

In some situations you are supposed to play what the arranger has written down for you, but in most situations you have freedom to put in (some of) your own flavor. The best bassists are problem solvers, not people who created problems. Talk with people, help your bandmates when you’ve finished carrying your own stuff and overall don’t create problems. Part of this is also being communicative. Be a nice guy, be a social guy and overall don’t be a jerk. People who have toured before know this and therefor make sure they bring people along on tour that they actually enjoy being around. This means that you will be spending a lot of time with your band mates and the crew. Most of the time you are waiting for the show to start, loading in, building up, driving to the next venue and so on. When you are on tour, there really is only a short amount of time that you are actually playing your instrument. Next to making sure you have a reliable amp and bass, make sure you have decent transportation to get to your gigs or to the studio. No faulty cables, crackling input jacks or any other messed up gear. This means showing up on time, being prepared and just overall having your stuff together. Being dependableĪ skill that is often not discussed but crucial inside every band or team, is that it’s members need to be dependable. If you want to read more about timing, check out the article: Complete bass player: Improve your timing on bass. It should be your number one priority at all times. There is a reason “timing” is on the top of this list. Therefor it’s essential to make sure your timing is on point.

And for that machine to run smoothly, all cogs inside the machine need to run in the same pace. Together with the other members in you rhythm section, you should therefor aim to be a well oiled machine. TimingĪs a member of the rhythm section you are laying the foundation on which the rest of the band should be able to build. In this article I will discuss what I think every bass player needs to make sure they can make it in the music scene. Some of these skills are not as obvious as you might expect. There are numerous skills every bass player needs to get a gig and also to keep it. If you are serious about being a bass player, just being able to play decent bass is not going to cut it.
