Jamming with a drummer, what to look for...

[Rocker]

Took up the bass a few months ago, got the hang of playing the notes G, C, D [for the key of G] etc. and not much more. Today I met a friend who is a drummer. He asked me to call to his place after Christmas and to bring my guitar. I have 'played' electric guitar for years and only took up the bass to see what a bass player does and what he brings to the sound.

So I will be armed with a Les Paul, my Stinger amp, my Aria bass and MiniMark bass amp for the session. Another friend, a guitarist who sings will probably be there too. Should be a lot of fun, mainly country songs, Simon & Garfunkel etc.

I have heard a lot about the bass and drums locking together to underpin the guitar and singer. What exactly does that mean? Falling flat on my face is not a problem as there will be no audience but I would like to get as much out of the evening as I can. Any suggestions or help will be appreciated. Thanks.

Note: we are not auditioning for or planning to form a band. All of us did that 40+ years ago and none of us want to do that again. This is just purely for fun and for the joy of playing music together again after all those years..

[mikel]

Cant be explained, but if it happens you will feel it instantly. And smile.

[arthurhenry]

To start with: when the drummer plays the bass drum, the bass plays a note.

[Cato]

If you get the chance practice with a drum machine or find some beats online to play along with.

If you can't do that before the jam, don't stress.

Locking in with a drummer, as long as he/she is halfway competent comes pretty naturally (although it can be improved the more you get to know your drummer).

Keep your lines simple at first and my guess is you'll probably click by the end of the first song. Enjoy, it's a fantastic feeling.

[Rocker]

Thanks guys, the bass drum is the key. I learned this much tonight! Way back then the drummer was very good and I expect he has lost little since then. Really looking forward to the session now. Thanks again. And I will report back here on how the evening went. If anyone is interested..........

[NoRhino]

You can't always hear or see what the bass drum's doing so I ùse the snare as a really obvious guide to what's going on.

Edited December 9, 2016 by NoRhino

[mikel]

If the drummer is watching what you are doing, you are more than half way there

[Skybone]

Listen to what's being played, and how it's being played. Have fun.

[Japhet]

Solid time keeping is the foundation. I used to (and still do) keep time in my head with something on the radio and then turn the volume right down for a while but still keep the beat going in my head. After a while, turn it back up to see how close you are and if you have sped up or slowed down. It's not always a good indicator though since the time keeping on some stuff can be out but studio recordings tend to be pretty good. You'll then notice if a drummer can keep time.

[josie]

+1 to bass drum and to drum machine, although before that's useful for solo practice you have to already have some idea of what you're listening for.

I also find eye contact with the drummer helps me find and keep the groove, especially in an open jam where nobody's played with each other before. My jam playing (well, all my playing) has got a lot better since I spent a lot of time learning to play at least basic stuff with my eyes closed rather than glued to the fretboard.

[JamesBass]

Get a metronome, make sure it's set to 4/4 and play on each click. These clicks represent the down beats or, the 1, 2, 3, 4 beats in the bar. A drummer playing a rock groove will typically play his hi-hat on each of the 1,2,3,4, the bass drum will play on the 1, 3, and the & of 3. His snare will be hit on 2 and 4.

Have you ever heard of sub-division of the bar? If not then this is the way we divide up the beats in the bar to suit our grooves.

Learning rhythms as a drummer would is vital to a guitarist and even more vital to a bass player. Knowing rhythmic vocabulary will enhance all aspects of your playing. Any questions, I'm more than happy to answer, drop me a PM and we can talk some more!

[gjones]

Keep locked in with the bass drum.

[CrackerJackLee]

As long as it sounds good. Play with or against some part of the drum kit.
Be conscious of the notes you play... footballs, quarters, quavers... play the rests, too... introduce the dots and ties...
Don't listen intently to the drummer and try to mimic... do what you do, but listen to the interplay of your line with Ringo.
In fact, listen to John McVie and Mick Fleetwood.

[JTUK]

Playing with a drummer... go with the lead. Whoever has it, the other plays a complimentary pattern...
Lock in usually means you play his parts... but if he gets flowery, maybe you shouldn't and stick with the basic pattern...and if you are all overt the place, he shouldn't be.
You and the drums are the foundation...every else is a degree of dressing.

In the pocket.. that'll be a whole can of worms..

[blue]

Consistency

Blue

[51m0n]

Musicality
Big ears
Time

[bazzbass]

always play on the ONE , the ONE

lock in to the kick and snare

hmmmm you did say you're a guitarist, this may take you a while to grasp hehe

[The Jaywalker]

.

