The Pros and Cons of Practicing Bass To Backing Tracks
Hey there, bass players!
If you’re anything like me, you’re probably feeling a bit overwhelmed by how much there is to practice out there. Music is complex, diverse, and requires an immense amount of skill. Not only that, music education has changed in crazy ways. We now have everything from full online courses to YouTube videos, tabs, notation, books, websites, backing tracks… it’s exhausting.
Forgive me for sounding a bit ancient, but when I began learning how to play, it was just me in my basement with a boombox. You had to constantly rewind to the top of the song and learn everything by ear.
I was too impatient to read through books or wait for the monthly Bass Player Magazine to review transcriptions, so I ended up spending most of my time playing along to the Forest Gump soundtrack, the Cream Of Clapton compilation, and Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Learning how to play was about actively engaging in a song, discovering how to listen and tune my ears to bass, and ingraining the nuances of form and musical arrangement.
Modern Day Musical Education
That said, I must admit that I’ve gotten on board with the modern ways. I believe that the creation of educational materials has been truly helpful to the learning process, especially when we’re learning basic skills or trying to focus on a particular concept.
However, after working with countless students, I’ve started to see an unfortunate trend. Many folks are starting to spend more and more time with the “educational” versions of things rather than the real ones. Instead of playing along to a song, they play to tracks that have been created by other people or manipulated by AI.
The holistic element of music seems to be getting a little lost, and that worries me a bit. So, here’s a little run down on my thoughts regarding the positives and negatives of practicing with backing tracks and how that can impact how we learn and practice bass.
Check out this video to hear me muse about it or read through the rest of this blog.
Pros of Practicing With Backing Tracks
As long as something motivates us to pick up the instrument, then it can’t be bad. Backing tracks and tab/notation can be particularly useful when learning a specific concept, such as a chord progression or form. Learning a basic 12-bar blues, practicing a jazz standard, or even learning how to improvise over a simple chord progression can be great candidates for backing tracks.
Controlled and Repetitive Practice of a specific concept
Backing tracks provide us with a controlled environment to practice within and allow for the “rinse and repeat” style of practice. We can play the same thing for an extended duration, change the tempo as needed, and even move the music to different keys. It eliminates the element of surprise and can allow us to really focus on a singular skill.
Exercising and Staying In Shape on the Bass
In many ways, we can equate practicing with backing tracks to running on a treadmill. We can set the pace, run inside in a designated place, and get our heart rate up. We’re exercising, burning calories, and staying in shape, which is usually the point, right?
It is unless you’re hoping to play a team sport.
All of a sudden, if you find yourself in a game like soccer, football, or basketball, running becomes a lot more challenging. You have to start and stop, be aware of the other players, react to changes, and stay mentally engaged.
Believe it or not, this is exactly what it’s like to play in a band. That brings us to our next concept—the musical elements that we’re missing when we exclusively practice with tracks.
Cons of Practicing With Backing Tracks
Since bass is often an accompanying instrument, ie: part of a team, the choices that we make are extremely dependent upon what’s going on musically.
This means that we have to have an awareness of what the other instruments are doing, how a song changes, and how to support the song as a whole.
Our attention must be split between what our instrument is doing, the form of the song, and the rest of the ensemble. It’s a lot to keep track of.
Where is the Art?
Unfortunately, when we practice along to backing tracks, we’re missing a lot of the essential information that we need to be musical. We’re missing the element of art and emotion put forth by the artist. We’re missing the tones of a record and a mix that people worked tirelessly to create and perfect.
What About the Melody?
We’re also missing the melody. Most backing tracks don’t include the melody, only the chord progression, so we lose one of the most important musical elements of any song. Without hearing the melody, we miss hearing how chord changes interact and how to anticipate or imply the chord changes. Nothing is taking up that space, so we don’t build an awareness of how to support melodic movement.
What About the Other Band Members?
Not only that, but we’re missing all of the other players in an ensemble and the full arrangement of a song. Since most backing tracks just include a few instruments (many of which are AI, programmed, or played in a controlled and repetitive way), we lose out on hearing the style of other players, the space they take up, and other crucial parts of a larger ensemble.
There aren’t horn stabs or string parts, guitar solos or backing vocals. There’s no way for us to experience, respond to, or leave space for these other instruments. And most importantly, we’re not hearing the overall form and who is cuing sections.
What’s the Bass Player on the Record Doing?
Finally, we’re also missing the bass player that we’re trying to learn from. As we play a song, hearing how the player on the record approaches the music is crucial. It’s often what we’re trying to learn and mimic.
Without listening to or playing along with the bass player, we can easily make mistakes, wrongly interpret a part, or miss out on inspiring riffs that would be worth learning. We’re neglecting the one thing we’re trying to learn.
Making the Shift from Backing Tracks to the Actual Record
The good news is, we can very easily move from working with a backing track to playing along with a record (you can even play along with The Beatles!). All you have to do is visit your favorite musical source–CDs, Spotify, YouTube, Apple, anything.
Listen to and play along with the real music. Enjoy the track as the artist intended, play along at record tempo, and enjoy the art. You’ll gain more by listening in a holistic way than you could ever gain from working with a backing track.
So, it’s a-okay to run on a treadmill to get the blood flowing, but if you ever want to play on the team, you’ve got to lace up your shoes, get on the field, and participate in the sport as a whole.