I am not as good as I thought I was

[Ross Brown]

Since we are currently looking for a drummer, we have decided to develop an acoustic set. (We normally play loud classic rock and blues). This gives us something to work towards (playing as an acoustic act) until we find the right person and it keeps us playing together so we dont slide backwards.

 

It is just our guitar player (he is very, very good), our vocalist and me on bass. It is hard work for me. I feel naked. We have to work so hard not to leave holes in the music. My mistakes are so much more noticeable, and even though I am playing what can be argued to be the correct note(s), sometimes the just dont sound that great to me.

 

It is a great experience but I cant wait to get back to playing with a good drummer.

 

[Bruiser]

Ross Brown,

 

I played in that configuration for about six months last year, and I loved it. Acoustic guitar, acoustic/electric bass, and a singer. On a few tunes, the singer would play a plastic shaker egg or something. Yes, playing without a drummer forces the bass player to assume a stronger role in the rhythm department.

 

And no, I'm not as good as I thought I was, either.

 

Ed

 

[Bottomgottem]

It's a different animal without a drummer, isn't it? It seems daunting when you first start out. In my experience, after you do it for a while you may actually begin to enjoy non-drummer gigs. The biggest benefit being that it really serves to develop your rhythmic sense.

[Eric VB]

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

 

Or something like that.

 

Sometimes you have to adjust the part you play on bass for the ensemble you're playing in. When there is no percussion present I try to play more rhythmically and shelve a lot of my frilly melodic stuff. When there's no lead guitar I play more forward as lead bass. When there's only one guitarist and he goes to take a solo, sometimes I'll strum chords and play the rhythm guitar part to help fill out the sound.

 

And when we played "Highway Star" without a keyboard player, I played the keyboard solo (something that approximated it; not note-for-note).

 

So it's not that you're not as good as you thought you were, although I think every musician believes he or she has room for improvement. (I know I do.) It's that you're being asked to do more now, and that may be new to you. You're taking on more roles than just providing a bass line.

 

Practice your butt off to eliminate mistakes and carefully listen to how the group sounds as a whole to determine how you can best improve the sound as bassist and de facto timekeeper in the absence of a drummer.

 

Be a musician first and bassist second.

[Ross Brown]

It is a great experience. The singer brought moraccos (sp?). He didn't use them last night, but will next time.

 

Also, I decided to use this tuner thingy I have (Fender, rack mount) I like it. It has a mute footswitch and works well but it also displays the note I am playing. A couple of times, the guitarist looked over at it to check my work, or his. I was very very tired (we just moved this week) and I know I was stinking up the place. I hated having the notes displayed to the world. I am going to have to rework the set up... That way he will have to rely on hearing my "interpretations, rather that seeing them displayed on my tuner.

 

 

[tnb]

Me neither. Every single time I pick up a bow, I am instantly back in high school.

 

Oh well. Have you been replaced? If not, fix it. You may find you like working without our brothers-in-arms (every once in a while).

[jcadmus]

I hate playing without a drummer.

 

It's like hitting a tennis ball against a wall -- without the wall.

[Rosa Floydian]

There were a couple of times in this University Jazz Ensemble I play for where our drummer couldn't make it, we didn't have one for a while, showed up late... And I definitely felt like there was a need to hold back and really focus on not only playing the right notes but keeping the time from speeding up / slowing don b/w the five guitarists we had. It is definitely a challenge, but a unique learning experience.

[TimR]

Whilst traditionally the bass plays a big part in the rhythm section, it's not necessarily just down to you to fill the 'holes'. Are you sure there are holes there? What you perceive as being empty, because you are used to hearing a drummer, or the original has a drummer, may just need you to play staccato instead of legato, or vice versa. In our band, we often find that we are all overplaying, usually because we are all trying to make up for one instrument that is in the original arrangement but not in our line-up. Sometimes simple is better, especially in an acoustic environment. Play some tunes as you used to and then have a careful think about where and whether it needs fleshing out and who would be the best player to do it.

