As an actively gigging bassist, there are two things to always consider: rhythm and space. Never fall out of that pocket, no matter what you're playing that is what you engage the moment you unpack 'till the moment you leave. The other is when you are playing be conscious of your band, try to give them space to go somewhere. That lock between you and your drummer controls dynamics and phrasing for your soloist, you're the bus driver so give them a bus to sit in. I ask myself constantly while playing to step away from myself and pretend I'm watching the show, what does it sound like? What does it feel like? What do I want to see? What does it need?
It is also important to stand somewhere where you have a good view of the guitar player's left hand. Especially if you aren't very familiar with the set list.
Just shut up prick it's called expression maybe if you and all your buddys who liked your comment understood expression, you would be better bass players.🤣🤣🤣Maybe then you would actually understand it in a musical sense.
Every one thinks differently; however, I agree that bass and drums/percussion should be together. I like to stand in the middle if it is my Jazz trio, and I don't mind not being by the hi-hat. With latin music I like to be between the piano and the congas because congas are the one basic instrument I want to follow. When I am the leader, I have to be in the front with my amp near the drums, you just have to listen carefully to every instrument. I TRY TO LISTEN TO EVERYTHING ACOUSTICALLY AND KEEP ONLY WHAT IS FAR AWAY FROM ME IN THE MONITORS (no bass no drums). One more thing, when you go to see a symphony, try to sit in the front and by the basses, you will understand what the basses are playing; thus, it makes you enjoy the whole experience because the fast lines from the basses can diffuse easily when you are far from them. I have been playing gigs since I was 14 and I am 54, the one thing I've learned is that not always you can have what you want, so be ready to adjust to whatever. Thank you!
It becomes 1000 times trickier when you are also the singer for the band, you need to be listening to your own voice, and can't really use a monitor. My best stage tip is hang out with your drummer (really). Be best bros and following his drums will just come naturally
40+ years as a gigging bassist. My stage position varies from band to band. In the situations where the drummer and I have worked together a long time, we could be at opposite ends of the stage and still lock because of our mutual respect for one another's instrument characteristics and careful adherence to time keeping. I seldom watch the drummer which "forces" me to actively listen and anticipate his output. My gear, which is compact ( typically 1 or 2 PhilJones C-4 cabs and one of various compact heads) goes in on a foldable equipment cart and stays on the cart when set up so I can move my rig easily as musicians arrive to make relocating for best results easy. This also keeps my rig off the floor for more sound definition.
Great lesson Scott. In fact I 'd go as far as saying this is one of the most valuable bass lessons on the net because very few people mention it. I've been stuck on the Ride side on a gig for the past few months for one reason or another and I hate it. Locking in can become a real pain. Keep up the good work.
This really cleared a lot up. My worst gig was on an outside stage and it was freezing. I am/was really inexperienced in the gigging field and I didn't do any warmups and went straight on the stage. Naturally our first song was a really fast punk song. Since I barely felt my fingers it is safe to assume that I had a lot of trouble keeping in time. Felt really bad afterwards, but also got a valuable lesson - WARMUP.
I like to stay on the right of the drummer so I can see what I'm playing (fretting on the left hand) and see the rhythm of the drummer out the corner of my eye at he same time.
When on live stage I usually running around, :-D , switching places with the guitarist.. it's an attractive performance. . And I like it though.. when I loose a little bit tempo, I'll stop and concentrate on hi'hat sound.. Thanks Scott you always and always inspired me.. :-)
As a professional bassist for over 40 yrs, I have had to learn where to position myself and my amp by trial and error, and everything you've said here is totally spot-on, IMHO. Stage managers and sound techs will sometimes fight you on this, especially if they are non-musicians. Stand your ground! If the bass and drums have to be cranked in the monitors because you can't hear each other directly, it means that overall stage volume will be insanely loud. Ears are not replaceable!
Hey man - I've actually just finished recording an entire course on rhythm and how to apply it to the bass. It consists of 7 modules, one which is with an entire live band, and the entire thing is just over 11 hours of video footage! It's going to be called 'The Groove Academy' so look out for it! At the moment I'm busy transcribing all the music for it... 11 hours worth lol! It's a long process ;) Thanks for watching man. Scott
Since you ask for comments, a church in which I play (better not say where) has the music group on platforms, about 6 inches high, however, my friend has his bass 4x10 on the same platforms and only about 10 feet from the mikes, so there's a lot of transmission from bass to microphones, some via the air, some via the platforms. If I'm playing through his kit, I drag his speaker to a more solid place and get, to my mind, a better sound and less "mud" in the vocal feed. Great advice, Scott, as in all your videos, thank you.
