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Your thoughts on repetitive basslines?

#42
It's funny that bass-players (myself included) get self conscious about this, like we should be doing more. But what if drummers weren't repetitive? Just playing something different every 4 beats? That would be a disaster.

We have a job. Think of it is "Steady" "Consistent" rather than repetitive.
 
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#45
A Mirror Somewhere said:
You know the ones that either literally or almost literally stay the same throughout most of the song....Do they bore you, playing or listening? Do you think they have their place in a given song/genre?

Frankly, if it's not some over-noisy, rehashed synth line in a techno song or something I can appreciate it as much as any other bassline in a number of senses.

The ultimate has got to be Papa Was a Rolling Stone. Such effectiveness and cool in just 3 notes. I've heard a version with a regular bassline and it's not nearly as powerful.

Others are "Chain of Fools", "If I Needed Someone", and I really like "Body and Soul" (Love & Rockets) where after a mostly steady bassline David J bookends the song with these lovely, heavy runs - and those runs would not be nearly as effective if not for all the buildup.

Also I'm wondering is there a musical term for these kinds of figures? Ostinato maybe? I've seen the term Static Harmony, in reference to If I Needed Someone, used exactly once but it seems to make sense.
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Sometimes necessary, sometimes not.. Drums can be pretty repetitive. So can rhythm guitar. Song and band mates determine, I suppose.
 
#52
Every song has a repetitive bass line, guitar part, etc. The difference is that in some songs the repetition is more interesting than in other songs. I look at this way. Not every song will have an interesting bass line but if the audience likes the song, deal with it.
 
#53
If it's right for the song, then so be it. I've had to put more effort into playing long, repetitive parts than some with more changes. If you goof up on a repetitive one, it's a lot more noticeable than one with a lot of changes. After all, I try my best not to throw down any slop, but I sure know the songs where I can. The repetitive ones aren't them. Plus, some of my favorite parts are repetitive. Someone mentioned reggae; Peter Tosh's No Sympathy has a bass part I love. I think that was Robbie Shakespeare, but I can't recall exactly.

But that's just me. I don't mind them for the most part, as long as I can get in the groove with it. If I feel like I'm a cohesive part of a greater entity, then it works out a lot better. If I feel like I'm just putting a left front tire on a Chevy at five to five on a Saturday, then it gets old fast.
 
#57
Studying a lot of Jamerson stuff with my teacher now, and he has a certain structure to a lot of his basslines:

Intro run -> 2 bar main bassline -> backs off and plays a root note on the 1 -> back into back into the 2-bar main bassline

It's super effective, but he usually keep those parts smooth and busy. As long as it possesses good timing, you can play a repetitive bassline and get applause.


A Mirror Somewhere said:
...I really like "Body and Soul" (Love & Rockets) where after a mostly steady bassline David J bookends the song with these lovely, heavy runs - and those runs would not be nearly as effective if not for all the buildup.
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Kudos on the David J reference! Huge fan of his as well, the guy is totally underrated as a bassist.
 
#58
I'm in the middle on this issue. On the jazz side, I'm influenced by bebop bassists who tried really hard not to repeat themselves too much. On the funk side, I appreciate a good James Brown groove and enjoy hypnotic tunes like "Stranglehold". But I play with a lot of guys who feel that repetition = boring and it's a pain sometimes. For example, even old school prog rock had 10 minutes songs so that they would have time for grooves or trances in the middle of the tune. New school metal is total ADHD and people are trying to write shorter songs to match internet attention spans. I'm always the one saying "THIS part of the song is awesome - let's just groove on it for a few minutes and let Mike solo over it". Meanwhile the audience is lucky if they get to hear the PART repeated let alone the groove.

Before people had the attention spans of a gnat, this is one of my favorite basslines ever:



35 years later, here's my favorite ADHD bassline:

 
#60
Even repetitive bass lines offer opportunities for growth. How cleanly are you playing, how's your left and right hand technique, how locked in to the drummer are you, can you make it groove harder by changing note durations, what can you do with accents,dynamics, how many positions on your instrument can you play it in, should you be striking every note or should you be hammering some, does your phrasing match the phrasing of other players, where are the spots you can add a nice fill? On and on I can go.
 
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