New to Bass...help!

[gadgie]

Hi,
Only been playing for a couple of month so bear with me please:)
I've been tasked with coming up with bass parts for some original material our band have wrote the previous bass lines were root notes over and over etc due to the guy doing it is a guitar player and was only filling in the sound to get tracks down.
What I've found myself doing is playing around the middle of the neck and doing runs down on to the D and G strings with hardly any notes on the E string, and no open strings. Is this normal, or should I be looking at using the E string more down around G note and use more open strings as well?
Of course it might just be the key of the songs they have wrote.
A lot of tab I've looked at on the web seems to play around in the middle of the neck/strings etc.

[icastle]

It's whatever sounds right and puts the notes in a convenient place to play them.

[DrBike]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1404469832' post='2492867']
It's whatever sounds right and puts the notes in a convenient place to play them.
[/quote]
And whatever feels right too. One benefit of playing in the middle of the neck is that the frets are a comfortable distance apart. Lower down the neck it can be a stretch (especially for those with smaller hands) between the frets and higher up the neck it can be tricky to squeeze your fingers into the spaces between the frets. Also if you play with your hand in the middle of the neck it's not so far to reach. Since I sing and play at the same time, anything to make life easier is OK with me You also have to consider what the other instruments are playing, how you can best compliment what they're doing and the style of music.

Whilst open strings have their place I tend to avoid playing them too often as open strings (and those lower down the neck) tend to vibrate more and it's easier to use "deadening" the sound when the strings aren't vibrating as strongly.

[Coilte]

I agree with what has been already said, i.e. if it sounds good, then it [i]is[/i] good. Also, where on the neck you play, and what strings you use, will depend on the song and your interpretation of it.

As for coming up with some bass lines. You may like to try out this experiment. Works for me a lot of the time. Try to get a recording of the song(s) requiring bass lines. Then [b]without[/b] the bass, try to sing/hum an appropriate bass line by humming along to the song. Then try to play what you have sang/hummed on your bass and see how it sounds.

Doing it this way frees up the brain to come up with something, and avoids the distraction of having to concentrate on playing as well.

Works for me...might do so for you also.

[gadgie]

Thanks for the ideas. I'm worried that being a guitarist for a few years might make me a 'bit busy' at times. The songs are pretty basic but I like them, that might be why I seem to be getting busy on the bass.

[Old_Ben]

Your best bet if you think your getting overly busy is see what your drummer is playing, try to match it up if you feel your being overly busy compared to the drummer.

Edited July 12, 2014 by Old_Ben