getting away from root, 5th, octave...???

[jpark369]

im been playing bass for a couple of years now, self tought. im starting to get into more and more composition of bass lines, as my guitarist is writing songs like crazy.
the thing thats hard for me is i just play alot of root, 5ths, and octaves.
for example, my guitarist has written a song that goes from a to g to f. a reggae style tune. i just hang on the e string, 5th fret to 3rd, to 1st; and add some 16th note ocatves and 5ths here are there as i play.
i get stuck in the same kind of bass line more often then not, and im wondering how to create new basslines that are different and involve more aspects of the music. thanks for any help.

[Andrew.Glose]

Seeing that you're self-taught so far, start moving your hand around and noticing what works with the music. Your ears will tell you what sounds good. Chances are, you'll be playing chord tones other than 5ths and octaves. You're not going to make better bass lines by sticking to the same formula. Listen to something similar and transcribe what the bass player's doing. You'll incorporate differences (other than 5ths and Octvs) into your ear, and hear them while you're playing, then gravitate towards them.

When I just started, I used to use 5ths and Octaves like a nut, because at the time, it was all I knew. So I started playing around with the music. Listening to bass lines of my favorite artists. Things got much better, after.

On the contrary, 5ths and Octaves are extremely important and many great players use them all the time. You can also figure out ways to make different grooves with ghost notes/etc. with the 5ths and Octaves.

[mambo4]

Originally Posted by Andrew.Glose

Listen to something similar and transcribe what the bass player's doing.

+1

[Freddels]

You don't need to get away from the root/5th but just need to add a little to it. You can get a lot of mileage out of root/5th with a few additional notes thrown in. Check out some Rocco Prestia! He can get tons out of the root/5th (with some chromatics). Of course, he adds some additional spices in there.

[SmittyG]

I'll also ditto on the concept that you don't really want to "get away" from roots and fifths--that's our bread and butter. You can start adding some more spices to the meal though. I did this by mastering one interval at a time. After roots and fifths, I went after minor sevenths (I play a LOT of blues). You can also get into thirds but you really need to get the concept of major vs. minor down to use those effectively. Right now, I'm on a big sixth and ninth kick. Lots of flavors to work with out there.