playing bass at church

[aznrocker]

Okay I just picked up the bass like 1 week ago. And my church is wanting me to play bass and not guitar (because there's about 4 guitarists and no bassists at our church). I have 1 and a half years of guitar experience. So I know like the notes on the fretboard and how to hold adequate amounts of guitar chords.

Now to the question.

Our church plays a lot of songs that have the only the lyrics and the chord letters. For example:

E F#
I could sing of your love forever
A B
I could sing of your love forever

I get how to play that on guitar, because you play the chords. But what about bass?
Do I just play the E note and the F# note?

[da_s_man13]

Well you can either just root note it(playing the E F# etc..) or you just mess around with playin within scales like major, minor, pentatonic etc...

[godzillarator]

It depends if you want to root note or have a diffrent line

Seeing as ur in a church u will just play the note If the chord is E play E

[aznrocker]

Another question.
How bout chords like Em or Dsus?

[Caleb3221]

At the most basic level, you would almost always just play the root note of the chord(or mabye the bass note if given, etc). But, you could make your lines more interesting by playing more than the root note, usually based on scales and chord tones. Over an E chord, you could play notes in the E major or pentatonic scale to add more. You could also play an e, fifth, and octave just to play more than the root. Over an Em chord, you could also just play the root, E, but you could also add the minor third, or any other chord tone.

[dan02345]

Another question.
How bout chords like Em or Dsus?


just play a d or an e....thats what i did when i played at church sounded fine

[Naveed Afzal]

Okay I just picked up the bass like 1 week ago. And my church is wanting me to play bass and not guitar (because there's about 4 guitarists and no bassists at our church). I have 1 and a half years of guitar experience. So I know like the notes on the fretboard and how to hold adequate amounts of guitar chords.

Now to the question.

Our church plays a lot of songs that have the only the lyrics and the chord letters. For example:

E F#
I could sing of your love forever
A B
I could sing of your love forever

I get how to play that on guitar, because you play the chords. But what about bass?
Do I just play the E note and the F# note?



ive played that song, lemme find my old papers, i wrote a bassline to that song and many other church songs.

[Munky_Jam]

well its the same as anything, start by playing the root notes and play notes from the chords on the off beat. for example Root - 3rd - octave - 5th

[bass face]

all that u look at is the letter and flats and sharps...i would suggest root notes for a while until you get a feel for bass, it also sounds good especially at church if before a chorus if you slide up an octive...good luck :thumb:

[Jude]

I got my start playing bass at my church also, we had some really good musicians. Especially the drummer, I'm hoping he comes to my college so I can keep playing with him.

Those 'worship songs' really get on my nerves, they're really generic and not well written musically or lyrically, but they're not hard to improvise on. Just play the songs' root notes once or twice through until you know how it goes and then just do lots of improvising around the chords. God approves of good bassing.

[802.11-NGR]

I got my start playing bass at my church also, we had some really good musicians. Especially the drummer, I'm hoping he comes to my college so I can keep playing with him.

Those 'worship songs' really get on my nerves, they're really generic and not well written musically or lyrically, but they're not hard to improvise on. Just play the songs' root notes once or twice through until you know how it goes and then just do lots of improvising around the chords. God approves of good bassing.


I have had so much fun with those songs...

It is really awesome how being in a church brought together a metalhead, a screamo kid, a Dave Matthews fan, and me to be in the same band.

We did the weirdest versions of those songs...

[dan02345]

I got my start playing bass at my church also, we had some really good musicians. Especially the drummer, I'm hoping he comes to my college so I can keep playing with him.

Those 'worship songs' really get on my nerves, they're really generic and not well written musically or lyrically, but they're not hard to improvise on. Just play the songs' root notes once or twice through until you know how it goes and then just do lots of improvising around the chords. God approves of good bassing.


i got kicked off the worship team for spicing up the bass lines and useing slap

[aznrocker]

ive played that song, lemme find my old papers, i wrote a bassline to that song and many other church songs.

Cool. I wanna see it.

[Jude]

i got kicked off the worship team for spicing up the bass lines and useing slap
My church >>>>> yours. I love going to an urban Mennonite church.

[markxander]

For the Emin-Dsus quandry:

With worship songs, I like to keep it simple. Just because the emphasis really is on the vocals, and really, it takes more to know your place than to wank around.

Play the roots, but every once in a while, add the colour notes as skips.
So lets say there's a 2-bar vamp of Emin to Dsus. One bar for each chord.

Emin | Dsus -|
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + -|

Just play the colour notes (Oddly enough, for both of these chords, its a G) on the + of 4.

E G | D G -|
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + -|

P.S. hundred posts much?

[markxander]

For the Emin-Dsus quandry:

With worship songs, I like to keep it simple. Just because the emphasis really is on the vocals, and really, it takes more to know your place than to wank around.

Play the roots, but every once in a while, add the colour notes as skips.
So lets say there's a 2-bar vamp of Emin to Dsus. One bar for each chord.

Emin | Dsus -|
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + -|

Just play the colour notes (Oddly enough, for both of these chords, its a G) on the + of 4.

E G | D G -|
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + | 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + -|

P.S. hundred posts much?

In retrospect, it autoformats out extra spaces. The diagrams are useless. I'm sure you know what the + of 4 is, anyways.

[knockwurst_myband]

Okay I just picked up the bass like 1 week ago. And my church is wanting me to play bass and not guitar (because there's about 4 guitarists and no bassists at our church). I have 1 and a half years of guitar experience. So I know like the notes on the fretboard and how to hold adequate amounts of guitar chords.

Now to the question.

