How do you approach writing Bass Guitar parts?

[Mr Songwriter]

I've been playing guitar for quite a while now, mostly rhythm, though I've branched out into playing lead a bit too lately, but I will quite often write a little chord sequence and then find myself struggling to come up with a Bass part for it, I think I've got a reasonably good basic grasp of theory, but quite often things that I would expect to work (based on the theory that I know)don't....any general guidelines or tips would be most welcome.

 

FWIW: Bassists whose playing I like: Paul McCartney, Mike Mills, Eric Avery, I suppose generally speaking I like melodic Bass playing.

[RedYagiDY]

Well since you can play rhythm guitar, start with the root note of the chords and just bounce on the root to the beat, then after your comfortable with the chord rotation/rhythm begin to embellesh and improvise on the basic root note line, the first time your embelleshment/improv hit somthing melodic then hold that line down, if you want to embellesh further then take that same up an octave to the tiny frets.

[jeremy_green]

You can also outline the chord as a walking line or add the extensions and suspension notes ove the chords. McCartney did this stuff lots

[girevik]

I usually get a recording/make a recording of the chords, then try different bass lines against the recording. I turn to theory (chord tones, passing tones, etc.) if I can't just come up with something from my head/"inner ear".

[Mr Songwriter]

 

Well since you can play rhythm guitar, start with the root note of the chords and just bounce on the root to the beat, then after your comfortable with the chord rotation/rhythm begin to embellesh and improvise on the basic root note line, the first time your embelleshment/improv hit somthing melodic then hold that line down, if you want to embellesh further then take that same up an octave to the tiny frets.

 

 

Yes, I like that idea, just starting off following the root notes til I've got the changes down and then developing it, I might have been trying to get too clever too quickly.

 

 

You can also outline the chord as a walking line or add the extensions and suspension notes ove the chords. McCartney did this stuff lots

 

 

Reggae bassists use that chord outlining trick a lot too, I do use it sometimes, but it can sometimes be difficult to use it without making the music sound a bit dated. As far as the extension/suspension notes go, I've noticed that they usually only work if you don't dwell on them for too long, I will have to look into that.

 

 

I usually get a recording/make a recording of the chords, then try different bass lines against the recording. I turn to theory (chord tones, passing tones, etc.) if I can't just come up with something from my head/"inner ear".

 

 

I do that too - I'll record the chords on a looper and then try and add Bass - but I like the idea of just forgetting about theory and taking the Bass for a walk.

[jeremy_green]

When I say "walking" I dont necessarily mean straight up and down. I mean you can use any of those chords tones coming off the root to develop riffs. It is as dated as you make it. Yes if you just go 11,33,55,33,11,33,55,33 it will sound pretty dated.

 

As far as dwelling on them yes you are correct but that will be a judgment call.

 

Also Many bass lines are locked in with the drum part - they dont have to be but it is another option. Sync in with the kick or the snare or hihats whatever it calls for.

 

Combine all these concepts the options are pretty limitless.

 

Good luck bro

[girevik]

While recordings of the greats are a great resource, I also get a lot of my bass line ideas from Ed Friedland's Building Walking Basslines book. The concepts in the book are easily adapted to styles like straight 8th-note rock, funk, etc. too - just a matter of changing up the rhythm, accents, etc.

[Mr Songwriter]

 

When I say "walking" I dont necessarily mean straight up and down. I mean you can use any of those chords tones coming off the root to develop riffs. It is as dated as you make it. Yes if you just go 11,33,55,33,11,33,55,33 it will sound pretty dated.

 

 

One way I've found around that is just to use the Root-third-fifth thing on one chord in a sequence.

 

 

Also Many bass lines are locked in with the drum part - they dont have to be but it is another option. Sync in with the kick or the snare or hihats whatever it calls for.

 

 

Well, this is it, that's what I'm aiming for: in fact I think it was Paul himself that said that Bass was supposed to be the link between rhythm and melody.

 

 

Combine all these concepts the options are pretty limitless. Good luck bro

 

 

Cheers.

 

 

While recordings of the greats are a great resource, I also get a lot of my bass line ideas from Ed Friedland's Building Walking Basslines book. The concepts in the book are easily adapted to styles like straight 8th-note rock, funk, etc. too - just a matter of changing up the rhythm, accents, etc.

