BASS
5 STEPS FOR DEVELOPING YOUR GROOVE VOCABULARY… AND THANK YOU! | Norm Stockton
Assuming that you’ve got the basics covered EXPAND THE CONTEXT If it doesn’t feel like it did as you played it,
(functional decent Once you’ve got the groove in your brain/heart/ make adjustments and refinements and record
personal hygiene, a heart for the Lord, etc. fingers, apply it to a different song or chord yourself again. Listen back now and see if you
and not necessarily in that order!), having a progression. This is the practical application got closer.
broad vocabulary of grooves is one of the part! Make minor adaptations to the line if most valuable things to possess as a worship needed to negotiate the new chord changes. Don’t get discouraged and remember that the
musician. Work on injecting your own variations and fills most efficient path to musical growth is often
to personalize the part and make it your own. uncomfortable. But it’s worth the hard work!
gear,
professionalism,
Depending on your church’s musical culture,
that might seem odd, as you could spend most SIGNING OFF FOR NOW
of your time on Sunday morning playing eighth- I’ve been a bass columnist for Christian Musician
notes on the root… but musical preferences
and styles are cyclical and you don’t want to be
left without a vocabulary when tastes change.
Here are five steps toward getting your groove
vocabulary together…
Don’t get
(and now Worship Musician) magazine since
1999. Twenty years. Unreal. It’s been a huge
honor to be involved in helping elevate and
discouraged
encourage the musicianship and heart of my
and remember
fellow worship musicians all these years.
Many of those articles made their way into The
EMULATE THE MASTERS
There’s no substitute to listening to the world’s
best musicians in a particular genre and playing
along to their music. Every iconic player you
revere went through this as they worked toward
developing their musicianship. Play along and
make an effort to emulate the bass parts as
closely as possible.
ANALYZE AND ASSIMILATE
Once you’ve got a general handle on what
they’re playing, take it to the next step by
transcribing their parts. The discipline of
reading and writing music is obviously helpful,
but the primary benefit is that you’ll be uber
familiar with the part once you’ve transcribed
that the most Worship Bass Book (Hal Leonard) several years
efficient path finding it to be a good read.
ago, and I’m humbled that so many of you are
Partially due to a number of factors keeping me
to musical
ultra-busy these days… my Grooves & Sushi
web series, road work, adjunct teaching at
growth is often several universities, plus a very full plate family-
uncomfortable. truly said all I have to say for the time being, it is
wise… but mostly because after 20 years, I’ve
definitely time to pass the baton.
But it’s worth Thank you for your support and interest. I hope
the hard work! Grooves & Sushi.
to see you on the road or online - join me for
it. Pay special attention to feel, note placement, God bless you and your ministry of groove.
dynamics, note duration, phrasing, etc. Then Blessings - Norm
try to fully internalize it.
LISTEN, REFINE, REPEAT
OFF TO THE WOODSHED… Record yourself playing the above, then put
And bring a drum machine with you! Practice your bass down and listen to the playback
applying the above over a drum groove critically. Does the bass line sound the way it felt
that’s similar to the recording from which you to you as you were playing it? Many times, the
transcribed. Keep looping it and try to make answer is no. But without this important step of
your part sound as natural as the original holding the musical mirror up to ourselves, we
version you’re emulating. remain in blissful ignorance.
146
March 2019
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. Visit Norm at www.normstockton.com,
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
www.normstockton.com
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