Hey I have watched a couple of your videos. GREAT CONTENT. A couple of my friends and i have started a "band'. I put in quotes cause i don't really know what type of music we play we started like two weeks ago. I play bass so i really appreciate your videos
I tend to choose my position on stage by what kind of impact I want to have. In my current band, I'm the frontman, so I place the drums middle back and myself at the front slightly to the left. In my old band, I was very much a luxury, not necessary at all, so to piss off the guitarist, I stood front left, where our lead guitarist used to stand, and stole all his solos.
I find from a comfort point of view, I like being on the right of the drummer. It means that if I need to look at him/her, then to my fretboard, then back again, I don't have to keep swinging my whole body/neck/instrument around. However, next gig I shall try going on the left/side nearest the hi-hat. Also, putting amps on amp stands/chairs is a great piece of advice. Thanks!
All good points-if there's room. One of our semi-regular gigs has such a small area we are back against a glass"wall" w/ our JBL EON PA in between us line abreast.
Being on the Hat side makes since but I like to make frequent eye contact with my drummer. For some reason it helps us stay in the groove. Since I'm right handed, being on the Ride side makes it easier to keep an eye on him without turning away from the audience.
I like to stand on the right so I can look at the drummer, watch the drummer and make eye contact while still watching the leader for clues about where the songs are going. I can always hear as much drums as I want. Thanks for your thoughts.
I totally agree. But the most important thing that you mentioned is that the bass player should better pay attention to the hi-hat rather than kick drum. This is a common mistake. It also helps developing better riffs.
Although we use in ear monitoring, as a left-handed bass player, I always like my drummer to be to my right. That way I can simply look down the neck of my bass and there he is. I can also keep an eye on my fretting hand at the same time. It is so helpful to make eye contact with him at times when he wants to let me know about an unexpected change he may be about to make (yeah, with a good bass/drummer team you can actually talk with just facial expressions) and of course I can watch him during difficult passages to know exactly what he's doing.
Even with in ear monitors and the ability to adjust your monitor right on stage, I found it helpful to be able to see what the drummer is doing. Thank you for these awesome videos.
Another practical reason for playing on the side of the hi-hat, is it has the best line of site to the drummer. It helps to have unobstructed eye contact with your drummer.
Being mostly deaf in my right ear from birth, I developed th "need" to be to the right of the drum kit. This gives me the everything the drummer does plus the vocals to keep me on track.
I like the left side of the stage left to the left of the drummer. I play right handed so I am in a good spot to hear and communicate with the drummer. Many times, guitar players get up and are unfamiliar with the material so I can turn slightly right so they can see the key or key changes. When I play guitar I like stage right so I can see the bass players hand position easily and they don't have to turn all the way around to be visible to me. It's easy for me to turn far left with guitar to show visual to stage musicians, but much easier to turn the longer bass slightly right than radically left.
I`ve been standing exactly where you describe in this vid at my last gig. The best place to be i think for shure. As a bassist, you have to play tight with the drummer, and keep in mind that you are building a foundation. And for the people that think their shy on stage, including myself. Try to just focus on the music! It helps me a lot.. And i personally like to see a musician that really is into his work on stage, and not acting cool.
Hey Jon, thanks for watching. I used to play double bass but because of the problems I have with my hands (which is why I have to wear gloves) I can't play double bass anymore.
I completely concur on this one. Standing on the ride side just gets your ears cooked. Get by the hats and snare. Yes, keep the amp at least a good foot or two off of the wall, if possible. If you are going through a PA, turn your amp down as low as you can while still being able to hear yourself enough to play. Less is more when it come to stage volume. If you can set up your amp a couple of feet to the side and couple of feet back from the drummer's left elbow (or right, if they are left-handed), and then stand a couple of feet to the side, and a couple feet to the front of the kick, you should be in pretty close to the perfect position (with ear plugs!!) onstage to handle your business.
Interesting approach to choose the hi-hat side. I usually choose the other side to easily see the drummer while keeping an eye on the fingerboard. Thanks
You can be two miles away from our drummer and still lock in. There's no need for anything in the monitor. The guitarist and I are lucky to hear anything at all other than drums - We have to play at battle volume!
What I've noticed is if you are running thru a system and there is monotoring, reduce you cabinet load. Room holds 200-350 2x10 as your own monitor. 500-1000 4x10 and bigger use discretion. If youre giggin big time they probably have a suitable back line.
Due to band politics in the previous bands I've been in, I was usually the last person the band took into consideration when playing live gigs. It can relate to everything you are saying in this video.
Agree, and try to place myself that way!! However, I sing as well, and while singing you loose the eye contact with your drummer! This ads yet another challenge, and really the only way out is to be so well rehearsed that you know exactly whats coming. During solos, well then we can stare each others eyeballs out!! :) I mainly play in a three piece band and even though our songs are fairly well set, we change them just a little every time, and the key there is the eye contact! JMO :)
In a two guitar rock band. Joined 3 years after creation, so the stage set up had already been established. I am on the Tom side of the drum kit. We have actually had several sound guys freak out because I set up on the "wrong" side. Thing is #1 I don't have any issues hearing the high hat from 5-6 feet further away. #2 I kinda like the fact that by looking at my neck, I have the drummer in my line of sight as well. #3 My lead guitarist has some wonky timing, he put himself next to the high hat for a reason. Probably a solid choice all things considered.
