This is perfect! Everything a worship bass player needs to hear and more. Excellent presentation!

Thank you so much! I just started playing in July. Our church needed a bass player so I volunteered to learn. I downloaded a note chart and started following a lead sheet. I have been searching KZfaq for videos that will help me improve and understand this instrument and its place in worship music. I greatly appreciate your heart and the emphasis on being a support, not a lead. You are the first person I've seen playing with his thumb. Thank you!!! I've been discouraged because that is the only way I can play right now, and I thought I was totally wrong. I'm practicing with my index finger, but I find it difficult to incorporate during the service with the other musicians. Thank you for all the information and ideas. I will probably need to watch again so it sticks. Lots of new vocabulary for me! Right now my playing is super basic, but I'm hoping to learn how to add in some of the things you were talking about.

Perfectly timed advice. I have been playing bass for 25 years but have been on hiatus for 10 years. I am watching to brush off the dust.

Wow! This is by far the best video I've seen on playing bass in worship music. It covers everything in an organized way. I will be watching it multiple times so that I can internalize everything and practice it and then put it into practice on Sundays. Thanks!!

We're surely noticed when we aren't there. Learning and growing, I've played for 55 years and still take lessons. At 69 years old I still look to improve my skills.

just a comment about almost always playing in the very bottom register. I feel that you might be missing out on some very effective dynamic phrasing in many songs, many of which allow for the bass to come in in a more ambient way in a higher register. As the song builds then you drop down into the power notes.Many modern songs allow for this and are recorded by the original artists utilizing this technique.

Wow! Thank you for this. Can't wait to implement these techniques. For your right, we are there to support and honor God in our playing. God bless you ☝️🙌

Thanks a lot for sharing. May our God bless you more.

Just getting back into bass playing at church. This was really helpful

Thank you for this. Very helpful for me

Thanks for a great Christ Centered perspective on worship playing. This is definitely different than most, as "the fill" seems to be the focus on-line. I've been playing with the team for almost a year now after 33 years not playing. My diminished skills have forced me to focus on areas I can, such as the many things you mentioned here (and I took notes on several as well). As my skills build again, there is temptation to play more, yet, what does that accomplish? Am I honoring Him, or myself? I choose Him. Thanks for that focus again, we all need it. As iron sharpens iron... John

Thank you for the great advice and teaching. I will practice your methods and be a humble bass player.👍

It would be nice if someone would have a video in how to play simple bass fills. At the last part of this video, you played the fills, but it would be nice to be shown how to do it. Even though I’ve played bass for 15 years solely in church, I never have seen a video on how to actually play some easy fills.

Amen 🙏 glory to God I'm a Pastor also learn how to play bass ,here in Philippines this help a lot.God bless 🙏 Pastor

Thank you for this excellent video! It sums up a really good starting point for how to approach a worship song.

Great, great stuff brother! God bless and keep it coming!!

wonderful. thanks for making us understand that its not about us but God

Thank you precious bass player brother. I appreciate the tips 🙏

This was an awesome video!

Thanks for the tutorials, God bless you. Well noted

It was a Great video Brother, but please try to leave us with positivity and keep the videos coming We need them, God Bless You Brother.

This was very helpful. I am new to bass and only a few months into it and this has a good perspective. Thank you

Awesome advise! Thank you so much for the lesson! I learned a lot!

Yeah, there to serve the song, and the Lord. To help the congregation, definitely As for playing, I mostly use my first and second fingers. If I use my thumb it’s either as a third finger, or more likely as an ostinato or pedal note. I sometimes use a pick, but more if I want a very percussive feel, or a rhythm that is more intuitive with a pick. (I also play guitar) But mostly I use 1 or 2 fingers. I have developed that where I can do up/down with my fingers and simulate the pick feel, and it grooves more for me, but I am adaptable. I like to use the open E, A and D for octaves with the open E and the higher E on the third string. And unisons on the A and D, this fills out the sound more, and leads to a different feel. I don’t automatically do it every time, but if it fits the songs or we have fewer musians, especially if there is nobody playing keys. But ultimately it is about the song. We have three bass players taking turns, we have different styles, and all of them work. ButI would like to record each one of use on an isolated track, playing the same song and compare them.

As a newbie this video was very helpful. Thank you 😊

Not sure if I agree with the chapters about layers. There are plenty of Gospel bassists who play in the pocket both melodically and rhythmically

This was great 👍🏻 thanks for the hard work!

In CCM, as far as bass goes... stay low and in the pocket. Only time you really need to run up the fretboard is if you are doing a fill that you need to cut through the mix. People try to make bass a complicated thing. Lock up with the drummer on 1 and 3... don't over play.

