Any Keyboardists Here who Also Play Bass?

[elsongs]

I've been playing keys/piano - my primary instrument - for around 40 years now. I also play bass (5-string, 4-string, fretless and upright), which I consider my 2nd instrument. Been playing that for almost 29 years now.

I picked up the bass in the Summer of 1995 partly out of frustration from working with certain bass players who drove me crazy doing things like overplaying, not putting fills in the right places, lack of pocket, resisting playing a 5-string, etc. I figured, if I complained that much, I might as well learn to play the bass my own damn self. So, having just graduated from college at the time, with my 2nd paycheck from my first job out of college, I bought a Musicman Stingray5 bass from a local bass store that was on consignment for $800. I spent the next 6 weeks woodshedding for 3 hours every day after work putting on my favorite CDs and playing the basslines from those. I noticed the music ensemble at my church didn't have a bass player, so I asked the musical director if they needed one. Boom, I became a bassist and played in that situation for the next 5 years. I also played bass for a couple cover bands during that time. I can also play guitar and drums, but I stop short of calling myself a "guitarist" or "drummer." But I am a singer, keyboardist and bassist.

So how does this fit in with keyboards? Well, in my early bands back in high school, we had no bass player. The only guy who played bass in my high school was way advanced for us, so I played left hand synth bass on a Casio CZ-101 while my right hand played a Yamaha DX7. It was through that that I subconsciously learned bass concepts like root harmony, groove/pocket, passing tones, etc. 

Flash-forward 8 years later when I was woodshedding after work, locked in my room with my 5-string bass. That left-hand synth bass dexterity I built over the years made the whole fretting thing a familiar concept physically, while I was already familiar with the musical properties of bass. That's what helped me become a decent bassist in the span of only 6 weeks. 

Synth bass is a totally unique skill on its own, and I was in possession of a friend's Minimoog for around 16 years (before returning it a couple years ago - he hardly used it and just wanted someone to take good care of it - I maintained it and paid for new key bushings in return). So when I gig as a bassist, having that flexibility to also play synth bass is an invaluable skill. 

In my current band, we haven't had a full-time bassist in several years. I played bass on all but one song (our original bassist played on it) in our album recording. For live gigs, sometimes I play left-hand synth bass, or have a sequencer do it, or play bass guitar while I sing (I'm also the lead vocalist) and the guitar player adapts his parts to cover more of the chordal  harmonies. One of our backup singers also plays bass, and we might integrate him into playing bass in some songs, but we haven't done that yet. Ideally, I'd love to have another version of me (a bassist who also plays keys) who can play bass most of the time, with some synth bass, and also could cover the keys while I play the bass. But it's been a difficult journey  finding anyone like that. 

So are there other fellow keyboardists here who are also bassists (or are at least bass-curious)? Just wondering if we share similar approaches to music when it comes to either instrument.


 

[lightbg]

Yes, I do both.

 

 

[elsongs]

53 minutes ago, lightbg said:

Yes, I do both.

 

 

Cool! I've tried doing that same thing (left hand bass guitar fret tapping/right hand keys) but I get a lot of klunking noise on the bass due to the fret tapping. What kind of bass are you playing there? It looks like a short scale? Are you using flatwound strings? 

[ProfD]

3 hours ago, elsongs said:

Synth bass is a totally unique skill on its own...

So are there other fellow keyboardists here who are also bassists (or are at least bass-curious)? Just wondering if we share similar approaches to music when it comes to either instrument.

Definitely bass curious or should I type bass appreciative.😁

 

My left-hand is strong when it comes to playing key bass. I believe it's partly because I *think* like a bassist when playing basslines.

 

Way before I learned to play keys, I tried my hand (no pun intended) at guitar and bass to no avail. Honestly, I didn't connect with those instruments in the same way I did with keys.

 

Years ago I thought about picking up and trying to learn bass guitar again. Synth bass will suffice.

 

Also, I've been content with playing LH bass mainly because I have access to monster bassists when I need them. It frees me up to stretch out on keys.

 

The positive downside to having a strong LH bass is real bassists know they cannot BS when playing with me.🤣

 

The coolest thing from a fellow musician's perspective is when a real bassist compliments my basslines and most flattering would rather play it. 

