This is often where players coming to the bass part from other instruments first have to start “thinking different”-that is, thinking like a bass player would, in coming up with a series of variations for the bassline throughout the song, rather than treating the bass as a simple adjunct to the part played by their own/primary instrument.Īudio Example 4-The Bass playing simple quarters/eighths following the kick and moving around it:Īnother imortant aspect of the bass against the kick is the more subtle timing aspect-the feel of the part. In a real world situation, a bass part will likely incorporate many or all of these approaches-sometimes playing simple beats, sometimes locking in with the kick, and sometimes working around it. Sometimes, a bass part might deliberately play against the kick instead of playing in lockstep with it, filling in where the kick lays out. This may be one of the most common ways to give the bass some rhythm, but of course, it’s not the only option. This brings up a common question for those looking to generate a bassline-what should the bass do in relation to the kick? In the previous example, I had the bass just playing simple whole-notes or eighth-notes, but it’s common for the bass to take on a rhythmic pattern, and that pattern is often one that locks in with the kick drum pattern. For example (for those familiar with the terminology), a bass part playing the Third of a chord, rather than the Root, can make that chord sound more restless, like it’s on its way somewhere else (to a more stable inversion with a Root on the bottom), and this could help add that tension and forward motion to the song that I referred to, subconsciously piquing the listeners’ interest in what will come next, instead of letting them settle into a repetitive chord progression.Īudio Example 1-The bass can play simple Roots (1st 4 bars), or use other notes from within the chords (inversions) for musical variety, tension, and propulsion: Different inversions, while still the same chords, can sound more or less stable-have more or less tension-pushing toward the next section of the arrangement, which can help give the song a little forward motion, rather than just repeating the same chords the same way from verse to verse. However, as the lowest note of any chord in an arrangement, the bass has the power to affect how those chords are presented, and a good bassline can take advantage of this, to provide subtle variation and progression throughout the song.įor example, in early verses, the bass may simply stick to the Roots of each chord, but then, maybe, to provide a little welcome variation, the bass could switch to playing other notes within the chords-in musical terms, these would be different inversions of the chords (with different notes on the bottom). And in many musical styles, having the bass stick to the Root of each chord is a perfectly viable approach. ![]() When it comes to pitch, naturally the most straightforward bassline might simply state the Root note of each chord (remember, the Root note is the pitch that determines the Key and musical Scale for the song, which all melodies and chords are built from). ![]() So, for the benefit of any songwriters/arrangers/producers who may find themselves devising basslines for the first time, this article will take a brief look a few concepts and considerations that might come into play when filling in the bottom of the arrangement.įig 1 The Bass is a key part of any arrangement Roots and Inversions Players often joke that while the drummer controls the tempo, it’s the bass player that really drives the song, and there’s a lot of truth in that. If may be easy enough to come up with a very basic (sorry) part, but a really good, musical bass part does more than just fill in the lowest note for each chord-its rhythm and melody, and just as importantly, its “groove”, can have a significant impact on the feel and momentum of any song. At first glance, the bass might appear to be one of the easier parts to add to a musical arrangement-after all, the instrument only has to play one note at a time, and bass parts tend to lend themselves equally well to either performance on a “real” bass (you know, one with actual strings), or a keyboard (sampled or synth bass).īut when many musicians/arrangers/producers sit down to come up with a bassline, even if they’re skilled keyboard or guitar players, they often realize that what sounds simple isn’t necessarily so-devising a good, musical bass part may require a shift in thinking, away from composing guitar riffs or keyboard chord progressions.
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