Bass Lesson 11 - Being Under-rated and the Foundation

As a bass player there are a few mental obstacles you will have to overcome. If you are into playing rock music as a bass player, or any mainstream style that isn't funk, then you will be under rated. The truth is that everyone hears the guitar solos and guitar tricks. Most people play guitar instead of bass as well. And to the audience it might seem as though the bass player is always “following” the guitarist. Bass players are really under rated in most all types of music. Even if you play bass, can you sing any bass lines from your favorite songs? If so, how many bass lines can you sing compared to the number of guitar solos you can name and sing? There are just too many bands that are famous for their outrageous guitar solos and drummers. The modern bass player has to learn to deal with the fact that the “eyes” are usually on another member of the band, unless your bass has flashing LEDs and lights. This article will apply to the bass player that often plays with other musicians, even if you are just messing around having some fun.

To cope with being under rated you must learn to love the music and not the attention you get from bouncing around while you play. If you can do this, then you will have a lot more fun playing music. But how to do this? First of all, don’t just play the root notes of the chords. Learn your scales and arpeggios, and know how to use them. Then, while you are playing along with others, you can play around the root notes and make a more moving groove. When you are thinking about the music, you can really get into what you’re doing with the band instead of what you’re doing yourself. But to do this, you have to understand that every time you play a song, it will be different. Unless you practice more than you breathe, you will be making slightly different rhythms and maybe different walks every time you play. Learn to be relaxed with the chord changes but not enough to where you don't follow them.

Another thing to learn when playing is that you as the bass player make up half of the foundation of the band; the other half is the drummer. The bass and drums have the most percussive rhythms and sounds. Without a drummer, the bassist feels like he is carrying a lot of weight. Likewise if the bassist drops out, the drummer feels like he is carrying the band. When both players are together in time, it sounds better and each player feels like the music is more solid. If things start getting a little shaky and the band is not together, both the bassist and the drummer can fix it. As a bass player, you can play notes more deliberately than a drummer can, using accents and quarter notes. The simpler the rhythm, the easier it will be for the other players to correct themselves and follow you. You must be very comfortable with the music and know what’s going on; if you feel shy and scared to punch through, it will be very difficult for you to keep the band on beat if they start falling apart. If you can take this information and put it to use, you will become a very beneficial part of the band. If you have any questions, ask them in our forum at www.guitarlessoninsider.com/forum. We would love to help you out.