Our church plays a lot of songs that have the only the lyrics and the chord letters. For example:

E F#
I could sing of your love forever
A B
I could sing of your love forever

I get how to play that on guitar, because you play the chords. But what about bass?
Do I just play the E note and the F# note?


do you have a green bass? cuz for some reason all the churches i've been to the bassist has a green bass.

[802.11-NGR]

do you have a green bass? cuz for some reason all the churches i've been to the bassist has a green bass.


What?

I've played red, sunburst, black, natural, blue, gold, and grey, but never green.

What an odd color...

[MasterofBass]

do you have a green bass? cuz for some reason all the churches i've been to the bassist has a green bass.

haha, when I play at my chruch, the bass is black because mine is black :lol:


anyways, when I play, I always play the root for the first note of a new chord, then I play something else (scale, chord tone, etc), depending on how long until the next chord change. I also do all my stuff rhythmically from whatever the drums are doing, so it depends on that too. Really depends on the song and how it goes, and the feeling that day. But I remember the one song last time I played, we turned it into some crazy jam thing that really kicked ***, it just happened, and was really fun. The guy who leads it is a killer guitarist from Sweeden who used to be in a metal band (haven't found the name yet).

[pikester]

do you have a green bass? cuz for some reason all the churches i've been to the bassist has a green bass.

The church that I go to has a green bass, but it's a POS and the first fret buzzez like hell.

Luckily, this church always has a 5-string stingray and a Rick 4001 sitting around (I'm not sure where these came from, but it makes churchbassplaying so much more fun).

[Jude]

The guy who leads it is a killer guitarist from Sweeden who used to be in a metal band (haven't found the name yet).
How crazy would it be if Jesper Stromblad or Mikael Akerfeldt went incognito went to play in a church band somewhere in midwestern America?

[MasterofBass]

How crazy would it be if Jesper Stromblad or Mikael Akerfeldt went incognito went to play in a church band somewhere in midwestern America?


That would be awesome.


Still don't know the name of the band this guy used to be in, I'll find out next time I talk to my dad.

[rh15951]

Since when do bands play at church? All we used to have was a pipe organ and a choir.

[Jude]

Since when do bands play at church? All we used to have was a pipe organ and a choir.
:lol: We're not talking about like hardcore Catholic churches here, but a lot of more laid back churches with many young members have gotten into the trend of having bands play. Of course the tendency is toward what they call "worship music" which is like bad Christian rock but without any of the good qualities and a few notches down (bad, extremely generic songwriting, all the songs sound the same, etc etc) but the point is you get to rock out in church. Personally if I were God I'd prefer a jam session, but I guess He likes it all.

And it sure beats endless hymns.

[bottlerocket]

Since when do bands play at church? All we used to have was a pipe organ and a choir.

Yeah, I go to Catholic School (ack...being an atheist there sucks) and there's a band that plays...and by "band" I mean a guitarist with his acoustic miced, a bongo, and a tamborine. :lol:

:thumb:

-Gav

[Munky_Jam]

today we have battle of the bands for the students at the catholic school where i work (and am part of the staff band that plays between acts about 15 songs or so of the classic rock variety) and most of the bands are classic rock hard rock or metal with one faggy nelly type band. being on the judging panel i will make sure they lose

[Munky_Jam]

i got kicked off the worship team for spicing up the bass lines and useing slap

this is because slap is indeed the work of satan

[BassVirtuoso]

I would just keep hitting A and yelling OOOOOH LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORD

[bottlerocket]

^ Why not G? It's the 7 note (technically) and is therefore the note of God, since 7 is God's number (supposedly...)

:thumb:

-Gav

[BassVirtuoso]

Because I'm a negro.

[Liebensaft]

Luckily, this church always has a 5-string stingray and a Rick 4001 sitting around (I'm not sure where these came from, but it makes churchbassplaying so much more fun).
If you didn't mind going to hell, I'd say take the Rick.

[Jude]

^ Why not G? It's the 7 note (technically) and is therefore the note of God, since 7 is God's number (supposedly...)

:thumb:

-Gav
7 God's number?

That's a made-up one I think...there are tons of numbers that show up a lot in the Bible but none of them have any special significance.

[Sammy_L_D]

Playing bass in Christian worship music, especially at Church is a very interesting challenge.

Your main goal should be to help guide the singers. Play the roots, and keep the tempo steady with the drummer.

If the musicians in your worship team are all fairly advanced, however, and want to expand the sound a bit, improvisation should be played based on how "full" the music sounds.

For example, if there's a rising crescendo during the final chorus of a song (I'll use Open The Eyes of My Heart as an example; the way we play it anyways), moving to higher octaves, playing thirds, fifths, sevenths, etc., running through the modes, etc., should build as the crescendo builds, to give the song more tension, or more feeling.

It takes a very trained ear, and a group of very skilled musicians to play effective worship music.

Good luck, God Bless. :thumb:

[British Kid]

I have had so much fun with those songs...

It is really awesome how being in a church brought together a metalhead, a screamo kid, a Dave Matthews fan, and me to be in the same band.

We did the weirdest versions of those songs...
cool. we have a similar setup at our church. our guitarist is well versed in music, and so am i, so we alway do all these crazy renditions of the songs..... we like to "funk up" the songs or play all metal-like and it drives the choir/band director nuts..... but she still finds it amusing..... but i have to say that the hxc version of "light the fire" rocked.....

[Lungbutter Bill]

I don't go to church. The closest I'm probably ever going to get to playing for anyone is this Tuesday. My instrumental music class, whom I play electric bass for, is going to be playing for a class of fifth graders. Hurrah.

[thelowsoundofbass]

Playing bass in Christian worship music, especially at Church is a very interesting challenge.

Your main goal should be to help guide the singers. Play the roots, and keep the tempo steady with the drummer.

