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Bass solo comping
How do you comp during a bass solo?
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12 Replies
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Great question! I usually only comp at the end of a line (4 bars) or at the end of a section (i.e. going from A to B). Then I’ll play something at the end of the solo to bring the band back in. I never know if I’m doing too much or too little.
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Definitely! I’m always wondering whether I should play less…I usually play 3-note-voicings (shells) on the first beat, just to support the pulse of the tune. My question: Do you play in higher registers to leave space in the low/bass register or is this too “dominant” as the ear focuses on higher notes?
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Yes Karsten! Exactly. I actually just wrote the same thing down below. Comp in the contrasting register of the bass so that you’re not interfering with them.
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Sounds good Carla! Honestly I feel the same way to this day still. I try to lean towards doing less for sure, and listening to the bass player and interacting with them when they play something for me to respond to or leave space. 🙂
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Great comments everyone! All are correct! Here’s any extremely valuable tip for at least knowing WHERE to comp on the piano.
When the bass is up high comp low, and when the bass is improvising down low, comp high! This will ensure you stay out of his way. 😀
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Here is a snippet from the practice room: Last week my band rehearsed “Willow weep for me” and the bass player took a solo. Towards the end I tried to lead over to the B section where the singer takes over…
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Wow! Very cool Karen! Thanks for using the upload feature to upload an audio track. I had to download to listen but I’m wondering if it’s working for other people. Either way I was able to listen after I downloaded. Loved it! You could explore the higher end register to provide even more contrast between the register the bass is improvising in and the register you’re comping in. Sounds great! Thanks for sharing. 😀
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Thanks, Brenden, for your reply and suggestion. I’ll try to work out the contrast in registers even more.
As regards uploading: Is there a way to upload audio files which can be listened to without downloading? This would be great…or is uploading not intended in the community area?-
We’ll work on this! I’m hoping YES. Shouldn’t be too hard.
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Just fixed it Karsten! Should be all set. I switched back to my normal account. I was using my test account to reply to you before.
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Excellent! 👍
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I suppose what you want to do is let the bass shine. This means most of the time playing silence (yes, silence is part of the music).
However, when the bass or others may get lost, it might help if the piano just punctuates a little the structure to bring everybody back on board.
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