more than the root notes

[cooljames]

I am new at bass, I have been playing guitar for many years, not very good.  so  i  switched to bass and i love it.  I am in the worship team band at church. question. I play root notes of the chords the guitar is playing which sounds good , but should i be playing more?

[Groovesmith]

I'm no pro but I think so there is a difference between bass and lead guitar the guitar plays the harmony more or less and you play the bass line not mimic the words of the song play the groove if I'm understanding what your saying to come up with basic bass lines remember that you do have to hit the right note at the right time but there is room for alot more



Groovesmith

[insanesquirle]

are u just playing the single note? or are you playing like up and down and stuff like that

like if your playing a c chord than your playing, c then g then c then g


if u get what im saying lol... i had to figure it mostly out on my own, cus noone would answer.. hopefully i can help

[sixstringpoet]

it depends on you, most musicians that i play with like for the bass to do more than just whole notes.  a bass player in most songs leads the band into the next chord change.  scales, practice and experience will give you your own style.  should a bass player do more than root notes? in my opinion yes.  

Bring more to the beach than just sand.

peace.

[insanesquirle]

just listen to other people play bass and youll soon learn how to, it only took me a couple months to pick up the bass.... but it took me 3 or 4 to do it good lol

[BtCustom]

If you like being busy than you can play as many notes you want. Or on the other hand you like the pocket, just make sure you lock with the drummer.

[cooljames]

more than just the root notes


----------------------------------------------------------
when the guitar is playing  gggg  cccc  dddd
then Im playing gggg cccc dddd
in time and in the grove with the drums, i lack the skill, or the courage to add passing notes, in fear that ill sound ill

[Mysteryman]

Im a beginner too but I got a few exercises to post if no one posts it first. Im headed to NY so I will be gone until Monday. I plan to take my bass and keyboard and hope to be able to do some stuff online.

[MikeGee]

I am new at bass, I have been playing guitar for many years, not very good.  so  i  switched to bass and i love it.  I am in the worship team band at church. question. I play root notes of the chords the guitar is playing which sounds good , but should i be playing more?

http://www.halleonard.com/item_detail.jsp?itemid=695817&order=2&catcode=00&refer=search&type=product&keywords=bass+arpeggios+


Check out this book on ARPEGGIOS I was playing these before I knew what they were called. Very basic stuff in this book, but i am a strong belever that fundamentals can take you a very long way.

[cooljames]

mike gee,  hay thanks for the link up for the Hal Leonard book,  Im ordering it now.


  I  love this web site, every one here is so cool, and Living for the LORD,
 it won't get  ne better than that.

Also our worship leader passed on to Heaven ,  He was a former pro rocker , semi famous.  before he left , I wrote a praise song.  He helped me some, and it turned out great.  but now what can i do with it , its not recorded.  I would like to maybe try to sell it ?  any Ideas?

[MikeGee]

WElcome man, let me tell, ya arpeggios, are a life savers for me.

[MikeGee]

to answer the question that was asked, it really is up to you, yes tring to do more then just the root will sound great but play what ya feel. i like to mix it up a bit. i'll play a lot notes in part of the song then in most i'll play just the root. theres times i let the keyboardist have the intro alone.

hope this at least gives you something to think about.

[bradleymoorer]

I tell you what, first find the bass line, that is most important, I have to know what notes absolutly need to be there, then what ever free space I have, I generally like to play around the scale that song is played in, as long as you come back to the root you can basically play anything in that scale for instance if you are playing something in F then you can play the F,G,A,Bb,C,D,E, but be sure to resolve on that F and it should sound pretty tight. Peace!

[funkStrat_97]

Roots and fifths can be the foundation of many bass lines.  Remember power chords from your guitar playing days?  Well instead of playing them as a chord, you just play each note separately.

[MikeGee]

arpeggios are my life