Role of Bass Guitars in Worship

Bass guitar is a very important instrument that adds another dimension to the sound of a band. The role of the bass guitar is to provide rhythmic and harmonic foundation. The main rhythm section is the drums, and the bassist supports and amplifies the pulse set by the drummer. In the second respect, the bassist’s role is to give the music a fuller sound. The guitars and keyboard are relatively high-pitched instruments. The bass is needed to fill out the lower end of the sound spectrum. Without it, the music would be high-pitched and thin. The bass plays a powerful role in how we hear harmonies. When we hear several notes played at the same time, we hear them all relative to the lowest sounding pitch, the bass note. The majority of people think that the bass player only plays the root note of whatever the guitar is playing. That might be the case of most rock music, with a few exceptions. However, in styles such as jazz and funk, the bass guitar takes on a different role. The bassist has more freedom to break from the traditional single note root and substitute baselines that are independent of what the other instruments are playing and start to add a new texture to the overall sound.

Ghita Tise is the person who first introduced me to the bass. He taught me the fret board and a few riffs, but that was about it. He wanted me to play with his group the contemporary worship songs that our church sings. In those songs, the bass part was just playing the root of the chords and keeping time with the drums. After all, the main role of the worship band is to lead people into worship. That’s it. You’re not there to show off what you know and take three minute solos. It’s not right atmosphere especially for the ending worship set.

When I started playing with the Seven38 band, I wanted to add a different texture to the way that I play. I started to listen to more Jazz and Gospel music. Listening to other people’s creativity will generally spark unique and different musical tendencies in you. I also started memorizing scales to better harmonize what I play with everyone else. As I’ve mentioned before, being in a worship band, requires a certain sensibility of listening to the other instruments and contributing something unique to the overall sound. There is a very fine line between too much and too little. The bass shouldn’t under any circumstances become the overpowering element in the music. The hard part is finding balance, whether it’s in the style, tone or volume of what you play. -Dani