I've never played an instrument with such an abstract, non-standard approach to playing what seems to be pretty straightforward, when it comes to Country, and Bluegrass. Use your thumb. Use a pick. Use your fingers. "We don't care! Just be there on the beat." Sure, you can watch videos until you're blind. Well, if one has no other musical experience, one could be forever mystified. I'm convinced people would rather sell fish than teach fishing. Savvy?
So I cover two strings with one finger. The root & fifth, typically. I don't have particularly big fingers but I'm used to barring. Light strings make this a joy. A year ago, I tried to make a primer for a friend. Showing him the root/fifth and the 1-4-5 of all the major keys. I had no idea I was doing it for myself. I'm sort of getting the minor ii, and minor vi in standard locations as well. I'm not selling this approach. Don't worry. And I understand why there are so many approachs. Partly because there are variations in chord voicing. This is where the fiddle double stop knowledge comes in. Three voicings for each chord, multiplied by the fact one can only play two of the notes. Decisions on the fly are often late. I could talk about rhythm timing and beat. Fiddlers seem to boss the beat around. Where the bass follows the whole band if there's no drums. When that note comes down in the right spot you can hear it. When it comes in the wrong spot, you can hear it. We had a bass player that was always smiling. Now, I know why.
Edited by - farmerjones on 06/24/2026 10:43:50
Sounds like you are having a lot of fun! :-D
( Uh Are you on bass guitar or upright acoustic bass…?
Got a little confused because it’s the upright bass I associate more with OT, but you mention a pick? )
Maybe I'm reading that wrong, but if the bass follows the whole band, you likely have a mess on your hands. The role of the bass is to be the rhythmic anchor that the other instruments play off to create dynamics (push, drive, swing, whatever...). The bass player may follow an overall tempo change from the band leader (if it's intentional), but if he/she follows the phrase-by-phrase fancies of the fiddler, a train wreck is in progress.
quote:
Originally posted by bacfireMaybe I'm reading that wrong, but if the bass follows the whole band, you likely have a mess on your hands. The role of the bass is to be the rhythmic anchor that the other instruments play off to create dynamics (push, drive, swing, whatever...). The bass player may follow an overall tempo change from the band leader (if it's intentional), but if he/she follows the phrase-by-phrase fancies of the fiddler, a train wreck is in progress.
Indeed, it sounds strange but this is a jam with no drums. Sometimes you get a good solid pulse from the guitars other times it's sort of a muddy din. At such times I watch the person who's turn it is. I hook into his groove/pocket. Sometimes the rest fall in. Depends if the reason for the mud is a foreign chord. If everyone knows the tune, the whole group falls in and it sounds great. And when the tune ends everyone is smiling.
Farmer, bass was my first instrument, when I was 13 (73 now). It gave me a great grounding in the structure of songs, how they are put together, timing and how to create rhythm (with the drums) using one note at a time. In BG, OT and lots of other genres, the bass player is driving the truck, holding the reins for tempo and timing. The other players take their ques from the bass! Its deceptively simple but you create the groove, the pocket! Rock bassists making the switch are often too busy, adding lead in notes and between the chord changes. Good bassists are like rock steady. Bassists can make or break a jam or band. I hope playing bass yields you as much pleasure as it did myself.
Edited by - wrench13 on 06/25/2026 21:37:34
quote:
Originally posted by bacfireMaybe I'm reading that wrong, but if the bass follows the whole band, you likely have a mess on your hands. The role of the bass is to be the rhythmic anchor that the other instruments play off to create dynamics (push, drive, swing, whatever...). The bass player may follow an overall tempo change from the band leader (if it's intentional), but if he/she follows the phrase-by-phrase fancies of the fiddler, a train wreck is in progress.
Truth. One of the bands I play with has a bass player who can't seem to drive the bus, always handing the wheel over to whoever is loudest (usually the behind the beat mandolin). It is very frustrating when I start a tune/song at 115bpm and within a chorus it falls to 100. The bass should be solid and driving (or copiloting with a drummer) the band.
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