bass_dinger

I am just the bassist. I do what I am told. It's a church gig. Different churches sing the same standards in different keys. I have played some songs in four different keys in one rehearsal to assist the vocalists to find their happy place.

No. It's behind me . . .

I got a message from the band leader. It had not quite worked out as he expected, and the plan is to do something smaller (fewer people) in the new year. He likes my playing style, and wants me to be part of it. So, it looks like the Panto is not now happening. I can't say that I mind. In the meantime, I have the first proper run through of the Orpington Food Fair band tonight - we play two 45 minute sets, on Sunday. I know about 70 percent of the songs (church stuff), but a lot of them are in new keys. The songs that are new to me (pop songs) I have chord charts for. Only Dancing Queen, and Crazy Little Thing Called Love, are in the right key, and familiar to me. The guitarist is good, and the vocalist are strong. We have PA, and a stage, all on the back of a low-loader. I am hoping that the audience will all be eating burgers and ignoring the band! This is my biggest gig to date. And I am still not getting paid for it!!

Come on JapanAxe - don't beat around the bush, don't hold back. Stop sitting on the fence and tell us how you really feel about that song...

Oooh yeah! Listening to Signed Sealed Delivered - that bassline is very much in the style of Gone At Last. And I have a new favourite bassist.

Yes!! My band played Goin' Up Country - the bassline was manageable at the right speed. But they always sped up when we played it live. So, I refused to play it live. Silly of me, I know. But it made me feel important . . . :-)

Gone at Last I recall hearing this as a teenager, on my aunt's radiogram. I was blown away by the energy of the track. I went back to it, as an adult bass player. I was blown away by the bass line, and wanted to play it. It feels like a musically simply line, but the speed and accuracy required make it difficult to replicate - even Paul Simon's band do not play that bassline in live concerts! It feels like a root-5th, with the occasional third as a passing note. How would I go about working out the bassline? Slow it down, for sure. Write down the notes (rather than rely on memory). Any other tips? For some reason, it reminds me of the bassline to Aretha Franklin's Blues Brother version of "Think!" - it has the same use of chord tones, and passing notes.

I noticed about 3 months ago, when the strings were 10 months old.

So, I lost my mum at the start of June the year, and wanted to be with my dad more often, at this time. His heart attack simply added to the urgency. I think that dad would appreciate my being with him, so, that feels like the right answer. I only joined the other band to stretch my musical self a little. But right now, that it not the priority.

Yes, Mr Punter - the TUNE goes like that . . . but how does the bassline go? What are the harmonies? At least your singer realised that he needs to sing the bassline to you.

A lot of people have told me that, so, it must be true.

An update, but not a nice one. My wife is due to go in for minor surgery later this week, so, I want to look after her. However, my dad suffered two heart attacks last week, and had a stent fitted, so, I want to look after him too! I don't think that the Panto group remains a priority, and I did not much enjoy it, so, I will consider dropping out.

I will have a look later this week. However, I play with a vocal group that drifts from G to G flat, so, a few cents is more likely to be what I would earn if I went busking with them, rather than the measure of my tuning problem . . .

Washburn XB500

An update. I played for the same vocal group, at a memorial service. They wanted to sign acapella. They sung in G flat. The pianist suggested that G would be easier for the band, (keys, bass, drums), and gave them a G chord, and starting note. Yes, they were happy to rehearse like that. They sung a chorus, then a verse, acapella - band came in, all was well. The actual service? Started in G, sung a chorus, then a verse, acapella - but the band already realised that the vocalists were no longer in G. Closer to G three-quarters flat. So, almost G flat. It took me a while to work out which key we were in, and how to signal to the keys player where we were - I wanted to signal the number of flats, but could not remember how many flats G flat had!! And when I worked it out that it was six, I did not have enough fingers on one hand! Later, the vocalists did the same thing again - this time, the key of D drifted to D flat. After the service, which was broadcast, I felt compelled to let some of them know why we did not start to play where we had agreed. "We need to find the new key - you had drifted!". "I don't know about keys. I just sing. We expected you to come in when you said you would." I will laugh about this, one day. But not today!

