BASSGUITAR
DIFFERENT STROKES
It ’ s interesting how , as musicians , we are all so different personalitywise , yet we are grouped together by instrument ... somewhat . Out of all the instrument groups , bass players are usually the most passive and laid back , yet somewhat “ police like ” in their authority in a band setting . Occasionally I feel the need to expose some of the bass player “ mind ” to my students simply for reflection purposes , or to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses . This is not only for self-awareness sake , but also for making ourselves more cognizant of areas that need improvement and need to be acknowledged .
photo : Diana Rush
Recently , I was texting with a student of mine and I feel that we made some interesting discoveries regarding our similarities as bassists , as well as in other music-related areas . This young man has recently begun taking piano lessons as an aid to help him understand more about what he is playing on the bass . ( an excellent idea !) He asked me how I interpret the fretboard of a bass compared to guitar or a keyboard . Suddenly I felt the need to rant in sort of a stream-of-consciousness style , so here ’ s part of the conversation that followed .
I began , “ It all depends on the way your brain is wired . Keyboards are the most unnatural thing for me as far as just sitting down and playing a song . I understand the basics , theory , etc ., but there are so many more things to do at once on piano than on guitar or bass . Simply put , if you take one ridiculously difficult keyboard run , scale , or riff and learn it in one key , you ’ ll have to learn at least eleven other ways ( fingerings ) to play it , just key wise ! Not to mention the fact that it ’ s probably going to take ten fingers to do it . That ’ s enough to make me quit before I ’ ve even started ( since I am missing a fingertip , which he knew ). Even after all the hours I ’ ve spent playing and programming keyboard
parts , I still can ’ t sit down and play one song without playing a wrong chord and having to pause and restart . I just fumble around all over the place .”
“ Bass is so natural to me . I look at the neck and I see shapes and patterns . Trapezoids , rectangles , squares , and triangles , all from point to point in many different directions . I see different first-note fingers to start from ( in the left hand ). I can pluck a note soft or hard , use a pick , or my thumb . It ’ s so much easier for me .”
“ The thing I love the best ( about playing the bass ) is that I don ’ t have to think when I play . It ’ s almost like breathing . It ’ s like moving by walking , running , skating , etc .”
“ I can just think about something pleasant or beautiful while I play - from intense to violent , and totally change the way a whole song turns out . What ’ s most incredible is that you ’ re ( the bass ) the most important part of the song ! It ’ s the most fundamental part of the music in a non-harmonic sense . It ’ s the platform . It ’ s the base of the music .”
“ I ’ m ranting but I ’ m trying to share with you stuff that I know you will understand ... because I know that you are wired for it . So please , try to stop thinking about it and analyzing it . You don ’ t have to have it all figured out to play . Just play . Figure out what the notes are and then just play them . Don ’ t worry about what finger you start with in your right hand . Just use one to make the note sound and then see what happens .”
“ Something very simple that took me years of playing before I realized is this : It takes time to learn the rules , to practice them , to improvise with them , and then to blur the lines between them .”
GARY LUNN Session player / producer / writer in Nashville , TN . Attends Grace Church ( gracechurchnashville . com ) in Franklin , TN . Email him questions , comments , or for scheduling at GaryLunn @ Me . com
18 Jul � Aug 2016 WorshipMusician . com