Do we think about Rhythm enough?

[Stub Mandrel]

In the past I've found it useful to play along to drum rudiments. I also trg to vary my rhythm when playing certain songs. 

 

Perhaps most of us don't think about naming rhythms or consciously learning them, perhaps shuffles and bo diddley... or just play along to different drum machine rhythms without actually breakingthem down. I was listening to 'Add to Playlist' earlier and they mentioned Samba rhythm. It made me think 'how is a samba constructed?'

 

I found this short video interesting:

 

 

Spoiler: it does not mention samba...

[Homatron]

Thanks for that video. Really clear explanations. I hadn't realised some of those rhythms had specific names but should make them easier to remember.

 

I've been paying a lot more attention to rhythm lately, and found some great resources and exercises on Open Studio Jazz.

Some examples...

 

 

This one isn't delivered on bass but I got a lot out of it.

 

 

 

[Supernaut]

[Beedster]

I always think rhythm first, note second 👍

[lowdown]

For me, I think of rhythm and good note choice as one.

As a Bass player, laying down the foundation of the chords and changes is as equally as important as rhythm. They go hand in hand as a Bassist.

But then again, we are all different and approach it in different ways.

 

[Owen]

The older I get, the more I see bass as a percussion instrument that has pitch. I went to a gig last night and all I could think was "Bassist! Calm down and lay it down!!! No one wants to hear your pentatonic noodlings". "And while you are at it, tune the instrument". 

[chris_b]

I'm always in a duo with the drummer. The rest of the band is important but give me a good drummer to work with and we'll make the band happen.

[Dan Dare]

8 hours ago, Owen said:

The older I get, the more I see bass as a percussion instrument that has pitch. I went to a gig last night and all I could think was "Bassist! Calm down and lay it down!!! No one wants to hear your pentatonic noodlings". "And while you are at it, tune the instrument". 

 

Agreed. The other thing that irks is when bassists play every measure/verse differently. Just find the right part and play it every time through (with just the occasional spicy note to enliven things). Leave "really expressing my creativity" to the solo instruments. And on no account play a bass solo...

[iainbass]

Cool thread. I'd add one more ingredient to this. 'Ghost notes'. Ghost notes are like ligaments, they bind rythmns together. 

[lowdown]

11 minutes ago, iainbass said:

Cool thread. I'd add one more ingredient to this. 'Ghost notes'. Ghost notes are like ligaments, they bind rythmns together. 

 

 Yep...

 

Singing the rhythms, pitched, to yourself, is a good way to get the Basslines into your head (and under your fingers).

But I would always trip myself up with non-pitched ghost notes. Then years ago, I started to listen to Bobby McFerrin who is great at ghosting notes.

[Mrbigstuff]

Sometimes notes that “dont fit” with a key signature work really well, but a note played out of time never works.

[Beedster]

1 hour ago, iainbass said:

Cool thread. I'd add one more ingredient to this. 'Ghost notes'. Ghost notes are like ligaments, they bind rythmns together. 

About 80% of what I play 👍

[Beedster]

30 minutes ago, Mrbigstuff said:

Sometimes notes that “dont fit” with a key signature work really well, but a note played out of time never works.

Nicely put 👍

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

36 minutes ago, Mrbigstuff said:

Sometimes notes that “dont fit” with a key signature work really well, but a note played out of time never works.

About 80% of what I play

[lowdown]

On 05/12/2025 at 22:24, Homatron said:

I've been paying a lot more attention to rhythm lately and found some great resources and exercises on Open Studio Jazz.

 

 

Out of interest, have you signed up to the course(s), or just using the YouTube channel?

I often pop into the YouTube channel for Jazz Piano tips. Like you say, some great resources.

[miles'tone]

First and foremost It's the rhythm of one's bass playing that holds a band together and propels the rest to glory (whether they deserve it or not 😄).

Rather than being a frustrated guitarist playing bass, I've always thought of myself as a frustrated drummer. 

Basically I play the drums on on bass, with the chord tones of whatever is going on being my kit. 

That's a very simple description of how I go about it but people always seem to like it.

[Happy Jack]

As a direct result of watching that video, the next Junkyard Dogs gig will feature me turning to the drummer and saying, "Paul, the next song should be played as a Scotch Snap".

 

I will then repair to the nearest A&E to do something about that drumstick ...

