Most Valuable Skills (And Bits Of Knowledge).

[probablypike]

One of the things I think about most with regards to playing bass, is what skills/bits of knowledge/techniques are most important when walking into a room to play with other musicians. I'm talking hypothetically about a group of people you may never have met before with no preparation for the session.

It's this thinking that has consistently put chord tones and timing at the top of my list of priorities.

I was curious what everyone else thoughts were, and how much agreement (or not) there was on the topic?

Edited April 9, 2016 by probablypike

[Dad3353]

I'd suggest confidence; hopefully not mis-placed confidence.

Edited April 9, 2016 by Dad3353

[ambient]

Knowing what you're playing, what to play and when, and how to play it.

They're vital, in my opinion anyway.

In other words, if you walk into a room to play with a group of other musicians, they give you a chord chart or tell you the progression, do you know what you can play over that. Can you play the right part, and in time ?

Techniques are maybe less so, slap for instance, but maybe being able to play a nice walking line would be advantageous.

[louisthebass]

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1460213291' post='3023719']
Knowing what you're playing, what to play and when, and how to play it.

They're vital, in my opinion anyway.

In other words, if you walk into a room to play with a group of other musicians, they give you a chord chart or tell you the progression, do you know what you can play over that. Can you play the right part, and in time ?

Techniques are maybe less so, slap for instance, but maybe being able to play a nice walking line would be advantageous.
[/quote]

This - another important thing is leaving any ego or attitude "at the door". People skills are just as important as playing and theory skills. Being respectful and humble goes a long way....

[scalpy]

Orchestral players often say it's better to play a wrong note in time rather than a right note out of time. And whilst you can never underestimate harmonic knowledge and especially a capacity to work around primary chords, having a good rhythmic vocabulary is just a important. So like a drummer learns stock grooves, (the drumeo YouTube channel is excellent for demonstrating these) it's worth spending time learning the standard rhythmic patterns associated with certain genres. So you might start with straight 8ths for run of the mill pop and rock, then learn to accent common groupings, 3+3+2 maybe, then accenting the 4+ in the first part of a two bar phrase, and expand from there. It's dead easy now to get a drum machine app and program different kick drum patterns to lock in with. If you internalise these rhythms through consistent practice you can free up brain space when playing with others and enjoy playing music!

[probablypike]

Interesting to have a variety of responses- mindset/attitude, understanding basic harmony for bass and being comfortable with different rhythmic feels (to summarise and simplify).

[quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1460277257' post='3024185']
And whilst you can never underestimate harmonic knowledge and especially a capacity to work around primary chords, having a good rhythmic vocabulary is just a important.
[/quote]

I've heard said a few times recently that some books and courses overlook rhythmic understanding in favour of focusing on harmony too much.