bubinga5 Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 for a long time i have listened to people like Anita Baker and Donny,.. i always liked to practice a bass line to the way they sing..i want to say its the singing that i practiced .. of course this was in the context of a groove.. but the bigger picture was of these girls/guys.. especially Anita.... im so passionate about soul and funk, i always will be.. but i think this is the same of other genres, depending on how you approach it.. of course the groove is god.. ive always thought that in the contexts of harmonies in bass playing, this is the way i always wanted to play.... i love the singing and it gives me inspiration to play bass.. practicing Anita's vocal fills and the way she sings, i think gave me a style thats my own.. or hers..? i always like to practice bass lines from unusual sources..maybe from trumpets , or especially Sax.. imo its so good for your playng has anyone practiced bass lines from vocals, or an unusual source.. a birds chirping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil.i.stein Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 no, but a great idea ! i usually get mine (sub or not)conciously from a horn part/ guitar part , whatever. i see no reason why vocals should not provide inspiration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 I'll quite often follow vocal lines to emphasise bits of a melody here and there within a song - there's definitely some unique ideas for phrasing that can come from a creative singer that you wouldn't naturally head for on an instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whynot Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 I never practise, but I only recently realised how much my playing was influenced by the vocals/melody when gigging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Learning to phrase from non-bass instruments is a tried and tested method. I almost never learn bass solos as they contain a lot of bass cliches. Takes a saxophone, trumpet, keyboard etc anytime. Singers too, absolutely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 I do this too! sometimes I get influenced by a bit of trumpet or sax playing but I can't say I listen to all that much music with those in. If I were good enough id probably think about doing piano parts too, but I might need to learn a bit more first! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Not really. but I'll phrase in keeping with the whole sound, or hopefully I do. I just listen and react to what ever part of the music gets me... but funniliy enough I don't latch onto lyrics.. never have a clue what the words are...but I probably bundle the vocal line as just another melody and that may or may not be the essense of the song from my POV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shambo Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 If I have to create a new bass line, I have been known to record myself humming, singing and yelping loose nonsensical phrases over a demo, to listen back to later. Then I can choose the bits of it that seems to work well, and expand it over the full song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 I do this fairly often. Lately i've been working on "lets get it on" - playing the bassline and the vocal line at the same time. It's really cool and one day i'll use it to seduce my girlfriend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Bajo Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 I do it when i stumped for ideas. Generally when the gweetar is mainly chordal and I don't want to just go dum dum dum dum on the root Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo10 Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Have to agree, several songs we do, I have the bassline following the flow of the vocals, makes for a nice groove and I think it does add to the song in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Quite a few of my basslines follow the timing of the vocals but I harmonise more than go in unison (although there's a few where it sounds great to play in unison). Another thing I like to do occasionally is repeat the last few notes of a vocal part at the end of a bar/section, but I try not to over do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelk27 Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Pieces written for violin, viola and cello, mostly. An afternoon spent listening to classic rock and playing classical pieces qualifies as a good day, in my book. Introduce yourself to Julian Lloyd Webber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blademan_98 Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 [quote name='whynot' post='1366220' date='Sep 8 2011, 11:54 AM'][b]I never practise[/b], but I only recently realised how much my playing was influenced by the vocals/melody when gigging.[/quote] I wish I was that good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janmaat Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Indian Music Theory (and European anyway) sais: every instrument mimics / replaces vocals. Always play as if you "have something to say". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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