[Stub Mandrel]

I wasn't so much highlighting the importance of rhythm keeping, but thinking of the wide range of rythmic possibilities. It feels like we lack the vocabulary to discuss rhythm the same way as we do harmony.

[Grooverjr]

I'm trying to really nail Do The Strand by Roxy Music at the moment and that line seems to exemplify a lot of what is being said here. The rhythm of the song, which is an absolute classic mover, is driven by the bass which is working largely as percussion and it's busy in a sense with the notes without over complicating the choice. 

I also find you get a fantastic sense of how much the bass of a track is holding the rhythm when you pull the bass out and listen to the tune without. Sometimes it is still largely the same (a lot of pop stuff) but with others the whole thing falls apart and feels completely empty. Roxy Music's first few albums are a  great example, as is Roly Wynne's lines on early Ozrics stuff. They are often quite busy tunes and quite a lot of the time he is noodling but the bass is nearly always the dominant instrument in terms of the tune feeling like the tune. What a player, gone very much too soon. 

[Grooverjr]

1 hour ago, Happy Jack said:

As a direct result of watching that video, the next Junkyard Dogs gig will feature me turning to the drummer and saying, "Paul, the next song should be played as a Scotch Snap".

 

I will then repair to the nearest A&E to do something about that drumstick ...

 

Make sure he hears you clearly or he might take a snap of Scotch and then the rhythm could be all over the place! 🤣 

[Beedster]

58 minutes ago, Grooverjr said:

I'm trying to really nail Do The Strand by Roxy Music at the moment and that line seems to exemplify a lot of what is being said here. The rhythm of the song, which is an absolute classic mover, is driven by the bass which is working largely as percussion and it's busy in a sense with the notes without over complicating the choice. 

I also find you get a fantastic sense of how much the bass of a track is holding the rhythm when you pull the bass out and listen to the tune without. Sometimes it is still largely the same (a lot of pop stuff) but with others the whole thing falls apart and feels completely empty. Roxy Music's first few albums are a  great example, as is Roly Wynne's lines on early Ozrics stuff. They are often quite busy tunes and quite a lot of the time he is noodling but the bass is nearly always the dominant instrument in terms of the tune feeling like the tune. What a player, gone very much too soon. 

Agreed, also listen to Trash on Manifesto, bass as rhythmic engine 

[miles'tone]

3 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I wasn't so much highlighting the importance of rhythm keeping, but thinking of the wide range of rythmic possibilities. It feels like we lack the vocabulary to discuss rhythm the same way as we do harmony.

Spot on. I certainly don't have as much rhythmic vocabulary as I should anyway. 

I can demo, clap, or say what the rhythm goes like but for the most part I wouldn't know what to call it.

Food for thought, cheers.

[SumOne]

18 hours ago, Owen said:

The older I get, the more I see bass as a percussion instrument that has pitch. 

That's a good take on it. 

 

I suppose there are those chord playing 6 string bass jazz types, and guitarists that have been forced to play bass so try and play as many notes as quickly as possible to show skill, and the sort of virtuoso fast playing that gets YouTube clips. They might might all have a different take on it.... But for any band I've been in it's much more about timing and using notes relatively sparingly, building the solid foundation rather than the facade. 

[Stub Mandrel]

35 minutes ago, SumOne said:

That's a good take on it. 

 

I suppose there are those chord playing 6 string bass jazz types, and guitarists that have been forced to play bass so try and play as many notes as quickly as possible to show skill, and the sort of virtuoso fast playing that gets YouTube clips. They might might all have a different take on it.... But for any band I've been in it's much more about timing and using notes relatively sparingly, building the solid foundation rather than the facade. 

 

Most covers you pretty much have a rhythm to follow.

 

Blues and originals, I get more opportunities to be creative.

 

One example, I vary one shuffle based song by dropping in a triplet in a different place in the bar each verse. Was watching another band recently and their bass player did exactly the same.

[Owen]

42 minutes ago, SumOne said:

That's a good take on it. 

 

I suppose there are those chord playing 6 string bass jazz types, and guitarists that have been forced to play bass so try and play as many notes as quickly as possible to show skill, and the sort of virtuoso fast playing that gets YouTube clips. They might might all have a different take on it.... But for any band I've been in it's much more about timing and using notes relatively sparingly, building the solid foundation rather than the facade. 

I just watched the Flea/Beato interview where Flea bigs up M'eshell Ndegeocello for her absolute distillation of the bass line so that what she plays is driving the song to the max but not drawing attention. He put it well.