Why does the bass player still stand in back?

[Jim Carr]

I like to be near the drummer, yet have a clear view of guitarist fingerboards, keyboards, and any front person. The reasons for these wants/needs/likes are purely musical. If the bass says something about the the harmony and the time, it has to be right and it has got to be in keeping with what others are doing, expecting, or signaling. It's that simple.

 

[vvvmmm]

It is my belief that we tend to be uglier and less egotistic than lead singers, less outgoing and not as needy as guitar players, and better looking than drummers who have to sit in the back.

And remember, exceptions prove the rule.

 

[Lagado]

A club I used to play on a monthly basis with my regular band, had a stage with large bass bins mounted beneath it. Two young women pretty much always came to the gigs and assumed the same position, pressed up against the bass bins.

An educated woman knows that a B string, to paraphrase a one-time beer ad tag, can "Refresh the parts that other musicians can't reach."

 

[ezstep]

Don't. Never have. I have when I was just the hired gun for the show, but not with my regular band. But stand where you wish - whatever makes you comfortable. No rhyme or reason to it.

 

[vvvmmm]

An educated woman knows that a B string, to paraphrase a one-time beer ad tag, can "Refresh the parts that other musicians can't reach."

So tempting to hit a "brown" note, yeah?

 

[AGCurry]

If you're not singing or soloing, there is no reason to be up front.

 

[selowitch]

If I’m playing bass and singing backup vocals I prefer to be off to the side or in the back. If playing guitar and/or singing, I would rather be up front. Why? I am not sure.

 

[Liko]

So tempting to hit a "brown" note, yeah?

Less a "brown" note, more a "whatever color you see when you... arrive" note. Though in all fairness you can get either reaction from much the same frequencies...

 

[Lagado]

Bassists occupy a twilight world of deep thought and contemplation, where none intrude.

 

[dave64o]

If I was only playing bass, I’d probably prefer to be behind the vocalists where the drummer and I can easily see each other. But since I do backing vocals when ever there are any (a couple of other guys join in occasionally, but it’s mostly my job) and I seem to be doing an increasing amount of lead vocals on my own or shared with our singer/BL, she has me up front and in line with her.

To be honest, I like it either way. But where I go depends on the situation.

 

[staurosjohn]

I stand in the middle... I don’t ‘interact’, much, but I like it there!

 

[darwin-bass]

Because musically bass is a supporting role. A background role. And something about playing bass tends to mellow out the player. Makes you more likely to just stand there and feel the music deeply and internally. So the boring background player gets to stand in the background.

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

So Anyway, put me back in the 'Second Line' where I can keep an eye on the drummer. Plus it's good to be outta sight....you never can tell when a divorce lawyer or bill collector might stumble into the joint.

 

[Lagado]

"What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows..."

 

[fhm555]

Most of the paid work i got to start with was with a guy who would book jobs then get on the phone and round up a band. Many times you’d meet the rest of the band when we got to the place we were playing. After a while i had met most of his regular guys but it was still winging it for the most part. I realized early the only way to not suck in that situation was to be able to communicate with the drummer and be able to see the the left hand of both guitar players. Depending in his mood the front man would change tempo, progression, even the key so you had to be able to pick up on those changes quick to avoid disaster. I preferred to be as close to the high hat as possible while still able to see the left hands of the two guitar players. It became a habit and it’s still my preferred spot when in front of a crowd.

 

[two fingers]

I get the best of both worlds. My vocal mic is up front. I sing lead vocals on about a quarter of our songs, amd backups on another half. Whenever I don't have to song, I run back to my drummer and rock out with him.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

We're in the back, because it would be too rude if we were off the stage

 

[ELG60]

I like to place myself behind the infernal din of the guitar amplifiers.

 

[LBS-bass]

See, that's weird. At my last gig, all the bands, including ours, had the bassist stage right, opposite side of the kit from the hi-hat. Everyone seemed totally comfortable with that; it's been the way we've arranged ourselves for a while in the rehearsal space, rather organically, but to see the lead band set up that way and then have the act following us do the same with the bassist absolutely in his element on that side of the stage (very Flea-like stage presence) it just felt like that's the way it should be. I totally get your logic, and now that you mention it a quick image search shows that bassist stage left is the more common setup, but whether all the bands just followed the lead act's arrangement or we actually rehearse that way, that night was three-for-three "flipped" the opposite way and zero complaints.

Next to the hi-hat is where I've always stood, though toward the front, since I sing. Center stage if I'm the lead singer with the drummer a little to my right. I think this is maybe an old-school thing. The other reason I want to be to the left on the stage is that I'm not as comfortable with someone standing to my left, as the neck of my bass is pretty long. If there's a lead singer there, and I'm to the right of him, it's more awkward when space is tight. I've had non-singing instrumentalists to my left but I was in front of them on mic, so it wasn't as bad.

 

[Mudfuzz]

A bass play stands where they are needed. Some times in the back and out of the way, sometimes in the front so they can and use their headstock to prod dancers from bumping into the keyboardist's mic.