top 5

tips
for
bass
players
There are a lot of “top five tips” style lists out there for bass players at the moment.
We’ve all seen articles like: “Top Five Pieces of Gear You Must Own” or “Top Five
Exercises You Must Know to Play Faster”. Whilst these kinds of articles are interesting
and have their value, my top five tips are different.

As you’ll see, my top five tips are, at times, a little more abstract than “top five
exercises you must know....” or “100 scales you must know....”. But stick with them:
they cover things that, in one way or another, come into use on every practice
session, every gig, and every recording session.

My top five tips are drawn from five of the most important lessons that I have learnt
over the years. These lessons have undoubtedly shaped not just my playing, but also
the way I hear music, and how I interact with a wide range of musical situations
and other musicians. It is no exaggeration to say that they have helped me through
countless professional engagements and kept me working. I hope this document gives
you some clear, straightforward and above all practical advice that you can use to
develop your own playing. With any luck, my top five tips will serve you as well as
they continue to serve me.

1. Perform How You Practice

If you’re reading this then I’m sure you’ve had this problem. I can remember so many
occasions that I have spent practicing something for days on end only to get to a
gig and not be able to recreate it on stage. Whilst there are several factors that can
prevent a bass player from being able to play on stage everything that they can play
at home, I have come to realise that one of the most important is posture.
One of the most important things I was taught was this: if I stood when I performed
then I should also stand when I practice. There are several reasons for this. First of
all the actual height of the instrument may change. If you have quite a long strap
then this will make the bass hang lower off your body. When you come to practice
sitting down then you will most likely have the instrument across your legs which can
raise the height. This will change the entire spatial relationship that you have with the
instrument: you might be forced to turn your wrists to bad angles rather than being
able to keep them straight; it might force you to lean forward and arch your back
slightly, which will eventually lead to injury problems.

Practicing sitting down will also mean that the weight of your body is distributed in a
completely different way than if you were standing. This will have a knock on effect
throughout your whole body and will ultimately effect what muscles and how much
muscle power you have at your disposal. Even if you have your bass strap adjusted
so that the bass it at the same height whether you sit or stand you have differences
between standing and sitting. If you sit, then your core is slightly compressed. This
can push the instrument a few inches further away from your body which will change
the position of your arms, shoulders, and also the angle of your wrists. All of these
things will affect how you perform. One is not better than the other. Anthony Jackson
sits, whilst Jaco Pastorius usually stood. The point is that, across both your practice
and your performances, you should be as consistent as possible.
2. When Practicing, Fix One Problem At A Time
Let’s be honest, practice can be really hard work. It can also be a very stressful and
difficult process to go through. Sometimes it’s hard enough deciding what to practice,
never mind actually putting in the work.

A large part of knowing how to practice is knowing what you want to practice. This
can be a tricky thing, but I usually find it helps to write things down and keep a list
somewhere. Whether it’s on a sheet of paper in a folder, on the desktop of your
computer, or on your phone, actually being able to take these thoughts out of your
head and put them down on paper (in the literal or electronic sense) can help to
organise and clarify exactly what you want to
work on.

Once you have done this, then simply pick one and make a start. I have found in the
past that this has helped me develop better practicing discipline, and it also helps me
keep focussed. If I want to work my time keeping, then I know what to focus on, but
I also know what I can (for the moment, anyway!) ignore. For example, if I’ve got
“play with better posture” and “play better fills” on my list, and I choose to work on
my posture, then I know that I don’t need to even attempt making any fills because
they aren’t relevant to my current practice routine and goals.

Obviously I’ll need to play something, so perhaps a song that I already know well
would be a good idea. I wouldn’t have to worry about the notes themselves, so I
could put all my energy and attention into correcting my posture. If I don’t use this
idea of focusing on and trying to fix one problem at a time, then I spread my focus
too thinly. I may start out by focussing on my posture, but then I get distracted by a
bad fill that I tried to play, and I then go on to focus on fills; next, I notice my time-
keeping is bad, so I stop thinking about fills and focus on time-keeping. Before I
know it, I’ve spent an hour practicing twenty things, and I haven’t improved at any of
them, because I didn’t give myself the time to focus on any of them. It may seem like
a longer way round at first, but as soon as your able to cross that one thing off your
practice list then it will be all worthwhile!
3. Support, support, support
The role of the bass player in the majority of ensemble situations is to support the rest
of the band. It’s something that I feel is overlooked quite a lot at the moment. Ninety-
nine percent of the time we are there to support and enhance the music, rather than
shine in the spotlight.

There are thousands of videos online that show people with incredible chops and
technique, but it’s important to understand that playing chops and playing bass are,
quite often, two different things. The objective is to be a real team player. If your
bass part only has one note per bar, then it doesn’t automatically mean it’s boring.
You could be opening up space for another instrument; you could be playing a note
that creates a really interesting moment in the harmony (chords) when heard in
conjunction with the notes that the other musicians are playing.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have moments like this, and I’ve loved hearing long
notes from my bass part with a string or horn section playing over the top. Try to
think about and listen to how your part works with all the other instruments. This can
make finding the right part rather than the hardest part much more challenging, but
also much more rewarding.

