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The Bass Pattern… Please Do Not Betray It!
This month’s article will address, which in my opinion, is probably the most important asset that we the bass players have when it comes to exercising our profession… it’s name? “The Bass Pattern”.
The Bass Pattern is a musical concept that has existed for centuries before the appearance of the Electric Bass. We would be able to say that the first “Bass Pattern” that looked really close to what we play today on our basses, showed up during the Baroque period, about 500 years ago. We can even identify the concept of “bass lines” centuries before the Baroque, but those are not really similar to what we would understand by a Bass Pattern nowadays.
A Bass Pattern is a short bass melody that 90% of the time doesn’t surpasses the 4 bar barrier, in fact they generally last just 2 bars. The main requisite for a Bass Pattern is that it has to be repetitive and keep steady throughout most of the song or the musical piece.
A Bass Pattern in my opinion is, “The essential Cell of Bass Playing,” and responds to the minimalistic essence of our instrument.
The Minimalism is an art movement that is about the age of our instrument (little younger), and that essentially proposes that the strength of the idea relays on the maximum simplicity and the reiteration of small units within it. You can apply this concept to every artistic expression like Painting, Acting, Dancing, Poetry and obviously to Music.
The wonderful thing here, is that for some “magical” reason the fact of reiterating a really simple idea (in any artistic expression), starts producing and generating an amazing energy boost, exactly like a “Mantra” does, so the person who is performing a minimalistic art expression creates and feels that energy himself and also is able to make the ones that are around him to experience that energy too…. does this sounds familiar?
As you can see, when you describe “What is Minimalism” you are describing “What is Bass Playing”, so in my opinion that’s the main reason why we, the Bass Players, like to play this instrument; we are crazy enough to be able to enjoy playing the very same notes, mostly in the same order, for about 5 minutes and sometimes for more than 15 minutes!
A Bass walking line for example, doesn’t comply totally with this requisite, but rhythmically fills it, because even though the notes always vary, it remains playing usually quarter notes all the time, so the audience at least will be able to identify a Bass Pattern on its rhythmic aspect (very simple though), so the Minimalism of the expression will be still present.
I have to say here that if for some reason you don’t feel that you enjoy this essential aspect of bass playing, in my opinion it is very probably that you chose the wrong instrument…. oops…. sorry about that, but don’t forget it’s just my opinion. Guitars, keyboards or saxophones are maybe waiting for you, and I sincerely think you might enjoy music even more than you are now should you make the switch.
So, “When you betray the Bass Pattern you are betraying the soul of this instrument…”
What are (in my opinion) the ways for avoiding betraying the Bass Pattern?
It’s very easy and very hard at the same time. If the musical piece has one, two or three specific patterns, keep playing them and if you want to get creative, I have a most challenging task for you….
Be creative enough so to make sufficient variations to be able to allow the audience and fellow musicians of your band to recognize your Bass Pattern all the time throughout each and every song or musical piece!
Keep always in mind that the word “variation” don’t necessarily means “adding notes” like everybody has the tendency to think in the first place, it also means omitting them! In fact, the word variation in this context mostly refers to those variations that haven’t any relation with an “amount of things” whatsoever.
For example, you can vary the dynamics of every single note or you can make subtle variations with the length of the notes and the rests too (which for me is the most rhythmical variation). You can also add subtle nuances without adding any notes, like bendings, vibratos and short slides. There are lots of variations, more that I can mention here really.
I want to stress the fact that there’s nothing wrong with adding notes, but please always keep in mind that this specific variation is probably the most “dangerous” to address.
As a good example in the singing context, and the respect to the melody line that the singers have to always consider. Please recall the yearly interpretation of the Star-Spangled Banner performed at the Super Bowl by a talented singer… has this made you think sometimes, “Where’s the melody?”
Finally, if you start making variations on your Bass Pattern that eventually make your pattern disappear, all the essence, spirit and soul of the Electric Bass speech will be betrayed, even more than with the Double Bass because of its mainly different stylistic origin and application. Think why you play bass and you’ll find that is not just because of the low frequency coolness, it’s mainly because of its’ role and its’ function within the given contexts…. Try always respecting that.
Obviously, you are free to just simply forget about considering what I’m proposing here. In that case, I humbly suggest you find the proper music style to fit in with your bass (probably 1% of the music styles available); finding the proper musicians to play with (like a guitar player who likes to play the bass part for example); and finding the proper audience to play for (there will be always somebody attending with the proper advertising)…. but believe me that complying with those three requisites will be harder than ending world hunger… But anyway, the most important thing by far is your being happy!
That’s it for this month my friends… see you in the next.
