BASS
6 TIPS FOR YOUR FIRST RECORDING SESSION | Norm Stockton
GROOVE AWARENESS
A former student of mine from Biola University Just because you might have the facility to play recently approached me for advice as she some crazy lick doesn’t mean that you should, prepared for her first recording session in or that the song will benefit from it. Very few This goes to my earlier point about calibrating
a big studio. This got me fondly recalling my things will diminish the chances of being called your internal clock, which is a key step toward
first legit session all those years ago…and for future sessions as quickly as the producer developing the ability to play well with drums.
reflecting upon the excitement, wonder, and my discerning that you’re a “me-focused” player. Listen to the drum part and strive to make the
ignorant bliss!
bass and drums sound like a unit coming at
the listener. The importance of possessing a
Here are some things I shared with her, and
things I wish present-day Norm could go back
and share with mullet-wearing Norm. :^)
EARLY IS ON TIME…AND ON TIME IS LATE
It may be cliché, but that’s because it’s very
solid advice in most professional contexts. The
studio environment is one in which respecting
peoples’ time is highly valued, and arriving early
is a great way to demonstrate that you do.
MAKE SURE YOUR INTERNAL CLOCK IS CALIBRATED
Just because you
might have the
facility to play
some crazy lick
doesn’t mean
that you should...
strong sense of groove in your playing can’t
be overstated. Even for parts in the song
where you might be playing tied whole-notes,
be groove aware so that any pick up notes or
embellishments can also be locked in.
And for extra credit, I’d add:
• Be friendly, professional, collaborative, and
keep it light.
• Ensure your gear works well.
• Turn off your cell phone.
Solid timekeeping might be the single most
important musical skill you can bring to the
• If there was homework to do, make sure
session as a bassist. Regular practice with a Following the lead of the session recording
metronome will help tighten up your internal greats, I look for a couple of moments in the
sense of time and dramatically increase the tune to inject a tasteful and song-appropriate
likelihood of successful results in the studio. variation, then go right back to my part.
ERR TOWARD SIMPLICITY PLAY DYNAMICALLY EVENLY
you’ve done it and are walking in prepared.
• If charts are given to you when you arrive,
scan them right away for any potentially
challenging parts. Mentally run them while
others
are
chatting/setting
up/getting
sounds. Scribble in any notes that will help
It’s always preferable for the producer to ask for Dynamic range can be good (especially in the
more notes vs. fewer. We often find ourselves live environment), but too much of it in the
recording to an empty track (click or guide studio can be problematic and a hassle for
drums) to which keyboards, guitars, vocals, engineers and producers. My favorite feedback
etc., will be added later. What might not sound in the studio is when the engineer says that
particularly busy early on can very easily sound they just pulled up the fader and the bass is
cluttered once the rest of the layers are added. sitting nicely in the mix without a bunch of
compression—which can be attributed to
PLAY FOR THE SONG
dynamically consistent playing. Compression
then serves as an enhancement rather than
This goes hand in hand with the preceding point. a fix.
86 August 2018
you sight-read. And learn to read if you don’t!
Have a blast!
Norm Stockton
Bassist/clinician/solo artist based in Orange County,
CA. Following his long tenure as bassist with Lincoln
Brewster, Norm has been focused on equipping
bassists around the world through his instructional
site (www.ArtOfGroove.com), as well as performing
or recording with several Grammy winning artists.
Learn about his latest & most ambitious project at
www.GroovesAndSushi.com. His book, The Worship
Bass Book, is published by Hal Leonard. He is also
the electric bass teacher at Biola University in Los
Angeles.
www.normstockton.com
WorshipMusician.com