is it a must 2 put a bassline in everysong?

Well I dont cause I cant Play...but sometimes I have my mans do it
 
No musts or mustn'ts in music, just conventions and stagnant expectations of the listening audience. Your job is to give 'em something fresh to chew on.
 
a bassline is important to have though, true its not a must but it is vital, because you can make a hot beat with just a bassline, drums and a piano melody.
you do not always need a bassline but for those beats that you dont have a bassline, you should have really bangin percussion
 
The track should determine the need of a bassline. Is adding a bline going to add to the track or take away from it?
 
krushing said:
No musts or mustn'ts in music, just conventions and stagnant expectations of the listening audience. Your job is to give 'em something fresh to chew on.

Said nicely.

Also I might add.

When you find a song with no bassline, they often have other things covering for the low end. So the track isnt too *thin* or hollow.
 
noblewordz said:
The track should determine the need of a bassline. Is adding a bline going to add to the track or take away from it?

Exactly. Whatever the track calls for.
 
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First rule in music....there are no rules. But like Planet hitz said you want some sorta low end to fill the low end frequencies of the beat because when theres only a dry soundin kick (and no bassline or sub/808 type bass) it tends to sound like something missing.
 
As a bass player I would say the bass line is a crucial element to a beat or song that I would use about 80 to 90 percent of the time. However Many beats realy dont need bass line or heavy bass with alot of notes. For ex. clipse "grindin'" has no bassline. in addition you got "luv u better" ll cool J No heavy bass line just fragmented bass line. q tip "let ride" (Jay Dee R.I.P) with a fragmented bass line. Even "Naughty Girl" Beyonce produced by scorth mininum bass line. So you dont need one but as I said being a bass player playing jazz. Bass is not the optional instrument maybe a horn But the bass lasts for a long time.
 
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no its not always necessary, like bobby valention's "slow down" it has no bass line. just hard kicks or long kicks, idk. You should listen to alot more music, to get examples, u know?
 
I once saw a interview with quincy jones talking about a prince album. He said he loved it but there was something he couldn't put his finger on. He then realized later that there was no bass on the album! It was still a great album but he didn't have to have a bass. Just play it by ear. If you think it needs it who's to stop you?
 
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