I’ve been doing this for a year. It’s my favourite exercise and I use it ALL the time. It’s also made a big difference in my playing. Thanks for posting!
May have to get me one of these. That’s pretty cool though to tote your stuff since you got a lot. I keep a Backpack in my vehicle with all my tools, drum keys, and different beaters and attachments like cowbells and rods, etc. Instead of trying to carry a lot of that in my stick bags. I usually keep at least 2 drum keys in my stick bags though.
Have you seen or tried the new Yamaha hi-hat stand? It’s a bit outta my range for my needs. But it matches the new FP9 bass drum pedals. I hear they’re pretty sweet.
I'm not a drummer, but I learned more about music from a drummer than any other player. My friend Scotty B. The best I've worked with... he fussed about tuning, and would tune between songs sometimes... Scotty gave good snare... could play only kick, hat, snare, and sound like an orchestra... I miss that dude.
The ONLY thing I’ll have to disagree with is saying you HAVE to get a 5 string. I understand why he said it,but I always say get the instrument that YOUR comfortable playing. I also know/seen to many guys/girls kill on 4s in church and on tours. That’s just my two cents but I appreciate everything else you said.
You are so right that as a bass players need to with the drummer to make the song groove. Big when the song is big, light when it is light. Seek to follow the Holy Spirit in leading you, the band, and the church to WORSHIP GOD!!!!!
Bassist here and while I do agree on all you said I only slightly disagree on 5 vs 4 strings bass. Give a 4 strings to a good bassist and you're spot on (he can drop D or even C if needed...). Give a 5 string to a not-so-good bassist and you will wonder where that persistent background noise comes from 😉. Better safe than sorry and 4 strings is indeed safer than a 5 strings...
A mid price kit ($1.5k - $2k) can do the job very well and sound good. No doubt at all. But the expensive kits in the $4k - $6k range do sound better. Just compare say a Yamaha Stage Custom vs a Yamaha Absolute Hybrid Maple. The difference in tone and timbre is darn obvious. It takes you to another level. Then thrown in the Yamaha Live Custom Hybrid Oak … you level up again. But what is the ROI? Does the investment really payback or are you some who will pay more because you enjoy owning a great sounding kit (which is not wrong). It’s like paying $3.5k for a Fender bass vs $8.5k for a Fodera bass. The Fodera sounds fuller richer and more lush. But the Fender can get the job done. 😊
I have been playing bass professionally for over thirty years. I play a Yamaha 6 string for melody playing. I play a NYC Sadowsky 5 string for smooth jazz. I play my custom built 4 string Precision bass more than the others, because most songs do not require low B string. Most all of worship music was written for a 4 string bass. Why would you need a 5 string? I recommend beginner Bass players learn on a 4 string before switching to a 5 string. Some of the best Bass players ever only play a 4 string. Jaco, Stanley, Victor, Marcus and so on.
As a drummer, I found this video very informative. However, Rob left out a couple very important things that I've experienced with a bass player I played with at church and in a jazz quartet. My bass player had a nasty habit of getting lost during a song and would just STOP playing altogether for sometimes as long as 3 bars. Finally he would find where he was suppose to be and start playing again. He would also get in the habit of completely ignoring me (not getting locked in) and would instead go his own merry way by either pushing the tempo, or in most cases dragging. Instead of getting locked in with the drummer (me), he would focus on staying with the piano or trumpet players. As is quite common, during their solos they would play behind or on top of the note. My head would just about explode everytime he did this. On the two occasions I tried to talk to him about these issues, he would have a temper tantrum, completely shutting me out. Now I always tried to be polite when approaching him on these issues, but no matter, he would have a melt down, refusing to accept responsibility for his poor performance. I finally had had enough and decided to leave both the worship team AND the jazz quartet. While I really do miss playing, I don't miss playing with him. The man is 63 or 64 years of age and dealing with him is like dealing with an impudent, childish 8 year old child. What angers me more than anything is that this guy forced me to give up two things I really enjoyed in life, playing worship music AND jazz music. BTW, I was the one that started the jazz quartet and he forced me to leave because of his childish behavior. WOW, I already feel better getting this off of my chest. And YES Jerry Leonard, I am talking about YOU!!!!!
may be camera angle but is your bass drum beater above center, I have issues with double hits unless I bury the beater and ruins the thump is center best? but then I see you bury the beater too
I think your advice on producing yourself while you’re playing is just AWESOME!!! A great concept, I don’t play live anymore - But if I was to startup again, I’d really be putting that into action :) Thank you :)
I’ve played bass on the worship team at church for 18 years, and I never knew how important that the bass player was until I transitioned to electric guitar. Now when I play bass I’m much more mindful of keeping things solid, and serving the song. The bass is very important, though overlooked a lot of times compared to melody instruments. Great tips in this video. I subbed 👍
Brother, this was reallly good, thanks for making this video. Great idea expressing your pointg of view as the drummer and how what we do as bassists affects your role in the band and vice versa. 🙏🏼
Man, this is the greatest advice ever! Most players think that drummers are one dimensional but you've proved that wrong..this is advice the whole unit can benefit from...thank you for this...yours truly a longtime church bass player!
"Make good musical decisions." I'm afraid, but that's sort of a non-advise. Like "Be more intelligent." or "Be successful." Nothing the other can execute at will. If a decision was good, you will only know afterwards. My suggestions for alternative advise: "Be aware that you're constantly making decisions. Choose with care. Be aware of what's going on around you. Use your ears and pay attention to the overall sound and how you contribute to it."
