Playing the Bass guitar has an important function in a band. Its sole purpose is to provide rhythm along with the drummer. Often you see the bass guitarist and the drummer communicating together as their goal is to sync the rhythmic patterns of the song with each other.
In this post I will go through basic rhythms and show you how they are played on the bass guitar. Your aim is to develop an even and consistent sound and when you are playing your bass guitar.
To get started you need some understanding of note values. Outlined below are the basic note values - Semibreves, Minims, Crotchets and Quavers.
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n this post we will look at the types of notes bass players play.
Every song that we listen to are built on chords. Chords are made up of three notes from their scale.
For example in the scale of C - CDEFGABC - The C chord uses the 1st note (root), 3rd note and the 5th note. That means chord C= CEG.
When you start off learning bass you usually play the root (1st) note of the chord. Once you start building your skills you can start adding variations. The following exercises will show you how.
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Solarcoaster is an Indy rock Australian band, based in Sydney. They have just released their new song Seattle.
One of the band members, Jarrah Purcell-Smith , spoke to our students about the process of songwriting and the challenges when releasing an album during lockdown.
What are the Steps?
Write
- Get your ideas down. - Lyrics, chords progressions, musical ideas.
- record or jot down all you musical ideas and lyrics
- In this instance sharing those ideas with other members of your band so then it starts developing into a song that you are all happy with.
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Here is a recording of a project that we have been working on with Matilda (6), Sarah (7), Laura (8) & Kate (?). It is our version of The Lava Song which comes form the 2015 Pixar movie ‘Lava’.
Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas and a very relaxing holiday!
Read MoreThe benefits of recording your work can have a real impact on your overall growth as a performer/songwriter.
Here are some of the advantages:
You face the fear of how ‘good’ you sound and learn to ‘get over yourself’ by re-listening to your song over and over.
2. You begin listening to the sections of the song that need improvement - like phrasing, instrumentation,
technique, etc.
3. It gives you the chance to develop parts of the song that may be too repetitive in an effort to create some
variation.
4. It gives you the opportunity to LEARN, rather than expecting to have the perfect song or performance
straight away.
5. And it gives you the chance to GROW as a performer/songwriter.
Over time, having a series of recordings of your work, will give you the benefit of seeing your own development. This on- going practice of reflection and feedback can build your confidence, which is a great motivator to keep going in your pursuit of a good musical habit.
Read MoreWhat are some of the thoughts you have when you are in the process of developing musical ideas?
Do you question each idea you have and discard it away?
Do you hold on tight to your ideas and are afraid that you won’t have any ‘good’ ideas at all?
You can look at songwriting in two ways. Firstly, the glass half approach where you believe that you will run out of great ideas so you will never write anything good. Or you can view it by the second approach , which is believing that there is always an abundance of ideas swimming in your subconscious waiting for you to tap into.
Believing that there are ample opportunities for you to compose is always around you. It could be for your parents, friends, children…weddings, parties…for yourself..
There is also, always an abundance of time. It could be for only 5 mins at a time. 5 minutes is better than no minutes, and there is always 5 minutes waiting for you if you choose to take the time.
Everything you need is already here, if you look for it, opportunities are waiting to be taken.
So change your thinking. Next time you doubt that your contribution to the world is useless, believe that your ideas are a wonderful contribution to those around you.
Read MoreSongwriting is a vehicle we can use to give us excitement, freedom of expression, connection with others and growth. In fact it can tap into our 6 core needs of:
Certainty
Uncertainty
Significance
Connection
Contribution
Growth
For everyone this is different, but I will give you an example…
Certainty - planning small steps of the process, so every time you write a song you know there is a planning process, development process and recording process.
Uncertainty - lots of experimentation with chords and melodies to come up with your song.
Significance - when you finish a song it reflects part of who you are giving you a sense of identity and achievement.
Connection - through your music and lyrics you share common emotions and experiences that help you connect with others.
Contribution - where you can share your music with others which gives enjoyment to others.
Growth - dealing with perfectionism, rejection. A new learning process such as recording, writing lyrics etc..
If you were to rate each of your 6 needs for songwriting out of 10, which one do you feel needs the most attention?
The next question then is what can you do to improve in that area? That will give you the next step to work towards.
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Midi stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. This is where you can create some really good instrument sounds through software such as GarageBand and Logic. What makes it even better is that you can manipulate notes, change durations and alter the sounds once you have recorded them. This gives a songwriter so much more scope in manipulating sounds and creating really good backings for their songs.
I’ve created a quick introduction video in how to use midi. (My apologies for some of the background noise, my husband decided to start washing up half way through….not that I’m complaining…)
Nothing can really top a recording of a live performance, however, Midi can be used in the creation of some really beautiful and professional backing tracks.
Read MoreDeveloping a strong rhythmic pattern with your chord structure can help lay a solid foundation for your song. Rhythm gives your song direction and an overall sound that you can build upon. It also gives the listener an understanding of who you are through it’s stylistic sound.
Here are three examples using two chords C and G.
Example 1: Played on the electric guitar with a blues type of feel.
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