How do you tell when the stage is level? When the drummer drools out of both sides of his mouth.

All bad drummer jokes aside, drummers are a crucial part of how a band sounds and grooves. In order to help improve relations between drummers and bassists, I interviewed Mike Michalkow, a drummer and instructor that I met at a National Guitar Workshop session last summer. Mike has performed, recorded and taught for 17 years, with several drum instructional books to his name.

1. As a drummer, what do you look for in a bassist? - from style, timing, and interaction

First and foremost, what I like to see in any musician is "Great Attitude"... musicians have a cool job, we need to keep that in mind and always love what we do! I know many bass players who are good at "one style", If I need a great Jazz bassist, Rock bassist, Funk bassist, then that particular person will get the call.. I also know a few cats out there who can do it ALL.. Those players are harder to book, because they are so busy all the time (What does this tell you bass players, become more versatile and you will constantly work!)

Timing is HUGE... If I cannot groove with a bass player or if we are playing tug of war with the time, I will not recommend that player again. I highly suggest that no matter what level you think you may be at, you have to feel comfortable playing with a click, or a great drummer who has spent his whole life developing an inner sense of time. Having great groove and timing will get you work in the studio and live. Drummers all dig musicians who do not have to rely on the drummers timing!

Interaction is a must for any band. Since we cannot communicate verbally on stage or in rehearsals etc, we need to be able to see one another. This is especially important for any cues that may occur within a song, count-off's, song endings, etc. Bass players, if your drummer has 25 cymbals and you cannot see him/her, try to stand somewhere where you can see him/her, if this is not possible, tell the drummer to be realistic and lose some of the cymbals! Haha!

2. What clues and cues are commonly used by drummers to help out a bassist who is lost?

This may depend on how musically skilled your drummer is. I have an ear for hearing chords and notes, and it becomes obvious to me when the bass player is playing the wrong part. If we are all reading a chart with the same form and bar numbers, I'll look over and mouth the bar number where we are, and hopefully the bass player can read lips.

If the bass player is lost in a non reading situation, I may wait until the beginning of the new phrase and give a giant head nod to indicate where we are. I always suggest playing with drummers who have more experience than you at first, there is no substitute for learning from pros who have been doing this a long time! Never get nervous, and just have fun!

3. How can a bassist help out a drummer who is a) lost and/or b)trying to hold the band in time?

If the drummer is lost (that never happens right folks! Haha) I would suggest to you bass players is to walk over to the drummer and interact in a professional matter. The options are: going up to him/her and say directly (we are about to start the chorus, or the break is coming up, you are dragging a bit) remember to always do these things in a happy mood, because the crowd sees you on stage and if you are showing frustration, everyone sees! The other option is body language, head nods, moving the headstock up or down to indicate the beginning of a phrase or section.

4. Double time vs. double time feel vs. normal time. How do these grooves affect the interplay between bass and drums?

Oh I love this question!! This is a big one that I explain to my students all the time! PAY ATTENTION EVERYONE!!

Double time = Doubling the TEMPO, so now the speed of the song is twice as fast. Example: The tune starts of at 120 bpm, the second half of the song is going to be twice as fast so now you have to play at a new tempo which is now 240 bpm! You are simply doubling the time!!

Double Time FEEL = This FEELS like the tempo doubles, but it does not. The drummer is behind this. Example: the Song is at 120 bpm. Your drummer's snare is playing on beats 2 and 4 which is very normal/regular in rock, pop, metal, blues, etc. If the drummer decides to play the snare drum on all 4 beats/quarter notes and still remains at 120 bpm it now FEELS like the tempo doubled.. All this has done is bring up the Intensity of the song or section. I highly recommend practicing this with your drummer. I use double time feels all the time, especially at the end of songs when I want to build the intensity. A great example of a double time Feel/beat is the groove being played by the drummer on the song "Oh Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison.

D.C. Al Fine

Sit down and have a drink with your drummer and talk about music from the two sides of the drum kit. You might be surprised what a little communication might turn up.

Mike Michalkow can be contacted at http://www.mikemichalkow.com


Feel free to email me with questions and comments or visit my website,
Elizabeth White
EAWhite@lizardbass.com
http://www.lizardbass.com

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