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Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

#25,121
bassboysam said:
ok, so if a riff is using the root, b3 and 5 which implies a minor scale, would you build a bassline focusing on those 3 intervals or would you expand it and use other notes from the minor scale?
Click to expand...
Depends on what The Riff needs. If its strong as is then no I stick with it maybe in multiple octaves while giving some variety in rhythm.
If The Riff isn't as strong more of the scale gets used in consistent and regular rhythm, but I'll do it over the space of the riff being repeated 3-4 times. I try to think of deviations like this as lyrical or singsong.
Then again I prefer more verse-chorus-verse or 12bar as opposed to how free form Monobrow is. So take this all at face value. I have no idea what works best for you.
 
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#25,122
bassboysam said:
i'm really trying to write more complementary basslines instead of following the guitar riff. I am very concious not to force it though, and that sometimes playing in unison is the "correct" thing to do. There are places though where I want to go on a tangent and that's where the chord vs scale comes in. Should I use the chord tones or scale notes of the riff? It sounds like I should approach the riff more from a scale than a chord which is the opposite of how I've generally approached it. Looks like I have some experimenting to do.
Click to expand...
Match the riff to a scale and run the scale while your guitarist jams the riff. Syncopate as need. Something will click.

My guitarists solo over all manor of riffs lacking a normal scale/chord structure. They just record the riff and loop it while noodling. Eventually something good comes out.
 
#25,132
mbelue said:
Depends on what The Riff needs. If its strong as is then no I stick with it maybe in multiple octaves while giving some variety in rhythm.
If The Riff isn't as strong more of the scale gets used in consistent and regular rhythm, but I'll do it over the space of the riff being repeated 3-4 times. I try to think of deviations like this as lyrical or singsong.
Then again I prefer more verse-chorus-verse or 12bar as opposed to how free form Monobrow is. So take this all at face value. I have no idea what works best for you.
Click to expand...

father of fires said:
Match the riff to a scale and run the scale while your guitarist jams the riff. Syncopate as need. Something will click.

My guitarists solo over all manor of riffs lacking a normal scale/chord structure. They just record the riff and loop it while noodling. Eventually something good comes out.
Click to expand...

thanks for the input, sometimes a slightly different approach can open a whole new world of possibilities.
 
#25,135
I'm Probably the least versed in theory. I even have multiple friends who went to music school at my disposal and I still have issues. My problem is every answer just grows 5 questions like a knowledge hydra. It always comes back to them basically saying "nothing is technically wrong". That phrase bothers me.

What makes something a riff vs a chord progression?

Anyone I play with where I haven't written the "riffGression" I just play exactly what they have over and over and over with them. Then I just start trying little variations. As we go on and finalize a song, I might end up playing 100% the same as the guitar, or 100% different. More than likely I'll be somewhere in the middle. Like I'll start a song playing with the guitar to establish the riffGression, then maybe alter it a bit, then not play then come back in. If it's starting to wind down I tend to play a whole note version of what the riff is if that makes sense to slow it down and taper off. All in all not really sure, but nothing's sounded off and no one said I was wrong so I stay with my ways.
 
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#25,140
Blank_0101 said:
I'm Probably the least versed in theory. I even have multiple friends who went to music school at my disposal and I still have issues. My problem is every answer just grows 5 questions like a knowledge hydra. It always comes back to them basically saying "nothing is technically wrong". That phrase bothers me.

What makes something a riff vs a chord progression?

Anyone I play with where I haven't written the "riffGression" I just play exactly what they have over and over and over with them. Then I just start trying little variations. As we go on and finalize a song, I might end up playing 100% the same as the guitar, or 100% different. More than likely I'll be somewhere in the middle. Like I'll start a song playing with the guitar to establish the riffGression, then maybe alter it a bit, then not play then come back in. If it's starting to wind down I tend to play a whole note version of what the riff is if that makes sense to slow it down and taper off. All in all not really sure, but nothing's sounded off and no one said I was wrong so I stay with my ways.
Click to expand...


well most riffs are usuall played under one root note using one note at a time. a chord is a minimum of 3 notes played at the same time (each chord will have a different root) to create harmony (guitar players may argue that a two note 5 chord is a chord but in a classical sense a power chord it is not a chord).

a chord progression is a series of chords defined by the key of the song. So in the key of C major the "correct" chords are C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim.

Autochords : Chord Progression Generator


at least that is how i understand/organize it in my mind.
 
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