I almost joined a band, but realized I need to work on stage performance and other stuff. This is helpful. I used to be in a band in middle/high school but we broke up and, even though we wrote some really good songs, it could’ve been better.
Make sure you have room to breathe, once I played a gig with these super bright and hot lights called "blinders" right behind me. I had to pull out an extraordinarily long cable I got from the sound engineer to be able to move away and not scorch my back.
I've been playing bass for many years with my brother (who's a drummer) and I've always played miles away from him. Just this week I was hired for a studio session and played really close to drummer and it really made a big difference on how we locked together.
In a rockband I'm playing I'm usually behind the guitarists and singer due to the lack of space on stage so I automatically am right next to the drummer. In a jazz band I have a lot more to choose from since I'm the bandleader. Then I tend to go to the left side of the stage so that I can see everybody and when turning I wont bump my headstock into anything. And ofcourse I'm close to the drummer. Thanks for the video. Now I know I should stay where I always felt most appropriate. :D
I don't perform anymore but when I did (for 25 years) I always chose stage right, amp slightly angled towards drummer and sometimes, I ran a feed out to a small cab placed as a foldback so I could hear what was going on more clearly. Stage right works well for right handed people cos I could lean into the drums and speak to the drummer. You know ... drummers get lonely ;)
Funny I should see this video now. Just the other night we ended up playing on a pro stage with is something we don't get the chance to do very often and I ended up separated from the drummer by what seemed like a mile. He's usually about two feet to my right so it was quite a trip. Luckily the monitor guy was very helpful. I appreciate your tip on more hight hat in the monitor. Thanks Scott!
I'd like to say a couple of things, 1) I dig your playing, 2) I dig your attitude, 3) I always set up with my amp next to the drummer, can't stand next to him though since I normally do double duty on vocals, but since I play small stages in small venues it tends to not matter. Though perhaps setting up a small monitor system with a bit of vocals and a mic on the high hat/snare could help
Good tips, Scott. I always make sure that I get in close to the drummer. I much prefer the snare side, but most often end up on the other side, but I still get to hear the drummer nice and loud. Different venues make it harder. Last night I played a gig in a marquee, where I was stood 20ft from our lead guitarist, but couldn't hear him at all! Knowing the songs inside out is REALLY important in these situations! Tomorrows venue is all stone and brick, different prospect, entirely!
Three piece band. Guitar amp by the hi-hat side and bass on the other side. It works very well for us, but we have a lot of communication on stage, especially between the bassist and drummer. Also, the bassist is usually our sound guy and no matter the size of the venue we mic the bass drum so he can put it into his monitor and that helps him keep time he says. Most of our venues have been very small pubs and low ceilinged clubs so we're practically sitting on the drumkit anyway, the few times we've played a stage with real distances involved we've had everything micced and monitored.
I've been playing a theatre gig since March this year, same show different venues. The previous venue, in Durban, I was placed on the opposite side on the stage of the drummer. This completely destroyed our chemistry and it was the worst 6 weeks ever! Moving to Cape Town though I was next to him again and it felt like I was back with a list love! The show exploded!!
I'm not a Bass player but yes, Every time I go to get my gear people have their cases stacked on my amp, pedals, or they completely bury my stuff in the corner with theirs... Not to mention every time I do a solo someone is standing in front of my pedal so I can never switch into a solo channel. Found your channel because my hands cramp into a closed fist position when I am playing which has pretty much ended my performance career. Heard from a friend you wear that glove for that same reason!
Great advice here! I've often played with Drummers that use a small Bass Drum/Jazz kit, so would also ask for a bit of Bass Drum in the monitor. It's essential that the Bass and Drums lock in with each other!
Life is so much easier when you only have one properly functioning eye. In my case, I just make sure I am to the right of everyone I need to make eye contact with at some point, so I can actually see them without turning my head too much. It is great that I can also look at the neck of my bass in that direction. On the other hand, when the stage is big enough, I tend to be the idiot running around all the time whenever I feel everybody is on the same page and no additional communication is necessary. Since an average audience will judge you for 80% based on what they see and only 20% on everything else, including what they hear, it is pretty effective to bring additional entertainment to the people. And we all love it when everybody is having a good time, right? So basically, I think it is great to have all these different considerations, but eventually, it is up to every individual player to determine what works and feels best for them personally. If it works well for everyone and you feel good about it, how can it be wrong? :-)
My tip is, if your bass amp is going through a DI face your amp to the left (or right) of you facing inwards instead of behind you facing outwards. You can hear yourself much better, especially if your playing outside.
