PLAYING IN A LIVE BAND

If you are playing bass with a live band the thing not to do, is trying tooting your own horn. A live band is like a team and you must be as a team. There are some players who are just all out “ball hogs”. Do not overplay to show off. Keep the playing simple and the song will turn out a lot better. Also in the studio play simplistic bass patterns and the recording will be cleaner and neater. If you are playing with a drummer, the bass and the drummer should play together. When you’ve played with a drummer for a while, you know his every move and he knows yours. You will eventually get it down to the last drumbeat and roll that he does. This makes your music tighter. If there is no drummer in the band your bass playing becomes the beat just like the bass drum in a drum set. The other instruments become the snare drum in the drum set. You usually play on the beat and the other instruments play off the beat.