 

 

I'm not bad at picking out guitar parts, but I've always had a lot more trouble picking basslines out of the mix, and there isn't exactly a lot of great instructional material for Bass out there (maybe it doesn't sell, I don't know) I'll check the book out.

[nuclear arsenal]

i'm more concerned with the rhythm of the bass part. the melody aspect i just go by ear, figuring out what works. if i try to force a pre-planned idea, it doesn't really work. spontaneity works for me as long as my chops are sharp. i'm a guitar player, so sometimes i have to work at it for a couple days before i'm good to record.

i'd like to build up some songs from the bassline, instead of guitar first or lyrics first like i normally do.

[mosiddiqi]

I really like playing bass and have been teaching myself for a few months now..my approach is to really try and find the rhythm first, something that complements what's going on with the drums..and then work on the melody. This is a track I've been working on recently, it's not complete, so apologies for it being a bit messy, but you can hear what I'm trying to do with the bass, which is to try and "move" the song along:

 

http://www.box.net/shared/vzlqi4r48b

[jonfinn]

I think of Bass as the foundation on which everything else sits upon. It's also the "bridge" between the rhythmic (drums) world and the melodic (guitar/keys/melody etc) world.

 

A good bass player will help a struggling drummer sound better but not vice versa. Further, a great bass player NEVER gets lost in the tune.

 

Suggestions:

 

-Spend some time listening to your favorite records. Listen exclusively to the drummers kick drum. Then notice how often the bassist matches the drummer's kick. Sometimes (depending on style and player) they'll match exactly. Other times not. Either way, a good bass player knows EXACTLY what the drummer is doing.

 

-Learn chord spelling and scale construction. Bass players often put together bass lines by highlighting the chord's root along with the rhythmic foundation of the song. For "connecting" lines, they often use the key, chord tones and scale tones to draw from. But don't get overly caught up in theory. Usually a good bass line is clever, but fairly simple.

 

-Transcribe as many bass lines as you can. From there, learn the chords and try to put yourself in the bassists' head (Ask yourself WHY they made the choice they did).

[mikey4402]

 

Also Many bass lines are locked in with the drum part - they dont have to be but it is another option. Sync in with the kick or the snare or hihats whatever it calls for.

 

 

i was going to post this. ^

 

When i compose a song i usually come up with a main theme on the guitar (my primary instrument)

I decide what key im going to 'follow' as well as the tempo i want to play at.

I then come with a simple drum track to work my bass around. I usually use the kick as a ascent point for the bass lines as jeremy suggested.

Finally i try to fit the theme i came up with earlier with the backing track of drums and bass.

 

Thats just one way to look at it. But if you 'team up' with the drum parts your main bass lines will sound better IMO. To make the bass sound more melodic i will 'echo' a guitar phrase but never stray from the main theme tied in with the drums (hopefully you know what i mean)

[girevik]

In prepping to join a band as a bass player, I forgot to mention I spent a lot of time playing along with iTunes in shuffle mode. Yes, I skipped the songs with Jeff Berlin or Jaco playing - stuff like The Police, reggae, punk rock, etc. I could handle more easily.

[Mr Songwriter]

Cheers, loads of food for thought there, I like the idea of listening to different elements of the drumbeat and matching the accents, that could be quite a good idea of generating ideas too.

[meganutt7]

I agree with most of the techniques discussed herein... I personally, USUALLY, will opt for the locking in with the kick drum technique, if I am doing a groove oriented thing... This is for a few reasons, not least of which is the fact that when you have that tight thudding in unison by bass and kick drum, it almost sounds like one instrument and frees up more room in the "harmonic rhythm" mix for more parts to sit more clearly defined in the mix (rhythm guitar, keys, horns, etc.)... Of course I do deviate from this technique quite a bit when I have a more melodically oriented bassline or something drone oriented.. but I like to compose basslines that are locked in with the beat in some way....

[bdemon]

I occasionally give my guitar students music from bass books to get them thinking from a bassist perspective a bit. It's particularly helpful to the shredders in getting them to slow down and focus on the groove and outlining chord changes.

 

There's a great book for drummers and bassists called Get Locked that explores all sorts of rhythmic concepts between the two, such as locking in with the kick, etc. The examples aren't too hard and sound cool.