Writing my first bass line, are there rules?

[Ekulati]

Yes, seriously, OP, respectfully, learn some theory. Maybe more important, learn some of other people's music. See how bass lines are put together. Then do your own. Cart before horse.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

Any rules? Hope for something - my ear is tin so I rely on chord charts - that will give you the chord progression. From there play notes of the active chord to the beat of the kick drum.

I know ----- which notes ----- Roots are a given, need more add a 5. Need more add the octave 8 for R-5-8-5. If jazz bring in the correct 3 and 7. If it's not jazz relax and let the Root, five and octave do what you need.

If all that R-5-8-5 stuff is not making since get one of Ed Friedland's books and start on page one. ed friedland's books - Bing

It's the simple stuff that always fits and gets you asked back.

 

[david barnes]

First time Im writing a bass line around guitar chords. Pop Punk kinda thing. My notes are F, D, C and A#/Bb. So the first time thru Im playing F, on the E string, then quickly grabbing the C and Bb on the A string for a fill in between the chord change before playing the D on the A string. Then the next time I play the F, on the A string, then quickly grabbing the C and Bb on the D string for a fill in between the chord change before landing on the D at the A string again. Got all that? That fill with the C and Ab on the A string are lower notes being played before the D on the A string but then the next time around, the C and Bb on the A string are higher notes than the same D on the A string from the first time around. Is that ok to do from a technical standpoint? I think it sounds cool and better than playing it the same way both times thru. Thoughts?

I before e expect for only after c... never fry bacon in the nude

 

[Wfrance3]

This isn't really composition help but may end up being an answer to a question you didn't ask. I used to thing that the measure of a good bass player is was how many notes you can play before landing on the next root. For a little while there I thought you weren't going to be counted amongst the decent players if you couldn't do some sort of a flashy run at every opportunity possible. That is completely wrong. The good players play what is needed when it's needed. Go to the basics. follow the kick drum pattern. If things are slowing down and (for example) drummer is on the cymbals a lot, play longer notes.

Couple of things you can do:

1. know that sometimes playing nothing, and then coming back in at a good spot is the best thing you can do to support the song.

2. Stay out of the outro. Everyone else is going to want that. If everyone is all doing flashy stuff at the end it usually sounds bad. Pick somewhere else to shine.

This could be completely wrong for the tune you are working on, but felt that it was good general advice, so there you go...

Hope this helps!!

 

[tonedeaf]

I was a singer before I played bass. When I started playing I knew very little about music theory or really music in general, so I would listen to the guitar part, sing something either out loud or in my head that I liked the sound of and then go try to find those notes on the fretboard. At first I didn't know much about which chords the guitar was playing and didn't always know the names of the notes I was playing. I was more interested in how my part meshed and supported the other stuff that was happening - which in this case was just one guitar and drums.

Most of what has been said here is a variation on "if it sounds good, it is good", and I couldn't agree more.

Having said all that, I've invested quite a bit of time learning my instrument and at least the basics of music theory and those efforts have only made things better for me. The combination of a good ear, a strong understanding of music, and a high level of playing proficiency is the holy grail I'm chasing after - in that order.

 

[Lanky Tunes]

No rules; only norms.

 

[lz4005]

Those are the chords he said he was playing and he's in D standard tuning. Those are the notes that fit what he's playing. Not sure what you mean by F, Dm, C and B, Im not playing the same notes as his chords. Like on a bunch of Gaslight Anthem cover songs I learned, the chords are Am, F, C and G in D standard tuning but the bass notes for the songs are G, D#, A#/Bb and F for each of those chords. So based on those songs in the same tunings where the bass is playing an F over the G chord and an A#/Bb over the C chord, Im spot on for my song as well.

I guarantee you aren't playing a Bb bass note under a C chord in a rock song.

Your guitar player is telling you what chords the shapes he's making with his fingers would be if he was in E standard.

You're talking about the real notes you're playing.

This is a common thing that intellectually lazy guitar players do and it always makes their bass player's job more difficult.

Have him play the root note of each of his chords into an electronic tuner. Then you play the notes you've been playing. They will be the same.

 

[Tom Henry]

The folks above have some good advice, but i have something to add:

Make sure your bass line doesn't get in the way of the vocals. That's a sure fire way of getting told to play root notes only.

