Yes, but how EXACTLY do you make others sound better?

[Micha84]

Hey everybody,

so we have all heard that a good bass player can make other musicians or a whole band sound better. It is pretty obvious that a bad player of whatever instrument will make other players or a band sound worse, and that a group of good players playing together sounds great.

But what is it specifically that a bass player can do to elevate a band? I am not talking about solid playing in general, like good time, clean technique et cetera, but about specific strategies, vocabulary, whatever that makes a good guitar solo sound absolutely incredible, that makes a decent song a complete banger, that turns a group of good players into the best band of the world?

Why do other players shine with you on stage?

Let's have it!

 

[buldog5151bass]

1. I am on the beat, with the proper feel. I am not moving, unless for some reason the entire band trainwrecks, and I have no choice to follow.

2. Similarly, I know the song structure. Where are there breaks, dynamic changes, whatever?

3. I try not to overplay. Unless there is a specific bass figure (Papa Was aRolling Stone, etc.), most people aren't there to see the bass player.

 

[Solipsistik]

I almost entirely play what you'd call practical rock bass - as close to the original notes as I can in covers, and I haven't published anything I've made. In my mind, my job is to fill in the bottom end and more or less lead the band with a solid rythm. I say me, because it's a lot easier for a bassist to keep proper time than a drummer, and my drummer agrees with that - we lock in and if we can't lock in the way we want, we find a way to change as soon as we can (this has happened when one is wearing IEMs and the other isn't, strange but true). When I do some fills and the like, it's usually short and targeted towards a part of the music where it's coming to the climax of verse or chorus.

We get accolades for sounding "tight" frequently, and that's exactly what I feel my job is, to make the music sound tight and lively. When it comes to solos, I tend to modify the bass line some, dropping notes an octave during the solo so as not to step on the guitar's range (the Beatles did this kind of thing and one of the bands I play with regularly does a lot of Beatles).

I also like to do guitar/bass walks during some songs, for a good example "Good Clean Fun" by the Allman Bros.

 

[J Wilson]

Listen

Listen.

Listen, and play what fits, even if it would seem to be a bit off-the-reservation in spots.

It's a team sport.

 

[JonathanPDX]

whatever that makes a good guitar solo sound absolutely incredible

This was an exercise we used to do at Bass / Nature Camp, since it's been a long time and I don't know if they even do this class anymore, I'll share some ideas I learned from Vic and crew.

The first key is dynamics. A solo needs to go somewhere melodically and dynamically. If you start soft, build to a creshendo, and have a powerful dynamic movement behind the melody, the audience WILL react whether the soloist was great or not. You really can manipulate the audience into reacting. You can start the solo section with lots of extra space in your bass part, and gradually fill in more and more as it builds, regardless of what the soloist is doing.

The second key is harmonic movement. If your soloist is noodling away in the same shape, say, the classic minor pentatonic block, then you can provide the harmonic movement that he's not. Play some subs, walk into the changes, or just go find a different note to sit on. For example, your guitarist is in A minor and playing all his favorite pentatonic licks. The band is also playing A minor. The song isn't moving. So, drop down to F and sit there, which creates movement in the solo and implies change, even if he's playing the same lick. If you pedal F, G, then back to Am the audience will hear movement even when the soloist plays exactly the same lick.

Lastly, you can push the dynamics forward to tension and release. In the above example, as the solo reaches it's conclusion, drop down to the V chord and start pedaling E. If you want to get fancy, make it E7 to imply harmonic minor, and that tension is going to get a reaction the moment you finally go back to the A minor. Victor likes to do this with chromatic movements, which are also very powerful. In the above example, Victor might pedal A, B, C, C#, D, D#, and finally land on that E7, and hold there to build tension before going back to Am as the release. You could achieve the same thing with a descending chromatic movement, too. It's really about the dynamics, and how those chromatic tones color the solo even if nothing else changes but the bass pedal.

 

[mambo4]

But what is it specifically that a bass player can do to elevate a band? I am not talking about solid playing in general, like good time, clean technique et cetera, but about specific strategies,

Those things you're "not talking about" are certainly part of it.

One strategy is a to know the parts the others are playing, drummers especially (Hope fully they are consistent). My salsa playing reached new level after I spent time learning the rest of the rhythm section. Knowing exactly what the other guys are playing makes it much easier to frame their parts well.

I guess thinking about your bass lines as frames for other player's parts is also a strategy.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever saw on TB was "leave room for the snare". When playing style with solid backbeat, I'll try to consciously mute at the precise moment of the snare hit. Like I'm playing a staccato rest on 2 & 4. It really tightens things up, and is a forcing factor for listening.

Listen

Yep. I generally try the most basic rhythm that works, and hold back all my awesome chops, while listening very deeply to everyone else. One of the purposes of practicing execution is freeing up my awareness to listen. If find that as I familiarize my self with the music as a whole, the best places for me to add some sauce become obvious.

one last point: Making everyone else sound better is like keeping time: it's everyone's job, not just one instrument.

 

[Micha84]

Great advice @JonathanPDX and @mambo4

 

[Lobster11]

I'll just add to the many good comments above that part of the secret is simply staying out of the way.

 

[dave_p]

Listen.
Dynamics!!!!!! The most overlooked thing that can really elevate a band.
Telegraph… musical cues that signal intention.
Lay back for others solos. Unless you have a good reason to lean in and rip.