I tune my open strings on a Boss TU2, using the strobe setting. Open strings are spot-on (apart from a wavering low B). I then fret the string at the 5th fret and it registers as sharp - the strobe moves upwards, slowly. Of course, I may be only looking at a few cents out, but it is odd to see the tuning is not the same all the way up the fret board. The strings (a £5 set from eBay) are about a year old and are 45 to 125. The bass was set up for a set of Dunlop steels (40 to 120). So, should I simply tune so that the 5th fret note is right? Should I change the intonation? Should I buy a better tuner? Fit new strings? Should I simply not worry?

Oh What a Night. The key was too high for any of our singers, and I did not want to learn it in another key. I wish by Stevie Wonder - right song, wrong key! Since I left, they have recorded the song on bass and ukulele Respect by Aretha Franklin - ultimately, the band was not keen, although it worked when a few of us played it. All of the songs were great basslines, with simple chords, in search of a competent band!

You're a hitman? Shoot me, now.

I am told that the leader does have more PA, but won't bring it along yet, as it is too much kit to move around.

I am in a second, also new, group, in which I am doing more of the admin work. That's fine, because the new group is very capable, and made up of better musicians from my town. And me . . . The Panto group, however, has dumbed-down chords - although I am told that the chords will be corrected later. So, we practice the wrong chords, then move across to the correct version. Currently, the dance moves consist of people walking around in a circle, and getting used to moving while singing. I suspect that the script, and the dance moves, will be tailored to what the musicians can play, and the singers can sing. " . . . . oooh. Snow White is lost and in the woods. Where can she stay tonight...? " "Why not take a train to Waterloo, and stay at the YMCA . . .?"

I think that I want to help them - to support the project. They are clearly enjoying themselves, and I feel that I want to give something back to the community. However, I am not convinced that this is the right group to do that with - I am a bassist, not an arranger or organiser.

We have all been instructed to sell 5 tickets. At this level, it's more about inviting your friends and family along, so that they can see Uncle Bob up on stage. Think "School Assembly" rather than "Music Society Recital"

A Hard Day's Night (in the wrong key, without the iconic opening chord); YMCA (wrong key, without the horn riff at the start)l Waterloo by Abba (part of a medley with YMCA) . . . All songs are started by the leader saying "and a one and a two and a three and a four" regardless of whether the song is a disco rhythm, or the Waterloo "bounce". It is, as others have said, British and bonkers. I am not enjoying it much. I had hoped that the band would give me the opportunity to play new material with good musicians. This is not the case - I was told that I was one of the main musicians, and some of the others are treating it as a strum-along session. I think that I need to get out before my sanity suffers!

Thanks to all of you for your thoughtful advice, and wonderful fish puns! It was helpful to know that I was right to be concerned about the set up and the resulting sound. So, when I arrived. they had already set up at one end of the room. Nevertheless, I was next to the drummer, and the keyboard / vocal amplifier was opposite us. So, we faced each other across the short axis of the room, rather than (as I had been told) the long axis. It was a struggle to hear the acoustic piano, but the electric piano was fine, as was the unamplified flute. The ukulele-banjo was inaudible too. I could not hear the singers at all - and I don't think that they could hear themselves either, if their pitching was anything to go by. It was a mixed evening - I was handed chord sheets about 15 seconds before a song was played, and they were not always accurate. There was an odd mix of musicians - one of the two pianists was warming up by playing Widor's Toccata! The drummer was competent. The flautist could play by ear. Later, a guitarist left half way through, and a second guitarist struggled to find a D chord. The whole group is due to perform a pantomime on 10th December. We currently have no script, and have not decided on the songs yet. I will treat Friday's session as an audition, for everyone (myself included), and give it another week. That should be enough time for the leaders to sort out sound, singers, and chord sheets.

Right now "in the car park, walking towards my car" looks like the optimum spot....