Band's keys player "wants to play bass on a few songs...." Alarm bells?

[Leonard Smalls]

If she's only a beginner all she has to do is play the simple root stuff, allowing you to solo wildly over the top. Like we do in our 2 bass band!

[knicknack]

Interesting amount of negative responses here! I work often in a covers band where one of the singers is a bassist-in-progress to whom i give a lesson every now and then. Sometimes I get her to play a tune or two on the gig just for fun... no harm in being supportive of someone who has taken interest in the finest of instruments! 

[uk_lefty]

Either everyone swaps instruments for a novelty song or nobody does. Simple.

[Mykesbass]

32 minutes ago, Angel said:

 

By the Mrs?

Fortunately she is not on here (or in a band)!

[chris_b]

Non of my bands are training schools.

 

I'd confine this "budding" bass player to a couple of numbers during a rehearsal, but never on a gig.

[spacecowboy]

In my band my keys player sometimes plays some synth bass on his Roland synth where he can split the 88keys in to different sound so bass on one side keys on the other, I can then play a different bass line or double it up on the bass guitar or I also have a notation bass synth that I play for double the synthy-ness.

 

if you get on with her and you’re all pals it’ll just add another dimension to your music.

[BassTractor]

As others have already said: ask questions, as jumping to conclusions often is not really helpful.

One of the best bands I ever was in had a couple as a driving force and it worked out luvverly: no ganging up whatsoever.

Also: Gentle Giant famously swapped instruments during every gig - all part of the fun. Though I admit that keyboard player Kerry Minnear did not have a love relationship to drummer John Weathers. Their wives would've been fuming!

 

 

Edited December 24, 2023 by BassTractor

[snorkie635]

Say to her, "Only if it's a seven string fretless with fan-fretless neck and she's taking lead vocals"

Edited December 25, 2023 by snorkie635

[TimR]

Suggest you'd like to play auxiliary percussion. 

 

Tambourine, cowbells, xylophone, cabasa, maracas, claves, congas, triangle, that thing that sounds like a wobbly bike...

Edited December 24, 2023 by TimR

[tauzero]

2 hours ago, Len_derby said:

The real tricky part is the fact she’s the drummer's wife. I avoid playing in bands that have a ‘couple’ in their ranks after a particularly bad experience. What’s best for the band quickly goes out the window, I found.

 

Not a universal rule. In fact, I can't think of any bands that I know well to which it applies.

[solo4652]

1 hour ago, oldslapper said:

I’ve just ditched one band where the leaders wife is a bv but is a deluded control freak with little musical talent and he sheepishly goes along with her nonesense.

My other band has 2 couples in it, but they seem to be able to maintain professional boundaries and all 4 people are not mad. 

I’d be interested in knowing your keyboard players intentions before I’d decide anything. Is she deluded, curious, a keener, or just inspired by your playing. Has she made her request to the whole band? 

At this stage, I think she's curious. She's a good trombone player, but a poor keys player. Her husband plays drums, guitar, keys and bass. Being a multi-instrumentalist seems de rigeur in their family. Difficult to tell exactly how serious she is about playing at gigs. I've given her advice about what home-practice combo to buy, and I've offered to do a basic set up on her bass. She asked me for lessons. I declined, saying that she needed to find a professional teacher, not me. I get on well with her, and her husband. 

 

Maybe the best approach is to sit back and see what happens. In the nicest possible way, I'll avaoid giving her playing tip. It might just fizzle out. However, if she (and husband) make serious suggestions of her playing bass at gigs, I'll say No at that point. I don't play any other instrument in the band.

Edited December 24, 2023 by solo4652

[tauzero]

3 minutes ago, solo4652 said:

Maybe the best approach is to sit back and see what happens. In the nicest possible way, I'll avaoid giving her playing tip. It might just fizzle out. However, if she (and husband) make serious suggestions of her playing bass at gigs, I'll say No at that point. I don't play any other instrument in the band.

 

You could be the rock equivalent of the Portsmouth Sinfonia.

[JoeEvans]

26 minutes ago, solo4652 said:

At this stage, I think she's curious. She's a good trombone player, but a poor keys player. Her husband plays drums, guitar, keys and bass. Being a multi-instrumentalist seems de rigeur in their family. Difficult to tell exactly how serious she is about playing at gigs. I've given her advice about what home-practice combo to buy, and I've offered to do a basic set up on her bass. She asked me for lessons. I declined, saying that she needed to find a professional teacher, not me. I get on well with her, and her husband. 

