My thrash metal band came up with a really awesome melodic song, think fade to black or this love by pantera. I'm having a hard time coming up with some ideas to compliment the arpeggiated guitar. My guitarist told me to follow the bass drum and that's something I have in mind but would you guys have any suggestions of songs I can listen to or something I could look into putting on my bassline? I wanna create a good melodic bassline under the guitar but I don't want it to get in the way of it either.
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Need some suggestions on how to write a melodic bassline
- Thread starter Bomaye
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1) Follow the chords and play notes of the chord's pentatonic scale. The pentatonic scale will give you the R, 3 (b3) and 5 of the chord - so you have fulfilled harmonization and then two other notes which can be used for your melodic sound. Then you have any scale note not already used. See number 4 below.
2) Major pentatonic will have the R-2-3-5-6 notes and the minor pentatonic will have the R-b3-4-5-b7 notes.
3) How to use those notes is the question. Not in pentatonic order. If major I'd make sure I'm hanging around the 3's and 6's. If minor, b3 and b7. IMO root on the first beat for right now is a good rule of thumb. So if major and in 4/4 time you've got three of the notes you need right there; R-3-6. The 5 is always good, as is the 8, experiment. You could just end with the 3 -- R-3-6-3 or R-3-5-3 or R-3-6-8.... Your ear will tell you which is best for this specific song.
4) Short answer; to be melodic use some of the other scale notes in your bass line. Which ones? Yes that is the question; it depends on the melody notes in the song. The chord used in the song has been placed where it is so it will in sharing some of the melody notes achieve harmonization with the melody. If you use some of those notes in your bass line you too will harmonize with the melody - and sound melodic.
5) Is there more? Sure. But, that should give you something to think about.
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buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Not to sound sarcastic but have you tried using your mind to create your bass lines ? Keep listening to the stuff until you hear a bass line.
That's the way to go. Listen to the song, find the melody, then play it.
If you do it with the instrument in hand, your chops/lack of chops may limit you.
If you do it with the instrument in hand, your chops/lack of chops may limit you.
Very helpful! I don't know much theory but you understand this enough to use this as help
Yes that was my first instinct of humming a line and coming up with some cool line as I do think that my lack of chops will hold me back so I'm still following that. What made this harder for me was that I don't know how is interact with the guitar line without getting in the way and that my drummer never plays it the same way twice. Same beat but never the same.
Stick_Player
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- Nov 13, 2009
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OP, you're not going to "learn" how to do this in a few days.
Following the way you learned to speak, and eventually to form sentences, then paragraphs, then whole stories - that made sense... you copied the sounds, the words, the sentences, the paragraphs, the on-and-on... Maybe 6, 7, 8, or more years?
You NEED to listen, listen, listen. Then copy, until the "language" becomes part of your own expression.
Memorizing, or playing by numbers won''t do it. You gain no experience in how to actually apply anything.
You seem to want to do this in a specific genre. Start listening and then learning not-for-note lines from your favorite musicians. Transcribe, copy, analyze.
Sorry OP... this takes a long time.
This is what I am talking about. You don't know "how" to interact in a musical conversation, that actually makes sense.
Following the way you learned to speak, and eventually to form sentences, then paragraphs, then whole stories - that made sense... you copied the sounds, the words, the sentences, the paragraphs, the on-and-on... Maybe 6, 7, 8, or more years?
You NEED to listen, listen, listen. Then copy, until the "language" becomes part of your own expression.
Memorizing, or playing by numbers won''t do it. You gain no experience in how to actually apply anything.
You seem to want to do this in a specific genre. Start listening and then learning not-for-note lines from your favorite musicians. Transcribe, copy, analyze.
Sorry OP... this takes a long time.
This is what I am talking about. You don't know "how" to interact in a musical conversation, that actually makes sense.
Lock in with the kick in the proper key and go from there. I'm a little confused when you say that the drummer plays the song different each time but the beat is the same. What does the drummer change each time if the beat stays the same ? His fills ?
