Latest
The Devil Ain’t in the Details Part 2 by Steve Gregory
Meet Steve Gregory –
In my last article we explored the tremendous impact small details can make on our bass playing. For that article, I had used “Our God” by Chris Tomlin, from the album, “Passion: Awakening”. This song provided fantastic material for discovering details: a strong kick drum/bass lock and dramatic dynamics that were perfect for bass line analysis.
A few days prior to that article being published, I was in a worship rehearsal working on the song “Blessed Be Your Name” by Tree 63. The song felt “flat” during our run-through and a very astute observation was made by my friend Dane: it can be extremely difficult to make a song with a repeating chord structure, especially one that has further been edited for radio play, exciting and energetic. This is absolutely true and calls for the bass player to pay even closer attention to the details that breathe life into a song.
The version of the song I’m referring to can be found on the album, “The Answer to the Question”. This is a great song with fantastic sing ability for the congregation. Now for the transcription – ready?
Db – Ab – Bbm – Gb (Db – Ab –Gb)
Ok, maybe we should expand the transcription a bit further, but I wanted to make a point: 4 basic chords total, repeating often (To be fair, there are several instances where a sus chord can be played, but I’ll leave that aside for now). Rather than provide a detailed, note-for-note transcription, the following is a “bass sketch” chart, which only shows the root motion and basic rhythm reminders.
To compare and contrast with last article’s detail analysis, let’s look at similar elements this time: rhythmic figures and dynamics.
“Blessed Be Your Name” has several rhythmic elements that should be used to their full advantage. The first bass entrance, halfway through the first verse, allows us to lock with the drummer immediately. The eighth note lead in on the “and” of four adds nice propulsion through the verse. To build from this figure the first pre-chorus changes to straight quarter notes, which lead to the eighth notes used in the first chorus. After the chorus, which ends in a whole note, the verse is “reset” by the low, held Db (marked by a subscript in the markup) which holds over the first and second measures of the verse.
The next area of rhythmic interest occurs during the last pre-chorus, where whole notes build to eighth notes, leading into the final chorus. Both sections create an overarching rhythmic shape that creates a sense of build and release. This shape should be applied so that the bass line creates movement, without bass note complexity.
The next element to look at is dynamics. In my last article, analysis of “Our God” provided the following dynamics chart:
“Our God” Dynamics Chart
Contrast that shape with the dynamics chart for “Blessed Be Your Name”:
“Blessed Be Your Name” Dynamics Chart
Dynamics are where I believe the radio/album editing to be most evident. There are three builds, all peaking in the chorus. Further, the dynamic changes are not very dramatic – mezzo piano to mezzo forte to forte. In cases such as these, it is extremely important to pay strict attention make clear differentiations between the different dynamic levels. When there are small dynamic variances as there are in this song, it’s very easy to make everything “mezzo forte-ish”. When that happens, any chance of using dynamics to our advantage is lost.
I chose to compare and contrast “Our God” and “Blessed Be Your Name” by using rhythmic figures and dynamics as elements for analysis. These are certainly not the only two elements available. For example, one important detail in “Blessed Be Your Name” is providing steadiness when running eighth notes. Locking these into the groove and making every note count is critical. Further, using octave changes and short licks to shape phrases is another small detail that provides a big impact. There are other ways to view this song and find the details that make the difference; I hope you share your finding by commenting below or chatting with me in the Bass Musician Magazine Community, I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
“Blessed Be Your Name” is a fantastic song with the possibility for great congregation involvement. On the surface, it may appear that there isn’t much to use to make your bass line great; however, careful attention to details gives us the tools to make the maximum impact. Bring your best bass playing to worship and make the small investment in details that provides great returns.
Until next time, I hope that your bass playing is blessed and that you can bless others through your bass playing!
Check out our top 10 favorite basses on Instagram this week…
Click to follow Bass Musician on Instagram @bassmusicianmag
FEATURED @kilianduartebass @meridian_guitars @adamovicbasses @marleaux_bassguitars @jcrluthier @sandbergguitars @ibanezuk_official @dingwallguitars @torzalguitars @ariaguitars
Check out our top 10 favorite basses on Instagram this week…
Click to follow Bass Musician on Instagram @bassmusicianmag
FEATURED @bacchusguitars @franz.bassguitars @mendesluthieria @ramabass.ok @meridian_guitars @adamovicbasses @shukerbassguitars @fantabass.it @andys_vintage_guitars @valdesbasses
Check out our top 10 favorite basses on Instagram this week…
Click to follow Bass Musician on Instagram @bassmusicianmag
FEATURED @murraykuun_guitars @ja.guitars @combe_luthier @overloadguitars @kevinhidebass @franz.bassguitars @indra_guitars @petercrowdesign @baboomin_bass @jcrluthier
Check out our top 10 favorite basses on Instagram this week…
Click to follow Bass Musician on Instagram @bassmusicianmag
FEATURED @sandbergguitars @benevolent_basses @rayriendeau @olintobass @wonkorbasses @bite.guitars @adamovicbasses @maruszczyk_instruments @skervesenguitars @ramabass.ok
Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
Visit online:
Official Website
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Spotify
Gear News: Fender Unveils Highly Anticipated Vintera III Series
New Music: Oteil Burbridge & Lamar Williams Jr. New Single, Hush
Interview With Bassist Virginia Franks
Nathan East, Echoes of a Lineage – April/May 2026 Issue
Gear Review: Italia Leather Straps
Mar 2 Edition – This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Mar 9 Edition – This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Mar 16 Edition – This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Mar 23 Edition – This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram