A Coupla Questions...

[Chad Thorne]

I play in our church's "worship band", playing a lot of Contemporary Christian (CC) songs. As you may know, many of these are kind of "folk-rock-y", based on I-IV-V or I-II-V changes. I could really use some suggestions of how to add a little (but not too much!) interst to my lines on these tunes. (I'm thinking about switching to an African-American church just to be able to "put a little stank on it" for the Lord lol).

 

BTW, I've been reading BP a lot and looking at sites such as this one, and I need to know:

 

Now that I'm a bass player, do I HAFTA shave my head?...

[good morning]

No, shaving your head, piercing your body, screaming, scowling, and in all other ways vying for attention are strictly optional for bass players.

 

You're thinking of guitar players.

[BassLand]

Now that I'm a bass player, do I HAFTA shave my head?... Your ANSWER

http://bassland.net/shavehead.jpg

[Sylver]

Walking bass lines can make anything move. Start listening to some great blues players like Duck Dunn on the blues Brothers albums, Jaco on anything, any Motown bass player. Some of my favorite bass players "stutter" into the next note (that dotted eight note thing, ba-bum, ba-bum), to really make the bass line move. Another trick you might try is to play slightly ahead of or behind the beat (Usually behind for most players). When you are right on it, sometimes it can sound too mechanical. When you are just behind the beat, it sounds like you are way to cool to count with the rest of the band!

[BassLand]

Sylver,

 

Regarding the "stutter(ing)" you talked about is one technique that Dunn, Jaco and Jamerson (the foremost Motown Detroit bass player but there was Bob Babbitt & Tony Newton also) used. IMO the idea was to either announce the next chord note before the next "beat" thereby giving some rhythmic/melodic anticipation. This moved the piece along and gave the listner an unexpected "push".

 

While all this may sound simple, it is not so easy for some new players to inject this idea into his/her playing in a cohesive manner. As an observer (and not remembering so far back in time to when I would exhibit this), it seems newbies (I assume that Chad is one) have to concentrate on just the basics (dealing with the huge strings, playing the right "single" notes, nailing tempo. Just normal bass player stuff).

 

I am certainly not saying Chad can't do this but rather it may take some time in "Bass Player" mode before it becomes second nature. Just the whole idea of walking bass is "new" coming from guitar. I find questions from newbies like "How do I connect the chords and make it flow?", or "How can I make the same chord structure sound a little different each chorus?".

IMO, new bassist should really look at passing tones (both chord and nod chord) in this regard.

 

BL

 

PS - There is my transcription of Jamerson's bassline to "WHAT'S HAPPENING BROTHER" which contains many uses of the stuttering here:

 

http://bassland.net/_discussion/00000181.htm

 

If you read notation you can get an idea how one bassist thought regarding this issue. The song is the second song on the "What's Going On" or "What's Going On - The Deluxe Edition" albums (CD's) FYI.

[Chad Thorne]

"As an observer (and not remembering so far back in time to when I would exhibit this), it seems newbies (I assume that Chad is one) have to concentrate on just the basics (dealing with the huge strings, playing the right "single" notes, nailing tempo..."

 

Bassland, I'm sure you're right about newbies in general. I've been blessed to acquire some theoretical knowledge along the way so I can always flee to the good ol' root if I have to and maybe even throw in a passing tone from time to time. The fat strings are o.k. now that I've been playing 6-8 mos., still a newbie but not a NEW newbie, if you know what I mean.

 

My problem is injecting a little interest into simple I-IV-V or I-II-V changes. I was thinking melodic interest; this "stuttering" technique is more of a rhythmic thing, which is cool, too. I think I've actually done some, too, or something like, on occasion.

 

So i guess my question now is, do people feel that rhythmic variation is better within simple changes, melodic, or both? (I know I'm going to get "it depends" as an answer!) Or perhaps I'm soliciting as many ideas as possible.

 

Thanks to everyone for your help!

[Tom Capasso]

I have noticed many players using arpeggios to fill, which works well to make it interesting. For myself, I tend toward melodic fills with minor rhythmic changes. Sometimes walks, sometimes varying the speed of the notes. I've slowed it down as I reach the "next" chord for some dramatic effect. And while I don't reach for rhythm first, I'm a sucker for a good triplet.

 

Remember that while rhythm and melody are the "main courses", there are plenty of "side dishes" available. Dynamics, trills or bends, tone changes are just some of the things we can do to add life to boring chord changes. I was doing a song in a passion play that had some dramatic chord changes, and I felt it called out for some accents. Think about the full range of volume and attack you can bring to a passage between the I and IV chord !! And rests can be interesting. Listen to some of those bass parts that are sparse ("Montego Bay" comes to mind, but there are others). I would never think of a part like that usually, but once in a while it really changes the feel of the music.

 

Lastly, my influences were players who did work in a blues-rock style, so they had to make simple changes interesting. Listen to Jack Bruce (Cream), John Paul Jones (early Led Zepplin), and Tim Bogert (Cactus and Beck Bogert, Appice). My guess is that there are plenty of examples in the Christian music world, but I'm not up on that (maybe latest WOW album?)

 

Have fun !!

Tom

[Chad Thorne]

"...My guess is that there are plenty of examples in the Christian music world..."

 

I suppose there are; the only Christian bassist I know by name is Fred Hammond, but the little bit of his style I've managed to cop doesn't necessarily go over well. I did some slapping and popping on the bridge of " Better Is One Day" ( you probably know it; very folk-rock-ballad-y) and it caused the worship leader, well - consternation...lol...the drummer liked it...but it seemed to induce the congregation to sway in a rhythmic fashion, and we just can't have that in the [deleted] Church that I attend...lol

 

Thanks so much for the suggestions, Tom. I've been listening to everything with the bass cranked these days...

[zujo]

<<>

That was going to be my first suggestion but since you are already ahead of me, I am going to say...NOTE CHOICES BABY!" It's all about that.

 

Regardless of how fast you play or how cool you dress, if you pick the coolest notes for yor basslines, everyone is going to turnaround and congratulate you. Record the rehearsal play simplistic and take this tape home. At home simply ask yourself What note sounds better at this time in the arrangement instead of repeating myself to death?

 

Avoid reharmonizing the whole song and stick to roots in crucial moments such as tonic chords. What I mean is establish your "one" your "root" and then surprise everyone, even yourself.

 

Peas

[RobT]

Chad you've picked a good one to cop a style from. Fred Hammond is great. BP magazine was running an infrequent series on Christian/Gospel bassists. For the last couple of months. Check it out. Although it seems to have disappeared in the recent issue. There are lots of other bassists in the genre. You may also want to check out the ChurchBass mailing list.

 

Keep on thumpin'

 

RobT