BASS
EARS — THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ( S ) | Gary Lunn
Well , at least that ’ s what I ’ ve heard . Sorry ! There ’ s your bad Dad joke of the day !
Seriously , how sharp your ear training is has everything to do with how well you flow in music . As I have mentioned before , I was born with the ability to identify pitches without a reference , but it ’ s not like I could always do that ! That gift had to be developed with proper training . I feel that most musicians have developed a “ great ” ear .
Another gift called “ relative pitch ” seems to have varying degrees of accuracy , but I believe they ’ re all the same ; it just depends on how much concentrated effort one spends developing it .
I took one year of music theory in college , but the class that really helped me the most was “ Sight Singing .” In one exercise , as the teacher sat behind the piano , he would select each student one by one and play a different starting note for each person . Then , he would ask that student to sing a particular syllable ( such as la , da , so , etc .) on a particular interval ( i . e ., major second , minor third , perfect fourth , major sixth , etc .) above that note , which was always awkward ! To save yourself the embarrassment , it helped to actually know what you were doing , which only came by taking the time to learn them and practice . In a future article , I will explain more about intervals , but in the meantime , try doing some research and looking them up .
The other most common exercise he would do was , again , while he sat behind the piano , he would play one note followed by another . Then he would ask the pupil to identify the interval between the two notes , always changing the key for every new student . It didn ’ t matter if you had perfect pitch or relative pitch . This exercise was incredible for anyone with any natural ear ability above monotone ( the inability to sing a melody on anything but a couple of notes … my father-in-law was famous for it , lol ). Some were quicker to learn than others , but the ones who couldn ’ t get it at all were advised not to pursue music . I ’ m not kidding ! Yes , that was a bit harsh , but I believe he meant well .
All in all , this class taught me to make the correlation between intervals , the lines and spaces on the staff , and the fret positions on my bass . It unlocked music reading for me because I began to understand the relationships between the notes and what they were called . It was worth its weight in gold for me ! Anyone can learn and would benefit from this type of training .
A good bass tone is another valuable thing to train your ears to hear . Dialing up a good bass tone depends on what your ears want to hear . The only way to change this is to train your ears to imitate great bass sounds . Just take a recording of a bassist whose tone you really like and do whatever you can with the tools you have to imitate it . It doesn ’ t matter what amp or speaker you ’ re playing through ; you just need to find a way to make your bass sound exactly like the one on the recording that you are listening to .
After you have done this many times , it won ’ t be so much about remembering the settings you used . It will be more about being able to compare your current sound with the sound on the recording . This will help you change what your ears are programmed to hear .
This is a very important skill set to have . Just remember that if you hear a poor bass tone in your head , you will recreate it every time , and you might not get that callback you wanted . I have seen too many bass players with expensive gear who are unable to get a good bass tone !
Ask around . Ask other musicians what they do to get their tone . What ’ s their thought process ? What pedals do they use ? How hard or soft is their touch ? Ask them what bass players they listen to or what groups they like . Then go home , listen , practice , and try your hardest to imitate their tone with your own gear . It helps to listen on a good sound source ( headphones , speakers ), and the most important part is listening on the same source every time you do this . That way , you are always starting from the same point of reference .
Listen and practice this process as much as you can . These trainings are essential for flowing in a worship setting . Being able to listen and anticipate what ’ s going to happen next is part of the musical conversation that happens between players in a live setting . It promotes sensitivity ! It helps us to understand what each musician is doing ( or “ saying ”) as we play music together . God gave us this gift ! How we choose to develop the gifts that He gave us is up to us and is our “ soul ” responsibility .
A very well-known bassist from California recently talked on social media about how bass players at the NAMM show are all showing off their incredible chops , playing blazing tapping and slapping licks at breakneck speed . Where some of those bassist types often miss the mark conceptually is that they ’ re not listening into the song and trying to decide exactly what a particular song needs . It ’ s not about us showing off . It ’ s about lifting up the song ! As worship musicians , it ’ s about lifting up the One who inspired the writer to write it .
Gary Lunn Gary is a session player / producer / writer in Nashville . Contact him either by Facebook or email at garylunn @ me . com
76 July 2024 Subscribe for Free ...