My first attempt at messing up, I mean playing a bassline

[Minotauros]

Sorry this got long.

I've been chirping about my very first bass I got the other day, an early Christmas present.

I watched the dvd that came with it... a very basic intro to bass and technique. I learned how to hold the bass and position and use my right hand fingers (which are getting sore... I'll never be able to play Dust in the Wind again! ). I always wondered why bass players pluck upwards and seem to not move the right hand very much. Well, now I know. The instructor also went into timing and rhythm, which is familiar to me, playing guitar.

I also read a post or three here about making up and keeping generic riffs to use. So I think I did. But here's the question...

Does the rhythm have to be a strict (for example) 1+2+3+4+ 1+2+3+4+ or 1234 1234, etc., like a metronome or can it follow the rhythm guitar's pattern, or any steady pattern?

For example, I was playing with Night Moves. Maybe not the best to start with because the rhythm guitar plays an unusual strumming pattern:

Chord progression: G F C F G

Pattern for each chord (the change to F is very quick):
G: DDUD/DUD/DU F: DUDU C: DDUD/DUD/DU

G I was a little too tall; could've used a few pounds F
C Tight pants points hardly reknown F
G She was a black haired beauty with big dark eyes F
C And points all her own sitting way up high F G F
C Way up firm and high F

So what I noodled around with was just using the roots with the rhythm of the chords, and the two finger plucking:

....G...........F...........C
G|--0-0-0-0-0-----------------------------------|
D|--------------3-3-3-3-3-----------------------|
A|--------------------------3-3-3-3-3-----------|
E|----------------------------------------------|

Being my own best fan I thought it didn't sound horrible; I'm just wondering if something like that is right.

Even in this bass cover of Instant Karma, she is following the rhythm of the chord changes (same on guitar as piano). I tried it also, using the root notes of the chords (A F#m F G A D Bm) think it sounds good. Of course, what do I know?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByEORJXe50s

He plays Instant Karma the same way she does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dctPg...eature=related

[Minotauros]

OK, I found a bass tab for Night Moves. Google is my friend.

Boy, is it different than mine! One thing I forgot is that the acoustic guitar is capoed 1/2 step up. I didn't capo the bass or retune it (can I even do that?).

Btw, does this indicate the rhythm... ?

G|------------------|
D|------------------|
A|-7-77-5-33-33-5---| repeat 3 times
E|------------------|

Meaning that the 77 and 33 are played in rapid succession, say 8th notes, using index and middle finger?

Sorry for being such a noob. Once I get these basics down, it should start coming to me easier, and I figure things out. It's like when you were a kid and your father had to take the first bite of the candy apple to get it started for you (oh, I need to get help! ).

[MalcolmAmos]

Sounds like you are doing fine - you already have a grasp on what needs doing. Your repetitive root is not all that off from the tabs you show. Not going to address the tabs being capoed 1/2 step up. I'd ignore it until my ear tells me I'm off and if so I'd move my pattern up a fret to correspond with the capo. Yep, I play patterns so once my key tonic root is placed I'm good to go.

Can only tell you what I do, and understand we both are newbies to this bass thing. Once I know the key I try and find the chord progression failing that I presume a I IV V I or i iv V-i - and use generic riffs. Only time I would go to tabs is if I just could not make it work my way and needed a cheat sheet. Now to the generic riffs.......

Root will always work.
Root-5 is safe 99% of the time. Only time it is not is when you are playing over a diminished chord. If you flat the 5th it works over the diminished chord
After that any chord tone works.
The 3 is the logical next choice. 3 for major chord, b3 for minor chords.
I like 8's (octave) or 7 or b7. What the heck 2's and 6's are sweet.
I also like to place the root on the 3rd string and then use R-4-5 as a home location and do repetitive root with the chord changes. Case you have not found this yet - C on the 3rd string. Where is the F - where is the G, is that great or what.
The major pentatonic creeps into my playing quite often R-2-3-5-6.
For what ever that is worth those are my go to riffs.

Find a riff you like and then fell free to experiment with it letting yourself flow with the rhythm. Your R-3-5-3 may end up being R-R-3-3-5-5-6-5. Let the song lead you.

Go back and look at the tab you found, it really is not all that off from what you had. Sounds like you are well on the road to Bass World.

[Minotauros]

Very cool! It means a lot to hear your response. Thanks. I really appreciate the help I get here.

Yeah, I thought about the capo and half step thing too. I don't think it's much of a big deal at this point either.

True, I have to remember when playing over a minor chord to b3... I forget sometimes. In what I play along with, guitar or bass, I don't recall but 1 or 2 dim chords. There is a Gdim in My Sweet Lord, and it's just 2 or 4 beats. I can stay on the root G. So I'm safe for now, but I must remember the b5.

Find a riff you like and then fell free to experiment with it letting yourself flow with the rhythm. Your R-3-5-3 may end up being R-R-3-3-5-5-6-5. Let the song lead you.

That speaks volumes for me. Up to this point everything I (think) I read pointed to the bassist and drummer setting the rhythm and timing. But that can't be entirely true, given the examples I'm using. That's a big relief and makes playing less daunting. I think I have a good rhythm; heck, I'm a rhythm guitarist and now a bassist (I'm a legend in my own mind)... I better have a good rhythm!

Ooh! this is going to be fun!

[MalcolmAmos]

Backing tracks - love them. Listen to the riffs that they use -- and do like wise.

http://www.datamusic.org/video-jazz/...z-jam-tracks-1

Two chords per measure - I'm happy with a R-5 on both. Try a R-5 on one and a R-3 on the other see what you think.

[Minotauros]

Thanks for the link. I was wondering about finding backing tracks. I can't always follow along with my cds or mp3s.

I did a lot better today with Night Moves. I refined it. I found that I didn't have to keep the same number of beats as the rhythm guitar, just keep the time. It sounded much better and was a lot easier. Then I took on Instant Karma. I found a tab on the internet, but I didn't like it. I tidied it up; it seemed like there were extraneous notes that just didn't fit. Now it works well, though I need practice to keep from flubbing.