 

So yeah, I'm a closet bassist. I'll run that azz over like a Mack truck especially if the groove ain't right or funky enough.😎

[UnderGroundGr]

I like very much to play bass parts(from keyboard) and i do it to many of my recordings. I also want to learn to play the bass but i cannot because of my tendonitis, so i was starting to learn finger drumming...:)

[CEB]

Yes. I play bass.  Dad played bass.  I played upright in school jazz bands.  I covered bass parts in a few bands. In two bands I traveled with my old P bass. There were always a couple songs where  the articulations were better on the P bass than keyboard bass and more fun.  The bass solo to Alright Now comes to mind.  
 

I’ve only owned one bass. This old Fender P Bass.  Some things, Leo got from the beginning. 

[lightbg]

4 hours ago, elsongs said:

Cool! I've tried doing that same thing (left hand bass guitar fret tapping/right hand keys) but I get a lot of klunking noise on the bass due to the fret tapping. What kind of bass are you playing there? It looks like a short scale? Are you using flatwound strings? 

That particular bass is a Traveler TB-4P, their version of a Precision. It’s a full scale neck, but their trick is they reverse the layout and bury the machines in the body. Flatwounds are a necessity to eliminate thumps and buzz.

i use it also because my rotator cuff surgery limited my upwards reach, so I sling it as low as possible for comfort.

 

Jake

[stoken6]

4 hours ago, ProfD said:

Definitely bass curious or should I type bass appreciative

Bass Axe-ual?

 

Cheers, Mike.

[SamuelBLupowitz]

Yes, keyboards and bass are my two primary instruments.

 

As of last year, I'm in a project where I'm playing left-hand (or left foot) bass full time; it's something I've always enjoyed dabbling in and has been a lot of fun to dig into more. My experience playing bass guitar absolutely helps my approach and feel, but it is, as others have noted, a separate skill.

 

Occasionally I'll get a gig where I get to do both, John Paul Jones-style (playing bass and then jumping over to keys while still covering the low-end) and I always feel like a king when I get to do that. But, it winds up being a really grueling load-in/load-out! Except for that one time where I showed up and the backline gear included an Ampeg SVT and a B3 with a Leslie 147...

 

Anyway, that's what the studio is for, I guess!

 

40 minutes ago, stoken6 said:

Bass Axe-ual?

We're not confused. We're not greedy. Bass Axe-ual people exist. 🦄

[CEB]

In my opinion modern bass guitar patches along with on board amp sims are perfectly fine. This wasn’t always the case. My first keyboard bass rig was a 360 Systems into an Ampeg combo bass amp.  Using an actual bass amp helped a lot back in the day. 

[Franz Schiller]

I also play bass and keys, though not in the same projects. I play bass (not keys) and sing backup in an original indie rock band. We have a dedicated keyboard player, so it just isn't necessary. Then, I play keys (including synth bass) in my own electronic project.

 

I only have one bass, a Fender Jazz Bass, and a minimum amount of pedals, and a small light Yorkville amp. One thing I love about playing bass is the load-in is super easy. The simplicity of gear keeps it super easy. 

[ElmerJFudd]

I slappehdebass.  Electric, not upright.   Picked it up in HS due to the dearth of bass players.  Was an easy add after guitar.  My interest has always been being as useful as possible.  But I’ve logged a lot more hours at piano/vocal than anything else.  These days my bass has passed through two nieces hands and everyonce in a while I think about picking up a new one for myself, but… time/$/priorities.  Same old story.  

[Reezekeys]

I also play both. I'm self-taught on bass (not sure what I've "learned" though 🙂 ).

 

Many years ago I hooked up a gig in ST. Croix, USVI and because the bread was almost nonexistant (it was more of a "free vacation" where we didn't need to pay airfare or hotel) I decided to play left-hand bass instead of hiring a bass player. There's nothing like playing 5 sets a night, 6 nights a week, for three weeks to get your LH bass chops in shape (or get sent home early, but that didn't happen!).

 

I've also owned an old P-Bass since my early 20s, but only did a small number of gigs on it. Ten years ago when I got the call to join AWB I hadn't touched this bass in almost 20 years! I asked if I could play key bass instead - not a chance! Those guys are old school. I play 2 to 4 songs per show on bass when Alan Gorrie switches to guitar. It's a ton of fun playing some of the most iconic bass lines in funk with these guys. I still pinch myself!

[Leroy C]

I took up electric bass in early '87, started upright about six months later, went to college as a music major for bass (classical and jazz).  Ended up going in a different direction but still played on and off in rock and jazz groups until a few years ago.  I consider myself mainly a keys player these days, but I'm still probably a better bassist than I am a keys player.

