your first basslines

[bass_extremes]

Hey everyone im just starting to write my own songs now on my bass and I was wondering when you guys started writing grooves did you like them. Im finding that when I write a groove I dont like it at all I hate the sound of it. has this happend to anyone else? also if you have some tips on writing grooves I would be glad to here them.

[jenderfazz]

I like many of my earlier basslines simply because they were pretty unique. I think over time, as I became more experienced, I started to play a certain way that has become familiar to me and it doesn't have the same effect. Some things I was coming up with during my second year of playing were very cool and original - I don't even think I could have come up with some of them today. Although, I must admit, a few others were pretty terrible. I couldn't overplay much, considering my ability, but I still managed to on a few occasions.

[Suckbird]

I like alot of my basslines, too bad i overplay all the time...

but i do think i have some interesting ideas...

[invader3k]

I think the main thing is to experiment, but also not to play overly complicated lines, at least at first.

Try using as few notes as possible. Like, pick three or four notes (ideally tied to the same chord), and experiment with coming up with as many different lines using those same notes as you can. Once you get that down, go from there.

[Bassmonk3y]

Sometimes, a bassline can sound bare and crappy all on it's own, but then with the simple addition of some guitar licks, or even some drums in the background, it can come to life and take on a whole new dimension.

alternatively, some of the best lines i have ever come up with have been in response to jamming out and creating something over another musician's part.

All in all, it's kinda tough to simply sit down and write fantastic basslines from scratch.. especially when you're beginning. Don't give up hope though, jam as much as you can, or if that option's not open, jam with your favourite bands on CD. ideas for sick lines will pop out of nowehere. Keep trying!

[retitled]

what u can so is download powertabs or guitar pro and write out bass lines on that and try to play it.. thats what im doing now..

but sometimes writing it before u play it takes away from the fun..

just diddle around and make stuff up.. and sometimes u come up with a great bass line but it sound horrible because of the temp ur playing it in.. try making up simple lines and changing the temp around..

or take already exsisting bass lines and rework them to make coolerones..

learn different techniques and use those too... hammer ons/offs slides. triplets, powerchords..

also what everybody else said is a good idea jamming with friends is good too.. sometimes ur friends can improve on ur lines too


also.. my first bass line wasnt so great.. i had this gutiarist mentality and i thought i had to make these vicious solos all the time with no real groove to it..

sometimes the best bass lines are simple licks.. i mean look at the main riff "another one bites the dust" its mostly just open E's

if u dont know it it goes..

E- 0-0-0-0-0-0-305

[CrazyArcher]

When I write something, I write the guitar parts 1st, then I add a simple bassline (mainly roots). Then I just play it over and over alot, trying to improvise and come across something that would sound good.

[invader3k]

Having a guitar part down can help tremendously (to add to this thread again). I've read that Paul McCartney usually recorded his bass lines for the Beatles after all the other tracks had been laid down. It makes it easier to get really creative, and get the feel for how the bass part is going to affect the overall song.

If you have a guitarist to work with, at least, that could make things a lot easier for you.

[The Nanny]

My first bass lines were written in the mid 80s. I listen to alot of metal back then, but what came out sounded like David Bowie fornicating with The Ramones. Our band's songs almost always started with the guitarist and myself. It sounded like Green Day before there was a Green Day. At the time it sounded kindof...I dunno...sissy, compared to what my friends and I were listening to (Megadeth and all that), but my band played the tunes. But it was all I could write. So I abandoned it. In retrospect, it sounded like alot of nu-metal (hate that term) from today...I wish I had stuck with it. In general, however, I had no idea what I was doing.

Lesson learned...don't overthink, sometimes there are gems in your first instincts. Shoot for melody first, then groove it after.

[cowsgomoo]

my first bass lines were sequenced synth stuff... way back in the late 80's before I played bass... and listening back I find them fascinating because they're full of note choices i'd probably never consider now

my actual first bass guitar lines I came up with for my own songs, I thought were fantastic at the time, but I soon discovered I hadn't personally invented the pentatonic minor scale... I played it for ages without knowing what it was.. same with the 12 bar blues... I thought i'd invented a great sounding chord sequence until I twigged someone had beaten me to it

[CrazyArcher]

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

...but I soon discovered I hadn't personally invented the pentatonic minor scale... I played it for ages without knowing what it was.. same with the 12 bar blues... I thought i'd invented a great sounding chord sequence until I twigged someone had beaten me to it

Yeah, the same happened to me a couple of times too. I know very little about scales, or on theory in general (I wish I did ), and a friend of mine said that "he would never think about using extended blues scale in his song". I freaked out, of course.