Need basic advice on songwriting

[MStrianese]

So, I've been in bands and wrote decent basslines for original songs, but it takes me some time, and a lot of it is just trial and error and getting lucky, I'm pretty bad at it.

When you hear a drum beat or a guitar riff or anything and you're composing a bassline, what are the steps you take in your mind from the BEGINNING to the end, any advice is highly valued.

 

[IrishBassLad]

Well, my bassline writing is really abstract. I can't describe it. But... I can give some tips.

1st. Make a grove that you can repeat over and over again threw the chorus or verse.

2nd. Make it memorable.

3rd. Make it You. Don't take a slap-tastic Flea line and make it you. Make yourself make yourown slap-tastic line. Just an example.

4th. Have fun with it man. Music is about the expression of one's self threw his/her chosen instrument.

 

[baalroo]

I just try to imagine exactly what I think would be the coolest thing to hear if I were sitting across the room listening to me play, and then try to do that.

a little less abstract, a process I like to use: I start with a single note. Next I try to decide what would be the most amazing note to come after it. Then I decide how long after the first should the next one come in. The rest is just repeating that same process.

 

[MStrianese]

Thanks for the advice, the funny thing is thats how i write! I just imagine what I would say "WOW" to if I were hearing it for the first time, I guess I just need to work on doing that whole process a little faster!

Again, thanks to both of you for the advice

 

[EBBassMan]

I always feel like my basslines should be different things at different times. Sometimes I want to stay on the roots, sometimes I want to provide a counterpoint to the melody, sometimes I want to take a lead role in the song. But I think it should always be an interesting riff, lock in pretty tightly with the drums, and really create an interesting groove to the song. Most often, my guitarist and I would come up with the song together....either he would work off a bassline I came up with or I'd work around one of his ideas. Once we had an idea pretty well worked out the drummer would work with me on creating the groove. For example, we came up with this song in a few hours following this formula. I came up with the bassline from the beginning of the song first, then we worked around that as a theme.