The theory behind 3rd and 5ths?

[Lanky Tunes]

Thanks. Currently I am mostly involved in P&W music at church and in that setting giving each other sonic space seems to work best most of the time.

On the other hand, I played guitar in an originals heavy rock band a few years ago and we'd take a lot of A string power chords and have me (the guitarist) add the 2nd inversion (5th) on the low E string to add the "heavy". And the bass player usually stuck to the root note on the A string. In that setting, it sounded great. However, now that I have a better understanding of bass (I didn't play bass at all back then), I wish we would have experimented doing it the other way around. i.e. guitar stick to a normal 2 or 3 string power chord and the bass player do the low inversion.

My ideal band set up, IF there was a guitar, would be one who mostly stuck to the top four strings.

 

[FretlessMainly]

However, now that I have a better understanding of bass (I didn't play bass at all back then), I wish we would have experimented doing it the other way around. i.e. guitar stick to a normal 2 or 3 string power chord and the bass player do the low inversion.

More often than not, creating the inversion on bass works better up an octave from what would be your lowest root. Also, the reason that a 3rd or 5th sometimes seems to work an works less we ll at other times is a function of what chord you are playing and that chord's function within the tonality. For example, a V chord is dominant and wants to push you back to the I chord (or perhaps the vi chord in a deceptive cadence). Landing on 1 with a 3rd or 5th over a V chord tends to work really well because the chord is suggestive of movement and your choice of creating an inversion feel can contribute to this sense of movement. The 3rd will contribute more sense of movement than will the 5th in this case. The reason for this is the strong half step movement from the 3rd of the V chord to the root of the I chord.

But maybe the chord, based on how it is voiced by the guitar/keyboard, etc creates sufficient sensation of movement on its own such that adding a 3rd in the bass is too much. If so, try the 5th, or, for even less movement, the root.