Hi from a pianist come bassist

[Simon C]

Hi everyone,

 

I've been reading your chat for a while and occasionally contributing, so I figured it was time I said hi.

 

I still think of myself as a pianist / keyboard player that can fill in on bass.  But I'm playing bass more and more in church and piano / keys hardly at all.

 

My bass gear (all 4 strings):

 

A G&L L2000 Tribute in 3-tone sunburst -purchased earlier this year after spending too many birthdays and Christmases acquiring ski and cycling gear

A Sire V7 fretless in antique white that I've only had for a week or so, but it has already had a couple of outings.  One of its outings was at work who kindly purchased it for me as 25 year anniversary present

An Encore P-Bass that I played for 8-10 years or so before this year's gear acquistion

I play them through my Carlsbro Colt keyboard amp at home and through a Gallien Krueger 210 in church

 

Piano gear

A Kemble upright

A Roland XP-30 synth

And the Carlsbro amp mentioned above  

 

I'm looking forward to being a bit more active on the site

[SpondonBassed]

Welcome Simon.

[Reggaebass]

Welcome Simon 👍

[skankdelvar]

Hi Simon and   to the forum

[Richard R]

Welcome aboard! 

Lots of church bass players here, often trying to smuggle funky bass lines into Hillsong.. 😉

[Downunderwonder]

Now you will feel the anguish of the bassist when a 'pianist' is playing (bass) keys all over you and perhaps be qualified to rectify your keys player, or maybe set to learning comping left hand chords your good self.

[Simon C]

On 22/12/2021 at 08:10, Downunderwonder said:

Now you will feel the anguish of the bassist when a 'pianist' is playing (bass) keys all over you and perhaps be qualified to rectify your keys player, or maybe set to learning comping left hand chords your good self.

Thanks for replying, sorry I missed it earlier. It’s an interesting point.  I have a different view (or whatever the aural equivalent is😁) which separates bass and keys (and pretty much any other pair of instruments) based on what they sound like  (timbre I think) rather than frequency.  I can expand if you like, either here or somewhere else if you would like to suggest a suitable thread.

 

I’m not sure what “comping chords” are, but in a band situation my keys left hand plays chords (usually orchestral pads), rather than a structured bass line. On bass I try to play structured bass lines.

Edited January 8, 2022 by Simon C

[Richard R]

Aha, the great "pianist left hand" conundrum 😀. There are probably already a dozen threads on this over the years.

Piano playing in the same register as bass can be completely mask the bass, both being stringed instruments at the same pitch. So fkr example if the pianist plays a thumping C chord on every beat of the bar,  or a heavy boogie-woogie line, there is almost no point in the bass player doing anything. Root notes are already there and any interesting lines get drowned out.

If the FOH engineer is on the ball s/he may have rollled off the piano or ducked the LF under the bass so that you can hear both in the mix. But that's not always easy to do well without making the piano sound a bit honky-tonk.

So in ad hoc bands or where the pianist isn't used to having a bass player, there's often a tension/negotiation between the two instruments. 

Orchestral pads are usually easily distinguished from bass notes and sit back in the mix anyway.

It's all good fun 😁

[SpondonBassed]

Yet sometimes, you get bands with two or more bass players.

 

 

[Simon C]

2 hours ago, Richard R said:

Aha, the great "pianist left hand" conundrum 😀. There are probably already a dozen threads on this over the years.

Piano playing in the same register as bass can be completely mask the bass, both being stringed instruments at the same pitch. So fkr example if the pianist plays a thumping C chord on every beat of the bar,  or a heavy boogie-woogie line, there is almost no point in the bass player doing anything. Root notes are already there and any interesting lines get drowned out.

If the FOH engineer is on the ball s/he may have rollled off the piano or ducked the LF under the bass so that you can hear both in the mix. But that's not always easy to do well without making the piano sound a bit honky-tonk.

So in ad hoc bands or where the pianist isn't used to having a bass player, there's often a tension/negotiation between the two instruments. 

Orchestral pads are usually easily distinguished from bass notes and sit back in the mix anyway.

It's all good fun 😁

Yes, I thought there probably would be numerous threads.  That’s why I offered to put my view on a different one - I guessed the introductions one probably isn’t appropriate.😀

Edited January 8, 2022 by Simon C