Just Got a U-Bass - Advice

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katysax

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I just got a u-bass. My ukulele group is comprised of around 20-30 people sitting around playing all together with the standard chucka chucka. The absence of bass almost hurts my ears. And endlessly playing C F G7, C D Am G, etc is getting boring.

I don't play bass - I have an electric guitar bass but never played it much. My thinking is that I can start by playing root of the chord on the first beat and maybe a little more. Since I play full sized guitar I know the fretboard on the bass already, and since I can read music (treble) clef I'm figuring the song sheets can give me some ideas to vary from just hitting the root. My thought is that even just playing the root will give a lot more depth to the sound of a bunch of ukuleles.

To those of you who are bass players - does this sound like a reasonable place to start. Do I need to know more than this to get started accompanying the uke group?
 
For me, I treat my bass like a lead guitar much of the time and do lead runs with it. I think there's a bass forum here also. Whoops sorry, this is the bass forum lol.
 
I think you're okay to start with the root notes and work your way from there. Soon enough you'll be walking through the scales. Sometimes it's nice to play the melody on the bass instead of the root. Just start figuring stuff out and see what works. I'm a bass player myself and every song I see as something different. My playing is adjusted to what the song actually needs. That can vary tremendously.
 
am sneaking up on you patrick - have been immersing in the u-bass since i got it a few
days ago and yes it's so versatile one just has to start somewhere and then it
begins to grow. i started with root notes but it's already expanding from there to
runs - and then to playing a bit of lead with some things. You can't go wrong
starting with root notes though.


Patrick Madsen said:
For me, I treat my bass like a lead guitar much of the time and do lead runs with it. I think there's a bass forum here also. Whoops sorry, this is the bass forum lol.
Click to expand...
 
I'm wanting to just jump in and start with the group with only a couple of weeks of practice on the bass. My thought is that the root would be my fallback if I can't do anything else. I'm thinking since I do know a lot of bass runs on the guitar, and read music, between those two things I'll be able to vary enough from the root at least to start. I'm pretty comfortable with the major scales after messing with it for a day. I ordered the book "Bass for Dummies". Thanks for the advice.
 
http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?72185-Just-Got-a-U-Bass-Advice

Playing the roots ist just the way I started to play the bass about 25 years ago. I played classical guitar at that time, and also could play chords.
After a short time playing just the roots, you will discover the patterns of notes you can add, depending on the style of the song. You don't even have to know every note you're playing, just follow the patterns, then you'll soon have a "dumdeedum" beneath the "chuckachucka" ;)
 
I have been messing with the bass as well. Bass adds so much to a ukulele group.
I basically play root/five, imitating a tuba. Every once in awhile I get a run in.
What I have discovered is timing is the important. Even just root notes in time sound good.
The group really needs to listen to the bass for the timing.
 
hahahahaah sounds familiar -- am finding that having a guitar background is really
helpful and i understand about wanting to find a group to play with am already
chomping at the bit for that one. Of course would be easier to play with those
playing guitar as recognizing uke chords isn't in place here. But if one has a heads
up on the chords it's off and running.

katysax said:
I'm wanting to just jump in and start with the group with only a couple of weeks of practice on the bass. My thought is that the root would be my fallback if I can't do anything else. I'm thinking since I do know a lot of bass runs on the guitar, and read music, between those two things I'll be able to vary enough from the root at least to start. I'm pretty comfortable with the major scales after messing with it for a day. I ordered the book "Bass for Dummies". Thanks for the advice.
Click to expand...
 
I played bass for decades before I picked up uke. The root is always a good note choice. But after awhile might sound a bit boring if you do nothing but the root note. Try adding in the 5th (as suggested in an above post) The 5th is located one string higher(pitch wise) and two frets up from the root. OR one string lower (pitch wise) and on the same fret as root note. Easy right?
The 5th will work for major minor and 7th chords. Diminished chords you need to lower the 5th one fret. and augmented chords raise he 5th one fret.
Work on that for quite awhile and listen to alot of simple bass lines (country, classic rock, Southern Gospel etc...)
After awhile you'll want to learm major, minor triads and arpeggios for 7th chords.
here's me playing ubass and ukes. I use lot's of root 5th along with some walk ups/ downs. Trust your ears, you'll get it.

I have more on my Uke page in my signature below.
 
