SuperBee
1770 posts
Mar 18, 2014
5:05 AM
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new bass player asked for charts.
ummm...
we just kinda made it up, well, not really but much of it was by listening to records for ideas...but i guess it makes sense to have things charted for when new folks come along
im pretty sure the old bass player wont be much help
hmm...any ideas? its gonna take me a long time to write this stuff out...25 songs or so...and i dont play bass...
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SmokeJS
238 posts
Mar 18, 2014
5:41 AM
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If it were me I'd start out minimal with just song titles and key then add as needed remembering he knows how to play, just needs to know what direction everyone else is headed in:
- name of song
- key
- # of bars
- quick change or slow change
- chord changes if not straight up blues
- riff if appropriate
- bridge details
- breaks
- number of solos if predetermined
This list coud go on for some time until the bass player has enough information to be as comfortable as the rest of the band.
Last Edited by SmokeJS on Mar 18, 2014 8:06 AM
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The Iceman
1530 posts
Mar 18, 2014
5:50 AM
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Having charts in a book is a professional way to approach band creation.
They don't have to be detailed.
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The Iceman
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nacoran
7620 posts
Mar 18, 2014
11:02 AM
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We have lyric sheets, and on new songs we try to write the chords under the lyrics. Lots of guitar sites do it that way. I also write the key and what harp to grab.
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Nate
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WinslowYerxa
518 posts
Mar 18, 2014
11:08 AM
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For chord charts, the universal standard (at least in North America) is to write:
- four bars per line
-with a slash for each beat in the bar (like the forward slash on your computer keyboard)
- each chord written above the first beat where it's played.
You can put repeat signs around any four-bar section that repeats, and label sections of the tune as "Verse", "Bridge," etc.
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Winslow
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jpmcbride
37 posts
Mar 18, 2014
7:27 PM
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SuperBee,
As a bass player in addition to harp, I can understand where he's coming from. A lot of harp players "wing it" but the bass player needs to know the chord progression or your songs will be a train wreck. If you're playing mostly straight ahead blues, and your bass player is experienced, then it should be simple to write out some notes for him. No need to chart out the entire song, just enough to let him know how the song goes. For example...
Key of E, mid-tempo shuffle, 12-bar with no turn-around. Harp intro, bass and drums come in on the 4. Watch for the stop for the ending.
That's the kind of notes I would want.
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Jim McBride
www.bottleoblues.com
Last Edited by jpmcbride on Mar 18, 2014 7:29 PM
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SuperBee
1774 posts
Mar 18, 2014
8:15 PM
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Cool. Yeah I was thinking he was looking for me to chart the bass parts and he might be, but I see that I need to compile all the info about the repertoire anyway. I did this in early stages for the previous band, (which was the same band with 2 different bass players) but I haven't bothered for this one, as most of us have been together for several years.
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jpmcbride
38 posts
Mar 18, 2014
9:27 PM
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If you have specific bass lines you want him to play on some songs you'll want to let him know that. But just telling him something like walking bass, or uptown shuffle, or Jimmy Reed Shuffle ... should be enough. Of course if you're playing covers, he can just listen to the original if he doesn't already know it.
This reminds me of something Ronnie Shellist told me. He said he learned to play most common bass lines on harp so he could communicate to pick-up bands what he wanted when he was leading. Brilliant!
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Jim McBride
www.bottleoblues.com
Last Edited by jpmcbride on Mar 18, 2014 9:29 PM
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STME58
680 posts
Mar 18, 2014
9:44 PM
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I picked up the Mel Bay book "Famous Blues Bass Lines" and have started learning them. It is a nice concise book but after the first example they just give you the pattern on the I cord and leave it to the user to figure it out from there on the IV and V chords.
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jpmcbride
40 posts
Mar 18, 2014
10:00 PM
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STME58,
Most blues bass lines lay out pretty well in second position for the I chord, but can be difficult for the IV or V. Lots of accurate bending required. Not easy, for me at least!
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Jim McBride
www.bottleoblues.com
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STME58
681 posts
Mar 18, 2014
11:10 PM
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jpmcbride, if it were easy, we wouldn't get the big bucks! ;-)
The main reason I mentioned this book is it might be a good resource for someone charting bass lines.
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barbequebob
2501 posts
Mar 19, 2014
10:41 AM
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@jpmcbride -- What Ronnie says is essential what I'd tell any musician who is going to be a bandleader, even more so if they're a harp player, which is, you have to be on top of EVERYTHING, which is essentially know EVERY single part of EVERY single tune you do matter what.
Learning how to properly communicate what you want is vital and a thing I do is to make sure I know the language AKA the terminology of the instruments to help explain what I want, like for an example, with a guitar player, a thing like a hammer on.
You can play the line on diatonics, but often times, you're better off doing it on a chromatic, especially if you're playing a tune which uses a bass line that asends or descends chromatically, and a perfect example of tunes that have bass lines that descend chromatically are Memphis Slim's Mother Earth and Little Milton'a That Will Never Do. A bass line that has a bass line that ascends for a short spell is Little Walter's Who.
There are a number of pro bands that have not only the bass lines charted, but also vocal harmonies, chordal parts, and just about everything else as well.
If memory serves me correct, there is a computer software package that I believe is called Audio Score that with any sound source, can fully chart out every tune your band does in a few minutes.
One thing as a band leader yourself is to make sure that you yourself know a minimum of at least 15-25 different basic blues bass lines.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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