playing with bass question

[dcomus]

Hi all,
I have a question about playing with bass guitar on my worship team.
It seems like the bass player is always trying to keep up with my left hand.  Should the bass player or the keyboard player be establishing the bass line and who is following who? 

[Fenix]

The bass player should keep the bass-line IMO. The keys player should then play the chords to make it all sound full.

Sometimes in my church we switch up. The bass player sometimes wants to play more melodic stuff so i play the bass-line while he does his thing. It all depends. talk to your bass player and figure it out.

[under13]

Yall must not be playing the songs correctly. All he needs to do is play the bassline, and all you need to play the correct chords. If you are both doing that, then there shouldnt be a problem.

[dcomus]

What if I want to throw in a jazzy chord different than the chords on the chart or I want to improvise?  Does the bass player need to follow me?

[Fenix]

What if I want to throw in a jazzy chord different than the chords on the chart or I want to improvise?  Does the bass player need to follow me?

Well i think it would be fair to you and the bass player if you communicated to him what you were going to do. You can't just do whatever you want to do without thinking of the other musicians in the band. This is best especially where the other musicians may not be as proficient as you.

[B3Wannabe]

What if I want to throw in a jazzy chord different than the chords on the chart or I want to improvise?  Does the bass player need to follow me?

If he's a professional (not a novice) he should be able to follow you, but usually these things are practiced before they're done in public.

If you're constantly changing things mid-song, you may build up tensions with your bass player.

If you're not able to practice with your band at a time when there are no singers then you will want to communicate with him during service. Also, ask him if changing the direction of the music--as you're doing--presents a problem. If it does, ask him what you two can do to accomplish what you want to do.

Communication is key in a band. You all have to learn each other's playing style. Once you know that, then you'll see this freedom that you're trying to accomplish.

Lastly, sometimes it's good to play straight, if you're trying to throw jazzy stuff in every vacant place of a song, then you may start to give people the impression that you're show-boating. When you have a band, you have to work with the band. It's a team. Don't do that, and you'll start to see confusion or your band members leaving.

[under13]

Well i think it would be fair to you and the bass player if you communicated to him what you were going to do. You can't just do whatever you want to do without thinking of the other musicians in the band. This is best especially where the other musicians may not be as proficient as you.

exactomundo! You guys need to have a practice session before you thow crazy stuff at him

[themidiroom]

What if I want to throw in a jazzy chord different than the chords on the chart or I want to improvise?  Does the bass player need to follow me?

Technically, you should be able to comp chords that still will work with the established bass line.  Like the others have said, if you want to change the arrangement of the song, then that should be rehearsed.  There's always room for give and take.  I notice a lot of keyboardists play their own bass lines and don't want to give that up.  If you have a good bassist, consider that a blessing.

[dcomus]

Thanks for the feedback.  I try to communicate chord changes in advance or as we go along but I think a good bassist and keyboardist should be able to follow each other when arranging the songs.  It's  not about showing off, it's about giving the music some flavor because IMO playing straight or following a script all the time can be boring to the listener and not very creative.