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Drum & Bass Relationship

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Join Marcus as he explains the crucial relationship between the bass player & drummer in any musical scenario.


What's In This Session?
  • Introduction (0:00)

  • Get to Know Your Drummer (0:19)

  • Prepare & Practice with Your Drummer (2:28)

  • Know Your Role as a Bass Player (3:08)

  • Broaden Your Musical Horizon (4:10)

The Full Transcript
"Hey everybody, in this video we're gonna talk about the bass drummer relationship. It’s so important and crucial. Probably the most close-knit relationship in the band would be the bass player and the drummer. We're gonna be covering three points that are gonna make you a better and more effective bass player. The first point is get to know your drummer. It's so important that the relationship between the bass player and the drummer is forged over time. Make sure you're taking time to practice with the drummer. Make sure you're taking time to to get to know their musical styles and and try and combine your likes and theirs through the style that you're playing. Maybe you're at a small church where you are literally the only bass player and there's literally one drummer that you get to play with. That's actually a really good scenario! Over time you two are gonna lock in a lot closer then maybe some bass player that plays at a large church, where there's six or eight different drummers to choose from to play with. If you're in that second situation and you do have a load of different drummers to play with, it's always good just to get to know who it is you're playing with. Get to know their style even in the context, even if you can't practice you know multiple times a week. So if you're in that second scenario where you are from a large church and maybe there's six or eight different drummers that you're playing with, you can still take time to get to know their style. Maybe you're not playing with them six or eight times a week, but you can still you know lock in with them. So the drummer and bass player really are close to one instrument in the band. You are the timekeepers. Together you are the the pace setters. You can help each other with rhythm and it's a beautiful thing. If you can even lock that in, there's nothing better than a tight drummer and a bass player. So the more you practice together then you can do experimentation. You hear some of these guys playing, especially in gospel music, where they go off on these crazy runs, and it just seems like the drummer is doing the exact beat that the bass player is, hitting all up and down the neck. Well these guys have obviously been practicing that. This just doesn't come by osmosis. or you know just because you're that good as a bass player it comes, because these guys have been playing together a ton and they've worked on these runs. And I don't know about you, but I've seen some guys that play and it just looks so effortless they just flow in and out together, and that just simply comes because they're playing together a lot. They’ve gotten to know each other as musicians and instrumentalists and it works really well. So the second point that's going to make you a more effective and better bass player is preparing with the drummer. Make sure that even when it comes to the individual list that you're working through, sit down and sort of brainstorm where you're headed. Ask the drummer, you know, what basic rhythm patterns are gonna be doing, you know, whether they can be doing a four on the floor with the bass kick, and how you can lock in with that. Or you know, the different trills that he does, and the runs that they're going to do, and the tempo that you're gonna be working with. It's really really crucial that you come in knowing those things together, so you can come in as a unified front in the back, you know, playing the rhythm. And the third thing that you want to concentrate on would be knowing your role and your place as a bass player in the band. As was previously stated, the drummer would be the pilot and the bass player would be the co-pilot. You know, drums can be busy there's there's a lot more things going on over there: they've got a kick, a snare, a hi-hat, some toms, some cymbals. There's a lot of things going on and they're filling in, and they're carrying things on you. As a bass player you're not trying to compete for the the busiest loudest rhythm instrument in the back. You're actually trying to come in behind and pad that sound. You're trying to fill in the the space along with the drums. And I want to encourage you, you know, as you're listening to music, you know, whatever music you may like. Really pay attention to the drum and bass relationship within the songs you're listening to. Be an active listener, so that when you hear something you like, you can practice it and replicate it along with your drummer. We only get better as we practice. We only get better as we listen to more music. and I want to encourage you to broaden your horizons and listen to different styles. And specifically focusing in on the drums and the bass, and how they interact, to make the rhythm end of a song really fly. Thanks for watching this video. I hope you learned something today. Please check out our tutorials and our songs that we've recorded on worshipsolutions.com. Enjoy the rest of your day, thank you so much."

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