Picking the right notes

[norvegicusbass]

Usually when I think up a bass line I just sort of sing it in my head then try to replicate this on the fretboard. I tend to do this for existing songs that I am quite familiar coming up with lines often markedly different to the original. However when faced with things like chord charts I can only at best come up with the roots. I think I have read somewhere that you select notes from the chord scale. So for instance if the Gmaj chord is played does that mean I can select ANY note from the Gmaj scale and it will work? Say for example there is a full bar in the key of Gmaj could I play a full bar of C which is the fourth note of the G major scale? It doesnt seem right. What happens if I just noodle around playing random notes from the Gmaj scale? Would that work? This post comes from watching this excellent video which seems to imply that you can just play random notes within a certain scale and they will fit into the overall sound of the music.
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[Bilbo]

Any note from a G major scale (and some from outside it) will work but some will work better than others. Random note placement is not the idea as the rhythm impacts on the effectiveness of the note i.e. if it is on a weak beat or on a strong one, an on-beat or off-beat. The idea is for the line to have some sort of internal logic that works in the context in which you are playing it. That is where the magic lies and that is much harder to develop than a basic knowledge of theory.

[risingson]

Worth learning your chordal notes and which ones sound stronger than others. Playing a C in the key of Gmaj isn't a strong candidate and will sound unusual if played out of context (the key word, as perhaps in some cases the C may very well work). B and D (the major 3rd and 5th respectively) are stronger candidates, especially your B but remember, if everyone else in the band is working on a G major chord then playing a B under it all is going to change the chord to a G/B (G on a , which will alter the sound of the rest of the band.

Don't fear root notes, try and develop the ability to play between the changes tastefully and without detracting from the song with what you're playing. No one is going to notice if you're getting root notes right, but people will certainly notice if you're throwing in notes that don't work against the chord.

[Doddy]

I think that learning chord tones will help more than noodling around with scales. Learn the intervals
that make up the chord and what the notes are.That will then give you a solid grounding that will allow
you to experiment further,by adding scale and passing tones,but while still being able to retain the basic
harmony.

[BottomE]

Scales and chord tones are your palette. Choosing how to apply them is the magic bit. As always try to serve the composition.

[steve-bbb]

whilst sticking in the keys means that technically speaking any notes do as all the above say some notes will be better than others

this is why bass tends to stay predominantly on roots/octaves and fifths because they are nearly always 'safest'

other intervals such as fourths and sixths work but they often work better as 'passing' or ghost notes when they effectively moving you back towards resolving a beat or bar on a fifth or a root

[PaulWarning]

I find anything out of the pentatonic scale works, basically go up a sting or 2, and play the same fret or 2 higher, does that make sense? some muso will probably tell me I'm talking bollocks but it seems to work for me

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1348582467' post='1815503']
I find anything out of the pentatonic scale works, basically go up a sting or 2, and play the same fret or 2 higher, does that make sense? some muso will probably tell me I'm talking bollocks but it seems to work for me
[/quote]

that'll be a fifth then

[PaulWarning]

yep, and a 4th and an octive and maybe a flattened 7th, maybe wrong on that one though