Teacher Tip - Sync Bass and Ride

Quick fix to sync swing drums and bass

Especially with younger players and in school groups, there is a tendency to overplay fundamental parts. This clutter gets in the way of a satisfying groove. Exuberance is great, but can lead to trying too hard at being creative. In a rhythm section, the goal is to lay a solid foundation, providing the glue that holds the ensemble together. Excess embellishment quite often muddies the texture, and leaves the rest of the parts without a firm connection to where the time is.

The following example is fairly typical of novice or immature renditions of a basic swing feel. The challenge of a swing pattern is: just where do you shave the eighths? More toward the dotted rhythm? Or more toward a symmetrical triplet? And if the drummer and bassist are inconsitent, or not in agreement, then the whole rhythmic foundation is shaky.

The quick fix is to have both the drummer and bassist play only straight quarter notes. - with NO EMBELLISHMENTS. This will allow the bass and ride cymbal to agree on where the pulse is. Have them cultivate some discipline and stick to it for several choruses to have a chance to really lock in together. It’s a magic fix for a sloppy groove.

You’ll be delighted when players, who haven’t yet copped a legit walking groove, beam when the lights come on as they lock into a steady quarter note pulse. It will elevate the whole ensemble.

Let me know if you have a creative fix for rhythm section problems.

--Steve S.

(Tip-o-the-hat to Gene Aitken, Dir. of Jazz Studies / UNC, Greeley)