 

It's interesting to hang here and all piano / keys related internet spaces and hear complaints about bassists, and then go to TalkBass, etc., and hear them complain about keys players.  .  It always surprises me the strange conflicts about "range" that come up, considering most folks in both groups listen to plenty of music with both keys and bass, often with arrangements that involve overlapping ranges to very good effect.  Of course, it's all about arrangements, mixing, etc., especially EQing.  

 

Can't we all just get along?!   

[Shamanzarek]

In the mid-60s up until the late 80s my main instruments were organ and guitar. In 1991 when the bass player left our long-running cover band in SoCal I bought a bass guitar and started alternating between that and left-hand key bass. Then the band folded after being together for 8 years. In 1992 I moved to New Jersey and joined a Doors tribute band where I started playing Fender Rhodes Piano Bass which I continue with to this day. For a while I played bass guitar, keys, and bass pedals in a Led Zeppelin cover band. In 2001 I joined a band in NJ called Yasgur's Farm which had a long history on the Jersey Shore scene. With them I played bass guitar, left-hand bass on keys, bass pedals, and flute for about 8 years. From there I was bassist for some bands and keyboardist for others. My last gig on bass guitar was in 2019 so now I'm back to being mostly a keyboardist that doubles on guitar.

[Anderton]

I play 5-string bass but prefer the tone of some of my 4-string ones. So, I sampled them to hit that low B. Now I use keyboard bass almost exclusively for recording, which is also because I was able to sample some rare basses. However, one thing I learned was that it's crucial to sample slides - up/down and down. It adds a "real bass" feel. You also have to be careful not to hit two keys at the same time. 

[Ivan May]

I can play keyboards, guitar and bass. I can also play the keyboard bass on my Casio Casiotone keyboard, and I really want to save up my money and buy a Fender bass.

[Tom Williams]

 

Big bass appreciation here.  I've always had a decent ear for it, having done solo pop piano forever.

 

Bass guitar:
I played a bass once, right-thumb-only, in a high school assembly around 1975, 'cuz no one else would/could and we needed it on a song.   

 

Keytar bass:

I was the bassist in a guitar/uke/bass trio for two or three years, and also was on rotation for several years on a church worship team, before a new worship director decided the keytar itself drew too much of people's attention.

 

Interestingly, when I do Keytar bass, it takes up much more of my brain than LH bass at regular keyboards.  Singing is somehow easier in the latter.  Probably because I get immersed in it on the keytar.

 

[The Real MC]

Bass guitar:
Learned it during school, learned to keep the pocket and lock in with the drummer.  I'm no Jaco but too many bass players in FL don't play as well I do - I was doing a lot of subbing and am currently taking a break because I want to be known as a keyboard player not a bass player.

 

LH Bass:
My fourth and last piano teacher taught me that while I was learning jazz and I am grateful that he did.  What really helped was the hand independence I developed while learning ragtime.  Again, I learned to stay in the pocket and lock in with the drummer.  When I moved from NY to FL, people down here had never heard a keyboard player playing LH bass.  I auditioned for a country guitar player and he said left hand what?  He was really surprised that I pulled it off while playing country piano licks.  Again, I'm taking a break from playing bass to focus more on keyboards.

 

It's sad that there are too few bass players.  There's a real demand for them, but bass guitar is like the last player picked for a sports team and players don't approach it seriously enough.  Some guys I have played bass guitar with have heard a video of me playing Hammond and was shocked how good I was on keyboards.  That kind of drove me to give up bass for a while.

[stoken6]

11 hours ago, Anderton said:

it's crucial to sample slides

How do you manage those - are slides completely separate samples? So E / slide to / A would be three samples?

 

Cheers, Mike.

[GRollins]

I'm a bass player who dabbles in keys. Bass players are thick upon the ground, but keyboard players are virtually nonexistent and what few there are, are church players...only. I joined Keyboard Corner in hopes of discovering an otherwise unattached Rick Wakeman in my area...only to discover that my lifelong impression that keyboard players are rare was correct. There ain't hardly none to be had, at least not within a couple hundred mile radius of my location.

 

Grey

[Stokely]

I love playing with a good real bass player.  IMO it makes the band more than any keys or guitar player, paired with a good drummer the entire band just feels like it's in cruise control.  You let things breathe more and play less because drums and bass alone just sound so good.
 