 

[JonathanPDX]

A couple more thoughts, since backing soloists is such a big topic:

The bass often has the unique job of spelling out the chords without playing all the notes at once. If you play an A while the singer sings A - C - E - D the audience hears A-7 clearly. Once the guitarist starts soloing the only context is A, and when he starts camping out on D and B the actual chord, A-7, is no longer being articulated clearly to the audience. Sometimes that's intentional and frees the soloist, other times it just loses all harmonic direction of the song as a whole.

Personally, my approach is that the more pentatonic the guitarist is, the more non-chord tones I'll add to the bass line to spell out chords and add color. And the more colorful the soloist is, the more I hold back to the chord tones and let them spell out the details to articulate each chord.

A fun trick in blues to generate applause is to sub the changes out without actually leaving the form. When you hit the turnaround (Bar 9, the V chord) just sit there, pedal that V chord all the way through bar 12 and lead yourself back to bar 1. Boom, applause. Want to REALLY take the audience on a ride? Continue pedaling that V chord right through the next head. You can resolve it by finally walking to the IV chord in the form, or you can sit there for 9 whole bars, pedaling away on that V chord, and use the next turnaround as your escape hatch to walk your way back to the form.

Leaning on that V chord is like making the audience hold their breath. The longer it goes, the more desperate they are to exhale. So when you finally walk back to home base they all breathe out together and you get a big reaction, even if your soloist isn't playing anything special.

 

[JRA]

But what is it specifically that a bass player can do to elevate a band?

the right note(s), at the right time(s), in the right way(s).

just a different way of looking at the great comments that precede this post.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Frank Zappa used to say "If I write an A, play an A."

 

[coyote1]

If you want to hear a largely unsung but incredible bassist making the song sound great and making the soloists sound great in an improvisational rock context, listen to Roger Glover. The specific track id Child In Time, from the Made In Japan album. He a) locks in with drummer Ian Paice. b) he plays a solid bass line behind Ian Gillan's soaring vox. c) he plays propulsive bass lines behind Jon Lord's organ solo, and especially behind Blackmore's extended solo. The bass line keeps building and building, while staying so solidly in the pocket.

 

[JazznFunk]

Make sure YOUR time is together. Practice with a metronome or drum machine and concentrate on playing solidly at all kinds of tempos. Practice different feels and know how it feels to play them accurately. Know what proper time feels like as much as what it sounds like. Listen to a lot of music even without a bass in your hand, especially the music you want to play the most. Learn the idiomatic feels and tendencies of what defines a genre. Pay attention to note length in your parts. For a long time I tended to play 'shorter' notes if I wasn't familiar with a song/feel, and I would overplay to cover if I made a mistake. Knowing the songs well and trusting in yourself and your bandmates to play longer, supportive notes, and truly supportive feels is the goal.... unless the tune demands that more staccato/short articulation. Stay out of the way, truly establish the bottom for other soloists. Lock in with the kick. Know the changes to the songs you're playing, and be able to outline each chord with arpeggios, focusing on common tones. Understand the harmonic movement without having to 'cheat' by following the guitar or keys all the time. You might end up being the only one 'in charge' of the harmony at some points!

Most importantly, remember that we're ALL working on this, all the time. There's always something to refine no matter how long you've been playing.

....to be continued.

 

[bassbrad]

For me it's mentally taking a step back and listening to the song and what everyone else is doing and finding what works best. I'm working primarily in a jazz context and to take it a step further it means listening to each soloist and supporting their particular style and occasionally giving them a bit of a push.

It is an intuitive thing the result of listening to lots of records and paying particular mind to what works and what does not. Not just listening to the bass players but also the drums, keys or other players and staling the best ideas. It also comes from extensively recording my own groups and analyzing what worked, didn't and trying different ideas.

 

[TTA]

easy:

1. turn up about 20-30% louder than the rest of the band.

2. overdrive is key. the more the better really. no mid scooping so that you CUT thr mix in half. or scoop the mids and turn up x2 volume of band. both awesome. low mid mush is key.

3. reverb, echo, delay and phaser during any guitar solo (this is a great way to add to free-bird or stairway to heaven.)

4. you need to stand out. think mono neon or bootsy c. stand out from the band with glitter, diamond high heels. etc. if the band is a glitter band, jeans and hoodie and cowboy hat. for jazz i suggest a sock only. argyle if a snooty crowd. wool if you expect cold/damp weather.

5. vocals piano solo: build it up with 16ths and show off those polyrythms. louder is better.

6. hammer ons, pull offs, slapping, tapping. faster is better. think band plays clocks by coldplay… you play "jerry was a race car driver" by primus.

you are welcome
/thread

 

[bikeplate]

Ive found in most cases people cant be helped. Find some like minded people

 

[Medicine Man]

Play busier in parts that sound empty. Play emptier in parts that sound busy. Adapt to the drummers feel even if it's not what you think it should be. Force dynamics.

 

[bucephylus]

1. Lock down with the backbeat.

2. Hear the whole mix.

3. Preparation. Know the parts; both what audience is listening for and bass parts.

4. Dynamics. Play what the other musicians expect to hear, the way they expect to hear it.

5. Smile; you are having Fun.

 

[blastoff]

yup, yall beat me to it: LISTENING.
try and hear the whole band playing instead of just your own playing. Listening is also a great tool for every other facet of life in a civilized society