Lock step - the drum and bass

"Never uttered words more true." - Angus McDonell

This is the response I got when I said the fllowing at a conference recently where I was playing bass for Angus McDonell (who is himself a wicked bassist!):

The kick drum and the bass should be in sync at virtually all times.

Seriously.

What does that really mean?
If the kick is on the one - the bass is on the one and generally doesn't hit another "big" note until the kick does. The two parties are in lock-step with each other at all times. If this is news, then there is something else the two parties will need to start doing: communicating.

The drummer and bassist need to talk little about most songs. That means that the drumer and bassist have to be solid enough to know what the grove is and what they're going to play before they play it. You can "wing-it", but you have to agree what wing you're talking about.

One case in point: Raggae. Raggae is one of those places where you can play it "white", or you can play it "right". The key to doing it "right" is the ghost note on the one. That means no bass or drum is played. Often times I've heard demos where its just kindof got a raggae feel, but to paraphrase Jesse Manibusan, if you don't have the ghost on the one, then the groove is to raggae like Taco Bell is to Mexican food.

If you've got the kick on the one, the bass should probably be right their with it. If the bassist has a note change on the upbeat of 2 (as a lot of our modern CCM music does), he/she should communicate that to the drummer so the change can be reinforced by a well-placed kick.

(If I get some comments here, I'll post some charts to explain what I'm talking about.)

A lot of times we have willing musicians, but not the most skilled. The key thing is to be willing to learn and be of service. Often too we have musicians that are more skilled than the task calls for - and thats awesome. Again, the key is to be a willing servant.

In the case of the drum and the bass, I don't think this is any more true. These two people (often half of the band) has to provide the spine of the group and be happy doing it, knowing full well that their abilities will likely never be used to their full potential at mass. And that's okay - it's being part of the Body of Christ. If the band is the Body of Christ, the body needs its spine - or else it will fail. As musicians, if we are not skilled, we should invest to become skilled to serve effectively. If we are skilled, we should bring the mind of the teacher, and the heart to serve and communicate.

God bless you in your ministry.