How to make a truly beautiful bassline

[Zach]

Got a challenging bass problem, and looking for help from teachers.
 

I find that almost all the bass lines I hear lack emotion and meaning and just support other instruments.

This very frustrating as I want to express MY feelings and not simply sound ‘good’ or make others sound good. 
 

Out of the hundreds of lines I’ve finally found ONE that I feel does this. It’s what’s going on by Marvin gaye. This Jamerson line feels special as it seems to be conveying its own emotion. It adds to the song beautifully but isn’t specifically supporting other instruments.
 

Can any bass teachers help with this topic? 

Edited November 18 by Zach
Make it easier to read

[musicbassman]

22 minutes ago, Zach said:

It adds to the song beautifully but isn’t specifically supporting other instruments

The greatest basslines - like this one - achieve both !   🙂 👍

 

[JoeEvans]

Are you looking for suggestions of beautiful basslines, or opinions on how to create a beautiful basslines?

[OliverBlackman]

What’s going on is a very melodic line - the arrangement allows it to drive the song. 

[Mykesbass]

Just? There is no just when it comes to supporting others. 

[BigRedX]

It's all subjective.

[SteveXFR]

For me, playing in a band was all about the sound of the whole band as one. I'd get my moments to shine but if I was concerned about expressing my emotions I'd have chosen to play guitar. 

The bass is about putting in the groove and making people move.

[Beedster]

3 hours ago, Zach said:

Got a challenging bass problem, and looking for help from teachers.
 

I find that almost all the bass lines I hear lack emotion and meaning and just support other instruments.

This very frustrating as I want to express MY feelings and not simply sound ‘good’ or make others sound good. 
 

Out of the hundreds of lines I’ve finally found ONE that I feel does this. It’s what’s going on by Marvin gaye. This Jamerson line feels special as it seems to be conveying its own emotion. It adds to the song beautifully but isn’t specifically supporting other instruments.
 

Can any bass teachers help with this topic? 

The emotion of a song is rarely in the bassline. You might need to either find some musicians who will allow you to express yourself on your bass or compose your own work 👍

[fretmeister]

JS Bach

Jack Bruce

 

 But ultimately the bass is the bridge between drums and the rest. That is the primary role.  Over do the “emotion” and you’ll be like Billy Sheehan off his Ritalin and on the Red Bull. 
 

A bassist is simultaneously the least visible of the band and the reason why people are dancing.

[KingPrawn]

What an interesting thread! I find the emotion in the bass to be how it fits into a song and the role it plays. It has often been said that if you remove the bass line from a great song, people find it hard to connect with it. When I play and see people's reactions to a bass line, that's enough for me. Or maybe, as you say, I'm playing a supportive role, and that is also enough for that particular song. 

I think it's a very personal thing. I'm not someone to get particularly emotional about lyrics. I love a well-crafted song and can appreciate the lyrical craft but for me its in the music I feel the most emotion which is usually classical or ambient at its core. Bands like 'Stars of the Lid' or albums like 'Spirit of Eden' by Talk Talk. I also love bass players who resolve pieces beautifully  Niels-Henning ørsted Pedersen was a master at this.  I was at a funeral recently for a truly wonderful person and whilst some of the songs that were played by the family were not maybe emotional in their writing or arrangement. The memories and triggers for those present was clearly evident. 

 

Good luck and id be interested to hear your results

[itu]

I would start from the simplest possible. It isn't easy to reduce the line to the bare essentials. Then if the song gives you any space, put some simple fills in there.

 

I cannot see that a simple line would lack emotion. Yes, it can be played like reading a phone book, or you can dive into the music. Phrasing is so important.

 

(Overplaying is so easy. How do I know? I bought a looper.)

 

In Gimme gimme gimme Björn och Benny wanted to make bass and drums sound like machines. They managed very well: where are those few fills? Still the song swings, and there's actually quite a lot of stuff to play. Lost in music is "relatively simple", but that groove! Everybody wants to rule the world is just the same pattern from the start to the end, and it still supports the song so well.

 

 A driving bassline can be pretty straightforward like in Let's dance. Or if you want to do lots of work, try to play the synth line from Like a prayer.

 

Melodic lines can be easily found from jazz. Jamerson was a jazz bassist, and he was able to transfer his chordal and rhythmic knowledge to Motown classics.

 

Why wouldn't you try A night in Tunisia, and So what?

[binky_bass]

@Zach - Caligula's Horse have some fantastic bass lines. A track called Autumn off of their album Rise Radiant has a great emotive (to my ears anyway) bass line.

 

 

[OliverBlackman]

Emotion in a note or phrase comes from articulation (short/ long/ hard/soft). So complexity and choice of notes don’t invoke emotion by themselves.

[Doctor J]

If you only like one bassline, perhaps bass is not the instrument for you?

[BlueMoon]

One of my favourite melodic basslines is “Something” on Abbey Road. Macca at his best!

[Leonard Smalls]

Listen to Bootsy - he does it all...

[SumOne]

 

 

- Drums keep people marching/stomping, they're for the feet. 

 

- Vocals are the face of the music, almost literally, as you look at the singers face as they use their voice to convery stories and emotions. 

 

- Piano and Guitar and other instruments that play melodies are for the brain and convey emotions on a more abstract level. 