If the musicians in your worship team are all fairly advanced, however, and want to expand the sound a bit, improvisation should be played based on how "full" the music sounds.

For example, if there's a rising crescendo during the final chorus of a song (I'll use Open The Eyes of My Heart as an example; the way we play it anyways), moving to higher octaves, playing thirds, fifths, sevenths, etc., running through the modes, etc., should build as the crescendo builds, to give the song more tension, or more feeling.

It takes a very trained ear, and a group of very skilled musicians to play effective worship music.

Good luck, God Bless. :thumb:

very true, good thing all the people at my church have been playing for years on end. i have been playing for 3 years and i am the newest at my insterment. we do all of our songs in a very interesting way, i usually add slap, runs, tapping ect. to top it all off the guitar player (who is crazy good) is always like "that sounded sweet" then i am like "i had no idea what i was doing there, i was just screwing around in the key of X". its really fun tho. ps i live in listowel, about 30 mins from you

lowsound

[802.11-NGR]

7 God's number?

That's a made-up one I think...there are tons of numbers that show up a lot in the Bible but none of them have any special significance.


Well, 7 is viewed as the perfect and complete number, which is why so many things were based of off it. (ie, resting on the seventh day)

I'm not really sure though.

*is loving how a question about bass turned into a discussion about the number 7*

[Jude]

Well, 7 is viewed as the perfect and complete number, which is why so many things were based of off it. (ie, resting on the seventh day)

That's a bunch of crap though, like I said, there are lots of numbers that show up a lot of times in the Bible, (3, 7, 12, 40) but that doesn't give any of them any holy significance.

Open The Eyes of My Heart
It cracks me up that every church band seems to play the same crap songs...my band always used to play that one too. I wish someone would write some real songs for them to play.

[4x4bassman]

Yeah, my current band started out playing worship, then writing stuff... and I decided that it's impossible to write more than 1 good sounding, fun worship song. Ever.

But we do some good revamps of the classics... I'll try to get a recording up on our myspace http://myspace.com/gwh
Also, we play a student led chapel service at my college once a week... and yesterday we got a comment card that we were too loud. You know it rocks if college freshmen think it's too loud.

[Sammy_L_D]

That's a bunch of crap though, like I said, there are lots of numbers that show up a lot of times in the Bible, (3, 7, 12, 40) but that doesn't give any of them any holy significance.


It cracks me up that every church band seems to play the same crap songs...my band always used to play that one too. I wish someone would write some real songs for them to play.

Haha...well we play a variety of music, including some original pieces that certain members of written, etc.

[Sammy_L_D]

very true, good thing all the people at my church have been playing for years on end. i have been playing for 3 years and i am the newest at my insterment. we do all of our songs in a very interesting way, i usually add slap, runs, tapping ect. to top it all off the guitar player (who is crazy good) is always like "that sounded sweet" then i am like "i had no idea what i was doing there, i was just screwing around in the key of X". its really fun tho. ps i live in listowel, about 30 mins from you

lowsound

You're in Listowel?

Awesome. You ever go to Sherwood Music in Kitchener? (I work there co-op/part-time)

[JESUS'S BASSMAN]

^ Why not G? It's the 7 note (technically) and is therefore the note of God, since 7 is God's number (supposedly...)

:thumb:

-Gav



I like that!!!! Maybe THAT'S why I was drawn to my GT-7 !!!!!
By the way guys, I am in the process of recording CD's with two different bands right now. Both should be done and ready to go out after the first part of Feb. If I can figure out how to do it I will post something for you all to listen to. One band is an array of different styles and one is mostly blues based. Nothing fancy, but very solid. :thumb:

[Saberpunk]

If you didn't mind going to hell, I'd say take the Rick.


I agree, but kill a goat or something to make up for it

[br3ad_man]

I play bass at my church. I hate the music we play at church, but it's cool to play there. It's a lot more interesting to play bass at church than it is to play guitar.

[aznrocker]

do you have a green bass? cuz for some reason all the churches i've been to the bassist has a green bass.

No it's blue

[aznrocker]

I play bass at my church. I hate the music we play at church, but it's cool to play there. It's a lot more interesting to play bass at church than it is to play guitar.

How so?

[mr.bassist]

my churches band consists of me and my good friend, both dream theater enthusiasts...

i generally just follow the root of the piano's chords,..and watch his hands and kinda doodle :) and the old people tell me i'm great

[br3ad_man]

How so?

Guitar = powerchords and...powerchords, basically

With bass you can come up with interesting fills and rhythms.

[aznrocker]

Guitar = powerchords and...powerchords, basically

With bass you can come up with interesting fills and rhythms.

Obviously you've never played guitar.

[br3ad_man]

If by never played you mean have been playing for 7 years, then I have never played guitar.

[aznrocker]

If by never played you mean have been playing for 7 years, then I have never played guitar.

I was just making a point that you don't just play power chords on a guitar.

[br3ad_man]

At my church you do.

[802.11-NGR]

At my church you do.

Only if you are a retard that doesn't know any full chords....

[blacklungfever]

I play bass at my church, and I just play whatever note the guitar chords say, and sometimes walk between each note.

If its chords like Em or Dsus, then just play the e and d, cause its still the root of the chord.

[aznrocker]

7 God's number?

That's a made-up one I think...there are tons of numbers that show up a lot in the Bible but none of them have any special significance.

Exactly.
I heard that the ancient people translated some things wrong. So like 666 is not the number of the beast.

[Sticky-Fingers Mahoney]

sooooooooooo.

what kind of gear do you guys use at church.

i play at church also and i need some new stuff.

[aznrocker]

sooooooooooo.

what kind of gear do you guys use at church.

i play at church also and i need some new stuff.

