When Less Equals More, Guitar, Bass & Keys: How to Avoid Overplaying and Create a Groove
Guitar, Bass & Keys: How to Avoid Overplaying and Create a Groove. Article written by Gary Tobin Back to Cover
When it comes to learning our ___
instruments, we all have the same roots. We sit in a room for hours and explore, discover and play big full chords so that we fill the air with sound. If you intend to be a soloist all your life, then that might work to some degree. However, if you are reading this article I can assume that you play in a group setting with other musicians. Though bassists generally don’t deal with chords (unless playing solo), in a group setting there is the same tendency to “fill the space” with sound. Unless we are talking about a style where the Phil Spector “wall of sound” is appropriate (i.e. grunge, punk, heavy rock, metal, etc.), space & silence is not just a good thing, it is essential to know where and how to place “space” to create a driving, danceable groove – and that translates into a popular band.
Drummers understand rhythm, tempo & timing - that’s what they do (or at least that is what they are supposed to do). What was an epiphany for me a number of years ago is that every instrument (especially bass) is also primarily a rhythm instrument, and not
just a tool to create notes that will cause people to melt on the dance floor by the sheer power, volume or brilliant flurry of notes cascading off your amp. Your sense of time/tempo, how accurately it is developed & executed and where you place your notes are (in my opinion) often more important than the notes you play… as long as you play “the correct” ones! (a great groove and great phrasing that is out of bounds still sounds horrible no matter how well executed!).
Jazz Musician - Tom Scott
This was illustrated to me when I heard a Tom Scott solo (jazz fans will know who I am talking about) that was made up of – I kid you not – 5 notes. That is all… 5 simple notes that any beginning sax player could play. However, it was so cool and ingenious because of how he played the notes and where he put them. As far as I was concerned, it could have been made up of 2 notes and it would have had the same effect. NOT playing and where you place that space is a huge portion of what notes you do play. Just like sunshine, a constant stream of notes becomes monotonous unless you get some change in the weather.
Have you ever wondered why certain bands can have such an open sound and simultaneously have such a powerful, danceable groove; why they are so tight and “punchy” and other bands (playing the same material) do not? It is about tempo, accuracy in timing and it is about Space… truly, the final frontier for performing bands.
When one analyses great sounding bands, they appear to have a
basic and central arrangement principal: Everyone has a
specific and unique part, line, section, or function to play in
the particular tune being played. No two people are doing
exactly the same thing, unless a “Unison” section
is called for in the tune. This is also why bands can get
very large… but that is another problem. Complicated
tunes can still be covered well by just a few people if you listen
and arrange the tune carefully for the instrumentation you have.
[Note: Making an original arrangement IS allowable and encouraged! Believe
me, putting your signature on a popular tune will cause the tune to take on a
greater dimension for your audience and your band members.]
Having come from our lonely rooms where we were “wood-shedding” our licks and building our musical vocabulary, and now being in a group context, it is vital that we open up our ears and carefully listen to what everyone else is playing. In fact, during practices, I would highly recommend that the band take a tune __
and first (without vocals), run the tune through with everyone listening to what each other are playing. Focus on their instruments, not yours. Then run through the tune again, but this time drop out one of the instruments and everyone listen to what is gone and what is left – especially the person not playing. Next, put that instrument back in and drop out a different instrument (and only one) and play the same tune again; Do this with all instruments in the rhythm section (drums, bass, guitars, keys). This will expose all kinds of issues related to the “wall of sound” problem. If there are 2 or more guitars playing the same chord in the same register, change it. Unless the band is a trio, guitarists no longer need to play huge block chords to cover the chord structure. Because in a combo band larger than a trio where there is more than one chordal instrument, playing partial chords is not just a suggestion, it is highly recommended (again, unless the style or tune section calls for unison playing). Guitarists can share the chord with another guitarist or keyboardist as long as they play in ____
different ranges and with different chord voicings. Playing with different tone settings also is very helpful – note that a distorted guitar is often accompanied with a clean tone guitar to give it definition and help the chord cut through. Playing in different rhythmic patterns also helps break up the “wall of sound” problem. Often, just one chordal instrument is all that is ___
necessary or required to create the “chord bed” and a 2nd guitarist or keyboardist should then play single percussive notes or sparse rhythmic chords that add to the rhythmic groove. Less is more here as NOT playing will open up the frequency spectrum of sound allowing all other parts to come through more clearly and effectively.
Timing is another problem that can “muddy” up a bands sound. To sound tight and “punchy” tempo and timing by everyone needs to be spot on. Everyone should develop a 1/16th note metronome in one’s head that runs at all times. Keep that clock tuned up by listening to other really tight bands and even playing along with them. Just like allowing yourself to tolerate out of tune notes, sloppy timing can be learned just as easily (or more easily) than learning to have tight timing.
During practice try the following:
- To quickly learn a tunes arrangement, speed-play it. Run through the entire tune as fast as is intelligible for everyone so that everyone can get a birds-eye view of the arrangement. Everyone in the band should speed-play the arrangement together. This is like swinging 3 bats when in the “on-deck” circle for baseball. When you play the tune at normal speed, it will be much easier.
- Next, play through the tune at a normal performance tempo to confirm that everyone knows the tune and is comfortable with it.
- Finally, once everyone is familiar with the tune, take the tempo down to half of the performance tempo. This is great fun… you will find out who in the band really understands what notes go where and when. (Substance abuse can make this process even more interesting so it is important that folks be “present” when trying to do this.) This is where you can get agreement on how & where critical rhythmic elements are placed (they are all critical in my book).
After having gone through this exercise, the tune should be tight – all the pushes and punches dead on. Combine this with the remedies above to eliminate the “wall of sound” issue and your band will take on a new “tenor” and have a sound that is much more “pro” – which translates into compliments, larger crowds, more fun for everyone and more gigs… and that is what it is all about, right?
Gary Tobin
MEET THE WRITER - GARY TOBIN
Gary Tobin is a Seattle area resident who made the decision early in life to be a Weekend Musician with a regular career in architecture. He is a composer & guitarist who plays locally with The About Face Band and runs the C3 Publishing Guild that licenses original material to various industry relationships. He can be contacted at