Rootless chord question

[Bainbridge]

Indeed. However, I'm organizing the pitches with the low notes on the bottom and the high notes on the top, as you would see on a musical staff.

V4/3

A# = Soprano
F# = Alto
E = Tenor
C# = Bass

[AndyMania]

duh....im such an idiot Got it. Thank you

[hgiles]

You can do that, but you need to be sure what your band mates are going to be playing. If someone is improvising I'd stick with roots, because as you pointed out, changing the bass is going to give a different character to the harmony, which the soloist may not be into. It could create some clashes.

Otherwise inverting a chord isnt uncommon as long as it creates good voice leading throughout the harmony.

[hgiles]

This video pretty much demonstrates what you're talking about - changing the bass note and riff through each cycle. The one thing I didn't hear here is the the descending chromatic figure that you'll hear in the strings. That can be played by the bass too. But this is killin'!

Listen to this:

http://youtu.be/sNCSDgVw8Rc

[AndyMania]

Hgiles,

I would love to learn Jamerson grooves and what the heck (theory-wise) is going on in that video.....sounds awesome