We have a piano, electric drum set, elec. bass, two acoustic guitars, two elec. guitars. We have like people playing violin, flute, and other instruments once in a while.

Our church is really into music, because my pastor and the music leader is CRAZY about music, and I have absolutely no problem with that.

[Sticky-Fingers Mahoney]

We have a piano, electric drum set, elec. bass, two acoustic guitars, two elec. guitars. We have like people playing violin, flute, and other instruments once in a while.

Our church is really into music, because my pastor and the music leader is CRAZY about music, and I have absolutely no problem with that.

sweet. but i meant what kind of gear do you use. like which amp and bass.

[br3ad_man]

Only if you are a retard that doesn't know any full chords....

...or if you have a music director that doesn't let you play anything else.

[aznrocker]

sweet. but i meant what kind of gear do you use. like which amp and bass.

Gotcha.
Umm the piano is just a piano. I don't know piano brands.
And I don't know the drum's brand.
We have a korean acoustic guitar and a Fender acoustic.
Gibson Les Paul(not played very often), Fender standard strat, and Yamaha Pac012.
Ibanez bass.

I'm not a bass, piano, or a drum person. So I don't know what kind it is.

[aznrocker]

...or if you have a music director that doesn't let you play anything else.

Aww that sucks bad. Fire that music director, he's lame.

[br3ad_man]

Meh, I don't play at church for the music. Modern Christian music is terrible. Churches should go back to hymns.

[Jude]

Meh, I don't play at church for the music. Modern Christian music is terrible. Churches should go back to hymns.
Agreed. Hymns are actually (usually) well written, although of course lots of them suffer from the same things as modern 'praise music' (generic musical ideas, horribly cliched lyrics such that all songs become indistinguishable, etc). Or at least they need some GOOD Christian rock music, like Black Sabbath on After Forever or something. I guess that song is kind of angry for a church setting though.

[Sticky-Fingers Mahoney]

can any of you help me out???

here is the deal

i have this little berhinger 15 watt amp and a left handed squier p. that is strung up right handed because i'm lame like that, but thats beside the point.

i play bass for a church so i'm needing some new gear.

i have about $500 to spend.
should i get a fender j-bass and stick with the beringer because they are almost 500

or

get a nice amp and stick with the squier. (help me decide on an amp)

or...

all new set up. (under 500 us dollars) (also help me decide)

thanks alot for any help. i dont know much about bass gear so i need it.

[Jude]

If your church has a PA, get a nice bass first (such as a Fender J) and get miked. If not, it's really up to you.

[Sticky-Fingers Mahoney]

yeah they do have a pa but they dont think its a good idea to mic a bass because it would "break everything up"

which amps do you recommend? (combos)

[Jaded]

My church >>>>> yours. I love going to an urban Mennonite church.
Isn't that like related to 7th Day Adventicism? (I could be completely wrong)

[aznrocker]

Meh, I don't play at church for the music. Modern Christian music is terrible. Churches should go back to hymns.

Our church stil plays hymns thank god.

[aznrocker]

yeah they do have a pa but they dont think its a good idea to mic a bass because it would "break everything up"

which amps do you recommend? (combos)

Well my bass has an active pickup so it sounds just fine on our PA system.

[RedHatter]

Church was actually the place I first learned how to play bass 6 years ago. Without it, I would have never touched a bass or a guitar lol. Anyway, I'm somewhat relieved that there are others besides me that think the modern Chrstian music isn't all that good. But I'm glad to see that there are fellow Christian musicians in these forums. Out of curiosity, where is your church based aznrocker?

[wonder_steve]

My church is pretty awesome. I play in both the Youth program and Sunday services. In the Youth there is a bit more 'freedom' in what I play. I generally just stick to root notes or riffs from the song to keep it true to the recording.

On a side not we do have a lot of riffs to jam to in 'dead time'.

On a note a little more to the side I have a night coming up where there is almost total freedom to jam for an hour+.

[br3ad_man]

Anyway, I'm somewhat relieved that there are others besides me that think the modern Chrstian music isn't all that good.

Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to like christian music if you are a christian (though there a some good christian bands out there).

[aznrocker]

Church was actually the place I first learned how to play bass 6 years ago. Without it, I would have never touched a bass or a guitar lol. Anyway, I'm somewhat relieved that there are others besides me that think the modern Chrstian music isn't all that good. But I'm glad to see that there are fellow Christian musicians in these forums. Out of curiosity, where is your church based aznrocker?

SBC, Southern Baptist Convention

How bout you?

[aznrocker]

My church is pretty awesome. I play in both the Youth program and Sunday services. In the Youth there is a bit more 'freedom' in what I play.

Yea, I play both too.
My youth program is a lot more relaxed. If someone makes a mistake, it's not a big deal.
But in the Sunday service. If one mistake happens, all hell breaks loose.

[aznrocker]

Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to like christian music if you are a christian (though there a some good christian bands out there).

Exactly. Christian is just a genre of music.

[br3ad_man]

I actually hate the fact that we have to distinguish music into christian and non christian. People get anal when Minor Threat get labelled as "straight edge hardcore" and I think it's the same with christian and non christian. If music is rock, it's rock, regardless of the beliefs of the performer. If there wasn't a distinction between the two in the music world, we wouldn't have to deal with crappy christian bands and good ones like Joy Electric and Starflyer 59 would get more exposure,

[thelowsoundofbass]

You're in Listowel?