Thanks that's really helpful. I know the major and minor triads and arpeggios from the guitar. But it's one thing to know them and another to play the right note in rhythm with a group when you aren't used to it. If I start with something like root and fifth and get a little more varied I hope I can build on that over time.
 
If you have been around any bass players this comes pretty
quickly as just how bass sounds and naturally flows. Guess it
helps my mom and dad both played bass so once the root was
seen the rest has just come along as part of the equation.


cb56 said:
I played bass for decades before I picked up uke. The root is always a good note choice. But after awhile might sound a bit boring if you do nothing but the root note. Try adding in the 5th (as suggested in an above post) The 5th is located one string higher(pitch wise) and two frets up from the root. OR one string lower (pitch wise) and on the same fret as root note. Easy right?
The 5th will work for major minor and 7th chords. Diminished chords you need to lower the 5th one fret. and augmented chords raise he 5th one fret.
Work on that for quite awhile and listen to alot of simple bass lines (country, classic rock, Southern Gospel etc...)
After awhile you'll want to learm major, minor triads and arpeggios for 7th chords.
here's me playing ubass and ukes. I use lot's of root 5th along with some walk ups/ downs. Trust your ears, you'll get it.

I have more on my Uke page in my signature below.
Click to expand...
 
Tonight I played the u-bass with my ukulele group. It went pretty well. It made the group sound much better. For me it was a blast. Since we had song sheets, and since I know the fret board from the guitar I did Ok. A few rough spots, and nothing very fancy, but I can see that I can add a lot to the group and have lots of room for improvement. It was the most fun playng music I've had in a long time.
 
When playing with a group of ukes I approach bass playing with a blue grass mind set. The vocals and the uke are the primary music sources, the bass provides rhythm and enhances the chords. Sometimes I think of it as playing the bass drum, plus adding the root or 5th. It takes restraint not to just rip into the bass lines like a rocker but that what this ensemble calls for.

And when playing the root and fifth, such as C G, and the next chord is G (V) try to avoid playing it before the chord. I'll try to say that more clearly. Say the chords are


chords on top:
C C C C G G C C
C G C C G D C C
bass line underneath

not:
C G C G G D C C



Make sense?
 
"And when playing the root and fifth, such as C G, and the next chord is G (V) try to avoid playing it before the chord. I'll try to say that more clearly. Say the chords are"


I took the U-Bass to a bluegrass jam session last night. I get what you are saying here - it feels pretty natural to my ear not to hit that fifth before the change. This is still a novelty for me, but I'm really surprised how naturally playing the bass is coming. As long as I am essentially playing a melodic drum - it really enhances an acoustic group.
 
As long as I am essentially playing a melodic drum - it really enhances an acoustic group.
Click to expand...

Exactly! Very good! Sometimes think of it as playing the bass drum with the added responsibility of choosing a pitch.

And then sometimes I just can't hold back anymore and run away with a busy bass line. Takes discipline to resist playing the jazz bass lines that come to mind, but that's not what this part normally calls for. The bass is a supportive instrument, not a solo instrument especially in a blue grass setting.
 
I have always loved the simple bass lines, and generally stick to them. Mostly.:nana:
 
I started playing the bass today (I got a damaged and used Fender Mark Hoppus Signature Bass for my birthday on Sunday, but I had surgery on my stomach six days ago), and I'm starting by playing roots and thirds mostly. My plan is to play the electric bass for a year, and if I get serious enough about it, buy a U-bass. I would love to just play the U-bass, but I think my time would be wasted if I didn't also play the electric bass, and I decided to start with that.
 
bigchiz said:
And when playing the root and fifth, such as C G, and the next chord is G (V) try to avoid playing it before the chord.
Click to expand...

I would actually play it this way, as it provides a little more forward movement into that G chord from the C.

C G C F# G D C C

It's more of a "jazz thing," but as the bass player (and as you said, the rhythmic foundation), that also means moving the chords along as well and not always chugging along within the confines of the root and fifth.
 
WTG katysax! I just aqcuired a UBass too, with the idea of accompanying my group...I get tired of just hearing 60 people go plinkity plink plink plink for 2 hours too, all with the same silly strum and chords, so I think it will make a big diff in how we sound. We do have one guy who brings his Ubass to some jams but not many. I've always loved Bluegrass bass, and hope to somehow emulate taht sound...have my first bass lesson in a couple of weeks, having NO guitar background, I have no idea how to tune it, let alone play it...I have high aspirations, no? LOL
 
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