I really think this is the only rule.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

First time Im writing a bass line around guitar chords. Pop Punk kinda thing. My notes are F, D, C and A#/Bb. So the first time thru Im playing F, on the E string, then quickly grabbing the C and Bb on the A string for a fill in between the chord change before playing the D on the A string. Then the next time I play the F, on the A string, then quickly grabbing the C and Bb on the D string for a fill in between the chord change before landing on the D at the A string again. Got all that? That fill with the C and Ab on the A string are lower notes being played before the D on the A string but then the next time around, the C and Bb on the A string are higher notes than the same D on the A string from the first time around. Is that ok to do from a technical standpoint? I think it sounds cool and better than playing it the same way both times thru. Thoughts?

It wildly depends on the groove / rhythm. Sometimes, just playing 8th notes works.

Can you put a sample of the tune up?

 

[tbz]

never fry bacon in the nude

Unless you're into that sort of thing.

 

[Phalex]

The best bassline I ever put together incorporated a big fat full rest. It's true, sometimes it's not so much what you play......

 

[madbass6]

First time Im writing a bass line around guitar chords. Pop Punk kinda thing. My notes are F, D, C and A#/Bb. So the first time thru Im playing F, on the E string, then quickly grabbing the C and Bb on the A string for a fill in between the chord change before playing the D on the A string. Then the next time I play the F, on the A string, then quickly grabbing the C and Bb on the D string for a fill in between the chord change before landing on the D at the A string again. Got all that? That fill with the C and Ab on the A string are lower notes being played before the D on the A string but then the next time around, the C and Bb on the A string are higher notes than the same D on the A string from the first time around. Is that ok to do from a technical standpoint? I think it sounds cool and better than playing it the same way both times thru. Thoughts?

Rules? Must use the Bass cleff!

 

[mbell75]

Lots of great suggestions here, thanks. Its just a pretty straight forward rock/punk song where Im playing 16th notes on the root and then filling those little gaps with the other notes from the song meeting back on the next root note like you hear in pretty much every song in this style ha. I was just curious if there were rules as to wether you use ascending notes or descending notes in certain spots. Im happy with it though and think it works. Don't want to post anywhere in public because its a brand new song and its just a crude, rough draft recordings from iPhones. If someone really cares enough to give me some feedback on it, PM me and I can link you to a sample of it. Thanks!

 

[gkbass13]

#norules

 

[Phalex]

I was just curious if there were rules as to wether you use ascending notes or descending notes in certain spots.

Personally, I like ascending runs when the guitar is doing descending runs, and descending runs when the guitar player is ascending. Some times mirroring the guitar part is the best way to go, but I do like to do different stuff that works.

 

[BobDeRosa]

Am I the only cranky old person here today? Ok, I'll be it.

OP, based on your posts there are two music "rules" you should be worrying about at this point:

1) Know your instrument.
2) Know basic music theory.

You're all wrapped up in "cool" alternate tunings and the like, but haven't mastered the basics. You don't understand chord and scale relationships, or basic structure. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with not understanding these things, you are new and we all started there. But instead of learning to play you are fooling around with tunings and word games. Nothing will limit your ability to progress quite like ignoring the basics will.

Get your guitarist tuned properly. Get yourself tuned properly. Learn some stuff. Learn some more stuff. Start down the road to musicianship. After you learn some stuff you will figure out what rules to break and when.

Best luck to you. I'm going to go chase some noisy little blighters off my lawn.

This is extremely wise advice. Pay close attention.

 

[Biggbass]

short answer - No there are no rules other than try to play in the same key as the song.

 

[MVE]

I suggest starting by playing the roots (make sure you are playing the right roots!!! If your guitar player doesn't know what notes he's playing in an alt tuning, he probably shouldn't be using an alt tuning)

Anyway, like I said, start with the roots and then add some other notes like pepper and salt to taste.

 

[NoiseNinja]

Rules in music are useful guidelines, not the law.

Use your ears and play whichever you think sounds good in the context and serves the music.

 

[lermgalieu]

I agree with lots of stuff ppl are saying here. Use your ears, but do so with your back pocket full of knowledge of basic theory. I often find it helpful, before I even determine what the roots are, to just listen to the tune and hum or think about what I hear for bass. In some cases, the best sounding line won't be roots. For example, often playing the bass note a 4th down from the root can give a part a completely different feel. Some songs have little use for the root in the bass (see, e.g. Emotional Rescue). Get your head into the song and see what it's asking of you.