Awesome. You ever go to Sherwood Music in Kitchener? (I work there co-op/part-time)

love that place, never got anythign there but its a great store. are you the guy with the lip peircing???

lowsound

[thelowsoundofbass]

I actually hate the fact that we have to distinguish music into christian and non christian. People get anal when Minor Threat get labelled as "straight edge hardcore" and I think it's the same with christian and non christian. If music is rock, it's rock, regardless of the beliefs of the performer. If there wasn't a distinction between the two in the music world, we wouldn't have to deal with crappy christian bands and good ones like Joy Electric and Starflyer 59 would get more exposure,

or skillet, honistly thats the best live show that i have ever been to. did you know that the frist metalcore band to be on a major lable was a "christian" band? well its true. good ol' zao

lowsound

[aznrocker]

I actually hate the fact that we have to distinguish music into christian and non christian. People get anal when Minor Threat get labelled as "straight edge hardcore" and I think it's the same with christian and non christian. If music is rock, it's rock, regardless of the beliefs of the performer. If there wasn't a distinction between the two in the music world, we wouldn't have to deal with crappy christian bands and good ones like Joy Electric and Starflyer 59 would get more exposure,

But I'm pretty sure the bands you named are proud to be called Christian.

[thelowsoundofbass]

But I'm pretty sure the bands you named are proud to be called Christian.

ya, but i would bet money that the feel like optunities are taken away from them because of it.

lowsound

[aznrocker]

ya, but i would bet money that the feel like optunities are taken away from them because of it.

lowsound

I don't think they even care if they are famous.
If praising God is their purpose, then nothing else matters.

[Jimbobntnr]

ya, but i would bet money that the feel like optunities are taken away from them because of it.

lowsound
123
I can honestly say that I would not listen to anything presented as Christian Rock.

[thelowsoundofbass]

123
I can honestly say that I would not listen to anything presented as Christian Rock.

can you say close minded???

lowsound

[aznrocker]

I can honestly say that I would not listen to anything presented as Christian Rock.

Why?

[Jimbobntnr]

because to this day I have not heard any that I liked. Live was presented as rock, I bought the CD and loved it.

[br3ad_man]

But I'm pretty sure the bands you named are proud to be called Christian.

Maybe, but they would be far more popular in indie circles if they weren't labelled christian.

[aznrocker]

Maybe, but they would be far more popular in indie circles if they weren't labelled christian.

Yea they would
Many people stereotype: Christian music = sucks.

EDIT: typo

[br3ad_man]

Well, to be honest, it's often only fair that they would say that. Most mainstream christian bands are horrible.

[aznrocker]

because to this day I have not heard any that I liked. Live was presented as rock, I bought the CD and loved it.

Yea Live is good, but how is this relevent?

[Jimbobntnr]

Yea they would
Many people stereotype: Christian music = sucks.

EDIT: typo
Thank you, Stryper.

Yea Live is good, but how is this relevent?
They were a christian band not sold as such. I was supporting lowsound's point.

[aznrocker]

Wow. Live was Christian. I didn't know that.
Well they're an awesome band.

[802.11-NGR]

You know what I find funny about people complaining about the generic-ness of Christian music (while I won't deny that much is) is that music in general now is all generic. Almost all the songs on the radio are poorly written and poorly performed...

But with people dissing christian rock, thats like dissing atheistic rock. That's like saying that because anti-flag sucks, Led zeppelin sucks.

I'd listen to Thrice over any other modern rock band you can name, and they are christian.

[thelowsoundofbass]

a know a bunch of people on here like chevelle and they are very blatnet in their beliefs

lowsound

[mrcarter]

A couple of things.
I play guitar as well as bass on occasion (used to be most of the time) in both a woship band that plays on Sundays, and one that plays for a Youth program (I actually co-lead the latter), so I'd like to think I know at least a little bit about playing over worship songs.
With bass, the one thing that is absolutely pivotal is to play with the bass drum. I cannot stress this enough, it is the secret to getting a huge sound and to keeping everyone locked into a tempo. Love your neighbour, but love your drummer more, and get really used to playing with 'em is my advice.
For note choices, it really is best to be minimalist, and stick to the root notes. If you want to be a bit more complicated than that, you can always find lines through the chords that will work, but still keep it simple.
For example, we'll take Everyday
These are the chords that go through the verse

B F# D# C#
G D# Bb A#
E B G#m F#

I'd always recomending starting the changes on the first note, so E will be our start.
You're going to want to find the closest note you can to the E to be the next one, so our line will go E to D#.
Continue the process, try to go in the same direction that you started. So for this example, the line could be E, D#, D#, C#. It'll sound fine, and its a bit more complicated than the roots. This song doesn't really do the idea justice really, and it won't sound that cool anyways because the last two notes are the fifth, and as a rule the fifth is a boring sounding interval, but the substitution of the B for a D# is a great example.

Now, if you're playing a slow song, or a medium one on more of a Sunday kinda feel (I'm sure you can assume the difference between Youth and Sunday), you're going to want to stick true to conservatism. Maybe even with faster ones on Sunday. But as soon as you get to the mediumish ones is the more upbeat, harder Youth setting, throw these rules to the wind and treat it like a regular rock song.

That's another thing, people don't really have an excuse to complain the songs are generic and boring. It's your job as the musician to change that, to make it something special. Add distortion, add lines, add fills, add solos. There's even Biblical backup found in Psalm 33, which more or less says "bring the Lord a new song, played skillfully..." if my memory serves me right. This is basically an excuse to modernize the sound because it will appeal to the masses, and cause more people to come to the Lord (sorry if this seems a little preachy, I'm just trying to say that you don't need to pull back and shy away from complicating the music).

Time for the less informative stuff now, lol. Earlier someone (somewhere on page one, please don't lynch me for not quoting it properly) used Black Sabbath as an example of Christie Rock... I'd never thought of it that way. Mind you I'm not one to listen to lyrics most of the time, but now that I think about it I can see the connection. Pretty cool, lol.