Bass CDs
New Album: Jake Leckie, Planter of Seeds
Bassist Jake Leckie and The Guide Trio Unveil New Album Planter of Seeds,
to be released on June 7, 2024
Planter of Seeds is bassist/composer Jake Leckie’s third release as a bandleader and explores what beauty can come tomorrow from the seeds we plant today.
What are we putting in the ground? What are we building? What is the village we want to bring our children up in? At the core of the ensemble is The Guide Trio, his working band with guitarist Nadav Peled and drummer Beth Goodfellow, who played on Leckie’s second album, The Guide, a rootsy funky acoustic analog folk-jazz recording released on Ropeadope records in 2022. For Planter of Seeds, the ensemble is augmented by Cathlene Pineda (piano), Randal Fisher (tenor saxophone), and Darius Christian (trombone), who infuse freedom and soul into the already tightly established ensemble.
Eight original compositions were pristinely recorded live off the floor of Studio 3 at East West Studios in Hollywood CA, and mastered by A.T. Michael MacDonald. The cover art is by internationally acclaimed visual artist Wayne White. Whereas his previous work has been compared to Charles Mingus, and Keith Jarrett’s American Quartet with Charlie Haden, Leckie’s new collection sits comfortably between the funky odd time signatures of the Dave Holland Quintet and the modern folk-jazz of the Brian Blade Fellowship Band with a respectful nod towards the late 1950s classic recordings of Ahmad Jamal and Miles Davis.
The title track, “Planter of Seeds,” is dedicated to a close family friend, who was originally from Trinidad, and whenever she visited family or friends at their homes, without anyone knowing, she would plant seeds she kept in her pocket in their gardens, so the next season beautiful flowers would pop up. It was a small altruistic anonymous act of kindness that brought just a little more beauty into the world. The rhythm is a tribute to Ahmad Jamal, who we also lost around the same time, and whose theme song Poinciana is about a tree from the Caribbean.
“Big Sur Jade” was written on a trip Leckie took with his wife to Big Sur, CA, and is a celebration of his family and community. This swinging 5/4 blues opens with an unaccompanied bass solo, and gives an opportunity for each of the musicians to share their improvisational voices. “Clear Skies” is a cathartic up-tempo release of collective creative energies in fiery improvisational freedom. “The Aquatic Uncle” features Randal Fisher’s saxophone and is named after an Italo Calvino short story which contemplates if one can embrace the new ways while being in tune with tradition. In ancient times, before a rudder, the Starboard side of the ship was where it was steered from with a steering oar. In this meditative quartet performance, the bass is like the steering oar of the ensemble: it can control the direction of the music, and when things begin to unravel or become unhinged, a simple pedal note keeps everything grounded.
The two trio tunes on the album are proof that the establishment of his consistent working band The Guide Trio has been a fruitful collaboration. “Santa Teresa”, a bouncy samba-blues in ? time, embodies the winding streets and stairways of the bohemian neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro it is named for. The swampy drum feel on “String Song” pays homage to Levon Helm of The Band, a group where you can’t always tell who wrote the song or who the bandleader is, proving that the sum is greater than the individual parts. Early jazz reflected egalitarianism in collective improvisation, and this group dynamic is an expression of that kind of inclusivity and democracy.
“The Daughters of the Moon” rounds out the album, putting book ends on the naturalist themes. This composition is named after magical surrealist Italo Calvino’s short story about consumerism, in which a mythical modern society that values only buying shiny new things throws away the moon like it is a piece of garbage and the daughters of the moon save it and resurrect it. It’s an eco-feminist take on how women are going to save the world. Pineda’s piano outro is a hauntingly beautiful lunar voyage, blinding us with love. Leckie dedicates this song to his daughter: “My hope is that my daughter becomes a daughter of the moon, helping to make the world a more beautiful and verdant place to live.”
Bass CDs
Debut Album: Nate Sabat, Bass Fiddler
In a thrilling solo debut, bassist Nate Sabat combines instrumental virtuosity with a songwriter’s heart on Bass Fiddler…
The upright bass and the human voice. Two essential musical instruments, one with roots in 15th century Europe, the other as old as humanity itself.
On Bass Fiddler (Adhyâropa Records ÂR00057), the debut album from Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and bass virtuoso Nate Sabat, the scope is narrowed down a bit. Drawing from the rich and thriving tradition of American folk music, Sabat delivers expertly crafted original songs and choice covers with the upright bass as his lone tool for accompaniment.
