i am an offering

This week I’d love to spend some time diving into some more practical music theory tips that you can use in your worship ministry (or in any modern musical venue for that matter).  Very often I will run into bass players that know where the root notes of chords are but have no idea what to do beyond playing the root note.  Today we’ll try and look at some simple tips bass players can use to get off of the root:

Listen - learn - play.

The absolute best way for bass players to find their way out of the familiar root note is to listen to recordings and pick out the bass part.  Crank the bass on your EQ and pick out everything the bass player is doing.  Attempt to play along with the song (you might have to pause quite a few times!) and learn what notes the bass player is using.  Start with a slower song with a less intricate bass line to avoid a lot of frustration.

Fifths and Fourths

These two intervals are very key to making bass playing a little more interesting while keeping it simple.  Because the root chord is built up of a root, a third, and a fifth - the fifth of the chord can be used to add interest.  Alternate between the root and the fifth in rhythm with the rest of the song.  It doesn’t have to be fancy right away.  If you’ve never tried to get off of the root note before, play the root note for three beats (if you’re in a 4/4 song) and then use the fourth beat to switch to the fifth of the chord.  Then, on the first beat of the next measure, come back to the root note.  By playing the fifth on the last beat of the measure you create a great transition note into the next measure.

Knowing where the fourth of the chord is can be very helpful in adding a note that transitions to the fifth.  It could be a quick transition that helps create a rhythmic, punching bass line.  Or it could be a transition from one chord to the next.  If the music goes from a I chord to a V chord, use the fourth to transition between the two.

Thirds

In the same way, use thirds to transition to a knew chord.  The third note of a I chord helps transition perfectly to the first note of a IV chord.  Use the third note of the IV chord to transition to the root note of the V chord (take note that you will be going down instead of up in this case.)  The third note of the V chord has to transtion back to the first note of the I chord.  Use the third of every chord to find your way either up or down to the next chord in the song.

Rhythm

If you absolutely have a hard time getting away from the root of the chord - use rhythm to help create more interest.  For a driving song, play repeated eighth notes instead of whole notes.  Repeat the root as a separate note on the fourth beat of the measure (in 4/4) and then repeat it again on the first beat of the next measure.  This helps create movement in the music.

These are some very basic tips that will help beginning bass players move away from the root note of each chord and create much more interest in the music.  Anyone have any more?

Bass

• Understand and apply music theory. This is the most important part of being a bass player. You could get by with just knowing how to play the root note of each chord, but in order to create bass lines that help lead the music where it needs to go, you need to understand how theory works.
• That said, learn these theory basics first: The root, fourth and fifth notes of each chord. These notes are foundational in bass lines, especially the root and fifth.
• Learn to create basic fills that lead from chord to chord. These could be as basic as one extra note. For instance, when moving from a G chord to a C chord, play the B of the G chord right before you move to C. The B still fits in the G chord, but it is also the note right before C, leading you perfectly into the C chord.
• Learn scales. Major, minor, blues, pentatonic, five-note, any kind of scale you can. This will help you more easily create fills between chords.
• Learn to enjoy whole notes. The bass does not need to play complicated bass lines all the time. Often, the simpler the better.
• Practice. Practice. Practice.

One of my main goals for this blog was to always provide training for worship leaders and worship teams that is practical and easily usable.  So next week, we’re going to dive back into some training.  We’re going to take a look at some basic, foundational things to know and apply with each instrument in the worship team and then take a look at how to put it all together.  Often times in church worship teams we have a lot of people who are excited to serve but might not even know the basics about playing their instrument within a group.  So, next week will look like this:

• Mon - Back to Basics: Piano & Keyboard
• Tues - Back to Basics: Acoustic & Electric Guitar
• Wed - Back to Basics: Bass Guitar
• Thurs - Back to Basics: Drums & Percussion
• Fri - Back to Basics: Putting it all Together

Remember to always pray.  Pray that God would provide, and pray that you would have the wisdom to rest in Him when He might not.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an occasion of a church with no piano player, but I’m sure it has happened.  Here are some ideas:

• Find great songs that work accapella.  Sometimes there is nothing more glorious than listening to God’s people sing without anything else accompanying them.  A great many hymns work extremely well for this.  There are also several newer songs that work well.
• If you have a guitarist, teach them to play melodically.  Most guitarists are rhythm guitarists, not lead guitarists, so we (myself included) have a hard time playing melodically.  Teach them to finger pick, teach them to be able to play a solo line as an intro or outro.
• Help the bass player be confident.  The piano covers all the octaves, so when there is no piano and perhaps you have a guitar and bass, if the bass isn’t confident on the low end it will stand out and be distracting.  Even if it’s being able to play whole notes with confidence, teach them to play confidently.
• Help your singers be able to hear.  The singers will have to tune themselves to the guitar, since there is no piano, so help them get used to that.  Spend time in practice without the bass and drums.  Make sure that the bass and drums are not overpowering the guitar, so the singers can hear it.
• Enjoy your organ!  Perhaps you don’t have a piano because the church isn’t ready for that transition yet.  Pray that God would give you patience and that He would give you great joy in worshiping in a traditional style.  If we rely on style to be able to worship God, our foundations of what worship is have not been laid properly, and will crack and crumble when styles change.

At the FLY Convention, I was privileged to teach an elective on leading worship. Many people who attended were from churches with no established “contemporary” services (I’m not a huge fan of that word, more on that another time.)

We all want to build up our worship teams to full bands someday, but most of the time that tends to be difficult, especially if you are in a small church or city with limited resources. I want to spend the rest of the week talking about what to do if you’re missing an instrument that can help you fill in the hole without worrying about finding someone to play that instrument right away. So let’s start with the bass, or rather, the lack of bass.

• Almost everyone has another piano player in the congregation. Find a keyboard that can simulate a bass sound and have another pianist playing the bass part on the keyboard.
• If you only have one piano player, and/or no budget to get a keyboard, teach the piano player how to play the bass notes in the chords. Often times you will see something like D/F# on a chord or lead sheet. This simply means that you play a D chord with your right hand (D-F#-A) and play an F# on the bottom with your left hand. These subtle changes in the chord will make the music sound much more interesting.
• Perhaps you have an overabundance of guitar players. Teach one of them how to play the bass. It usually doesn’t take them too long.
• The bass (and drums) usually carry the groove, or rhythm, of the song. Teach the instruments you have to know how to work together to create groove and tight rhythm before the bass player gets there.
• To think completely outside the box…perhaps you have a great bass singer - he could sing the bass part. Think “Tonic Sol Fa” or “Go Fish.” in the early days. (By the way, the original bass singer of Go Fish is in Tonic Sol Fa now)
• See if there are any other bass players in your area that hold similar beliefs and principles as you do and ask if they would be willing to fill in while you keep looking for your own.

Hopefully these suggestions can help you as you continue to search.