P.S. Don't hurt me because of the long post

[802.11-NGR]

A couple of things.
I play guitar as well as bass on occasion (used to be most of the time) in both a woship band that plays on Sundays, and one that plays for a Youth program (I actually co-lead the latter), so I'd like to think I know at least a little bit about playing over worship songs.
With bass, the one thing that is absolutely pivotal is to play with the bass drum. I cannot stress this enough, it is the secret to getting a huge sound and to keeping everyone locked into a tempo. Love your neighbour, but love your drummer more, and get really used to playing with 'em is my advice.
For note choices, it really is best to be minimalist, and stick to the root notes. If you want to be a bit more complicated than that, you can always find lines through the chords that will work, but still keep it simple.
For example, we'll take Everyday
These are the chords that go through the verse

B F# D# C#
G D# Bb A#
E B G#m F#

I'd always recomending starting the changes on the first note, so E will be our start.
You're going to want to find the closest note you can to the E to be the next one, so our line will go E to D#.
Continue the process, try to go in the same direction that you started. So for this example, the line could be E, D#, D#, C#. It'll sound fine, and its a bit more complicated than the roots. This song doesn't really do the idea justice really, and it won't sound that cool anyways because the last two notes are the fifth, and as a rule the fifth is a boring sounding interval, but the substitution of the B for a D# is a great example.

Now, if you're playing a slow song, or a medium one on more of a Sunday kinda feel (I'm sure you can assume the difference between Youth and Sunday), you're going to want to stick true to conservatism. Maybe even with faster ones on Sunday. But as soon as you get to the mediumish ones is the more upbeat, harder Youth setting, throw these rules to the wind and treat it like a regular rock song.

That's another thing, people don't really have an excuse to complain the songs are generic and boring. It's your job as the musician to change that, to make it something special. Add distortion, add lines, add fills, add solos. There's even Biblical backup found in Psalm 33, which more or less says "bring the Lord a new song, played skillfully..." if my memory serves me right. This is basically an excuse to modernize the sound because it will appeal to the masses, and cause more people to come to the Lord (sorry if this seems a little preachy, I'm just trying to say that you don't need to pull back and shy away from complicating the music).

Time for the less informative stuff now, lol. Earlier someone (somewhere on page one, please don't lynch me for not quoting it properly) used Black Sabbath as an example of Christie Rock... I'd never thought of it that way. Mind you I'm not one to listen to lyrics most of the time, but now that I think about it I can see the connection. Pretty cool, lol.

P.S. Don't hurt me because of the long post

Wow...

I don't agree, neccesarily, with locking in with the bass drum.

I've tried it, I don't like it.

Sounds very nu-metally.

Not saying it doesn't have its place, but if you do it all the time it sounds ghey.

You gotta work with all the instruments and not just parts of one.

I harmonize with the vocals, follow guitar parts, lock in with the drums (not just the bass, but the cymbals, toms, and snare too) and add my own fills and riffs. It is the best way to make a full-sounding song.

[thelowsoundofbass]

A couple of things.
I play guitar as well as bass on occasion (used to be most of the time) in both a woship band that plays on Sundays, and one that plays for a Youth program (I actually co-lead the latter), so I'd like to think I know at least a little bit about playing over worship songs.
With bass, the one thing that is absolutely pivotal is to play with the bass drum. I cannot stress this enough, it is the secret to getting a huge sound and to keeping everyone locked into a tempo. Love your neighbour, but love your drummer more, and get really used to playing with 'em is my advice.
For note choices, it really is best to be minimalist, and stick to the root notes. If you want to be a bit more complicated than that, you can always find lines through the chords that will work, but still keep it simple.
For example, we'll take Everyday
These are the chords that go through the verse

B F# D# C#
G D# Bb A#
E B G#m F#

I'd always recomending starting the changes on the first note, so E will be our start.
You're going to want to find the closest note you can to the E to be the next one, so our line will go E to D#.
Continue the process, try to go in the same direction that you started. So for this example, the line could be E, D#, D#, C#. It'll sound fine, and its a bit more complicated than the roots. This song doesn't really do the idea justice really, and it won't sound that cool anyways because the last two notes are the fifth, and as a rule the fifth is a boring sounding interval, but the substitution of the B for a D# is a great example.

Now, if you're playing a slow song, or a medium one on more of a Sunday kinda feel (I'm sure you can assume the difference between Youth and Sunday), you're going to want to stick true to conservatism. Maybe even with faster ones on Sunday. But as soon as you get to the mediumish ones is the more upbeat, harder Youth setting, throw these rules to the wind and treat it like a regular rock song.

That's another thing, people don't really have an excuse to complain the songs are generic and boring. It's your job as the musician to change that, to make it something special. Add distortion, add lines, add fills, add solos. There's even Biblical backup found in Psalm 33, which more or less says "bring the Lord a new song, played skillfully..." if my memory serves me right. This is basically an excuse to modernize the sound because it will appeal to the masses, and cause more people to come to the Lord (sorry if this seems a little preachy, I'm just trying to say that you don't need to pull back and shy away from complicating the music).

Time for the less informative stuff now, lol. Earlier someone (somewhere on page one, please don't lynch me for not quoting it properly) used Black Sabbath as an example of Christie Rock... I'd never thought of it that way. Mind you I'm not one to listen to lyrics most of the time, but now that I think about it I can see the connection. Pretty cool, lol.