Understanding the modes is a huge help and opens up a whole new world. Short of spending the time there, in 4/4 time, I would start the same way I start working a normal bass line - working within the triad of the chord and using the 4th beat as a passing tone to the next chord (using a note from the next chord). From there just start to embellish a little at a time within the scale. Don't go crazy all at once, just piece at a time add a little something (6ths, 8ths, etc). As I was getting more comfortable with my ability to play what I heard in my head, I would tend to do a combination of this and the humming bit by playing a little and then stop playing and finish the musical thought by humming it. This allowed me to let something flow a little free and then let me see where it would take me when I couldn't directly connect brain to fingers.
As has been said, the theory takes time but for starters (if you haven't already), get comfortable with the notes that make up a chord triad (1st, 3rd and 5th) both major and minor. Next thing I would do is print out the patterns of the major modes. If you don't learn them (but I would), you can at least use them to help you see what notes are "in bounds" as you try to create something note by note. There are good resources out there that explain very simply which modes tend to work with which chord structures. I'd venture to guess that if you do that, you'll see a lot open up to you and you'll get inspired to keep going with it.
I'm not an instructor by any means, this is just what has worked for me. YMMV
As has been said, the theory takes time but for starters (if you haven't already), get comfortable with the notes that make up a chord triad (1st, 3rd and 5th) both major and minor. Next thing I would do is print out the patterns of the major modes. If you don't learn them (but I would), you can at least use them to help you see what notes are "in bounds" as you try to create something note by note. There are good resources out there that explain very simply which modes tend to work with which chord structures. I'd venture to guess that if you do that, you'll see a lot open up to you and you'll get inspired to keep going with it.
I'm not an instructor by any means, this is just what has worked for me. YMMV
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Using the major scale box here are the "parallel spellings" for the major modes. Two ways of making modes Parallel where the notes change and the key stay the same and then Relative modes which may be what you are used to seeing. With relative the notes stay the same and the key changes. I find parallel easier to use in songs and it also points out what UWGriz talks about above.
- Ionian R-2-3-4-5-6-7 gives an upbeat happy sound as it is the same notes as the major scale. I think of it as home base for the major modes.
- Lydian One of the major modes. Use the major scale pattern and sharp the 4. Yes, that's the only difference between it and the major scale. R-2-3-#4-5-6-7 Said to have a day dreamy sound. It's so much like the major scale I seldom use it. If you like that #4 help yourself.
- Mixolydian Also one of the major modes. Flat the 7 R-2-3-4-5-6-b7 With a modal vamp it will sound Latin. If it is used with dominant seven chords in a blues progression you get that b7 blues sound.
- Aeolian Home for the minor modes. R-2-b3-4-5-b6-b7 major scale with the 3, 6 & 7 flatted. Is said to have a sad sound as it is the same as the natural minor scale. I think of it being the home base for the minor modes and run all my minor patterns from it.
- Dorian One of the minor modes. R-2-b3-4-5-6-b7 same as Aeolian with the b6 sharped into a natural 6. If I'm going with a minor mode Dorian is my first choice.
- Phrygian Another of the minor modes. R-b2-b3-4-5-b6-b7 Same as Aeolian with a b2. Has a Middle Eastern sound. Fun to play, however, I seldom ever have a need for it.
- Locrian The diminished mode. R-b2-b3-4-b5-b6-b7 Here we flat the 2 and the 5. Has a dark and tense sound. I seldom see the need to use Locrian, but, if you want dark and tense Locrian could give you that.
Which gets back to what UWGriz was pointing out.. Modes are melodic and this post started out asking about how to write a melodic bass line. Using notes of the mode would be a way of doing that..
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You know the chords, connect the dots and use your ear.
as you move form root note to root note,
add an approach note and listen.
if it sounds good, keep it. If not, dump it.
next time around, add an approach note to your approach.
repeat.
Modes are not as useful as the amount wrtiting of dedicated to them might imply.
"should I invest a lot of energy learning modes? "
"do I understand intervals, chord building, and how to harmonize the major scale?"
the answer to both is the same, and the latter will probably be a greater aid to melody.
as you move form root note to root note,
add an approach note and listen.
if it sounds good, keep it. If not, dump it.
next time around, add an approach note to your approach.
repeat.
Modes are not as useful as the amount wrtiting of dedicated to them might imply.
"should I invest a lot of energy learning modes? "
"do I understand intervals, chord building, and how to harmonize the major scale?"
the answer to both is the same, and the latter will probably be a greater aid to melody.
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