 

I'll often play different notes to what the rest of the band expect as well. It keeps them on their toes and makes sure they are listening

 

[Phil W]

It's a learning experience. I have worked a lot without a drummer - usually vocal/guitar/bass like you but sometimes just voice and bass.

 

It gets a lot easier, it's just a question of finding a place within the music.

 

Some guitarist when they play acoustic turn into strum-demons playing full six string chords on every beat - in that case you should go more melodic.

 

When the guitar solos that's when you're work is really cut out as you have to support the rhythm pretty much solo. Use muted ghost notes and percussive things rather than just playing busier and the odd chordal part doesn't go amiss then too.

 

Enjoy it Ross! We're all getting better all the time.

[Mike Bear]

I play in two acoustic projects right now with no drummer. On occasion there's a percussionist. Everyone in the band has to work to fill the sound up. As a bass player, I always want to play something that gooves hard. A lot of the time, I feel I have to imply a groove. Maybe not so full force and obvious. More muting, different types of accents and such. Yes, for a while I did try to play like I was imagining there was a kick and snare to groove to. It can even be tough with a percussionist not a kit drummer because they parts they play again may not be so obvious. Not cryptic, just not in your face groove. Sometimes, you'll try something and you'll find it's cool, and sometimes, you'll play something and feel like a jerk. You have to try stuff out though. It is tough, but enjoy the challenge.

[Gruuve]

Be a musician first and bassist second.

 

+1! Wiser words have rarely been spoken!

 

Stretching yourself is a good thing...it'll force you to grow whether you want to in this sense or not! Give yourself some time to get comfortable with it, and practice, practice, practice!

 

Dave

 

[lug]

I hate playing without a drummer.

 

It's like hitting a tennis ball against a wall -- without the wall.

 

LOL!

[...]

There were a couple of times in this University Jazz Ensemble I play for where our drummer couldn't make it, we didn't have one for a while, showed up late... And I definitely felt like there was a need to hold back and really focus on not only playing the right notes but keeping the time from speeding up / slowing don b/w the five guitarists we had. It is definitely a challenge, but a unique learning experience.

 

In a jazz setting playing without a drummer shouldn't be much different as the bass player is technically the time keeper in most jazz settings.

 

With the right instrumentation playing jazz without a drummer is actually a lot of fun.

[picker]

Don't be afraid of space. Some notes can be rests for everyone in the band without turning the whole thing sour. It's really a question of arranging the songs so the everyone in the band is supporting each other instead of trying to play off of each other. Have fun exploring what you can do to exploit the lack of a drummer, rather that trying to cover up the fact that you don't have one.

[Ross Brown]

Good advice from everyone. Thanks.

[Tom Capasso]

Hey Ross,

 

I played in that configuration for a while. First, I know I'm not that good, but somehow doing this helped me concentrate. I couldn't go on auto pilot. I wish the improvement lasted longer...

 

I was never worried about "filling up" space, and my style tends to do that anyway. What hit me was that in some songs, the part I played worked great. In others, I seemed to be at odds with the guitar or singer on some rhythms. Not that they didn't fit, but that no one instrument was driving it. For those songs, I worked with the guitar to make adjustments - usually that was me playing a more "straight" part.

 

The singer and guitar I worked with were quite solid, and I enjoyed it very much.

 

Keep at it!

Tom

[Seamy ALB]

I played in a 4 man combo with guys playing guitar, banjo, mandolin, bozuki and ocasionally Bodhran(traditional Irish drum). We played trad, country, rock, pop, jazz alot of which was improvised or "winged" as we'd refer to it. At this point in my musical life I had been primarly a heavy metal bass player playing very rigid fixed music. I always played bass as it was always the biggest miss from the over all sound, I played a little guitar from time to time but the bass was always missed to much.

 

I noticed people moved with what I played, that was scary & invigorating. I also learned to not be afraid of hitting the wrong note every now and then. If you've ever heard a trad session going you will wonder where the right note could ever be as the music flys past so quickly, with constant key & tune changes. On slow songs it was good to play nice big round notes letting them swell and decay almost naturally. It also taught me that it was good to feel time with out it being centrally controlled.

