Should I play electric guitar or bass with the only piano?

[philipjkim]

Hi all,

The bassist and the drummer left the worship band I'm serving in.

Now the remaining players are: me(electric guitar) and the pianist.

I have a couple of questions in this situation.

1. Is it better for me to play the bass than the electric guitar?
(I'm not that good at playing bass, but I've got some experiences.)

2. If it is ok to play my tele, how can I complement the pianist playing??
(I usually played rhythm with 2 or 3-note triad chords on higher strings and some fills when I'm with a bassist and a drummer.)

3. Any tips or advices for worship service w/o bass and drum are welcomed.

Best wishes for 2012,
Philip

[Dave_O]

Most piano player's left hands play better bass than me, and I played bass in bands for 12 years before going over to the dark side

I did a Christmas Eve gig with a piano, a piano accordion and acoustic guitar. At a couple of rehearsals, I played bass- but then I started to hear how I was getting all messed up in the piano's sonic real estate, if you get my drift.

I ended up playing "tic-tac"-style bass on the neck pup of my 52RI. With a bit of trem (and reverb would have been nice, but my Ibanez TSA15 doesn't have it) it sounded "big" without being loud, and I found it allowed the piano player a bit more room.

My 2c worth, less tax

[Thighbanez]

It really depends on the Pianist/keyboardist.

If you have a keyboardist like my church does...who tries to play everything by himself...
Whether you play guitar, bass or the drums won't matter, he will walk all over your parts anyway. *rolleyes*

But if you have an experienced pianist that knows how to play with others, you can go either way that makes you happiest.

Guitar - You can fill in on rhythm or lead-lines that accentuate what the pianist is playing. If the pianist can cover the bass lines with their left hand...you're golden.

Bass - You can provide the beat and meat of the music for the pianist provided you know what song is being played and it's not some off the cuff improvisation on the pianists' part.


I tried playing bass and it just doesn't work for me. I just don't have enough soul. And even if I were good at it, the keyboardist would just turn up his bass keyboard...*grumble* So I stick to my guitar and pedals...a sound he can't copy with his razzle-dazzle midi motif-6 keyboard.




Good luck!

[bigbandtele]

Originally Posted by Thighbanez

I tried playing bass and it just doesn't work for me. I just don't have enough soul.

I don't buy the "not enough soul" argument.

Playing bass effectively is about laying down the fundamental harmony of the music with appropriate rhythmic feel.

Everyone has the same amount of soul. One per person.

[Thighbanez]

Originally Posted by bigbandtele

I don't buy the "not enough soul" argument.

Playing bass effectively is about laying down the fundamental harmony of the music with appropriate rhythmic feel.

Everyone has the same amount of soul. One per person.

Well, I guess then that I don't understand the fundamental harmony of the music and rhythm enough.

[bawdyli'lmonkey]

Originally Posted by Thighbanez

It really depends on the Pianist/keyboardist.

If you have a keyboardist like my church does...who tries to play everything by himself...
Whether you play guitar, bass or the drums won't matter, he will walk all over your parts anyway. *rolleyes*

I been there! haha

to the OP, what kind of service is it? if its contemporary, switching to bass might make it feel a little too "Gaither," IYKWIM. in any case, I'd stay with Electric guitar, switching might throw off potential participants who may want to play bass... some churches prefer to leave holes open so the congregation sees what is really needed. if you're better on guitar than bass, stay. Texture and depth can be more effective than just filling sonic space.

[philipjkim]

Originally Posted by bawdyli'lmonkey

I been there! haha

to the OP, what kind of service is it? if its contemporary, switching to bass might make it feel a little too "Gaither," IYKWIM. in any case, I'd stay with Electric guitar, switching might throw off potential participants who may want to play bass... some churches prefer to leave holes open so the congregation sees what is really needed. if you're better on guitar than bass, stay. Texture and depth can be more effective than just filling sonic space.

Mainly contemporary, sometimes hymns.
And if you meant Gaither vocal band, it really helped me.
I listened to the band on youtube and got what you meant.

[justin.ray]

I led a service with only electric and vocals for about 8 months last year. Towards the end of that experience, I had a keyboardist join me, then a bassist, then a drummer. Based on that experience, I feel that your instrument choice should be mostly by the style and confidence of the pianist and yourself.

If the pianist is comfortable leading, you are off easy and can do whatever complements his playing and is comfortable for you. I think that, in most cases, having the piano lead provides a more full sound in a two instrument arrangement, the most prominent exception is when the other instrument is an acoustic guitar. Other instruments can fill this role, but I feel that it is much more difficult for them to achieve this.

If he isn't comfortable carrying the song, you have to decide if you would prefer to lead from electric or bass. Personally, I think it is extremely difficult to lead from bass, but an accomplished bassist would likely disagree. When leading from electric, you can't very well play 2 and 3 note chords and arpeggios as you would normally play with drums and bass in the mix, and playing an electric like an acoustic doesn't normally sound quite right either. When I led with only an electric, I played mostly clean, mostly on the mid or neck pickup positions, and was mindful to keep the strumming to a minimum, as the electric tends to have quite a bit more sustain than an acoustic.

