouse. I'm representing their band, so I'd try to present their sound. I have actually gone to see bands that I'm planning to sub for just to see what their used to hearing.

If I wasn't so intimate with their work as you are, I'd work up my own lines (capture groove and any iconic licks) unless they demand a note for note cover in which case I'd probably not take the gig.

 

[Dincrest]

I'm in the camp of "if you're subbing, do it THEIR way." The band you're subbing for has been doing songs in a certain way for a while, can do them and put on a good show as easily as breathing, and if you're a little off and not locked in "their" way, it will collapse. You're there for THEM. Not you.

Do you have an opportunity to rehearse with the band you're subbing for once or twice? Just knowing arrangements is one thing, but it's another to jam with them. When you do, play the bass parts their way and see if it all clicks up. If they like it and you can be show-ready in a snap, excellent. If they think something's missing (maybe because your playing is too tight/locked in and doesn't feel organic/loosey-goosey), then put some of the original flair back in.

And nothing wrong with simplifying a bass part. Whenever I've covered "Country Girl (Shake it for Me)" by Luke Bryan (always a crowd-pleaser) I don't do all the fills, flairs, and diddly stuff that James "Captain" Cook does here and there. I mostly keep it pretty straight because the song's arrangement is so tight that one missed cue (I certainly can't mimic all of Cook's accoutrements without slipping; dude is a monster player) will collapse everything and stop the dancing. And the goal is to get and keep people dancing.

So, bottom line, when you're subbing, play your parts THEIR way. If they allow you a little wiggle room, cool, but don't take a mile when they give you an inch. But ultimately, it's making the band you're subbing in feel and sound good by THEIR standards.

 

[TyBo]

If the crowd is dancing and singing, and the band is grooving, is the bassline really "wrong"?

 

[MotorCityMinion]

"you can do what you prefer."
"Be you, play like you. If you are a better bass player, live it."

Says the now unemployed bass player from Nashville.

No, you can't. You know better. "for a very popular (and busy) local power pop band" that has an established following and repeat gigs at the same venues, changing up the formula, bye far would be less than wise.

 

[klyph]

We like to play up the jokingly adversarial relationship with the drummer around here, but in this case…

I would ask the drummer.