Countrys Convenient Chord Cue
Living in the Southwest, one type of job I encounter often is the corporate country gig. During the winter, local resorts attract big companies from out of town, and the groups are always treated to a “Western night” where they might go to a dude ranch to have barbecue, beans, and beer. The band plays country, and if enough beer is consumed, the crowd usually gets a little rowdy and whoops it up. I recently played one of these events, filling in with Rancho Deluxe, a band that has played these gigs for many years.
Unfairly, a lot of folks snicker at country music. Some bassists who are into rock, jazz, blues, R&B, funk, or metal won’t go near it. I think every bassist should learn how to play country, because it’s bass playing in its purest form: roots and 5’s, half-notes, quarter-notes, scale walkups to the next chord, etc. These elements are the foundation of all good bass playing. While many of my jazz buddies turn their noses up at C&W, most of them would have a hard time simplifying their playing enough to do it right. The chromaticism of jazz offers many hiding places, but if you blow it on a country gig, everyone knows. Being able to play “Donna Lee” but not “Hey Good Lookin’” is like building a house on a fault line—one day it’s gonna fall down all around you.
Country music is generally pretty simple, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t involve skill. Capturing the basic 2/4 feel requires you to nail the downbeat, hold your half-note for the full length, and feel the connection to the backbeat. Note choice is critical—you usually play only two notes to the bar (hint: hit the root on one), but you also need to make sure the second note functions well with the next measure. There are ample opportunities to play scale “walkups” to the next chord, but you have to know to not overuse them.
Ready to saddle up? Begin by internalizing the beat shown in Ex. 1, a typical two-step drum pattern. Once you’ve got it, move on to Ex. 2, which shows a basic country progression—it’s easy to play, but you have to commit to simplicity to make it work. Tempted to add “just a little more” to this line? Don’t.
One of the big challenges on a country gig is faking your way through a tune you don’t know. Sure, most classic country is built from the I, IV, and V chords (with the occasional II or VI making an appearance), but the trick is in knowing exactly where and when it changes. Most of the time, it’s obvious where the chords are heading, but some tunes have unusual chord placement, and considering that you play mostly half-note roots on beat one, when the change comes, you’re either on it, or you’re not.
On the Rancho Deluxe gig, I had many unfamiliar tunes thrown at me, and like in any gigging situation, I had to keep my ears wide open for musical cues. Fortunately, there are a number of classic musical hints that helpful guitarists might throw your way on these gigs. Ex 3 shows one: If a progression is heading from a I chord to the IV, a guitarist might cue you by plucking this bass line. Examples 4a and 4b show you ascending and descending cues from the I to the V. Furthermore, Ex. 5 is a cue to the II chord—the first part of a II–V turnaround—and Ex. 6 shows how you might approach a VI chord. Once you have a firm grasp on a tune, these are great ways you can cue selected chord changes to your bandmates.
One tune I learned on the fly was in A major—the keyboard player flashed me the numbers with his left hand while singing the tune! It was a short eight-bar form that went I–III–IV–I–II–V–I/IV–I/V (“/” indicates two chords per bar.) Turn on your drum machine or metronome and see how fast you can figure out the right bass line; then play it in different keys. Once you get it, you’ll be cueing changes ’til the cows come home!
