What happens when it’s just not happening? Maybe the drummer’s rushing, maybe he’s dragging, maybe it’s you. Here’s what a bass player should do when the drummer rushes or drags, and what drummer Aaron Seeber does when the bass player is the one drifting, from a lesson I made with him for The Locked-In Bassist.
Quick answer
When the drummer rushes or drags, the bass player should take charge: push a little, play straight down the middle and keep the drummer in check. First take responsibility and build rapport, since 90 to 95 percent of the time it’s personal. When the bass player drags, drummer Aaron Seeber says he usually just follows.
Take responsibility before you blame anyone
One thing I do is take as much responsibility as possible. That’s something I got caught up in early on. I’d blame the less experienced musicians I was playing with if the time wasn’t feeling the way I wanted it to feel. I’d place blame on the drummer, or the pianist, or whomever I thought was responsible for things not happening.
Eventually I realized that if I just take responsibility for the situation, the groove is going to feel infinitely better right away. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be perfect, and it doesn’t mean it’s going to be exactly what you want. But you have a much better chance of locking in. That can be taking responsibility as a person, and it can be taking responsibility for the groove.
Most of the time it’s personal, not musical
Ninety to ninety-five percent of the time, it’s a personal thing and less of a musical thing. I don’t mean personal in the sense that you dislike the other person, although obviously that will affect things. I mean it’s a rapport thing. It’s all about your relationship to the other person. If you don’t have one, just being nice, smiling, being gracious or giving can fix problems with the time.
Aaron learned one fix from the great drummer Matt Wilson: if you’re ever having trouble locking in with somebody, look at them and smile. A lot of times the other player might feel nervous, especially a young bass player who’s trying to impress you or prove something, and a lot of times a smile makes them feel better. Aaron’s other advice starts before anyone plays a note: meet the person, say it’s nice to meet them, talk a little and build some rapport. As he points out, a lot of bandleaders say their favorite rhythm sections are the ones that drive to gigs together.
And remember you’re not working at a bank. Even if it’s not the most ideal situation, even if you had to drive through a storm or got stuck on the subway, you’re still doing something you ultimately want to be doing.
If I just take responsibility for the situation, the groove is going to feel infinitely better right away.
Cole Davis
What should you do when the drummer drags or rushes?
When it is a musical thing, what I do is push a little bit and take charge. One trick I like is to just start pushing right away, because that sends a message to everyone: OK, the bass player’s in charge. When I’m thinking, OK, there’s a fire, how do I put out the fire? Just straight down the middle. You can even have a face that shows you’re serious. It’s not ideal, but you want to take charge and take full responsibility, and sometimes you do that by pushing the time forward.
I actually think it’s different for bass players than for drummers. When a drummer is dragging or rushing, I believe the bass player needs to keep them in check. When a bass player is dragging or rushing, I think the drummer needs to go with them. I could be biased, but Aaron agrees. As he sees it, the bass is creating the harmony, so the bass player is driving the ship. To him, the bass is the time and the drums are the sound. Listen to Miles Davis with Philly Joe Jones and that’s the sound of the band. Listen to Miles with Tony Williams and that’s the sound of the band. The drummer creates the sound, and the bass player creates the pulse and the time.
So when the drums are insufficient, I think it’s up to the bass player to take charge of the time. In the lesson, Aaron wiggles around with the time on purpose and I take charge. His verdict from the drum chair: if the drummer can’t keep time, you do actually need to keep everything in check.
What does a drummer do when the bass player drags?
Now flip it around. Aaron doesn’t run into many bass players who drag, but when they do, he says, “Honestly, I just follow.” He wants it to feel good, and every time he fights with somebody, it doesn’t feel right.
That goes back to something the pianist Hal Galper used to tell him: never fight the beat. If a bass player is dragging, it’s not your job to fix the tempo. Just let it slow down, because the most important thing is for it to feel good. Aaron calls that controversial for sure, but he’s always kept it in mind. In time vs feel, on Ray Brown’s “Have You Met Miss Jones,” I put it this way: your bread and butter as a bass player is making everything feel good.
We tested it in the lesson. I dragged on purpose and Aaron went with me. He figures we probably ended up almost half the tempo, but wherever I went, he was just trying to make it feel good. Then we ran it again and he fought me. To him, the first one felt way better, even though it slowed way down, because every beat felt good and we were together.
From the drum chair, Aaron puts it simply: “To me, the time comes from the bass player.”
Practice it with a drummer
Grab a drummer friend. Start with Aaron’s advice, then run the experiments we ran in the lesson:
- Talk before you play. Say hello, talk a little and build some rapport before anybody counts off.
- Drag on purpose. Have the drummer go with you, then run it again with the drummer fighting you. Notice which one feels better.
- Swap roles. Have the drummer wiggle around with the time while you take charge, straight down the middle.
At every level, right up to the professional New York City level, you’ll run into a drummer and a bass player who aren’t locking in. Know what you’ll do the next time it happens. The rest of it, from drum fills to quiet brushes gigs, is in The Locked-In Bassist.
Go deeper
The Locked-In Bassist: Swing With Any Drummer
The full course with drummer Aaron Seeber: what to do when the drummer drags, throws a fill or won’t lock in, from both chairs.
FAQ
What should a bass player do when the drummer rushes or drags?
Keep them in check. When it’s a musical problem, I push a little bit and take charge, straight down the middle, so everyone knows the bass player’s in charge. I think it’s different for drummers: when a bass player drags or rushes, the drummer needs to go with them. I could be biased, but drummer Aaron Seeber agrees. To him, the bass is the time and the drums are the sound.
What should a drummer do when the bass player drags?
Drummer Aaron Seeber doesn’t run into many bass players who drag, but when he does, he says, “Honestly, I just follow.” The pianist Hal Galper told him never to fight the beat: if a bass player is dragging, it’s not your job to fix the tempo, because the most important thing is for it to feel good. Aaron calls that controversial.
What do you do when you can’t lock in with the drummer?
Take as much responsibility as possible, as a person and for the groove. I used to blame the drummer or the pianist. Eventually I realized that if I just take responsibility, the groove feels infinitely better right away. Most of the time it’s a rapport thing, and being nice or smiling can fix problems with the time. Aaron learned the smile from drummer Matt Wilson.
Should a bass player push the tempo to take charge?
Sometimes. One trick I like is to just start pushing right away, because that sends a message to everyone that the bass player’s in charge. It’s not ideal, but you want to take charge and take full responsibility, and sometimes you do that by pushing the time forward. From the drum chair, Aaron says he doesn’t usually push.
Do professional musicians have trouble locking in too?
Yes. At every level, right up to the professional New York City level, you encounter a rhythm section that isn’t locking in. When I was starting out, I ran into it all the time. And it isn’t always the bass or drums: as Aaron points out, a pianist who’s weaker in the time can cause it too, so you decide in the moment what to do.
