Hello i am fairly new to TB and this is my first post, im sure this has been covered many times but i was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on writing music on bass.
You can write music on the bass - you can write music on any instrument. Some are easier than others. Melody flows best for me on piano or keyboard. Bass Lines flow best on a bass guitar, however, the bottom 4 strings on a 6 string guitar are the same as the bass' 4 strings. Notes are notes so you can write (play) music on either instrument.
I have read many books/articles on this process and most say the same stuff about using scales and going with the guitar but thats my problem, im the only musician
i know and i only play bass. i cant write a guitar riff to create a bass line.
So i have nothing but my bass to start with. is it even possible to write music with just a bass? If anyone has any knowledge they could share i would greatly appreciate it. Thanks alot.
Writing music is about composing a melody line, a harmony line and letting the note duration build a rhythm. So writing music goes a little beyond what I think you are expecting. Hang on; here is the story. Writing music is about having a story worth telling. I normally use lyrics for this. Once I have the story in mind I put it into verse format. I like four line verses, three verses and one chorus. I next decide on a cookie cutter chord progression and as I'm Country the I-IV-V7-I progression has written a zillion songs so I use a V7-I cadence in the first two lines of the verse and then duplicate that in the last two lines of that 4 line verse.
Up to this point I've used a pencil, some paper, and a little theory knowledge on how a chord progression can move the story through the verse.
Now comes the melody. And yes here you can use your bass for this - notes are notes.
Code:
Major Scale Box.
G|---2---|-------|---3---|---4---| 1st string
D|---6---|-------|---7---|---8---|
A|---3---|---4---|-------|---5---|
E|-------|---R---|-------|---2---|4th string
Pick a key and stay with the key scale and the chords made from that scale. True this flows better on a keyboard than the bass or even a 6 string guitar, but, you can write melody on your bass.
For your melody and your bass line to harmonize both should share some like notes. I normally rely upon the chord's pentatonic scale for my melody notes. The pentatonic will have 3 chord tones for harmony and 2 safe passing notes for color. That normally is enough for a first draft melody line.
Now we finally get to the meat of this post. How do you write a bass line to harmonize that melody. You need at least one shared note in the melody line and the bass line per measure. Two are better, and 3 or 4 would be great if you have time (room for them). So playing just roots in your bass line will harmonize, playing roots and fives will be better and if you have room the correct 3 and 7 will work nicely. Is there more? Sure.
So yes you can write "stuff" on your bass, however, because of it's low range melody is sometime best
composed on keyboard or 6 string guitar.
Now composing your bass line. Your melody line and your bass line need to share some like notes to harmonize. Great thing about this is if you get some fake chord sheet music the song writer has already decided what chord will best harmonize the melody - at this specific point in the song - so if you follow the chords he has put into the song and play some of the chord's tones it becomes a piece of cake to compose a bass line for this song. Notice I compose by first placing the chords so the story can move between I rest to IV tension to V7 climax and then I back to rest. So... I have the chords already in place to use for my melody. Same as if you used fake chord for the chords.....
Here is some stuff you may find interesting:
Link Removed Print the first 20 pages and read a little each night.
http://books.google.com/books?id=Ht...result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q&f=false First 30 pages are worth your time.
Yes its on the piano, but, notes are notes and this video will explain how you pick chords that will harmonize the melody. Neat stuff to know. In the example given the C chord or the Am chord could have been used, understanding why the C chord was chosen is key to understanding how melody and harmony work together.
Have fun.