I would say to NOT unlearn but to learn and take in new or different styles of genre

I have been away from the bass guitar for over fifteen years, back then I was involved with heavy metal music. I recently obtained a bass guitar and started to refresh myself on it, my focus has heavily been on learning to play more classic blues (Delta and Chicago Blues). Though I have enjoyed listening to Blues music for hours on end I have really been having difficulty dealing with the lyrical content. Since I desire to glorify the Lord and to have a witness for Him in my life and music I started thinking about just focusing upon Christian worship music. So I did a search here on KZfaq and found your video. I will be focusing upon the guidance and direction you are providing in regards to playing bass guitar in this setting. Though I do have a question for you (or for the other bass guitar players here). I have played the electric bass in the past (Lotus, BC Rich, Washburn and Fender), but I recently received an acoustic bass (not a stand up bass). I really like the feel of the acoustic bass and plan on purchasing the Fender CB-60SCE acoustic bass guitar. How would you think the acoustic bass guitar would sound compared to an electric bass guitar in a worship band? Thank you for your response.

Support the groove and hold it together 😎!

Really have to listen to the entire video to get over the eyebrow raising points and hear the balance. Finishing with a 9.5/10.

I agree with what you’re saying for the most part but we do a lot of Shane and Shane and we use planning center. And the bass parts for Shane and Shane are very interesting but still serve the song well.

Awesome advice Thankyou

Excellent! Helps me a ton! Thank you so much!

What a well done video..thank you!

Good tips!

so much in this

I am a beginner and I love to play the bass do you have any tips or anything that I can Lori

Mate that bass sounds motown

What do you think of the flatwound strings in worship?

This is a rock solid set of principles of the aptitude and attitude of a great worship team bass player (except for the endorsement of the cheesy octave slide intro). What would make it much better is if you had a bass player from your worship band demonstrating the techniques, ideally with a backing track. You are not a bass player, by your own admission, and to hum or barely sing the songs you are using as examples assumes everyone knows them and the arrangement you are using.

Where I struggle is, say we're playing over a G chord then it moves to a D, should I keep with that move and play over the d? Sorry if that's a basic question but I'm struggling to do anything other than root, third or octave in each chord change.

Hey, Alex! I just started playing bass a few months ago, but I’ve been having to use our churches bass because I don’t have my own. Do you have any bass recommendations specifically for modern worship music? The one I’ve been using is a Fender Precision, but I was wondering if you have any recommendations or advice on what to look for when buying a bass for worship. Thank you!

Do you offer an online course for bass players? Im using one but it is quite secular and I am hoping to find Christian instructions however I am very early stages of learning guitar

I feel like in some bands I’ve played with in the past, the keys player drowns out the bass. Any advice on this?

Amen 🙏 and amen

Great content. Did you go to seminary? I'm looking for an MDiv from a school that aligns with similar schools of thought on modern worship.

Modern pop, and modern rock is played that way because most of it is played by inexperienced musicians not all but trust me you can tell it very easily.

Not playing is a seriously underrated technique

I'm a newbie on Chase so yeah

Thanks for stating the goal of most contemporary or modern worship music to which is very uninspiring lack the excellence that is so strongly boasted of but seldom presented. Most of the songs are not well written unfortunately. The line that it’s about Jesus and not about us is an excuse for not practicing or playing well. What you are describing is something you can do or might wanna do without a band. Maybe just a acoustic guitar and vocals. I’ve been playing for a little while and I can tell you that today’s modern worship music lacks a lot. I think maybe instead of a band backing tracks only maybe the way for most of this type of thing. Now, this was not said to offend and if you’ve taken it that way please forgive me cause that is not my heart. I’ve heard a lot of music over years and played quite a bit as well, and know it does not have to be complicated to be played well. The simplicity is always the best but , it doesn’t have to be lifeless and boring either.Trust me when I say people know the difference and most of the time they just won’t tell you cause they’re just nice. Learn to play well, Go through something, experience the lord and you’ll see your prospective on playing will totally change.i find that some church musicians are challenged by more experienced players not because of skill level but because they won’t humble them self to try and learn something that is a little challenging for them. That includes playing, playing styles, songwriting, arrangement and composition. Mediocrity is not part of Gods calling and we can’t be afraid to do better than what we are doing. There are times we’ve run across worship songs with great impactful lyrics but horrible arrangement. The whole tune is fighting itself. Things like no space, drum and bass not locked, to LOUD, no dynamics , bad harmony, off key , bad time, etc ..... these do not lend them selves to support of the song. So I’ve said this to say that we are singing about the Greatest Love of all and the most high God and presenting it in the weakest, worst way possible. Just want to be clear and honest here not mean spirited. We can do better. Let’s start by learning how to keep time and drop the click track so we can play as a worship band. Lost art for sure.

Except that bass is not a simple instrument. It can start out as simple if one sticks to the roots to support the harmony. However, to do more, a good grasp of music theory is essential. One has to understand chord composition. Sometimes more than guitarists that go by chord shapes.

Chromatic scales are passé? Ow, when did that happen? I feel old.

When will you play/demo anything?😢

I AM NEW BASS player

👍

A newbie on the bass

The tom matching makes me cringe.

way to much talking and not enough playing

U talk too long. We are here to do the practical.

To much talking man