BASS
WORSHIP BAND BASS 101 | Gary Lunn
It’s always good to review the basics. A lot of situations where the drummer hasn’t done his to have perfect pitch to do it. You just have to
the people that I meet don’t know some of the homework. It makes for quite a struggle that be a good listener and be familiar with intervals.
basic requirements of being a bass player. It’s no one can quite put his or her finger on! When always good to be mindful of these things. the bass player has a good relationship with I am sure there are several books on the
the drummer, in certain musical situations (i.e. number system, but if you have taken music
As they say, old habits die hard. Consistency in vamping or free worship) they can both be led theory at some point, you probably already
volume is a much-appreciated habit to develop. to spontaneously change feels, moods, etc. have the knowledge that you need. All you have
You should always try to play at a consistent This can be quite inspirational to the worship to do is consider chord analyzation and you’ve
finger pressure (+ or – 10%)! In situations leader and to the congregation. learned the number system. Just change the
where the front-of-house engineer really likes Roman numerals into numbers. For example: if
to “ride” the mix, always give him 98% of your you are in the key of A, then A is the 1 chord,
loudest volume during sound check. One of
the worst things that can happen to a front-of-
house engineer is to have two or three beats
of painfully loud bass notes during a service
because the bass player was “holding back.”
That will probably get you turned off in the
house mix or smashed (compressed) beyond
recognition from that point on.
notes that we play is somewhere deep in
subconscious,
bass-part
is unity in the
composition
process. Always think of a bass line as a part
for the whole song. Keep in mind that a good,
D is the 4 chord, E is the 5 chord, F# minor is
the 6m chord (the 6 chord is always “minor”
unless noted). So there is your 1-4-5-6m song.
This is SO easy to learn. Once you practice this
in all keys for a while it soon becomes second
nature.
foundation,
All the musicians in the worship team share
everything is
An important part of choosing the bass
our
Whenever there
the responsibility to pay close attention to
going to ‘feel”
signals given by the worship leader. You have
to watch their eyes, hands, and body language
to discern what he or she wants to do next.
As you learn their hand movements, it’s pretty
better.
easy to tell where they’re going chord-wise (I
consistent bass part can take almost any great
like to be in a position where I can see their left
worship song to higher emotional levels during
hand). As for dynamics, if the worship leader
worship time. One approach that usually works Learn to write charts! When you can, keep a wants to bring the music down and you’re not
is to begin songs playing in a higher register, few extra pieces of paper in your chart book for watching, it may cause a huge train wreck or
as songs generally start “small” and finish “big.” those times when an unannounced song that severely frustrate the worship leader. Either of
Try saving your lowest notes for the last chorus. you don’t know is played. When this happens, those mishaps can hinder what God wants to
Lower notes used at the right time can really see if you can let the worship leader play the do at that point in the worship service.
move things in the Spirit. first part of the new song by himself. This will give you time to write a quick chord/number Remember, the worship starts at a “higher level”
The drums and the bass have to be on the chart. If you are an iPad user, keep your apple when everyone in every position on the worship
same page musically; the level of anointing in pen at hand and a sketch pad app running in team plays with excellence and sensitivity
the music will be much higher. Whenever there the background. (especially the drums and the bass). Take the
is unity in the foundation, everything is going to
basics to heart and be a better musician!
‘feel” better. If the drums and the bass don’t Dictation (writing charts by ear) is a skill that
agree on a kick pattern in a song it can cause a is rarely acquired without practice, but is an
lot of confusion, which leads to a very unsettled extremely rewarding skill once it is developed.
feeling for the worship leader. I’ve been in a few And, contrary to popular belief, you don’t have
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September 2018
Gary Lunn
Gary Lunn is a session player/producer/writer in
Nashville, TN. Contact him at [email protected] for
scheduling or questions.
WorshipMusician.com