Dumb (acoustic) bass question regarding notes

[VJP5]

I have been giving a lot of thought lately to getting an acoustic bass. My intent is not to become the next greatest bass player. I would just like to add a little something to my acoustic playing. I think it would be a lot of fun to add some simple bass line tracks to my playing. With that said, here is my (dumb) question:

There aren't a lot of bass tabs out there. Is it as simple as just playing notes from the chords of a song? i.e. If I'm playing an E chord, do I simply play an E note? Switch to an A chord and play an A note? Can I play any note in the chord?

Plenty of time to add bass licks down the road. For now, I could really use some help getting started with the basics.

Thanks
Vince

[Silly Moustache]

Mostly I & V surely?

[VJP5]

So, using my examples above, you're saying:

Rhythm: E / / /
Bass: E B E B

Obviously, an oversimplification but just trying to understand the basic structure of a bass line.

The IV (A) wouldn't work?

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Mostly I & V surely?

Correct! And don't call me Shirley (ba-dum...tsssh)...

Since Roman numerals are most often used to designate chords, I'd just add that Do/Sol or 1/5 might be preferable to I/V, though, to avoid any confusion.

1/5 as an alternating bass will be correct almost 100% of the time. The more you depart from that, the more you increase the chance of not getting a good fit.
Bass players (or "would-be" bassists) who go hunting are soon lost in the woods and simply confuse and conflict with the chord changes.

Listen to the 'stache. He's right on.

[stanron]

There may be times when an A bass note may work with an E chord but generally notes in the chord will sound 'consonant' and notes outside the chord, such as A in an E chord, will sound 'dissonant'. Dissonant is not automatically bad. Dissonance resolving to consonance is a part of music. Dissonant notes can resolve to consonant notes by either changing the note or changing the chord.

The simplest chord has three notes. That leaves four notes of the scale not in the chord. Each of these four notes is only one note away from a chord note so resolution is always easy.

Non chordal or passing notes can be useful when moving from one chord to another and selective use of chord notes within changing chords can produce bass lines of a melodic nature.

My personal preference is for bass notes to be slower rather than faster. Fast low frequency notes loose articulation or clarity.

[VJP5]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Mostly I & V surely?

You threw me with the question mark, but looks like you were dead on ("balls accurate" if we're going to go with movie quotes ) Thanks!

Originally Posted by Wyllys

Correct! And don't call me Shirley (ba-dum...tsssh)...

Top Ten on my comedy movie lists!

Originally Posted by Wyllys

1/5 as an alternating bass will be correct almost 100% of the time. The more you depart from that, the more you increase the chance of not getting a good fit.
Bass players (or "would-be" bassists) who go hunting are soon lost in the woods and simply confuse and conflict with the chord changes.

There'll be no hunting for this dog If 1/5 works 90% of the time, I will accomplish my goal.....for now

Originally Posted by stanron

There may be times when an A bass note may work with an E chord but generally notes in the chord will sound 'consonant' and notes outside the chord, such as A in an E chord, will sound 'dissonant'. Dissonant is not automatically bad. Dissonance resolving to consonance is a part of music. Dissonant notes can resolve to consonant notes by either changing the note or changing the chord.

The simplest chord has three notes. That leaves four notes of the scale not in the chord. Each of these four notes is only one note away from a chord note so resolution is always easy.

Makes sense

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by VJP5

I have been giving a lot of thought lately to getting an acoustic bass. My intent is not to become the next greatest bass player. I would just like to add a little something to my acoustic playing. I think it would be a lot of fun to add some simple bass line tracks to my playing. With that said, here is my (dumb) question:

There aren't a lot of bass tabs out there. Is it as simple as just playing notes from the chords of a song? i.e. If I'm playing an E chord, do I simply play an E note? Switch to an A chord and play an A note? Can I play any note in the chord?

Yes to all those.

I.e., you can just play roots all the way - very common in standard rock - or you can play roots and 5ths alternating (common in jazz, R&B and latin music), or you can play "walking" lines (common in blues and swing jazz, and in the more inventive pop/rock players).

Or you can play riffs, usually in unison (octave below) with guitar (common in rock).

Walking lines use the arpeggio, almost always starting with the root, moving to 3 or 5 on the next strong beat, adding 2 or 6 (or b7) as a passing note.

Another attractive alternative, especially with fast changing sequences, is scale-wise lines, often descending. You can often play scalewise lines even when the chord doesn't change. Scalewise lines can be combined with walking lines, the aim being always to target the root of the next chord.

When the bass plays a chord tone other than the root (3rd 5th or 7th) as its main note, it's an "inversion". E.g., C/E = 1st inversion; C/G = 2nd inversion; C7/Bb, or maj7/B = 3rd inversion. Inversions are common in fast-moving changes where the bass is playing a scale line. Such as C - G/B - F/A - C/G - F etc.

You can also play bass notes which aren't in the chord, for other effects. E.g, F under Am to get Fmaj7, which you could write as "Am/F". You can play a G note under an F chord (F/G) to get a "G9sus4" sound. IOW, the bass note can change the identity of the chord.

But don't forget the rhythmic role of the bass. The bass is part of the rhythm section, in tandem with drums. Even if there are no drums, the prime role of the bass is to lay down the rhythm, create a groove. The notes (especially any fancy melodic stuff) come later.

As for "there aren't a lot of bass tabs out there" - it depends where you look and what you're looking for. There are probably as many dedicated bass sites as there are guitar sites. I mean, just googling "bass tabs" gets you all this: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ba...IcnW8gei0IvYCQ

[VJP5]

Originally Posted by JonPR

Yes to all those.

