Tips for "embellishing" a song?

[Tupac]

I don't want to be a "boring" bassist, and just bump out root notes along the chord progression of the song. Are there any tips to make an embellished bassline, while still following the chords correctly? I'm new to writing basslines, and need some help.

[GeoffT]

Try using the other notes in the chord. Then work in some passing tones, both chromatic and scalar, to move between the chord tones.

[JoZac21]

Originally Posted by GeoffT

Try using the other notes in the chord. Then work in some passing tones, both chromatic and scalar, to move between the chord tones.

^This. To paraphrase the great Nate Watts, as a bass player, you're mostly only playing the root, 3rd and 5th with a few additional notes here and there to add some flavor. It's really more about keeping the rhythm interesting, IMO.

Learn your arpeggiations (outlining the chords), your basic major and minor scales, pentatonic scales and chromatic scale and it should all fall into place. This may seem like a lot of work, but honestly, it's really not.

After that, just remember that what ever note you're playing, so long as you're at the bottom, is the root note of the overall harmony, so whatever you play is going to dictate wether or not the chord is an inversion. Passing tones should be used "tastefully".

[HeadyVan Halen]

Practice.
Use the 5th and the 6th (think Motown) instead of always 3rd-5th.
Use half-steps (chromatics) when walking to next chord.
Hum the line you want 1st, and then play it.
Listen to Southern Gospel. The bass is heavy and the playing is NEVER boxy or boring.
Practice with guys who play more than Open 'G' and Open 'C' on guitar. Those guys are very, very boring.

[MalcolmAmos]

Pentatonic was mentioned. Pentatonic scale will give you three chord tones, for harmony and two safe passing notes for color.

Major pentatonic R-2-3-5-6
Minor pentatonic R-b3-4-5-b7

[jmattbassplaya]

Start working on chordal theory and arpeggios. It's kinda boring (and confusing) at first, but it'll really open your eyes to what you can play during any given song.

[scottfeldstein]

What the others said. Plus, on a more philosophical level: stop listening so much to the guitar player and start listening more to your drummer. Every fill and transition is ripe for those notes that the guitar player isn't going to do.

[Crazyeelboy]

For the past few years I've been focusing on rhythms as a way to distinguish the bass parts.

[michaelkoss]

Originally Posted by JoZac21

After that, just remember that what ever note you're playing, so long as you're at the bottom, is the root note of the overall harmony, so whatever you play is going to dictate wether or not the chord is an inversion. Passing tones should be used "tastefully".

Could you explain this a little more? I understood all of the words, but not the message.

[scottfeldstein]

Supposing your guitar player is doing a standard rock chord progression, thus:

E -> A -> D -> A

You may elect to play those notes with him. Or, you could play:

E -> A -> D -> C#

When he hits that last A you're hitting C#. If your band played this for an audience and then you asked the audience to hum it back to you, they'd hum you the progression ending in C#.

[MikeBC]

If you know your roots, 3rds, 5ths, etc. you have a strong foundation. Some good advice here but time to stop worrying about theory and taking a scholastic approach. Feel the music and by that not just the groove.

This may seem too old school but listen to bassists like Jack Bruce esp in Cream, Phil Lesh, Jack Casady, Felix Pappaiardi, Glenn Cornick and even Harvey Brooks. Listen to the jazz upright players. Eddie Gomez, Jimmy Garrison, Mingus, and Ron Carter come to mind.

Listen to your favorite lead guitarists and figure out how to play counterpoint to them. Branch out and listen to the violins, violas, and cellos in classical music.

Stop being the metronome through the whole song. Or bust a nut and breakout into a different time signature once in a while. If your band mates can't keep their own time then there is another problem.

Break some rules. Mainly relax, start really feeling the music and play that. Life is too short, enjoy yourself.

[JTE]

Own the chords. The guitar can get away with just knowing this shape is a G, but the bass needs to know THAT it's G, B, and D AND also WHY it's those three notes. Then you have a bigger pallet of tones beyond just the root. If you own the chord then the notes in between become easy to find. And those in between notes don't have to be in the scale.

Rhythm is the other key. That simple Amin arpeggio in Jack Bruce's line for "Badge" is easy, but the key is the simple playing of most of the notes on the "ands".

And most important, listen to lots of different kinds of musics.

John

[anonymous101511]

A couple replies hinted at this; try playing less. In a place where you might play a whole note, try shortening it strategically. For example; ballad where you are playing whole notes on the root, sounds boring, yes? You can make it more interesting by cutting off the note and leaving space. Maybe just lift on beat 4, instead of just droning throughout (could be beat 2 or 3, too). This is an advanced approach that makes things far more interesting. Same for other types of patterns. Instead of straight 1/8ths, you can make it more interesting by leaving out the 3rd note of every 8, there are infinite examples and this is what makes for parts that people want to hire you to play. :-)

[puddin tame]

don't get hung up on trying to play complicated lines, 99% of the time you'll overdo it with this mentality

[indigobass]

Check out Ed Friedland's Building Rock Basslines book. I think you'll find a lot of what you are looking for in there.

Amazon.com: Building Rock Bass Lines: A Solid Foundation for the Rock Bassist (0073999449082): Ed Friedland: Books

[Vermillionx]

Originally Posted by GeoffT

Try using the other notes in the chord. Then work in some passing tones, both chromatic and scalar, to move between the chord tones.

I have been told this and tried it to good sucuess. Find the notes in the scale that do not quite sound right when played and use them to create tension. Ex. R-2-5-6

[mambo4]

Originally Posted by puddin tame

don't get hung up on trying to play complicated lines, 99% of the time you'll overdo it with this mentality

agreed. Other notes besides the root can be nice, but not as important to the feel of a song as:
Rhythmic choices
Dynamics
Understanding beat subdivisions accurately
How long you let the note ring
When you stop the note
Where you leave space for the rest of the musicians

etc etc...there is alot more to contribute to the groove than more notes. I typically seek 'other notes' only after i feel I have addressed the basic Rhythmic feel of the song, using only root notes.

[bradjonesbass]

Some good advice here. Don't over play whatever you do. Your main job is still to hold the groove. Some things not mentioned here yet (unless I missed it) are ghost notes - think Rocco Prestia with Tower of Power, the master of the technique, octaves - one thing I REALLY like to use my low B for is accenting the root note an octave lower following a short octave up hit. Let me see if I can explain that better since I can't show you. If the chord is Eflat, play an 8th note on the 6th fret of the A string, then play a dotted quarter note on the 4th fret of the B string. Make sure your drummer follows this pattern with his kick as well. It really punches up the groove without you playing a bunch of notes that add nothing to the song. I have enough theory and chops that I could play 16th note grooves using the entire scale if I wanted, but 99% of the time, I'm playing a relatively simple groove using R, 3, 5, Octave above, Octave Below. The key is playing with the rhythm of the part to keep it interesting.