How to Play Bass Accompanying a Guitar
One of the main purposes of the bass guitar is to work with the drums and guitar to create complex music. While a bassist should pay attention to what the drummer and other percussionists are doing at all times, the bassist also must follow the notes and chords that a guitar plays. Sometimes this is as simple as playing the root notes of the chords that the guitar is playing, and sometimes the bass plays a complex bass line between that follows the underlying chord progression.
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Instructions
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Tune your bass to the same tuning as the guitar. Most guitarists play in standard tuning (E A D G for a bass), but you should always ask the guitarist what tuning they are using. If you are not in the same tuning, it will be extremely difficult to play anything that sounds good.
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Find out what key the song you are playing is in. If you play in key, you will often sound good, even if you hit a note that the guitar is not playing. Learn keys by familiarizing yourself with major and minor scales.
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Learn what notes or chords the guitar is playing. If you are talking about the song beforehand, ask the guitarist what he is playing. If you are improvising, you will need to keep an eye on the guitarist's chord changes. Watch the guitarist's hand movements closely and try to follow what he is doing.
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Experiment with different patterns and riffs underneath the guitar. The most important thing to remember when creating music is to play what sounds good--even if what sounds good doesn't make theoretical sense to you.
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Tips & Warnings
The bass player's role may be different from song to song. Talk to your band mates about how much bass and what type of bass is needed for any particular song. When playing specific cover songs, you can find guitar tabs online that show you exactly what to play underneath the guitar.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Bass Guitar image by JMS from Fotolia.com
