bass on keys

[jonesl78]

What special techniques or tricks do you use to play and record bass on keys?

[DeeMee]

For me, its to really listen to different bass players and seeing how they move around on the bass and being able to replicate that. Its always the little, subtle nuances that really make your arrangements stand out. Then also, I play actual key/synth bass differently than I do when trying to replicate and actual live bass sound. Darrell Freeman is someone that I listen to not for how he plays live bass but he is also a beast on key bass (ie. One Thing - Marvin Sapp (Diary of a Psalmist).

I am a Reason Head so I use the Reason Bass refill which is amazing. It replicates some of the well-known and much used basses by using high quality samples and including effects such as slides, mutes, and picks. Its pretty cool. Don't get me wrong, I love having a live bass player on my music but when you cant find one, that is my goto.

[jonesl78]

For me, its to really listen to different bass players and seeing how they move around on the bass and being able to replicate that. Its always the little, subtle nuances that really make your arrangements stand out. Then also, I play actual key/synth bass differently than I do when trying to replicate and actual live bass sound. Darrell Freeman is someone that I listen to not for how he plays live bass but he is also a beast on key bass (ie. One Thing - Marvin Sapp (Diary of a Psalmist).

I am a Reason Head so I use the Reason Bass refill which is amazing. It replicates some of the well-known and much used basses by using high quality samples and including effects such as slides, mutes, and picks. Its pretty cool. Don't get me wrong, I love having a live bass player on my music but when you cant find one, that is my goto.

thanks, thats some good advice. Like you said, its the little stuff that makes a difference.

[jonesl78]

Please critique the bass on this track.

P.S. I have thick skin! 


http://www.learngospelmusic.com/media/displayimage.php?album=547&pos=0

[musallio]

The way I try to do make sound like the bass guitar is trilling my notes.

For instance, if a song is in E, & the main pattern is 1-6-4-5,

I would do it something like this (ok, this is just from memory, excuse any errors) ^= trill, trill means that you hit a note a half step or a whole step behind the one you're landing on for a split second:

1: ^C#,^E
6: B,C,C#
4: ^A
5: A#,^B

1: C#,F,E
6: ^C#
4: ^A
5: C,B

1: ^C#
6: D,^C#
4: C
5: ^B

etc

So all we are doing is looping using any fill ins that fit.

for slow songs I find that just playing those key points makes the song sound really good eg:

1: E (sustain until the 6 comes)
6: ^C#
4: A or C
5: B
1: E or C
6:C#

etc

I don't know if that's what you were asking for. But I find that trills add an extra "boom!"

[CJKeyboardPlaya]

can you explain more in details....

[musallio]

can you explain more in details....

CJ, was this directed to me? If I had a proper recording tool I would record each of these examples so that it makes more sense to the reader- it's very simple stuff, but sweet to the ear..

[docjohn]

yo Mus;you may confuse folks with the "trill" lingo."Ghost" note may be more understandable(same thing sort of,but a "trill" might be expected to last more than a hair's breath).lol

[floaded27]

thats the odd thing with lingo. most of the time its usually based on HOW you perform it on a particular instrument. So you get into problems when playing one instruments sound on another instrument and trying to explain it.

for bass players thats NOT a ghost note (usually referred to as dead/muted notes that dont have a tone but rather a thump of the string adding a percussive sound)

for guitar/bass players thats not technically a trill (since u would be going back and forth between the notes, which is achieved either by sliding the finger back and forth across the fret or using string bending, which as docjohn says would last longer)

this technique is usually referred to as a hammer on (approaching from note below, sounding the string with the left hand by fretting the string with a bit more force than usual like a hammer) or a pull-off (approaching from the note above, sounding the string with your left hand as you pull your finger off the string)