Working With a Drummer
Learning to fit your part with other instruments is very important for all bass players. It is especially important to be able to play well with a drummer, as the bass and drums form what is known as the rhythm section.
Together, the rhythm section provide the rhythmic and harmonic foundation for the whole band. While a guitarist or piano player can play solo, the bass is really made for playing with a band.
When you are playing with other musicians, the most important thing is to listen to each other and try to respond to what the other players are doing.
In an ideal band, everyone is equally responsible for keeping good time but in reality, many musicians (especially guitarists who play by ear only) neglect the study of rhythm and beat subdivisions and rely on the rhythm section to keep good time and indicate what is happening rhythmically.
While a singer or horn player has time to breathe between phrases and a guitarist or keyboard player leaves space between lines or chords, the drummer and bass player have to play consistently to keep the groove going and feeling good.
Because the bass and drums work so closely together, it is worth learning a bit about drum notation and drumming in general. Drum music is usually written in the spaces of the bass staff, including the space above the staff, to represent different parts of the drum kit. The most commonly used system is shown in the following diagram. Notice that cymbals are notated with an X in a similar manner to ghost notes on the bass.
The following example demonstrates a simple Rock beat on the drums. When reading the notation, try to imagine the sounds of the drums as you follow the notes.
If you were going to create a bass line to go with this drum beat, the first thing you would look at is the bass drum pattern. Because of the type of patterns the bass drum plays, as well as its low sound, the bass and bass drum often "lock in" together as shown in the following example.
Another common point where the bass and drums often connect is where the snare drum is played. Because of its higher sound, the snare drum sounds good when played along with popped notes, as shown here. Notice that the bass plays along with some of the snare drum notes but not all of them.
If you wanted to change the bass line to make it sound more interesting, there are a couple of things you could look for in the drum part which might give you some ideas. The first is the open hi-hat on the "and of 4" in the first bar.
This would be a good spot to put an extra bass note, because it adds interest to the line and also connects directly with the drums. The other clue here is that the hi-hat part consists of constant eighth notes, which means you could put extra notes on any of these eight points in the bar, or in between them so that the hi-hat answers the bass.
As mentioned previously, it sometimes works well to have the bass play in between some of the drum parts and let the drums (e.g., snare drum) answer the bass. This also works the other way around; i.e., the bass answers the drums. Listen to the interplay between the bass and drums in the following example.
If you work together often with a drummer, you can get to the point where you each know what the other is going to do next and orchestrate the music between you as you play. When you get to this point, the bass and drums begin to sound like different parts of one multi-faceted instrument. This is the goal all rhythm section players should aim for.
Using a Drum Machine
If you play in a band or intend to play in a band, it is essential that you do some work every day on creating bass lines that work with specific drum parts. Because you can’t always work with a drummer, it is a good idea to buy a drum machine and program your own drum beats into it.
Playing along with a drum machine will improve your timing and enable you to focus on the drums more easily when you are in a band situation. Another advantage of using a drum machine is that it enables you to experiment and go through the trial and error process of working out where to play with a particular drum part and where to play in between the drum notes for each new drum beat you work with.
When you play with a drum part, remember to leave space for the other instrumental parts instead of playing every available note in the bar. Bass players who can lock in well with a drummer without overplaying are always in demand.
When practicing parts for songs, play the basic groove over and over until you can do it easily in a relaxed manner and you feel good playing it. Then try adding a few fills and variations. If you are not comfortable doing a particular part, analyze what it is you are having difficulty with and then work on that part over and over with the drum machine, counting out loud as you play until you can do it easily.
When you are practicing, experimentation is great because it enables you to come up with new parts. However, when you come to playing a song live, it is often better to go with parts you already know well (unless you are soloing or are in an improvised section of a song) Once again, underplay rather than overplay. The bottom line is that the time should always be strong and solid and the groove should feel good.