I'd say it depends on the musical chemistry & leadership of the band. I'm used to keyboard-led bands, so I want keys, drums & my bass loudest. I like vocals & aux instruments in the mix for reference, but much softer.
I used to lead sing so like to stand with HH behind my left or right shoulder.. I go with the one instrument philosophy, but boy you gotta practice! I also lit up my fret with Red LED's. Cost 250 UK Pounds done by a luthier. Certainly helps as you get older. I now live in Spain. Our oldest band has a drummer 74 years old and he burns those sticks! 2 to 3 gigs a week paid!
Hi Scott. sound advice however I prefer to stand on the right of the drummer mainly due to the fact that if he loses a stick its more often that it flies off to the left and the guitarist deserves to be hit with sticks. On a serious note though I will be subscribing. and the real reason for standing on the right is because I can look down the neck of the bass and watch for counts or foot on kick pedal.
Hey Carl. Locking in with the drums means that the bass and drums should rhythmically be almost like one instrument. The bass and drums are like the foundation for the rest of the band to sit on top of - if your house has shaky foundations things aren't good ;)... same thing with the drums and bass - we've got to be locked together to form a super solid foundation and groove.
We had just formed as a band two months prior to our first show. It was a outdoor venue inside of a revival / circus tent in the dead of winter. Only two monitors for the stage and I didn't get one. Placed stage left by the crew next to one of the mains I couldn't even hear myself let alone the drummer. I opted for line of sight and watched his hands for timing and counted. I looked out mid-set to a packed house! We pulled it off! Frozen hands and ringing ears. You gotta know your songs!
As a drummer I'd add that I look in the direction of my hi-hat most of the time. So even though I usually have loads of bass in my monitor, it's a great thing to be able to glance up and have eye contact with the bass player. As bass players you wouldn't like a position where the drummer is looking the other way for the most part.
Hi Scott!!!. .I prefer playing on the Drummers' Right-Hand-Side as I can SEE and Hear in a Flash, what is going on. My Drummer ( Woody !!)..has been playing for Many Years .. and I've been playing with him for the past 2 years... I can Now safely say that we are "Locked In", which is a Nice and comfortable place to be!!!....Woody is comfortable with me on His Right Side and I'm more comfortable with Woody on My Left Side. .Many Thanks...Keith Henderson (The Scotsman in North Carolina !!) ..
Hey John. I'd recommend sticking to one bass. There's nothing wrong with trying out 5 strings, frettlesses etc, but I personally normally only play one bass for a long period of time. For example when I played fretless, that's all I really played for around 3 years. At the moment I'm loving the P bass. It also depends on whether you have to use a certain bass for a certain job. I've recorded in studios where the engineer wants me to record with a jazz bass... in that case, I'll use a jazz bass.
I prefer to be directly to the right of the drummer. Especially if the drums are center-back of the stage. This way I'm stage right and able to face the front without having my back to any of the other members of the band. I can see my playing and the drummers playing all at once.
Great advice. I always stand to the left of my drummer and keep my amp close to him so we are locked in. We also do a lot of communicating without talking.
I also want to hear the singer. I noticed only lately that my bass playing is in a relation to main vocals. Perhaps because I’m a singer also. On the other hand it’s also a relation to a drum beat. It’s funny how automatic it is.
When I gig with my band usually we have the lead guitar on one side and the drums in the back and the "rhythm section" (bass and rhythm guitar) on one side. I play bass and I'm usually on the very end. Usually no trouble hearing the drums. Greetings from Washington, D.C.!
I like to be on the hi-hat side of the kit, and if I can have a visual of the drummer's kick drum foot I'm golden in spite of having a loud, yet excellent, guitarist standing between me and the drums. If you perform standing up I suggest you do your 'at home' practice standing, at least part of the time. Two reasons. If you've worked for days on a difficult passage sitting down you may find that when you stand it's feels 'off' due to your different perspective on the fretboard and your body position. Standing also builds stamina.
I'm still learning the fretboard and note theory, so I rely heavily on my ear. I struggle to hear myself sometimes (lousy bass amp, drums and guitarists in a loudness battle). My current earplugs seem to worsen the issue. I generally stand by the house amp, left of the drummer (unless I'm doing vocals). I find it easy to lock in with a drummer, as long as they're more competent than I. 😄
I really enjoi this, you are a great man. Bought myself a 1964 Fender P Bass a couple of months ago. Will stick to it for a very long time - It is the shit! Ps: Keep the great tips coming!
Mostly near the drummer and looking towards him but also looking a little towards the guitar player and vocalist to make sure I don’t miss the transitions and changes.
this improves the life of the strings. you transfer a lot of oils when you slide your fingers up and down the frets. the glove stops this from happening. :)
