when bassists talk in chords

[samsome]

I have a question

i heard some popular bassists while playing one note patterns they talk in Chords like

"it moves to an E minor" and they just play an E

then to F Major...and just play an F

Why do some bassists talk in chords while playing one note most of the times?

do they see all the instruments together for example what the guitar does as well?

why do they care to say what chord it is when they play one note

[MrFigg]

I have a question

i heard some popular bassists while playing one note patterns they talk in Chords like

"it moves to an E minor" and they just play an E

then to F Major...and just play an F

Why do some bassists talk in chords while playing one note most of the times?

do they see all the instruments together for example what the guitar does as well?

why do they care to say what chord it is when they play one note

Because they can play a lot of different ”one note”s which go together with a particular chord.

[diminished]

they can also play chords and intervals as well as figures within a chord

[guitfnky]

bassists typically use arpeggios to keep parts interesting—it allows them to easily stay in key, following the chord changes of the song, without being limited to playing root notes.

[motuscott]

something something bassist, something something reptile brain...

[gullum]

because it makes us sound more musical no it's also because when a song is in a chord it usually follows a pattern so automatic you know what cords are in the song also if playing scales there are different notes in a major and a minor scale

[Proboscis]

There was a youtube video a couple of years ago explaining that the band AC/DC would often play guitar chords, but omit the 3rd. And instead of the bassist playing the root, he would play that missing 3rd. I'm not sure how common this is, but with this approach it would make sense for the bassist to speak in chords, even if they are not playing them, because it gives them an idea of what other notes might fit instead of the root note.