Techniques to Enhance Your Bass Playing

The role of a bassist isn't one that's totally confined. In modern music, most casual fans are delighted to simply hear bass parts with many consecutive notes. An guitar-like approach to the bass is one that's popping up more frequently. Now, I can't tell you what the role of a bassist is and how you should play. But I can give you some ideas on where to go with it.

First, the biggest rut most bassists will get into is simply playing along with the guitar and only playing bass notes. You have to remember one very important thing: At any given time, the note you play on your bass is the lowest note the listener hears. So that note is the reference point for the overall harmony and chord the listener hears. So, what is commonly perceived as a rut isn't one at all. This is an fine, economic way of playing the bass that makes sense. In fact, you could argue that this style of playing makes the most sense of all. Remember, fancy bass parts are neat but the song matters the most. There's a reason this style of bass playing is the most common; it's most often the best for any given song.

However, there are rare moments where a bit of flash is required. At these moments, it's important to know your arpeggios. Arpeggios are the chord tones of any chord or harmony that's in place at the moment. For instance, if C Major harmony is implied for the first bar of a song, it's important to know that you can play three notes and all will be chord tones. C, E, and G. The root, third, and fifth respectively. Knowing your arpeggios will really allow you to let loose without fear of ruining the song's harmony and tonality. It's important to think when you play, to be a ''mental musician'' so to speak.

Another method is to use chromatic or out of key tones. That is, notes not normally found in the overall implied harmony of the song. This approach is one that can pay dividends if used correctly and can totally ruin a song if used incorrectly. One simple rule can really save you from sounding bad when using this approach: Never play out of key on a downbeat. That is, if there's a C Major chord for 1 bar. You can play C C# E and the C# will fall on the upbeat of 1 and 2. Literally, if you were to count the bar in eighth notes.... one AND two AND three AND four AND. All of your chromatic passing tones should fall onto the ANDs, the upbeats. Using this approach, you can get away some really spicy bass parts.

These ideas are basic in theory but can all be combined together to make a really interesting and versatile style. Good luck!