Canadian Musician - November/December 2018 | Page 27

BASS Years before Cordovas’ formation, bassist and bandleader Joe Firstman travelled the U.S. as a solo musician. Raised in North Carolina, he moved to Hollywood as a determined 20-year-old, signing a major label deal with Atlantic Records. When a dizzying blur of acclaimed shows – including opening dates for Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson – weren’t enough to satisfy the expectations of a big-budget record label, Firstman lost his contract and took a new job as music director on Last Call with Carson Daly, where he performed nightly alongside first-rate musicians like Thundercat and Kamasi Washington. www.cordovasband.com. By Joe Firstman Your Bass Has A Voice M y approach on bass isn’t really from the perspec- tive of a bass player; it would be more from the perspective of a producer or a person in an audience. When I’m thinking about the song, I’m thinking about the overall picture, and all of the instru- ments are being considered in the same way. What best serves the musi- cal situation? What makes the most compelling vibe? Maybe it’s a repeated part, maybe we never repeat the same thing. Vibe dictates what we should do. Consider the Song The song matters. We can’t save a bad song, but we can use playing bad songs as practice and make them as true as we can. Then, if we stick with it and allow our friends and open space to be constructively critical, we will eventually arrive at truths – that mean- ingful art life, through music, that you never retire from, that will be everlast- ing. Not, “How fancy can I be?” If I wanted bass on my country bar band’s song, I don’t think it would serve the situation very well for my band to play it really straight and keep on the root note and to worry so much about the bass lining up with the kick. I prefer to hear a bass player make melodies happen, take chances, and create vital melodies that we want to hear repeated – well placed melodies and parts. This approach is certainly W W W. C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N . CO M more attractive for our songs. Maybe yours, too. That is a good way to look at it – to step back and make sure that you’re not just being the bass player, but that you’re being the producer. Produce yourself constantly and mix yourself constantly. (Take the cymbals away from the drummer!) Know that you can get that volume nice and hot and then let your hand do the work and play a little softer. Always be sure to enrich your music and your performance of each song with as much dynamic as possible. And nothing matters more than emotion. Again, nothing can save a bad song. Not all the booze in the dressing room or the best mother of pearl. Make the highs and lows, dynami- cally speaking, as far apart as possible to make it a nice roller coaster of volumes. Don’t be afraid to have the bass harmonize with a vocal part. Be innovative. Be unique, and at all costs, be original. There are endless ways to go about it. The best thing is to manage the fundamental core of the material – the song, the arrangement, the overall execution, and a strong ending or transition. Get Creative Lastly, my favorite thing to do is to reharmonize. If the song is in G, that G is the root, C is the fourth, and D is the fifth, so maybe we play B instead of D – the relative third. Maybe we play A minor instead of C. Maybe we play E minor instead of G. But we should also explore what C over G sounds like, what D over G sounds like, what those little substitutions could add to the music. Paul McCartney did it all the time. Early Elton John records have plenty of it, too. Obviously, all the Joni Mitchell records… It goes on and on. Make it a less-than-boring part – not busy, but inventive and heartfelt. Just the right amount of heart and soul and the subtle revelation into the stone-cold brother or sister that you are deep down. Only the rugged choose this job. Don't fake it. You are the real thing if your approach is sincere. Just go down that path, follow that muse, pursue that story. Hail your errors. Celebrate your mistakes. Sing THAT on your bass. Make plans. Map out an entire narra- tive for the "voice" of your bass. Tell a story with every note, chorus, run. Think about your rock band as a little orchestra. Don’t unnecessarily stack things, but make sure you account for as many octaves and as much range as possible. We don't need three guys and a keyboard all playing the low G note. Also, volume is not going to make our song better! Preparation, good arranging, dynamics, and execu- tion are going to make the song better. Then all we have to do is drive safe. C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N • 27