I have nothing but respect for you LH bass players (or foot players).  My buddy plays LH bass in his band and it's tough.   I not only don't want to do it, I'm not that great at syncopation between my two hands in the first place.  And I sing a lot so that would be another tough combo.   I like taking breaks in songs, lazy bastard I guess  

[The Real MC]

There was a time when the band played I Know A Little by Lynyrd Skynyrd.  I played piano, LH bass, piano solo, and sang the song.  Today I'm out of practice, have to work that up again.

[octa]

yep, did a North America + Norway tour on bass this summer, but recently gave up the gig to focus on keys. Kept my jazz bass (which just has some kinda magic feeling) for recording and doodling tho, sold the P. 

[SamuelBLupowitz]

1 hour ago, Stokely said:

I love playing with a good real bass player.  IMO it makes the band more than any keys or guitar player, paired with a good drummer the entire band just feels like it's in cruise control.  You let things breathe more and play less because drums and bass alone just sound so good.
 

I have nothing but respect for you LH bass players (or foot players).  My buddy plays LH bass in his band and it's tough.   I not only don't want to do it, I'm not that great at syncopation between my two hands in the first place.  And I sing a lot so that would be another tough combo.   I like taking breaks in songs, lazy bastard I guess  

For years, any time I would take the occasional left hand bass gig, I would feel really pleased with myself, but grateful to be returning to situations with great bass players so that I can focus on textures and serving the song (and dancing around onstage). Playing just keys, whether it's more of a singer-songwriter piano style or as an accent/texture instrument in a band that's more driven by guitar or the rhythm section, is a very different animal than when you have to prioritize being a key member of the rhythm section while also covering harmony and/or melody.

 

When we were first getting my organ trio together, I had a lot of doubts about my ability to deliver. If it hadn't been for the years I've spent working with the guitarist (who was the one who really wanted to make the project happen), I might have bowed out. I'm really glad I stuck it out and put in the time necessary to be able to perform the music; it's been incredibly satisfying, and I really feel like I've grown and expanded my abilities. But I do have to think of it as a different role than when I'm playing just keys or just bass in a band.

[Reezekeys]

I think I enjoy LH bass gigs because I do so few of them! It's a cool feeling to be the "provider of the bottom", but my right hand takes a hit. Not only with soloing (I tell everyone on a LH bass gig I will be playing short or NO solos on tunes!), but also just filling in with chord voicings that I normally use two hands for. After a while I get tired of the harmonic emptyness, while feeling pressure to provide as much as I can. But as I said, in small doses I can really enjoy doing a LH bass gig. A few years ago I even had to do a some AWB gigs playing LH bass when our regular bass player had a medical emergency and couldn't make the gigs. That was pretty surreal!

[DroptopBroham]

On 1/10/2024 at 2:43 AM, lightbg said:

Yes, I do both.

Totally unnecessary. Always remember that nobody likes a hot dog lightbg. You should be playing left hand bass, you playing keys in the right and weak ass bass in the left is hurting the band. A split with a bass patch is going to sound better than the single handed tone you are getting out that bass. Showing off like that doesn't impress anybody. 

 

I play keys and cover bass too. 80% of the time I am playing left hand bass. For the other 20, I play a real P-bass with two hands (songs where I'm not playing keys). No way you getting any decent articulation or tone playing that way. C'mon man, you can do better. 

[GovernorSilver]

I was a bassist in one of my previous bands.  The music was instrumental (post) rock inspired by Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, etc.

 

i had one lesson with a pro bassist, which was enough to get me comfortable with basic index-and-middle fingerpicking.  For this band, using my ears was sufficient for the job - didn't have to do much prep other than playing along with recordings.  The bass was a Fender Geddy Lee that I bought in Chuck Levins for $600.  Shouldn't have sold it.

 

I then got an Emu XL-7.  The band asked me to bring it in and before I knew it, my role changed to bassist/keyboard pad player.   They really liked the pads it could do.  Never got around to playing bass lines and keyboard parts at the same time though.  I just played the keyboard pads for the quieter parts then switched to bass guitar for the loud, distorted rock and roll bits.

[The Real MC]

I would argue that the hardest part of playing bass guitar is muting to keep single notes clear.  You have to use both hands, and be careful not to mute on a harmonic that will ring. 

[Lou_NC]

You bet I play bass.  Both 16' and 8', in various combinations.........🙂