Bass
Playing with Rhythms
By Johnny Gillard One problem I hear a lot in my studio is that bass players are stuck in the same old rut playing the same old ideas. Regardless of kind of music there is enough rhythm to make the whole world go around! Playing rhythmically is an essential way to spice up things and keep you on your groove toes. The word to describe a phrase that does not have strong and weak beats on common beats is called Syncopation. I find Rhythm is the most underestimated part of a Bass player’s technique and style. This is really worth sinking some time into! You will notice playing the note’s on thier own at first is not a big deal. but when I change a few accents for where the string and weak beats are…..suddenly you are focusing more and it challenges you in a way that notes with no accents or syncopation necessarily do. These are basic examples below to help with this.
8ths and Accents (Bass Rhythms #1)
Here are some ideas to try practicing different rhythms. Try these exercises with a metronome or loop playing first at a slow rate. With 8th or 16th note phrases you can move accents around to create the illusion of different strong and weak beats to aid in your playing and practice. This creates some interesting phrasing possibilities for arpeggio, scale and other practice exercises. Try these in 16th note phrases as well. the ">" shown in the digram is the strong beat or accented note. Take your time and get good at this.
Notes and Accents (Bass Rhythms #2)
The next thing to try once you get good at just accents is to substitute accents for notes in your key to create a phrase. Mix it up. First learn the notes then the accents. You will notice it takes a bit more time because this is another element or layer of your technique and playing many do not focus on.
Ties (Bass Rhythms #3)
When you add ties to your phrases then the syncopation gets even crazier! A tied note is when you play the first note then let it sustain for the value of both together. Ties are a great way to "suspend" if you will, the common time and cut things up. I have included some simple ones to get you started with some tied 8th notes here and there in interesting places. When you add ties to your phrases then the syncopation gets even crazier! Ties are a great way to "suspend" if you will, the common time and cut things up. I have included some simple ones to get you started.
Reading Music
Is a great helper in this regard and I strongly recommend learning to do it. It opens up your mind to musical possibilities with your instrument that are not normally found in playing by ear alone. Certain rhythm ideas I would never have thought of have come from learning to read music and are now a part of my playing and technique. You will never regret reading music for practice. Try it!
