Once again, it's that guy that talks to you about bass stuff. I was recently brainstorming ideas for a series of instructional videos and lessons I'm involved in, and I kept coming back to what I call "The Groove Alliance" - or TGA, for short.

Being a member of TGA is the primary role of any bassist on this great planet of ours. The Groove Alliance, my friends, is the complete symbiotic relationship between yourself and that guy at the back of the stage -- your drummer. Now I knew I'd probably get on a rant with this, and I was right. To make it easier to digest, I'm going to split this into two articles. As with my prior articles we'll hit on the importance of listening, watching, and being open to other players' particular styles. We'll also dig into some of the particular properties of each one of these things. So … let's start groovin'.

Marching to the "beat of a different drummer" is usually a reference to someone who does things their own way. As a bassist, you soon learn that every drummer has his/her own beat, and this can be a blessing or a curse. You may be on a session or a live show with a cat that just gets your blood flowing with his unequaled grooviness and amazing pocket. On the other hand, there's the occasional poser that thinks he's a "Drum God." Never fails that this is the one who ends up on the road with you, thousands of miles from home, and will NOT shut up about how good he is.

Guess what ? He's a LIAR!!!! However, in either scenario you still have a gig to get through and, to make the best of it, you need to learn how to adapt to your new surroundings. Now with the first guy this isn't that big of a task since the groove resembles something from the heavens. The latter "drooling, groove-violating oxygen thief"-- not so much. But never fear, my defenders of the "one". There is hope and we will start with our dear old friends -- our beloved ears. You've heard me talk about having "Big Ears" a couple of articles back and now is the time to really utilize them.

The reality of the "different drummer" scenario is that drummers, like the rest of us, have their own internal sense of time. Luckily, most of us are not robots -- even though I've known some keyboard players that have the personality of one. Finding your drummer's sense of time and adapting to it can make an otherwise horrendous gig a lot more tolerable. Keep in mind -- there will be a gig at some point in time where this will go totally against your nature. Ultimately, it may be a struggle, but if you find some form of sweet spot with the groove, the crowd will never know, the band will think it rocks, and most important: you'll get paid.

To start down this journey, the next time you're listening to whatever you're grooving on, try not to listen to the bass or the song hook or the babalicious singer. Instead, just listen to the drums. Every musical style has a very distinct feel and sense of time to it and familiarizing yourself with these styles may help you "discover" the different drummer within you. Once you have focused on the drums pull back your listening even farther and try to focus on just the kick, snare, and hi-hat. Play close attention to the groove in this sense because, THAT my friends is where the money is made.

Regardless of genre, being able to get a feel for a drummer's kick drum is the absolute key to the groove. A well defined downbeat from you on the top of the measure with the drummer's kick will drive any type of music's groove all the way home. Now, with drummers with less than stellar time or feel, this can be a real chore; hence, the mention of the hat and snare. Whether the groove is in perfect time or "loose as all get out" ( yes, I am Southern ), a drummer will give you some idea of what he is doing by his hi-hat and snare patterns.

For example: in a classic rock groove, drummers will typically have some form of eighth note pattern on hat, kick on beats one and three alternating with snare on two and four. Of course this is a basic example and honestly was about all the aforementioned GOD of drums could handle, but this is a great way to get started. Listen close to the kick pattern and then make sure you play right with it on the downbeats of each form.

While maintaining focus on the kick, make note of the high hat. More times than not, the hi-hat will give you your linear motion to help get a feel for what your drummer is doing. And this, in turn, will help you lock in the groove. Believe it or not, for me, the snare is the last thing on which to focus. Nothing like a great snare groove and a strong backbeat to make us all "pigeon neck" but honestly, snare drums annoy me half the time and the pulse is typically in the hats and kick.

Some drummers also lose their mind on a big stage and feel that they need to strike their snare by reaching above their head with something the size of a California Redwood and then proceed to slam it into said drum as if they were trying to drill into the Earth's core with all the strength nature gave them. (Your basic Druminator kind of thing.) Even better is that they do this while of course playing a BALLAD.

So, forget the snare drum. A drummer's feel can almost be completely derived from his hi-hat and kick patterns. The pattern on the hat should give you your overall feel whether it is a swing, shuffle, driving rock, country, Shred Polka, or whatever. By focusing on that along with the classic "whump" of the kick, NOW we have our basic palette to work with. And, lo, it is good.

As a bassist, maintaining focus on the groove can be a challenge -- especially if your singer has A.D.D (Uh, do I sing now?) or Mr. "Pushes the Tempo" guitar player is wanking away. Yes, brethren and sistren, trying to listen and focus on your drummer in some live and studio situations can be a chore. Obviously, in a perfect world everyone has their own individual mixes on a fully automated console and caviar in the dressing room. Realistically you are at Billy BJ's Bar and Grill and you are lucky to have a single monitor for the band.

Either way, try your best to dig through the clang of glasses and bar wenches to find that ever elusive groove. It all comes back to proper listening to lock with your drummer and make the booties on the dance floor shake. I've even refined my monitor mix over the years to be extra heavy on kick and a taste of hi-hat. Granted only a taste of the hat because luckily they carry pretty well on stage. Also keep in mind that too much of the high hat will bring in too much of the aforementioned "Snare from Hell." My first preference when I have the choice is to utilize an in-ear monitor mix. You can save your ears by controlling your own volume and you can really refine what you're listening to. Unfortunately that isn't always possible (say, at Billy BJ's) and we bassists then have to do what we do best - we must adapt.

Well, Gang, hopefully there were some tidbits in here that get you in the right headspace about locking with your drummer and fulfilling your role as a member of The Groove Alliance. In the next installment I will go into more actual techniques and various ramblings. Until then, remember that at the end of the night -- as long as there is a marriage of bass and drums, the band gets hired again, your singer's bar tab gets paid, the keyboard player may actually meet a woman, and yet again the brother and sisterhood of bass players has saved the day. Until next time, babies.

Groove on,

S

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