Lets think about this for a moment. What is the pocket and what is the groove? As a bass player I know that it is essential that I stay in the pocket. You ever play with a drummer and you just could not feel the groove. It is like you we out of sync with one another. That is being out of the pocket. Where there is no pocket there is no groove.
The pocket gives you that feeling of direction. Lets expound on giving the band a feeling of direction. Bass players are quiet leaders for the band. If the bass is unsure or lacks confidence it is very noticeable and can lead to a dysfunctional rhythm section. For example, if the bass player is playing behind the beat and the drummer is trying to push the beat it will feel like the band is dragging. This will usually cause the singer to turn around and do that circular motion with their hand to say “speed up band you are dragging”. No pocket there. You see where ever the downbeat is supposed to be that is where the drummers kick and bass are supposed to be. Fundamentals man... get to the downbeat of one. This is where bass players are supposed to start when developing basics. Feel one and get there. No matter what play that downbeat to hold the whole band together. It does not matter what style of music you play. Downbeat of one is king. Listen to jazz bass players like Charles Mingus or Rufus Reid. If you are a rock or classic rock bass player then listen to John Paul Jones. He was my hugest influence and he is the one I learned about pocket and groove.
Bass players also give direction for the band by letting everyone know where they are going in the song. You ever listen to a song where the bass starts walking up and you know as a listener that there is a change coming up. Typically it would be like a chorus would come next or a solo of some sort. Notes that are walking up or down going to the next chord give everyone direction. This is crucial as well. Country and blues bass players live off of this. Any bass player who walks bas line lives off of this. Anytime there is a direction of walking up or walking down it is screaming “hello we are about to change to something”. So the next time you listen to a bass player see if you can hear what I am talking about. Find some other bass players to listen to to help you get some ideas of what you can do to create direction for the band you are in.
Every player has their own groove, which is like their finger print. It's the way they feel. The pocket has to do with meter more than this. The trick or method is to quantize one's groove to the meter (pocket) and particular style being suggested. All musicians must rely on this being established, before grooving with others. Once the style has been established, everyone must play within at least 128th of the beat. Which means, anything less than this; 64th or 32nd of a beat would be considered not playing in time. However, one who is skilled can play out of time just enough, to give a unique type of groove. Very few can do this. Remember! pocket has to do with meter and groove has to do with feel. People confuse the terms, and sometime pocket is use where groove would be the correct term. Besides, playing everything on the beat and in time, still would not establish a pocket. It is the way it FEELS that determines the groove. Many forget the feeling side to music, by focusing too much on the beat/pocket.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some interesting points Sekou... meter is a part of the pocket but getting to the downbeat is fundemental. If a bass player is out of time with the drummer then there is no pocket, no sense of direction and there is a push and pull feel. If you can get to the downbeat of one the rest falls in place with the pocket and groove.
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