 

My advice would be to relax Ross, take your time and just enjoy being in the centre of the music.

[bassbuddy]

Good stuff.. What I do when I play in that type of situation is actually play less + try to seriously lock with the guitarist or pan player or whatever musician is there. I find that it sounds a lot fuller when I play real simple but agressive. Does that make any sense? Then you have Larry Gramm..(sp).. who helped invent thumping because there was no drummer. Thank God for good drummers that hold it together...!!!

 

Best,

 

Kenny

[dcr]

I agree that it's definitely a learning experience.

 

Since 2005, I've played in a church that usually doesn't have a drummer, & in a band that only went with a drummer a few weeks ago. I found a few things. One is that I became a more melodic player. I've also become comfortable in the role of helping to keep the time together, without anyone helping with my time. I've become much more able to fill up space, when it's needed. I also find that when I do play with a drummer, I find it pretty easy to lock in, & I can enjoy holding some longer notes!

[Flemtone]

Ross, that configuration just cries out for fretless.

 

When I do that kind of configuration, I usually go fretless. It gives more availability to 'coloring' the sound and, to me, detracts the attention from the lack of drums. It kinda steers the music into another direction.

 

When I did an acoustic trio, we were threee singers and two playing guitar, myself on 6-string and my pal on 12-string. I found that my bass-playing feel moved over to the acoustic guitar, with myself forming rhythms a lot more complex than the standard 'strum'. It was a blast!

[Ross Brown]

We'll I have been practicing the "acoustic" set. Still have a lot of work to do, but I do have a whole new appreciation for it. The good news is that we auditioned a drummer last night. We have tried a few different drummers since we fired ours. There are some strange characters out there! Anyway, this guy was good. He could keep time like a metronome and had actually prepared, with a day and a halfs notice. He was not flashy, but his style supported the music well. He collects drums sets and refinishes them, etc. Really passionate about drums. Hopefully we have improved our auditioning skills. We asked many questions, explained our "philosophies" and practice schedule/gig schedule. Good chemistry. It was so nice to lock in again. We asked him to join us and he accepted. He had another audition with another band scheduled for Saturday that he decided to cancel. Chemistry felt right to him too.

 

We did talk about the acoustic stuff and decided to leave it in, so I guess I still will be finding my way in that regard. I like the challenge. I am frustrated by my lack of versitility, so this will be a good way to make me keep at it.

[Phil W]

Congratulations Ross. He sounds perfect. And leaving the acoustic stuff in will create a nice contrast.

[Ross Brown]

Thanks Phil

[Eric VB]

I like a good acoustic arrangement with the drummer working percussion instruments other than a kit. (Unless your name is John Bonham and you play your kit, the one with real skins for heads, with your hands. )

 

Of course bongos is always a favorite, and for very expressive players this can be very entertaining to listen to. Bigger hand drums like congas, too, if they fit.

 

The egg shaker has already been mentioned. I've played these at my friend's open mikes. They fill a void but can get monotonous if it's the only percussion going. Maracas are more versatile, but I think a cabasa gives a better sound and is easier to control.

 

Tambourine is actually pretty versatile in the right hands, especially the kind with a head.

 

Finger cymbals and a triangle are great for adding those little accent notes, with the cymbals giving more options but the triangle being easier to hang on a stand and operate with one hand. Claves are good, too, but you have to be careful with their volume.

 

My all time favorite is the guiro. Give me a traditional fish shaped one!

 

If you lay them all out on a percussion table and/or put them on stands and can switch between them or play a couple at the same time (ex. guiro and triangle) you can really make some interesting percussion. If the drummer has just one percussion friend that can sit in for the acoustics they can really do some amazing things together. And it's a great contrast to beating on the kit.

[SteveC]

I played in a piano/sax/bass jazz trio for a while. It is strange at first, but I got to enjoy and almost prefer it after a while. You really have some power as far as feel, tempo, etc. without a drummer. You have to "swing" pretty hard.

 

We've gone drummer-less in the pop/rock group as well. I don't mind. It's not better or worse, just different.

 

Are any of us as good as we thought anyway...