Bass while guitar is doing double stops?

[Tanhauser Gates]

Hello,

Where would a bass player start if the guitar is doing a pedal tone with double stops? For instance:
   5     7        9    10
   5      7       9     10
0     0       0      0

Does the bass also do double stops? Just the lower note? Or, the higher one that would also be the bass note if the double stop happened to be a power chord?


Thank You

 

[1001gear]

The short answer, do anything you like.

[Jed]

 

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1001gear wrote:

 

 

The short answer, do anything you like.

 

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Let's adjust this to "Do anything that sounds good to you".

 

Personally, I can't imagine anything other than a bass pedal tone sounding clean against that guitar part but maybe you hear a line I don't. OTOH, you could tell the guitar to stop already with the low E pedal and let you play the bass part however you want. In general guitarists should not play anything that low when there's a bass player getting paid to work that register.

 

cheers,

[RobRomano]

As everyone will tell you, play what sounds good. That is very broad, you could play something dissonant and it will give off a completely different vibe than your notes in the major scale.

But if you want my advice, I would say figure out the root note of the double stop and play that note either at the same time as the double stop or on the off-beat (one beat before/after the double stop). It really depends on the rhythm of what you're playing since bass if very much a rhythm instrument. Whatever notes you're playing, just make sure they somehow a part of the chord (the double stop) or an extension of the chord, adding on to the chord of the guitar. For instance if your guitar player is playing a double stop that is essentially a power chord, you can hit a major 3rd or a minor 3rd (whatever note you want really) and it will change the connotation of the double stop. 

But in all actuality, just messed around with whatever notes sound good, just remember you want to compliment what the guitar is playing. And double stops on the bass are awesome you just need to use them in the right context.