Edited November 28, 2017 by The Jaywalker

[Musashimonkey]

For me it's looking out for someone with 'feel'; someone that listens to what you're playing and adjusts accordingly. If you're trying to ramp a song up, or calm it down and the drummer reads that and changes their playing accordingly. Also one that drives changes themselves and takes you with them. A connection that's difficult to explain.

[Rocker]

Guys, the get together is 'on' for Wednesday evening. My drummer friend, in whose house the session is being held, has arranged for a guitar playing friend to join us. I will bring my Markbass, bass and Strat and my Stinger amp. He has a Marshall valve combo (Bluesbreaker??] in the room which the other guitar player could use.

Wish me luck.....

[ahpook]

Good luck...and for the first get-together, having fun is the priority.

[blue]

[quote name='Rocker' timestamp='1481321195' post='3191577']

Note: we are not auditioning for or planning to form a band. All of us did that 40+ years ago and none of us want to do that again. This is just purely for fun and for the joy of playing music together again after all those years..
[/quote]

If it's for fun you don't have to look for anything in a drummer.

It should be all about fun and the joy of playing music not not an exercise in evaluating a drummer.

Blue

Edited January 9, 2017 by blue

[Phil Starr]

Locking in is just about playing together. If you are playing the same rhythm and in time with each other then you will lock in. If you both play in perfect time you'll be locked but normally people make small errors, if you are listening to each other you automatically cover any minor timing errors and it makes the whole thing sound tighter but keeping proper time is the crucial thing. Once you've played with a particular drummer for a while you do kind of get to know each others foibles and it works better but with any new drummer it's timing ,timing ,timing.

I'm not convinced by the bass drum thing. It'd be very dull if you only played the 1 - 3& - in every bar but you do need to know where the 1 2 3 and 4 are.

Most songs are based in 4/4 time and the rhythm is usually subdivided into half beats, quarter beats or triplets. That leaves you playing a 4beat, 8beat, 16beat or 12beat. Neither you or the drummer are always going to play every beat and sometimes you will play the same beat and sometimes you try to fit together so the drum beat falls between your beats. you can make this as complex as you like.

Very few people really think this through as they play though. Just make sure you count the four and tap your feet in time with the drums, much more stable than just thinking the time. Practice playing along with the original and a drum machine or metronome if you have one. It's much more instinctive than you think. Concentrate on what you are doing but keep tapping your feet along with the drums (I listen for the snare, the kick can be hard to hear sometimes) and it should all come together.

You said you wanted to know what the bassist does.

[Rocker]

Still buzzing after the get together yesterday evening!

The setup in my friends music room was pretty impressive. He had a small PA system with a microphone for the singer. The singer played acoustic guitar which was plugged in to his guitar amp. My biggest problem, one that took about a half hour to sort out, was my amps low volume. Turn it up is the obvious answer but it took that long to figure out the correct volume level, one that the other guys could hear clearly yet still hear themselves. My little Stinger guitar amp, one I built myself, has a switch that bypasses the tone stack. This gives a hotter sound and suits the Les Paul perfectly. The Minimark had no problem with volume, again it was a case of determining what the 'right' volume level was.

I found that playing with a drummer was easier than I had feared. Much easier than I hoped it would be. From the first strike, we were on! My limitation was my little skill as a bassist. But the vibe was that mistakes were to be expected and not to be afraid to try something even if it did not come off. During the evening I progressed from playing straight root notes to root notes and ascending or descending runs to the next root note. Progress indeed. Nothing spectacular but the two lads loved it. They said the bass really helped them and filled out the sound.

The singer tended to sing in odd keys. Odd to me, I 'seldom' try anything in Bb or Eb. This was less of a problem on the bass than on the Les Paul. Most of the intros and fills I knew were in the standard recorded keys, I found transposing to a different key 'challenging' if not impossible but it was fun when I got it right!

Lessons learned were the little bass runs, the need to practice intros and fills in keys other than G, A or E. But the most important lesson learned was that at a certain volume level, less is actually more. By less a sustaining power chord on the Les Paul gives great support to the amped up acoustic guitar. And playing thirds instead of full chords adds a lot to the overall sound.

We started around seven and started packing up just after ten o'clock. My fingers felt a bit numb and this morning my wrist is slightly painful. In a nice way. And I got texts from the lads inviting me to the next get together in a month or so time. So thanks to all you guys who offered tips and strategies for dealing with the demands of the evening. It was great fun, I am looking forward to the next outing. And knowing what we might be playing gives me greater impetus to practice more. And to practice with a purpose.