Harmony in rock bass lines?

[NationwideBass]

What are your general rules for this? Do you do it? When you do, are you harmonizing with the lead guitar or the rhythm? Or do you harmonize with the singer? How do you decide when to use harmony? Do you generally use the third of the chord, the fifth or both? Ok, thats a lot of questions so I'll stop now Thanks!

[Toronto Bassist]

Originally Posted by NationwideBass

What are your general rules for this? Do you do it? When you do, are you harmonizing with the lead guitar or the rhythm? Or do you harmonize with the singer? How do you decide when to use harmony? Do you generally use the third of the chord, the fifth or both? Ok, thats a lot of questions so I'll stop now Thanks!

I'm not sure why you would do this unless you were in Racer X or some sort of shred group - although, granted, it's done in 'Sir Duke', by Stevie Wonder. I would just treat it like the trombone or bari sax in a horn section - what harmonies it plays depends on what the melody is and what chord tones need to be filled out.

[neurotictim]

I have two guitarists, and they switch roles between lead & rhythm fairly regularly. When we're going for a heavy, percussive sound, I use only the roots. One one song I use doublestops (root + octave at the same time) to "thicken" the sound up.

When harmonies are called for (or when I feel like it, lol) I like to use 5ths and octaves a lot, depending on the chording they're doing. I stay away from 7ths unless they're playing dom 7th chords, out of personal preference. It's really important to know what chords they're using to determine what harmonies will work best, but nothing substitutes for your own ear.

If the bassline sounds "empty" or if the song could use a little more melody, by all means, harmonize. If you're going for heavy, chunky sound, maybe lay off, or keep it simple. A lot of bassists like to go nuts during solos, but I shy away from that, too, as the point of the solo (IMO) is to highlight the emotive force in the song, and showcase the git-box. If I want a solo, I'll b***h and moan till I get one, but it should always be about the song.

[NationwideBass]

Originally Posted by Toronto Bassist

I'm not sure why you would do this unless you were in Racer X or some sort of shred group - although, granted, it's done in 'Sir Duke', by Stevie Wonder. I would just treat it like the trombone or bari sax in a horn section - what harmonies it plays depends on what the melody is and what chord tones need to be filled out.

I don't know either. I'm really just starting to think about it for the first time and wondering how applicable it would be.

[NationwideBass]

Originally Posted by neurotictim

I have two guitarists, and they switch roles between lead & rhythm fairly regularly. When we're going for a heavy, percussive sound, I use only the roots. One one song I use doublestops (root + octave at the same time) to "thicken" the sound up.

When harmonies are called for (or when I feel like it, lol) I like to use 5ths and octaves a lot, depending on the chording they're doing. I stay away from 7ths unless they're playing dom 7th chords, out of personal preference. It's really important to know what chords they're using to determine what harmonies will work best, but nothing substitutes for your own ear.

If the bassline sounds "empty" or if the song could use a little more melody, by all means, harmonize. If you're going for heavy, chunky sound, maybe lay off, or keep it simple. A lot of bassists like to go nuts during solos, but I shy away from that, too, as the point of the solo (IMO) is to highlight the emotive force in the song, and showcase the git-box. If I want a solo, I'll b***h and moan till I get one, but it should always be about the song.

I know for us, most of our songs are less on the heavy side. Think more Elvis Costello style stuff, with a bit more edge to it. Not many bass solos involved in what we do, I guess I was trying to think of ways to vary my lines along with other suggestions I've gotten on here I started thinking about harmonies.

[neurotictim]

In that case, listen to some John Entwistle... Not Elvis Costello, for sure, but he's a favorite of mine for the melodic basslines. I'd suggest going back to basics, I guess.