The concept was born a decade ago when Sabat began studying with the legendary old-time fiddler Bruce Molsky at Berklee College of Music. “One of Bruce’s specialties is singing and playing fiddle at the same time. The second I heard it I was hooked,” recalls Sabat. “I thought, how can I do this on the bass?” From there, he was off to the races, arranging original and traditional material with Molsky as his guide. “Fast forward to 2020, and I — like so many other musicians — was thinking of how to best spend my time. I sat down with the goal of writing some new songs and arranging some new covers, and an entire record came out.” When the time came to make the album, it was evident that Molsky would be the ideal producer. Sabat asked him if he’d be interested, and luckily he was. “What an inspiration to work with an artist like Nate,” says Molsky. “Right at the beginning, he came to this project with a strong, personal and unique vision. Plus he had the guts to try for a complete and compelling cycle of music with nothing but a bass and a voice. You’ll hear right away that it’s engaging, sometimes serious, sometimes fun, and beautifully thought out from top to bottom.”
While this record is, at its core, a folk music album, Sabat uses the term broadly. Some tracks lean more rock (‘In the Shade’), some more pop (‘White Marble’, ‘Rabid Thoughts’), some more jazz (‘Fade Away’), but the setting ties them all together. “There’s something inherently folksy about a musician singing songs with their instrument, no matter the influences behind the compositions themselves,” Sabat notes. To be sure, there are plenty of folk songs (‘Louise’ ‘Sometimes’, ‘Eli’) and fiddling (‘Year of the Ox’) to be had here — the folk music fan won’t go hungry. There’s a healthy dose of bluegrass too (‘Orphan Annie’, ‘Lonesome Night’), clean and simple, the way Mr. Bill Monroe intended.
All in all, this album shines a light on an instrument that often goes overlooked in the folk music world, enveloping the listener in its myriad sounds, textures, and colors. “There’s nothing I love more than playing the upright bass,” exclaims Sabat. “My hope is that listeners take the time to sit with this album front to back — I want them to take in the full scope of the work. I have a feeling they’ll hear something they haven’t heard before.”
Available online at natesabat.bandcamp.com/album/walking-away
Gear News
New Gear: Esopus Guitars Launches New Acoustic/Electric Bass
Esopus Guitars Launches New Acoustic/Electric Bass…
Esopus Guitars is proud to announce the new “Tailwater” bass guitar, from legendary bass luthier Stuart Spector. This 32” scale bass is handcrafted by Stuart using the only finest woods and components at the Esopus Guitar workshop located near Woodstock NY in the Catskill Mountains.
From its fully carved spruce top (the top is carved on both its exterior and interior surfaces) with a thumb rest that is elegantly carved into the top, to its custom-made Fishman piezo pickup and super hard Carnauba wax finish, every detail of the Tailwater is part of creating the ultimate playing experience.
The Tailwater bass features a fully chambered spruce over alder body (15.5″ lower body bout width, 2.25″ body thickness measuring from the peak of the carved top) that delivers a super comfortable tonal tool for all your low-end needs.
Each Tailwater bass is hand-signed and numbered on the back of the peghead by Stuart Spector. A very limited number of Tailwater basses are handcrafted each year at the Esopus workshop.
“I am proud to present the Tailwater bass, a bass that I have spent the last three years perfecting. The Tailwater is a culmination of all of my 45 years of experience, knowledge, and passion for bass guitar crafting. I am so eager to hear what fellow musicians create with this exciting new instrument.” -Stuart Spector
Direct Pricing : $4995.00 plus options.
For more information about Esopus Guitars and Stuart Spector’s handcrafted instruments, visit www.EsopusGuitars.com.
Bass Videos
Tour Touch Base (Bass) with Ian Allison
Ian Allison Bassist extreme…
Most recently Ian has spent the last seven years touring nationally as part of Eric Hutchinson and The Believers, sharing stages with acts like Kelly Clarkson, Pentatonix, Rachel Platten, Matt Nathanson, Phillip Phillips, and Cory Wong playing venues such as Radio City Music Hall, The Staples Center and The Xcel Center in St. Paul, MN.
I had a chance to meet up with him at the Sellersville Theater in Eastern Pennsylvania to catch up on everything bass. Visit online at ianmartinallison.com/
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Check out our top 10 favorite basses on Instagram this week…
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Tour Touch Base (Bass) with Ian Allison
New Gear: Spector Woodstock Custom Collection Volume II
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Interview With Bassist Edmond Gilmore
Have Fret Sprout? Sharp Fret Management… a How-To Video
This Week’s Top 10 Basses on Instagram
Tour Touch Base (Bass) with Ian Allison
Interview With Audic Empire Bassist James Tobias
New Album: Avery Sharpe, I Am My Neighbors Keeper
