By Jon Liebman
September 20, 2018
We often hear about the importance of being a well-rounded bass player, generally in the spirit of “the more you can do, the better.” Let’s face it, there’s no shortage of people offering up advice on things like being able to groove in all different styles, becoming a great reader, playing upright, fretless, slapping, keyboard bass…
What about singing? Is that something bass players “need” to do?
When I think about bass players who sing, names that come to mind, initially, are the obvious ones: Paul McCartney, Sting, Geddy Lee, Jack Bruce, Esperanza Spalding, etc.
But there are an awful lot of players whom I can’t recall ever singing, but yet they’ve managed to build some mighty successful careers as bass players. I mean, have you ever heard Leland Sklar sing? Or Jeff Berlin? How about Bob Glaub or Jerry Jemmott? We can come up with names all day long: Neil Stubenhaus, John Patitucci, “Ready” Freddie Washington, and so many others.
In this week’s interview with Chicago band bassist Brett Simons, we talk about how his current job requires him not only to play bass, but to sing the tenor vocal parts as well (previous inhabitants of that gig include Jason Scheff and, of course, Peter Cetera, both of whom supplied their fair share of vocals). I was having a conversation with my old friend Matt Bissonette a while back and he told me, with absolute certainty, that he never would have landed the gig with Elton John had it not been for his ability to sing those high, false setto vocal lines.
Is it possible to give equal focus to bass playing and singing while doing them simultaneously? I once read an interview with Mike Mills of R.E.M. and, if I recall correctly, Mike said the first thing he does is put the bass playing in the back of his mind so he can focus on singing. Does that mean his bass playing is “relegated” to the background?!
Well, that’s fine for Mike, I guess. But I’d rather put all my energy into playing the best bass part I can, in order to support the band and the music. If one has the ability to give equal status to both playing and singing, like Paul, Geddy and the others, so much the better!
I happened to be on a plane with Gene Simmons once, and invited him to do an interview on FBPO. His response surprised me. He told me he’s not a fan of bass players, unless they’re singing or writing songs. Otherwise, he says, they’re just “in the background.” Interesting perspective. The people reading this article understand the vital role filled by us bass players, as we lay down the groove and make the music feel good. Apparently, not everybody sees it that way. (We eventually got the interview with Gene, which you can read here.)
I’m all for the encouragement of well-roundedness as bass players, including singing, as long as the player strives to do everything well, and not “well enough.” And, of course, for the right reasons.
Have a thought about singing bass players or bass player well-roundedness in general? Feel free to leave a comment.
In the meantime, check out my interview with Brett here.
Singing has been a necessary compliment to playing in my career. Many early gigs that I got, especially the steady or house gigs wouldn’t consider non-singing bassists. That being said, I’ve never loved singing. I have a decent voice, can sing in tune, and can control the sound of my voice, but I’ve never been in a band where I was the best singer (thank God). I’d rather excel as a bassist than work at being well rounded.
I agree with Tom and in singing has always been necessary for me to get the gig over someone who just plays. I’ve been the main harmony singer in almost every band I’ve been in not to mention the lead singer in quite a few others. I consider myself a singing Bass Player, not a Bass Playing singer. I don’t hate it but I like to try just playing bass in a band once, that would be cool!
Some of the most well rounded musicians that I know cannot carry a tune vocally, and that does not diminish their music at all. I also think that it is an admirable pursuit to just be a great bassist. For me and my music, however, vocals and bass together are everything, and I cannot have one without the other and I do not see them as separate things at all, so there is no need to push one to the back of my thinking. I have had students that wanted to sing, so I would encourage them to learn both parts together. If you separate them in your head it seems harder to glue them back together later. Just my opinion.
https://youtu.be/-nvxQ53p4KE
Setting aside for the moment the career-minded notion of the question, one of my teachers advised that any musical idea you might think of becomes real by first being able to sing it. That was very useful to me in that I have a habit a lot of times in “letting my fingers do the walking”. That alone might serve as a basis for getting more calls. Beyond that if you can manage the inherent difficulty of simultaneously singing and maintaining the functional role of the bass with singable ideas, you might become even more popular!
Theres nothing wrong with being a singer as well as play Bass and theres nothing wrong with just focusing on just playing Bass.Its all about the creativity.
I’m a singing bass player and i tend to simplify the bass part during the vocals. Less is more whilst the audience takes in the song. Then there is plenty of room for wiggling yer fingers in between verses etc. Also Jeff Berlin sings on Bruford’s albums.
I “got stuck with” singing early on because nobody else in my first couple of garage bands wanted to do it. Over the years, however, it has helped me a lot. There are many excellent bassists out there but being able to sing well has given me the edge over better players in certain situations. I auditioned for my current band at an open audition with a half dozen other bassists. I’m a good player but I thought at least two were better. I beat them out because I can sing. We have a lead vocalist but I fill an important role, anchoring the backing vocals. The thing that I bring to the table is that I help make the other backing singers in the band better because I can nail my parts.
I have filled all three roles – a singing bassist, a non-singing bassist and a non-playing lead singer. Each has its good and bad points. The one I enjoy most is playing bass and anchoring the backing vocals. Musicians can pick out good players but non-musicians tend to judge the band on how well it can sing. Having a good groove and tight harmonies is what impresses audiences