As I reflect on my past 40 years of bass playing, one of the most important lessons I ever received probably saved both my career and my sanity. It came in my first semester at the Bass Institute of Technology, when I was participating in a Live Playing Workshop (LPW). The bass instructor was the legendary Paul Farnen, who I now recognize as being one of the biggest influences on my playing.
In these classes it was normal to have two or three times the number of guitar students as there were bass students, so each bassist was asked to play the same song repeatedly. For this particular class, the song was a simple 12-bar Blues form with a very basic written bass line. Paul overheard some of us complaining about how boring the bass line was, and we were not wanting to go back up and play it again. Paul pulled us aside—not to scold, but to shift our mindset. He explained that part of being a professional bass player is sometimes having to play simple parts night-after-night. He noted that he had known several bass players who left good-paying bands with active touring schedules, just because they thought the bass lines were too easy and, some might call, boring.
This was when Paul challenged us to change our thinking about “boring” bass parts. He encouraged us to take a much healthier approach, which I can best summarize as this: “Make each time better than the last.” We have all been in great bands that play the same set of songs every night, so changing your mindset to one where you try to make each performance better than the ones that came before might be enough to keep you mentally engaged and excited.
Please lean in when you read this next part: playing better does not necessarily mean playing more. The trap for some bass players is that to overcome a simple bass line they try to force in more notes, licks and complex rhythms. That was not what Paul meant when he gave us such a valuable lesson that day. He wanted us to play the line as it was written, but to focus on our dynamics, feel and band groove.
Over the years that I have been playing in bands, I took Paul’s wisdom and came up with a list of things I can focus on when playing simple bass lines, which help to make each performance better than the last:
- Can I play the bass line exactly, fills and all, as it was originally written/recorded?
- Are my dynamics and emotional content matching the lyrical content or, if it is an instrumental song, what the rest of the band is playing?
- Listening closely to the drummer, can I match his or her accents and dynamics?
- If I am playing a cover song, can I match the original recorded bass tone?
- How is my performance being received by the audience? If they are dancing, how are they responding to my subtle adjustments?
Having the discipline to make every performance better than the last, without altering the original bass line, has many valuable benefits:
- Better band performances overall could equal more and higher-level gigs
- Bandmates respect you and might hire you for other musical projects they are part of
- Great reputation in your music community, which could result in more opportunities
- Longevity with the band and reliable income stream
While I feel it is important to find ways to stay interested and engaged in a band where the songs are simple, you should not stay in a band that is:
- Toxic: Constant fighting and abuse should not be tolerated
- Unprofessional: Unproductive or infrequent rehearsals and no long-term goals can be very frustrating and hinder your progress
- Complacent: When they do not share your desire to always make each performance better than the last, that could be a sign to find a better band
I hope you found this blog helpful. How do you keep your spark alive on repetitive gigs? Drop your tips in the comments—we’d love to hear how you stay inspired.
Story by Dale Titus
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Dale has been a professional bassist for 40 years and during that time was an instructor/counselor at the Bass Institute of Technology, a freelance writer for Bass Player magazine as well as the Editor of Bass Frontiers magazine. He also released The Ultimate Beginner Series for Bass videos and book for Alfred Publishing, as well as the Everything Bass YouTube channel.
1 comment
Great article Dale! Very relevant to anyone playing in a tribute band. When we first started, 14 years ago, we played the parts and added our little style and licks here and there. But over the years, we figured out that we sound better together when we play the song as intended by the original artist. We keep it interesting by knowing the studio version and the “live” versions from different tours. We match that by playing the same instruments/amps/effects as the original artists at the time of the tour or original recording. This keeps each show a little different than the last one. After nearly 15 years, I never get bored and always feel like it’s a privelege to play a performing art center or festival where thousands of people sing along and share the joy that the band is bringing with our tribute to the original artist.