Share Your Knowledge of Your Prefered Genre

[danjl131]

On talkbass (and outside of it) there are the bassists who are masters of one genre (or two) and bassists who are open to and want to learn about many different, diverse genres of music. To me, music is music, and I'm open to all styles, but everything is categorized into a genre based on certain characteristics. So whoever here is an expert in a certain genre (rock, metal, blues, jazz, reggae, ska, funk, etc.), would you mind sharing how to make a line in a certain style? This would be appreciated, thanks.

P.S. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not a bass-noob. I have been playing rock bass for a year now, I just want to be introduced to more styles.

[The Ethanator]

i play alot of metal, but i wouldnt exactly call myself a 'master' of bass in any regard just yet. ive only been playing seriously for a little over a year, but ive been told im pretty dang good all things considered

anyway, alot of metal basslines arent based on playing one note to hold a root chord. its mainly riffs that either follow the guitars or harmonize with them. alot of metal bassists use a pick, but alot use fingers. its mainly personal preference and what kind of tone you want out of your bass. i use both, but whenever i use a pick ive started using dunlop big stubby 2 mm picks. big, i know, but the tips on the flat sides are more rounded so they have less attack and a cleaner tone than your typical .7-1mm guitar pick. some metal bassists use alot of tapping as well. not much slap-style playing is used in metal, which is something that i aim to change with my band

[Benjamin Strange]

I'm a master of every genre that ends with "core". Mostly this involves being pretentious and cooler than everybody else - but I find it fulfilling, in a post-ironic sort of way.

[ilovethesechord]

I love 90's emo. You know, Hot Water Music, Alanis Morissette. Good stuff. Emo is very honest, bare bones, real. And no, MCR is NOT emo.

...the bass playing is usually root notes...

[onlyclave]

I hear if you go to www.bassguitarsecrets.com you can use the CG-X method to learn to play killer bass lines and smoking bass runs in any style in 81 days or your money back.

I'd try there first

[DudeistMonk]

On talkbass (and outside of it) there are the bassists who are masters of one genre (or two) and bassists who are open to and want to learn about many different, diverse genres of music. To me, music is music, and I'm open to all styles, but everything is categorized into a genre based on certain characteristics. So whoever here is an expert in a certain genre (rock, metal, blues, jazz, reggae, ska, funk, etc.), would you mind sharing how to make a line in a certain style? This would be appreciated, thanks.

P.S. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not a bass-noob. I have been playing rock bass for a year now, I just want to be introduced to more styles.

I rather like the idea of this thread...but don't have much to add. I bought a book a few months ago "the versatile bassist" that has examples from all the major genres, I hope this thread can become something like that before it degrades into nitpicking...

That being said I've been playing a lot of funk lately so I'll post my observations about that.

Lots of 5th and Octaves played in big jumps.
Lots of syncopation
Ghost notes are never a bad thing
Can be exceedingly simple or pretty crazy
Chord progressions are simple or just 1 chord.

[Dave Muscato]

This is borrowed from my post in another thread, but here's some advice about playing hip-hop lines:

1) Hold back. The bass player in this role is almost always a support and rhythm instrument. You're there to hold down the beat and let the vocals do their thing.

2) Play with the kick or beat. Syncopation has its place and can work very well, but in my experience, a lot of great lines come when you just lock with the kick and don't go off of it too much (or at all). A lot of the time when I'm doing a hip-hop line, I intentionally play a staccato "doubling" of the kick-drum part, ONLY playing when the kick hits. For sessions, I use a Buttkicker Platform so I can better monitor the kick for the purpose.

3) Repetition. In my experience, the best grooves come when you get to that Alpha-wave "flow" where you go beyond playing the same thing over & over and let the simplicity of the line take you to a new place WITHOUT going off into variations. Think samples or loops and you're halfway there.

4) Chromatic walks. A lot of hip-hop lines, in my experience, tend to have stepwise motion, but especially when you're going from the b7 to the 1, or the 4 to the 5, a chromatic ascension or descent can really make the line shine.

5) I like to use a really thick, thumpy tone for hip-hop. My Line6 Bass POD xt Live has an effect called "sub-dub" which is really just an doubler, octave-down. Through my Schro 21012L, you can get some serious low-end. I find that, strangely, the best way to get this thick tone is with a bass with a ton of clarity - a modern bass with roundwounds. I like my MTDs for this sound, or my Variaxes on the Alembic, Modulus, MTD, or Steinberger settings. The other way to go is the vintage-Fender-with-flats tone, but I prefer the former.

6) Sometimes it sounds *really* cool to throw in some gospel-sounding slurs and pops, but again, keep it simple... I only really do this at the climax of the song, and otherwise keep it pretty repetitive. There is a magic in repetition and groove/flow that should not be discounted. It's easy to kill a good hip-hop line by overplaying. Use space, use staccato notes on the kick drum hits, and just keep it simple.

[SoLongJake]

Originally Posted by ilovethesechord

I love 90's emo. You know, Hot Water Music, Alanis Morissette. Good stuff. Emo is very honest, bare bones, real. And no, MCR is NOT emo.

...the bass playing is usually root notes...

hard to believe you would post hot water music and alanis morisette in the same sentence regarding "emo" as hwm rocks out and alanis is just alternative blandness.

[BassChuck]

Originally Posted by Benjamin Strange

..... in a post-ironic sort of way.

I'm lovin' this phrase... but I don't know what it means. I'm hoping that irony is still accepted in most places.... cause I would die without it, and I'm still alive.

[Benjamin Strange]

Originally Posted by BassChuck

I'm lovin' this phrase... but I don't know what it means. I'm hoping that irony is still accepted in most places.... cause I would die without it, and I'm still alive.

Irony is a dead scene - sorry. You must now be post-ironic in order to be cool.

[Audiophage]

Originally Posted by Benjamin Strange

Irony is a dead scene - sorry. You must now be post-ironic in order to be cool.

I see what you did there. When Good Dogs Do Bad Things...