 

- Bass is for the hips and groin! (to paraphrase Suzi Quatro). It gets people dancing rather than marching. 

 

 

.... So in my book the Bass is largely a supporting instrument. To mix my metaphors: It's the cement that holds the building together...not always noticeable when doing its job well - but people notice when it isn't, it is not the beautiful building facade that melodic instruments are, it supports them though. Bass even sounds 'heavy' compared to other instruments. 

 

If you've only found one bassline that you like, perhaps more melodic and emotionally expressive instruments like guitars or pianos would be more your thing? I mean, you don't get many harp players complaining their instrument doesn't get people stomping their feet, or drummers complaining that they find it hard to convey dream-like whimsical emotions. 

 

 

Edited November 19 by SumOne

[Zach]

18 hours ago, JoeEvans said:

Are you looking for suggestions of beautiful basslines, or opinions on how to create a beautiful basslines?

How to create them, and ones like this

[jonnybass]

For me, when working on a song, it should always be about "Does this make the song sound better?" if the answer is no, try again, if you arent sure ask your band mates or the songwriter.  The bass, like any instrument is about enhancing a song sometimes thats supporting, sometimes its carrying the melody.  This is generally genre specific, so you are unlikely to have a 3 minute bebop bass solo in a thrash metal tune, likewise, in a folk band you are unlikely to have distorted two handed tapping basslines.

 

Jonny

[Zach]

5 hours ago, Doctor J said:

If you only like one bassline, perhaps bass is not the instrument for you?

Thought about this. I would have definitely quit if I’d not come across that bassline. 
 

but it showed me there was a style I really liked in bass

[rushbo]

Context is everything.

 

The reason Jamerson's line on "What's Going On" works so well has so much to do with everything that surrounds it. Gaye's brilliant, emotional delivery, the gorgeous arrangement, the poignancy of the lyric and the strength of the song all highlight the nuances in what the Bassist is doing.

 

As other contributors to this thread have already mentioned, the Bass is first and foremost a structural instrument. In a Rock context, it has a clear purpose - to bridge the gap between rhythm and melody - and it can be tricky to express an emotion when you're working within those parameters. If you're looking for some good examples of expressive playing, I'd recommend the "Hejira" album by Joni Mitchell. On this record, Jaco Pastorius manages to both support the song and play beautifully and lyrically.

 

You could also listen to what Eberhard Weber is doing on Jan Garbarek's "It's OK to Listen to the Grey Voice" record. It's not rock or pop, but it's a masterclass in expressive musicianship that doesn't get in the way of the lead instrument.

 

 

Edited November 19 by rushbo

[OliverBlackman]

18 minutes ago, Zach said:

How to create them, and ones like this

Well you just need to know and understand; chord tones, passing tones, chromatic notes, modes, rhythm, phrasing, articulation, stylistic nuances, all the notes on the fingerboard and transcribe a whole load of melodies (not necessarily played on bass).

[diskwave]

As already mentioned bass lines add structure but do they make you feel emotional? I dont think so..never really thgt about it that way before.  I love many many bass lines but its the lead melody that pulls my strings. Still it has got me thinking, I'll  get back to you if I find one. Having said all that the question of how to make a bassline does sound a bit naive. Ive always been of the mind youve either got the talent to do it or you haven't. I'm not that creative but I do like playing other peoples ideas. 

[Zach]

10 minutes ago, rushbo said:

Context is everything.

 

The reason Jamerson's line on "What's Going On" works so well has so much to do with everything that surrounds it. Gaye's brilliant, emotional delivery, the gorgeous arrangement, the poignancy of the lyric and the strength of the song all highlight the nuances in what the Bassist is doing.

 

As other contributors to this thread have already mentioned, the Bass is first and foremost a structural instrument. In a Rock context, it has a clear purpose - to bridge the gap between rhythm and melody - and it can be tricky to express an emotion when you're working within those parameters. If you're looking for some good examples of expressive playing, I'd recommend the "Hejira" album by Joni Mitchell. On this record, Jaco Pastorius manages to both support the song and play beautifully and lyrically.

 

You could also listen to what Eberhard Weber is doing on Jan Garbarek's "It's OK to Listen to the Grey Voice" record. It's not rock or pop, but it's a masterclass in expressive musicianship that doesn't get in the way of the lead instrument.

 

 

Interesting point about context, definitely something I’m going to be considering. 
 

I’m not a huge rock listener so correct me if Im missing the bigger picture. But I find most rock lines lack any type of emotion but when I heard “Go your own way - fleetwood mac”, it’s working in a rock context but you can almost feel the heartbreak coming from the bass player in his line. Any thoughts? 

[JoeEvans]

I think beauty in basslines comes from a sense of melody - not just defining the chords and rhythm by moving through the root notes, but finding a tuneful line that is compatible with, but different from, the main melody of the song. It's counterpoint, basically, so a study of that would be a good starting point.

My perception is that to feel beautiful, the bass needs to define a more complex chordal form - getting some seconds, thirds, sixths and sevenths in there as well as the 1-4-5. That means understanding harmony to some extent.

I think a study of basslines that feel beautiful would also pick up the use of ornaments and incidentals - extra little details that highlight parts of a melody and adjust the harmony temporarily.

Edited November 19 by JoeEvans