Bass And Drums Relationship - 3 Things You MUST Know!
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The relationship bass and drums is one of the most important relationships in contemporary music.
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Together the bassist and drummer are often described as the foundation of the band.
If we take a closer look at what each of these instruments is responsible for in a piece of music we can see why.
Drums give us tempo, help establish the feel, help establish dynamics, mark out the form of the music and all the major rhythmic information in music like important unison lines or prominent rhythmic figures usually pass through the drums.
The bass helps ground the harmony, it adds harmonic information to the tempo and feel that are set by the drums, the bass can also help with tempo (walking bass in jazz is a clear example of this) and because the bass also often plays a lot of rhythmically important material, it serves as a bridge for the rhythm instruments (like drums) to have influence in the harmony and vice versa.
Between these two instruments, a lot of important responsibility is taken on. Now that we understand just how important this relationship is, what things can you do to improve the relationship with a drummer?
1. Improve Your Own Inner Sense Of Timing And Feel
Even though a drummer might set the tempo of a song, they will still look to us to support that tempo. If we start to slow down (because out inner pulse isn't very good) then we'll drag the drummer back with us and as a result, the rest of the band too.
However, if our own sense of pulse is strong then the drummer can play feeling secure that this responsibility of time can be shared with us and the drummer will feel much more confident in playing with us.
2. Don't Just Listen To Yourself
I often like to think about the bass and drums being one unified instrument. Listening to them in this way helps me better understand the relationship they share but also how that relationship fits with the rest of the band.
This means that if I hear a drummer go for a fill or if they change up to the ride cymbal for a chorus I need to start asking myself, "do I need to change to suit what they're doing or should I just support it by staying put".
Having a bass stay out of a drummers way when they're going for a fill (or the other way round) means these fills become more audible and it helps ensure that your responsibilities of keeping the time solid don't get ignored.
Does this mean you can never go for a fill at the same time? Not at all. Just be conscious of how your parts affect one another.
3. Work On Your Sense Of Texture
Bass and drums have the power to completely change the texture of music all by themselves. The next time you hear a drummer switch from a closed hit-hat to a ride cymbal or the next time a bass line is played short then switched to long notes note how much the music opens up.
These different textures help to shape musical form, dynamics and grooves but as a bass player, you need to understand when it's a good idea to change texture and when it's not.
When I'm on a gig or recording music, I always try to hear the complete band if I can. Almost as if I'm trying to hear the production of the entire music rather than just how my part fits with the drums.
If I hear the drummer shift to open the music up for example, I need to try and hear how that impacts the entire song.
So I'll always ask myself "what's the focus of this music? Is it the vocal? Is it the piano part? Is my bass line really integral or is something else more important than me?"
By asking these questions you get a better sense of your place within the music and as such, how you need to frame your relationship with the drummer.
You shouldn't be busting out loads of chops if the music doesn't need it. But also, if it's your time to shine then you don't want to let the music down by shunning your responsibilities.
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My bass player is my girlfriend so I have a pretty good relationship with my bass player😂
This is good stuff! Nice1. I’m a lead player and having a good rhythm section makes me look way better than I am when performing. I have mad respect for great bass players. They hold everything together and guide the music effortlessly. Thank you to all bass players reading this 🙏
I am a drummer and a bassist so I can be in a relationship with myself 😂😂😂
@SakkePie
4 жыл бұрын
Are you copy+pasting your comment to all drummer&bassist videos?
@shahabzikriya
2 жыл бұрын
We all have tht relation with ourselves 😂😔😂
@hotdogjohnson
2 жыл бұрын
Bahahahah I literally was just gonna comment this 😂 barely a drummer but getting there 💪✊
@killtech1_boi962
2 жыл бұрын
Me too
@zsupport230
2 жыл бұрын
Wow
A good bassist is really nice addition to bass line. All wise drummers know that.
Thanks, I needed that info. I've been playing bass for 10+ years. Jk, I've been play for less than a year but this info is really helpful.
Great info. Well explained and concise! I'm a drummer in a weekend jam group and will share this my bassist! Many Thanks!
Good info. I am a drummer of many years. Thanx for posting this. Gonna show it to all the local bass players.
ty-very helpful
Good points
An interesting thing I’ve realised recently is you can apply rhythmic concepts you’d normally learn on drums to bass guitar. You can take the paradiddle and flam rudiment families and play these patterns in different ways on the bass with left hand slap and right hand slap or by using fingers (I M I I M I M M) or a pick (U D U U D U D D).
And yes, I listen to bass player as an aid, and I am the drummer itself. If you play in a shitty way, you will get us confused.
Wise words!!!!!
@martinNdrums
5 жыл бұрын
your too kind mate! @@OnlineBassGuitar1
no examples? :(
Nice
Very interesting, thank you. Can i ask you something? I'm a drummer, my bassist is ok but he tends to not look at me so often, as opposed to some of my past bassists who alwayd did keep the visual contact. Am i wrong, wanting him look at me? I feel the visual contact it's an essential part of the chemistry, but i'd like to know if i'm too obsessed with it. I just need to understand if i need to evolve my state of my mind or he's the wrong bassist for me. Thank you very much!
@MadMax-pd2gu
2 жыл бұрын
@@OnlineBassGuitar1 Thank you very much for your response. I got to say i spoke with him about that, he even admitted it and did apologize. Since then he looks a little bit more to me, but i have the feeling he tends to force himself doing it. My theory is that he doesn't have the 'right' approach, he just doesn't feel it. I guess it's just my problem, now. Thanks again!
@daniellepijpers8173
2 жыл бұрын
I think I have the same situation going on. I am happy it is pointed out here that it is normal to get some support on the tempo from the bass player too.
@MadMax-pd2gu
2 жыл бұрын
@@daniellepijpers8173 Yeah, support and groove from the bassist it's highly required.
A bassist makes or breaks a band. Without that solid rhythm, everything else is useless- it’s like trying to stack bricks on jelly.
You need the drummer to listen to you as well though, otherwiese you gotta work twice as hard
the four dislikes are the disorganized drummers and bassists xD
Every time I hear somebody say that the drummer can't keep a beat, I look at the bassist.
@TheSpeenort
2 жыл бұрын
@@OnlineBassGuitar1 Because the bassist is the overall driver of the whole band. If the drummer gets out of step it's up to the bass player to give him the fish-eye or re-cue him. I've been playing bass for 53 years and that's just the way it is. If the bass player loses it the whole band falls apart.
Im in a relationship with a robot waifu
not funny Nyah Taler