Time Signatures....

[Ultraviolet]

Hello All

a bit of help required from you talented peeps out there....

say you have an mp3 that you need to overlay the bass line over. your given the chords for each bar, and the key. how do you go about putting the bass line together?

here's the process I've followed so far:

1. work out the length of each bar, so I can divide the mp3 up and lay down the bass line per bar. (It's almost impossible to detect the chord changes / key changes without getting a good idea of where they should occur!)

I did this by guesstimating the tempo using a metronome (70bpm), then dividing the tempo by 60 (to get the time per beat) and multiplying by 4 (assuming 4/4 time). This gives 4.66 seconds per bar. The first 4.66 bar is placed at the start of the mp3, so the intro (without bass) runs over the first few bars; bass kicks in after about a minute.

2. work out the notes allowable per bar, bearing in mind the defined chord.

3. write the bass line, based on chord (either apreggio or as a chord or both, depending on what sounds right), key and the other musical elements of the mp3.

4. apply a filter to remove the bass from the mp3.

5. remix with my bassline.

I'm completely new to this... does the above seem like a sensible approach?

cheers,

UV

[Muusers]

no. way too much effort.
you got the chords per bar right? write em down on some paper and start to play over em, find something that goes well with the track and record it (on a seperate line or file). play it back a couple times to check if it's okay (both in timing and in bassline). then remix it with the track and check if you're satisfied.

D

[MarkTAW]

Originally Posted by Ultraviolet

It's almost impossible to detect the chord changes / key changes without getting a good idea of where they should occur!

Why is this? In most pop songs you should at least be able to get the chorus & verse structure easily just by listening.

[Ultraviolet]

Originally Posted by MarkTAW

Why is this? In most pop songs you should at least be able to get the chorus & verse structure easily just by listening.

you're right... maybe I should follow a more Bruce Lee approach 'don't think....feeeeeeel'

I guess it's just a familiarisation thing. If I knew when to expect a key change and / or chord change, then I would have a greater degree of confidence that I'm correct.


UV

[MarkTAW]

Use the force Luke! Trust your instincts. Let go your inner self. These are not the droids you're looking for.