Let me make something totally clear before we go any further. There is nothing wrong
with developing a high level of technique. One of the most important things for any
instrumentalist is to have great technique. If they can’t properly play the ideas that
are in their head, then they will most likely have a very frustrating experience with
their instrument. However, with great levels of technique must also come great levels
of judgement and taste. Just because someone has good technique doesn’t mean
they always have to use all of it. Branford Marsalis once said: “playing an instrument
and playing music are not the same thing”. This is probably the best quotation I have
heard on this matter.
Try and listen to the music as a whole, and try to hear how your part affects all the
others, rather than just focussing on only what you are doing. Does the first verse
sound stronger if you play softer in the intro? Does the second chorus sound better
if you don’t play anything in the second verse? How does the first note of the song
affect the last? Thinking about these kinds of questions can help you develop in ways
that just running technique exercises at an ever-increasing tempo can’t. If all of this
means that you just stick with root notes and a kick drum pattern the next time you
write a tune or play with your band, then so be it. Play for the song and play for the
team; never play just for yourself.
4. Dynamics are an endless goldmine
Mastering dynamics (playing loudly, softly, moderately loudly etc) is something
that will make you sound better than any piece of gear you will ever own. This is
something that was a huge discovery for me. Sometimes what makes the biggest
difference to a bass line, groove or melody isn’t the notes you choose, the tone of
your bass, the strings, pedals or any other piece of gear you use; it’s all about how
you deliver the line in the first place.

I’m still amazed at the difference this makes to an audience when I’m on a gig. If I
play a little softer in the verses so that the big choruses sound bigger by comparison,
or if I make a little less noise so that the signer has more space to be heard over the
rest of the band, then everything sounds and feels better. Audiences become more
attentive, other musicians become more responsive, and the gigs nearly always go
better. The great thing is that, in my experience, this isn’t something that is attached
to any particular style or genre of music. Whether you listen to Branford Marsalis,
Jaco Pastorius, Aerosmith or Daniel Barenboim, they all have dynamics in their
music, which makes it much more powerful.

I’m not saying that there’s some kind of musical law written down on a stone tablet
somewhere saying: “every piece of music must contain one very quiet section and
one very loud section”. But I am encouraging you to start thinking about why a piece
of music needs to be loud of soft in the first place, and also to take note of what
impact those dynamics have.

TRY THIS EXERCISE NOW!

Put on any song that you know how to play and are familiar with. During the
quieter sections play a little softer. Try to find a volume level that makes you just a
fraction quieter than whatever instrument is playing or singing the melody. During
the louder sections, play harder again, to match the volume and intensity of the rest
of the band. This will make your whole performance feel much more musical and
interesting. Don’t even add any fills. Try this exercise out just with the bass line as
it was originally written and it will make a huge difference. Certainly something to
keep in mind for the next gig!
5. It’s not all about gear
This may seem like a strange and controversial point to make. We’ve all seen those
“make sure you own this bass” or “the best bass to use for a rock gig” posts that are
circulating the internet. But what’s important to understand is that it’s only a good
idea to own several different instruments if your playing is already in good shape.

One of the problems I had during my mid- to late-teens was trying to keep even
and consistent time during a passage of 8th and 16th notes (or quavers and semi-
quavers). I often found that I could play a few notes ok, but then I would start to rush
(speed up), and as I noticed that I was rushing, I would start to drag (slow down),
and so on. Now, what’s crucial to understand here is that this problem isn’t related to
the bass I was using. It isn’t related to any bass that I will ever use. The problem was
in my ears, and, more importantly, in my hands.

As far as my ears are concerned, I need to work on how acutely I can hear and feel
different units of musical time when I listen to music and especially when I listen to
myself. If I can hear that four out of every sixteen semi-quavers (16th notes) aren’t
quite right, then I should trust my ear and start to work on it.

As far as my hands are concerned, I need to be able to accurately replicate

these units of musical time. Evening out timing issues is something that isn’t really
connected to any instrument because good time needs to be in your ears and in your
hands. You just need an instrument so you can actually put all of this into the music
that you play.

Always remember that the musician plays with good time. The instrument, the pedal
board, the amp can’t do this for you; hard work on your ears and hands can.
Again, I would like to put in another disclaimer. Having good gear certainly will help
you sound good. Some instruments can be easier to play than others, and, of course,
each bass will have a different tone, and some tones will suit some gigs better than
others. The point is this. As bass players we can’t assume that music is just about
tone and electronics. Some of the most important parts of music - the expression, the
dynamics, the time feel and the note choices - all come from the way we play and not
from the instrument we play. So whether your bass costs £200 or £20,000 isn’t ever
the most fundamental issue. A more expensive bass doesn’t make a more expensive
player.
A Few Quick Words
I have to admit I had quite a hard time creating this list. There are so many other
things that could’ve gone into this PDF. Whilst there are some other very important
tips that haven’t been mentioned here, I feel that the five mentioned above are the
ones that are the most important.

They have helped me to improve my technique and my ears; and they have enabled
me to offer much more than just playing the right notes in the many different
situations and sessions I have encountered as a working musician. It is important
to remember that it will take time to incorporate some of these things into your
playing. Try not to expect immediate results; and don’t get discouraged by a lack
of immediate results. You may get frustrated, but remember that improving as a
musician isn’t something you do quickly.

It will take time, but there’s nothing wrong with that, and there never will be either.
Again, although my top five tips might seem a little abstract, do stick with them if
you can: they will make a big impact on your playing in a relatively short period of
time. I wish you the best of luck with your practice. Be sure to send me your practice
pictures and videos, using #topfivetips in a Tweet, or on Facebook. Otherwise, tag
me on Instagram and show me how you’re getting on!

Hugh