BASS
[ 5 EXERCISES FOR IMPROVING YOUR TIME | Norm Stockton ]
Groove. What is groove? What does that word
and groove independent of a quantize function.
mean in a musical context?
1. This one’s from David Hungate, the
legendary original bassist with Toto and
That said, I’ve found one of the most beneficial first-call Nashville session player: set your
Some people define it as the element of music areas of focus for developing groove ability metronome to 40 bpm, which will probably
that makes one want to dance. I don’t disagree is to calibrate one’s internal sense of time; be the slowest setting on most electronic
- any fans of Michael Jackson’s or Prince’s working with a click track to the extent that metronomes. Try to play staccato quarter notes
music are well on their way to understanding you recognize what steady and consistent between each click, with the click sounding on
groove - although I also feel that a groove- time sounds and feels like. As you work with beat 1 of each measure. Listen for any flams, or
oriented approach can be employed playing a click, some of those groovicidal tendencies instances when the click and your bass aren’t
tied whole-notes or rests. start to become apparent… such as rushing precisely together (they will sound like “bloom”
as the dynamic level builds or dragging as it versus “boom”) and try to adjust your playing
I define groove as a feeling of consistent, drops. Until we have spent time with the click, accordingly. This exercise is surprisingly tough
predictable, and reliable forward motion in we usually aren’t aware of our natural time yet amazingly helpful - primarily because the
the music. It has a consistency and reliability tendencies. metronome isn’t providing any subdivision, so
that gives the listener the sense that it could
you are reliant upon your own internal clock to
go on for another half hour and not be surging I’d like to suggest the following exercises be keep time between each click. With practice,
or dragging or wavering in any way. Creating practiced daily to begin the process. As a you’ll gradually be able to lock - or play in sync
this feeling with our bass playing is perhaps variation, I also like to use ghost notes (muted - with the click sooner and sooner.
our most important musical contribution to notes that are plucked as normal but the fretting any ensemble. hand simply rests on the strings) as they are 2. Set the metronome to 90 bpm - these will
less forgiving of discrepancies with the click. be quarter notes sounding on each downbeat.
It’s important to point out that groove is rarely
Get used to tapping your foot on each click -
metronomically precise; there are subtle ebbs These be count “one, two, three, four” to help internalize
and flows when living, breathing musicians completed successfully so you can move on the quarter-note pulse - and practice playing
play music well together. Before the click track to the next thing; rather, they’re best done measures of:
became ubiquitous in the creation of most regularly and consistently to help calibrate your •
whole notes
of western music, some of the most groove- internal sense of time. Cool? Here we go… •
half notes
•
quarter notes
exercises
oriented rhythm sections had ridiculous feel
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February 2018
aren’t
intended
to
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