 

Maybe the best approach is to sit back and see what happens. In the nicest possible way, I'll avaoid giving her playing tip. It might just fizzle out. However, if she (and husband) make serious suggestions of her playing bass at gigs, I'll say No at that point. I don't play any other instrument in the band.

Yes - I think keep it friendly and supportive re her journey into playing bass, but firm, polite and definite about her not playing bass in a band which already has a bassist ... 

[solo4652]

5 minutes ago, JoeEvans said:

Yes - I think keep it friendly and supportive re her journey into playing bass, but firm, polite and definite about her not playing bass in a band which already has a bassist ... 

I think that's it, yes.

[Downunderwonder]

43 minutes ago, solo4652 said:

However, if she (and husband) make serious suggestions of her playing bass at gigs, I'll say No at that point

Well I guess it's not serious yet. More, joking around?

[martin8708]

If you play another instrument , this could be a good opportunity to show off your musical prowess by playing guitar / keyboards / harmonica / djembe or triangle .

Hopefully your bass skills are far better than hers , so the band will rely 100% on your input for gigs .

If drummer is band leader , could be a bit tricky .

I have been in a band where I swapped duties with rhythm guitarist for a number of tunes , quite nice to mix it up a bit .

[SteveXFR]

Maybe now is the time to introduce some Rush covers and let her play them.

[asingardenof]

1 hour ago, JoeEvans said:

Yes - I think keep it friendly and supportive re her journey into playing bass, but firm, polite and definite about her not playing bass in a band which already has a bassist ... 

This is the way.

[Phil Starr]

It's a difficult thing to manage. You don't talk about a band leader but if one of this couple are the band leader then you have a problem. I'm also suspecting that up in Barnstaple there aren't huge numbers of gigging bands so if it got heated you'd be pushed into the wilderness.

 

On the surface it's simple, you clearly don't want to share bass playing duties and why should you? You've learned all the songs and taken part in all the rehearsals and everything else being in a band entails just so you can be the bass player. It's the only reason you are there and committed to the enterprise. I actually think it's a really rotten thing to have asked you to step aside even for one song. In terms of the band if she isn't a decent keys player she could put her efforts into improving her keys for a better return for the team.

 

I don't know the people, it's maybe she is just keen and naive, not thinking about how it would affect anyone else and innocent of band dynamics. Maybe just saying you really care about this and how being the bands bassist is really important to you will give her pause for thought. We've a young singer who is really enthusiastic and fires off ideas all the time, it's hard to know when to kill off the slightly loony ideas and when to indulge the enthusiasm.

 

I think killing this off early would be my approach. The situation can only get more tense if nobody is talking about it. How does your fourth band member feel? Maybe the drummer can intervene. Who should you talk to first? Just be polite and say politely that you just aren't going to share bass duties. If it's a happy band they will understand, if not then do you really want to be there and steadily undermined? 

[Boodang]

I'm in acovers band where I play drums and the bass player and I swap duties for the odd song. The difference being, we're not a couple! I've never been in a band where a couple is involved where there's no tension with the rest of the band. Not an ideal situation. Best advice, maybe the odd song where you use the opportunity to learn some keys.... in fact get a Moog Phatty and play the bass line yourself on that, Michael League style!

[neepheid]

My knee jerk reaction is "if you want to play bass, off you pop and join another band to do that" and "what am I supposed to do while you do that, play the effing triangle?"

[LowB_FTW]

Cowbell. There's never enough cowbell.

 

Mark

[martin8708]

I think Phil Starr has hit the nail on the head .

Never under estimate the draw of a young attractive female bass player , a huge asset to Pub bands .

When I lived in Barnstaple , there were lots of bands around ( it was dubbed the Seattle of England ) 

Hope it works out well for you . 

[Old Horse Murphy]

4 minutes ago, neepheid said:

My knee jerk reaction is "if you want to play bass, off you pop and join another band to do that" and "what am I supposed to do while you do that, play the effing triangle?"

That just about sums it up for me too. I've seen similar once or twice in the past and it grows legs if not carefully managed. 

[SteveXFR]

20 minutes ago, martin8708 said:

I think Phil Starr has hit the nail on the head .

Never under estimate the draw of a young attractive female bass player , a huge asset to Pub bands .

When I lived in Barnstaple , there were lots of bands around ( it was dubbed the Seattle of England ) 

Hope it works out well for you . 

 

My first ever gig (earlier this year) was in Barnstaple, a metal night at the Golden Lion. There seems to be a lively scene there.