Simple as Pi

Any math geeks out there? You know how you can calculate Pi to 10,000 digits? Yeah even I have trouble with that one. Definitely not a simple equation.

I did some recording today for my wife's new single (myspace.com/wanting). I guess that's one of the perks of being married to a musician... Free session players! No, seriously, I'm glad she asked me to do it. It's always nice to get into the studio and just groove.

I'm the kind of guy who likes to plan ahead, work things out days in advance so that when I arrive at the studio, I'm ready to plug in & go. But when you're a session guy, you can't call all the shots. Unless you're Dennis Chambers or Carlos Santana or somebody... Unfortunately I am neither of those guys. The producer in this case is a friend of mine, so he was willing to listen to what I had in mind first. In my mind, I thought what I was doing was really simple. I was minimizing my fills, and just doing lots of nice hanging notes and using empty space. I thought that would be what the song called for.

After our first pass, we realized first that I was out of tune. Here's a tip: make sure the room isn't too cold, or your instrument will go in and out of tune like crazy. I was using an acoustic bass, so it was very touchy to the cold. So, I just do what I always do. I lit up a garbage can fire to keep things warm. My buddy Jim taught me how to build a portable apparatus that fits in my shopping cart like a dream. Ahhhhhh the heat is on.

After my 2nd take, we all sat down and took a listen. Not bad, I thought. But Mr Producer had different ideas. He said there were too many notes in my bass lines. He didn't sugar-coat it, which I liked, and suggested I try something else. I returned to my walk-in freezer and tried again, remembering the old K.I.S.S. principle. No, I didn't spit fire or play the bass with my tongue. Actually, I forgot my blood capsules. FYI, that acronym stands for "Keep It Simple, Stupid". Hey, I actually learned something in Business School!

Now here comes the challenge. Taking what I wrote and rehearsed over and over for a solid week and throwing it out the window. I said through the mic. "Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to master, eh". I think it's because we don't give them a lot of thought. Oh, walking is easy, but try re-learning how to walk because you've just been told you have a bit too much swagger... I wasn't insulted. That's right, I'm not a premadonna. Although I do think music was better Pre-Madonna.

I discovered something in that recording session. If you're trying to lace the whole song with flare, accents and cool riffs, they just seem watered down. Now that I'm just sticking to the basics, when I do a fill, it stands out a lot more. On playback, the producer actually noticed the fill I stuck in at the end of the song, and he said "I love that fill there". That made me smile.

It's one of the hardest parts about being a bass player. The average listener doesn't listen to the bass line in a song, but I always do. The vocals are usually the most important part to the listener, so you can't conflict with them or overpower anything. You have to be solid, but you can't steal the show. I think that's where the phrase "in the pocket" came from. While the singers and guitarists are busy signing autographs and fighting off groupies, the bass player is left standing there with his hands in his pockets.

As I said, I learned something today. Keep things as Simple as Pi, and then at the end, toss something in a little out of the ordinary. A) Nobody will expect it and B) My favourite kind of Pi can be cut into 10,000 slices.