I.e., you can just play roots all the way - very common in standard rock - or you can play roots and 5ths alternating (common in jazz, R&B and latin music), or you can play "walking" lines (common in blues and swing jazz, and in the more inventive pop/rock players).

Or you can play riffs, usually in unison (octave below) with guitar (common in rock).

Thanks for the detailed response. Definitely simple to start since I really am walking in the dark right now.

Originally Posted by JonPR

Walking lines use the arpeggio, almost always starting with the root, moving to 3 or 5 on the next strong beat, adding 2 or 6 (or b7) as a passing note.

Another attractive alternative, especially with fast changing sequences, is scale-wise lines, often descending. You can often play scalewise lines even when the chord doesn't change. Scalewise lines can be combined with walking lines, the aim being always to target the root of the next chord.

When the bass plays a chord tone other than the root (3rd 5th or 7th) as its main note, it's an "inversion". E.g., C/E = 1st inversion; C/G = 2nd inversion; C7/Bb, or maj7/B = 3rd inversion. Inversions are common in fast-moving changes where the bass is playing a scale line. Such as C - G/B - F/A - C/G - F etc.

You can also play bass notes which aren't in the chord, for other effects. E.g, F under Am to get Fmaj7, which you could write as "Am/F". You can play a G note under an F chord (F/G) to get a "G9sus4" sound. IOW, the bass note can change the identity of the chord.

If this turns into more than just a passing phase, I would love to start adding these elements to my bass playing.

Originally Posted by JonPR

But don't forget the rhythmic role of the bass. The bass is part of the rhythm section, in tandem with drums. Even if there are no drums, the prime role of the bass is to lay down the rhythm, create a groove. The notes (especially any fancy melodic stuff) come later.

Along with adding depth to a song, I would like the bass line to help keep my speed in check. Playing by yourself can lead to unintentional speed changes. If I can lay down a bass line in tempo, I will not only add something to the song, but also keep my strumming on tempo, too.

Originally Posted by JonPR

As for "there aren't a lot of bass tabs out there" - it depends where you look and what you're looking for. There are probably as many dedicated bass sites as there are guitar sites. I mean, just googling "bass tabs" gets you all this: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ba...IcnW8gei0IvYCQ

Thanks! I normally try to figure a song out, but will go to Ultimate Guitar Tabs when I'm stuck, or it's a more complicated song. Maybe I searched wrong because not many came up. However, I tried Google, as you suggested and found several. I'd still like to try on my own, but it's nice to reference something if I can't figure it out.

[Tritone Sub]

Originally Posted by stanron

There may be times when an A bass note may work with an E chord but generally notes in the chord will sound 'consonant' and notes outside the chord, such as A in an E chord, will sound 'dissonant'. Dissonant is not automatically bad. Dissonance resolving to consonance is a part of music. Dissonant notes can resolve to consonant notes by either changing the note or changing the chord.

.

Since the bass note is defining a chord the bass note A over E chord means that the chord should be spelled Amaj7/9 or as "slash chord" E/A

Actually is a good idea imo adding a bass line to acoustic guitar part. The best example of such Duo is


and here is my humbe effort bass comes in 2nd part at 1:02 so you can hear th edifference hopefully

[VJP5]

Originally Posted by Tritone Sub

Actually is a good idea imo adding a bass line to acoustic guitar part.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Tritone Sub

and here is my humbe effort bass comes in 2nd part at 1:02 so you can hear th edifference hopefully

You can definitely hear it, even without looking at the insert. Subtle but there. That's exactly what I've been thinking about and wanting to add. Thanks

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by VJP5

Thanks! I normally try to figure a song out, but will go to Ultimate Guitar Tabs when I'm stuck, or it's a more complicated song. Maybe I searched wrong because not many came up. However, I tried Google, as you suggested and found several. I'd still like to try on my own, but it's nice to reference something if I can't figure it out.

Sure. I always figure things out for myself as far as I can.
I use Transcribe software, and for bass lines I raise the octave, which makes bass lines jump out clearly. Never needed to consult bass tabs! (I do sometimes consult guitar tabs.)

[Tritone Sub]

Originally Posted by VJP5

Agreed.

You can definitely hear it, even without looking at the insert. Subtle but there. That's exactly what I've been thinking about and wanting to add. Thanks

You're welcome, let us know when you record something

[FrankHudson]

Silly's reply reminds me of a musician light bulb joke:

Q: How many bluegrass bass players does it take to change a light bulb?

A: 1 5

I wish I could play bass simpler. Simple when it grooves just sounds and feels good. But just like single note instrument playing there are a lot of options. Frankly, they all can sound valid if the groove is there. You'll make a lot more friends with other players with simple however.

You mention adding bass to your own guitar playing. If you are a fingerpicker, or listen to those who are, or study notation/tab for finger-style arrangements, look at those bass notes in the guitar register and play them on the bass. With your guitar part, you now omit some or all of your bass notes, freeing yourself up to play more notes and ornaments in the guitar's treble register since the bass is handling the bottom notes. With folk finger style playing those bass lines are often simpler, guiding you to the simple notes and placement that just work.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

Silly's reply reminds me of a musician light bulb joke:

Q: How many bluegrass bass players does it take to change a light bulb?

A: 1 5

My favourite bass player joke:

Q: How many jazz bass players does it take to change a light bulb?

A: None. The pianist can do it with his left hand.