P.S. Don't hurt me because of the long post


in my experance it is best to approch worship music like you would a jam band. let the leader lead, if you feel a funky line is called for, do it. if the leader is slowing things down, do some improve in the key that the song is written in. really know your major scales and the most important thing ot remember is that you might pratice a song 100 times one way and get up to play it and have the whole mood change and you are doing it totally different. i play about 40-45 sunday mornings and with my "youth" as well so i know what i am talking about.

i have also found that it helps to be really good at improv, if you can do that you will never be lost and things will always sound good.

lowsound

ps iv never seen everyday in the key, i like to play it in C or D

[RedHatter]

Bands like Thrice (great band) have Christian members (as 802.11-NGR mentioned) and almost all of the time, they aren't singing about their faith or praising God (at least I don't think they are). Meaning, as funny as it would be, you wouldn't hear their music at a sunday worship service. So, what I meant is that the genre of "Praise and Worship" seems to be lacking something that other genres have. I don't know about you, but I feel more comfortable playing a Smashing Pumpkins CD in my car than a Matt Redman, but that's just me. On the other hand, maybe this genre actually HAS something that other genres don't have. I've really been giving this a lot of thought lately, being a former youth praise band leader (at Bethany Korean Church, btw), and striving to become more Christ-like in my life. Perhaps, if praise and worship music becomes more popular and is better in quality than other types of music, people might get a little too much into the music itself, rather than focus on worshipping God, which is (and should be) the the first and primary reason for the existence of this genre.

[thelowsoundofbass]

Bands like Thrice (great band) have Christian members (as 802.11-NGR mentioned) and almost all of the time, they aren't singing about their faith or praising God (at least I don't think they are). Meaning, as funny as it would be, you wouldn't hear their music at a sunday worship service. So, what I meant is that the genre of "Praise and Worship" seems to be lacking something that other genres have. I don't know about you, but I feel more comfortable playing a Smashing Pumpkins CD in my car than a Matt Redman, but that's just me. On the other hand, maybe this genre actually HAS something that other genres don't have. I've really been giving this a lot of thought lately, being a former youth praise band leader (at Bethany Korean Church, btw), and striving to become more Christ-like in my life. Perhaps, if praise and worship music becomes more popular and is better in quality than other types of music, people might get a little too much into the music itself, rather than focus on worshipping God, which is (and should be) the the first and primary reason for the existence of this genre.

it only seems boring because people make it boring. as for the stuff that is actually recorded, i don't like it very much. it lacks something, not sure what but it just does. now i have been to a service where matt redman played and it was way better than any of his recorded stuff. worship is always better live.

i really like the bolded part

lowsound

ps the chords writting in a worship song are just guidlines, do whatever you want with it. make it your own offering of worship to God after all thats what he asks for

[Jaded]

You know what I find funny about people complaining about the generic-ness of Christian music (while I won't deny that much is) is that music in general now is all generic. Almost all the songs on the radio are poorly written and poorly performed...

But with people dissing christian rock, thats like dissing atheistic rock. That's like saying that because anti-flag sucks, Led zeppelin sucks.

I'd listen to Thrice over any other modern rock band you can name, and they are christian.
:chug:
Thrice is my fav. current band, but keep in mind that not all of the members are Christian.

However, your second statement is not true at all. Most modern Christian bands regugitate the same songs over and over again (if you go to a church were they play those songs you would know what I'm talking about), and in fact they are quite generic, just like the majority of crappy modern radio rock.

I assume you've listened to Vheishu (sp?)? Great album, but I wish it was a little heavier in some parts.

[Jaded]

i really like the bolded part

123

[br3ad_man]

However, your second statement is not true at all. Most modern Christian bands regugitate the same songs over and over again (if you go to a church were they play those songs you would know what I'm talking about), and in fact they are quite generic, just like the majority of crappy modern radio rock.

Exactly. People may be more critical of christian rock because of whatever reason (I can think of a few), but radio rock is also generic. I would argue that mainstream christian rock is more generic in a lot of cases because bands are trying to offer an 'alternative' to Korn or Linkin Park or whoever.

[VRT_RONBO]

:chug:
...l. Most modern Christian bands regugitate the same songs over and over again (if you go to a church were they play those songs you would know what I'm talking about), and in fact they are quite generic, just like the majority of crappy modern radio rock.....
This is sooo true. Listen to the radio for like 30 minutes. It's full of remakes, rehashes, and remixes of the some older or classic songs. The worst part is, when they remake the song, they sing it the same way as the original. I say just re-release the original. Creativity is at an all time low in popular music, in my opinion.

Oh yeah, and when you play your songs live, be sure to lip sync.
I guess Milli-Vanilli were just way ahead of their time.:upset:

[802.11-NGR]

:chug:
Thrice is my fav. current band, but keep in mind that not all of the members are Christian.

However, your second statement is not true at all. Most modern Christian bands regugitate the same songs over and over again (if you go to a church were they play those songs you would know what I'm talking about), and in fact they are quite generic, just like the majority of crappy modern radio rock.

I assume you've listened to Vheishu (sp?)? Great album, but I wish it was a little heavier in some parts.

.... but the singer/songwriter is- and therefore everything you hear is.
Agreed about Vheissu- it kinda hurt on the when Thrice was featured on AOL as "One of the finest pop-punk bands...truly elite emo..."

I was kinda like "whoa, are we talking about the same band here? the guys that made artist in the ambulance and the illusion of safety....

[802.11-NGR]

it only seems boring because people make it boring. as for the stuff that is actually recorded, i don't like it very much. it lacks something, not sure what but it just does.
ps the chords writting in a worship song are just guidlines, do whatever you want with it. make it your own offering of worship to God after all thats what he asks for

Agreed

[QUOTE=RedHatter]Bands like Thrice (great band) have Christian members (as 802.11-NGR mentioned) and almost all of the time, they aren't singing about their faith or praising God (at least I don't think they are). Meaning, as funny as it would be, you wouldn't hear their music at a sunday worship service. QUOTE]


Actually, although their lyrics sometimes don't say it outright, you can see all kinds of references in almost every song. I agree that it doesn't belong in a worship service though, but that is not what their music is written for.