If the pianist leading won't work, my second recommendation is to have the pianist focus on the base and fill in with the right hand tastefully. In my opinion, some of the most beautiful music I've heard is some of the most simplistic music I've heard.

[Revman]

Is the piano an acoustic piano or digital? Each has it's own voice. I'd entertain the thought of going acoustic/electric guitar.

Revman

[SamClemons]

You might not like it, but I would suggest either Acoustic, struming basic chords complements a piano pretty good. Or the big advantage with bass is to play simple stuff to add a strong rhythm. I played early in my "career" bass with a piano that did pretty substantial tours with a church choir. What the bass added was a strong sense of rhythm that helps everyone sing. In years gone by, both guitar and bass were part of the "rhythm" section of big bands. With that small of a band, you really need to create a strong sense of rhythm for congregational singing. Save the tele for a solo during a prelude or special.

[franchelB]

Why don't you talk it over with your pianist? And what do YOU feel comfortable in playing?

If your pianist can cover the bass lines, then maybe you should stick to the guitar. If your pianist is more like me then maybe you should look into playing the bass. An accomplished pianist or guitarist can do the music all by themselves if they had to. But being in a "band", you both need to work together to enhance your worship service.

There's really no right or wrong answer.

[black_doug]

I've also done both at various times. What I'm reading from this is that a third person is the worship leader. If so then I would involve him/her in any discussion.

Consider too that whatever you decide could determine your role for an indefinite time so make sure that's what you really want.

[philipjkim]

Thanks for all the precious advices!

Another pianist joined in recently, so now the members are two pianists(actually both of them are using keyboards), the worship leader(acoustic guitar), and me.

We discussed a little about roles in the service, but it didn't help a lot. It's because all of the members lack experiences, especially in ensemble.

Anyway the pianist can play bass line using the left hand, so I suggested playing electric guitar instead of bass. Members said OK, but they want bass to make beat stronger (doing drum's role).

So, here comes another questions:

1. When it comes to beat, is bass superior to electric guitar?

2. If not, how can I give some groove to the music with electric guitar? (like funk rhythm strumming?)

3. One keyboardist plays bass and chords, the other keyboardist play brass or bell sounds for fill-in. The worship leader strums or do arpeggios. Then, how can I effectively add a colors(using electric guitar's unique features)?

I'm not good at both guitar and bass, learning continuously. Those questions could be silly, but any answer or advice is a BIG help to me!

[SamClemons]

How about talking one of the keyboard players into playing bass?

[Thighbanez]

I agree with Sam Clemons.

I have to deal with the same "DUAL Keyboard" setup at my church and let me tell you...it leaves NO space for anyone else. We've had other musicians come to visit and sit in and they've all left upset and bewildered as to why they were called to play when the bloody keyboardist won't let anyone else get a note in edgewise.

For your sake, try to persuade one of the keyboardists to play bass...lol.

[AJBaker]

...with two keyboards and an acoustic, maybe you should look into learning drums or percussion.

[SixShooter]

Originally Posted by AJBaker

...with two keyboards and an acoustic, maybe you should look into learning drums or percussion.

With two keyboards and acoustic guitar I think the rhythm aspect is fully covered. So consider the tonal aspects instead. If you want to add to the tonal qualities of the music the electric guitar will give you sounds that the other instruments can't. Bass will just reinforce what's probably already there. I'd go with the electric.

[TxTeleMan]

Philip. I played bass in a worship band, and one week the worship band was on vacation (it was two sisters and their husbands), leaving only me and a substitute piano player/singer.

I played bass, which was a mistake, It would have been far much better for me to have played guitar. For a piano, an acoustic guitar is the perfect compliment. A Tele would work if a good acoustic is not available.

[bingy]

I'm thinking the electric... played in the manner you described... double stops and triads rhythmically, high on the neck, say, at frets 8-12, or, wherever the acoustic guitar is not playing.
You may not need bass but, you also don't need another instrument in the middle range.

My big secular hero is Steve Cropper of Stax Records. (I know, I'm old.)
The music may be Soul and R&B but all of it is rooted in The African-American Church which is the cradle of modern American music.
Cropper invents a signature guitar part for every tune.
No strumma-strumma.

/b

[philipjkim]

Thanks for sharing all your wisdom!

I asked one keyboard player who's playing brass/bell melody part that if she could play bass, but she was not confident with rhythmical play. So she played melody, and I mostly played triad(string #2~#4) arpeggios, finger comping, and strokes (no drive effects used, just a little bit of amp reverb).

After the rehearsal all of the members were satisfied with the sound. I think it's not that I was playing good, but the electric guitar has the feature that the keyboard can't express well (such as picking dynamics, resonance of chords and sliding/hammering-on/pulling-off/bending stuffs.)

BTW, do you use Isus2 or IVsus2 chords often?