[peeted]

id start simple if your new to bass. play teh roots and add a few fills, then add some arpegios and stuff. church music has a suprising amount of room for good bass playing wen you get used to it, lots of room for walking lines, slap and even tap. pluss if you play any jewish style music (evangelicalists ofen do) then you can do some realy fast fingerstyle stuff.

[Sammy_L_D]

love that place, never got anythign there but its a great store. are you the guy with the lip peircing???

lowsound

Nope, that's Geoff you're thinking of. :P

I'm new there. Sam's my name. Big/tall/muscular/fat guy with dark brown hair, tiny goatee, mutton chops.

[Jaded]

I was kinda like "whoa, are we talking about the same band here? the guys that made artist in the ambulance and the illusion of safety....
Don't forget about Identity Crisis.

[Liebensaft]

And Vheissu.

[802.11-NGR]

And Vheissu.


This was the Vheissu review...

[Jody LeCompte]

The church I play in is a scary penticostal church, so much fun

[thelowsoundofbass]

Nope, that's Geoff you're thinking of. :P

I'm new there. Sam's my name. Big/tall/muscular/fat guy with dark brown hair, tiny goatee, mutton chops.

thats sweet, i might just have ot drop in and we'll meet up and play some bass. but we wont forget the pictures so we can prove that we actually did meet

lowsound

[Sammy_L_D]

thats sweet, i might just have ot drop in and we'll meet up and play some bass. but we wont forget the pictures so we can prove that we actually did meet

lowsound

Haha, for sure man.

[thelowsoundofbass]

Haha, for sure man.

tho i have no idea when ill be in kitchner, hmm do you guys carry berhinger pedals???

lowsound

[Sammy_L_D]

tho i have no idea when ill be in kitchner, hmm do you guys carry berhinger pedals???

lowsound

We do indeed. Some at least.

What kind are you looking for, specifically?

By the way, have you seen some of our latest bass acquisitions?

By that I mean, the high-end Yamaha basses we have become the exclusive South-Eastern Ontario dealer of?

[thelowsoundofbass]

We do indeed. Some at least.

What kind are you looking for, specifically?

By the way, have you seen some of our latest bass acquisitions?

By that I mean, the high-end Yamaha basses we have become the exclusive South-Eastern Ontario dealer of?

do you have sixers?!?!?!? if you do i am so there soon. i am looking for a distortion, i don't think that i have been there for about 5 months

lowsound

[Sammy_L_D]

do you have sixers?!?!?!? if you do i am so there soon. i am looking for a distortion, i don't think that i have been there for about 5 months

lowsound

Let's see...We had an Ibanez SR506 for a while, but that was sold.

Out of the top of my head, I can think of two sixers we have. Yamaha RBX6JM (John Myung signature model; my personal favourite sixer there is), and the Yamaha TRBJP (John Patitucci signature; expensive little bastard).

And oh man, 5 months? That means you probably missed out on the bass clinic we held about a month back!

Nathan East.

Edit: And oh yeah, regarding the distortion pedals, we may have a Behringer distortion (bass I assume?) lying around.

If you want a guitar distortion, the BOSS DS-1 just went down in price. Only 60 bucks now.

[thelowsoundofbass]

Let's see...We had an Ibanez SR506 for a while, but that was sold.

Out of the top of my head, I can think of two sixers we have. Yamaha RBX6JM (John Myung signature model; my personal favourite sixer there is), and the Yamaha TRBJP (John Patitucci signature; expensive little bastard).

And oh man, 5 months? That means you probably missed out on the bass clinic we held about a month back!

Nathan East.

Edit: And oh yeah, regarding the distortion pedals, we may have a Behringer distortion (bass I assume?) lying around.

If you want a guitar distortion, the BOSS DS-1 just went down in price. Only 60 bucks now.


i want bass, right now for effects i have a boss guitar flanger (very nice on bass) i am getting a 15 year old boss bass chorus and i need a distortion to conpleat it. tho i don't like boss bass distortion and berhinger is cheep. ya i missed the bass clinic, o well be sure to tell me when there is another

lowsound

[Sammy_L_D]

i want bass, right now for effects i have a boss guitar flanger (very nice on bass) i am getting a 15 year old boss bass chorus and i need a distortion to conpleat it. tho i don't like boss bass distortion and berhinger is cheep. ya i missed the bass clinic, o well be sure to tell me when there is another

lowsound

Alright...well I'll check out our Behringer pedal selection tomorrow, see if we've got anything like that. :thumb:

If I can't find it, we can probably order one in for you if you needed it.

[thelowsoundofbass]

Alright...well I'll check out our Behringer pedal selection tomorrow, see if we've got anything like that. :thumb:

If I can't find it, we can probably order one in for you if you needed it.

thats sweet, tho ATM i am a little short on money

lowsound

[br3ad_man]

The church I play in is a scary penticostal church, so much fun

Do they preach all that "you will reap blessings in abundance" stuff?

[Sammy_L_D]

thats sweet, tho ATM i am a little short on money

lowsound

No problem, go in debt. :lol:

Question, do you play in any bands or anything like that over in Listowel, or the surrounding areas?

[thelowsoundofbass]

No problem, go in debt. :lol:

Question, do you play in any bands or anything like that over in Listowel, or the surrounding areas?

i play all the time in church and me and some friends jam. and i might be joining a death metal band

lowsound

do you have MSN???

[Sammy_L_D]

i play all the time in church and me and some friends jam. and i might be joining a death metal band

lowsound

do you have MSN???

Yeah man. And now it can no longer be seen.