I'm having trouble making basslines

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Backspacez

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I watched a few YouTube videos on this but the problem is, I use samples as my melodies and they use synth leads, they can just ALTV it and adjust their notes accordingly so those don't help all that much. I make east coast beats and I'm making a bassline with a subbass synth but it doesn't sound right, is there anything out there on "Bassline Theory"? Any people showing how to do it that use samples, or am I on my own and I have to try and teach myself?

If anyone else samples here and writes basslines, that'd be a big help, in the past I used filtered basslines but I want some diversity in my tracks.
 
3 things I can think of...

1. Find a bass sound you like. One that's full, not too high, not too low, etc.

2. Start by "pocketing" the bass notes with the kick drum. Bass is part of the rhythm section. You can start to build your step notes and get more elaborate after you establish your basic beat w/ the bass.

3. EQ can play a big role, obviously. There's a fine line as to where to cut. You probably don't want that rumbly inaudible stuff, but you still want it to sound thick. This also goes back to choosing a good sound to start with. But once you find the right mix, save the settings as a user preset. This way, you have something to work with on future tracks that you can trust, even if you tweak a little here and there.
 
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IPM Music said:
3 things I can think of...

1. Find a bass sound you like. One that's full, not too high, not too low, etc.

2. Start by "pocketing" the bass notes with the kick drum. Bass is part of the rhythm section. You can start to build your step notes and get more elaborate after you establish your basic beat w/ the bass.

3. EQ can play a big role, obviously. There's a fine line as to where to cut. You probably don't want that rumbly inaudible stuff, but you still want it to sound thick. This also goes back to choosing a good sound to start with. But once you find the right mix, save the settings as a user preset. This way, you have something to work with on future tracks that you can trust, even if you tweak a little here and there.
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Thanks, I applied a filter and did the filter X2 option on this subbass one so it doesn't sound so resonant, but I'm still having trouble writing a good line.
 
First learn all the keys and get comfortable with the pattern that they all share.

Then do a good amount of ear training.

After you should be able to hear the key of the samples you are working with, so if you can hear the chords or notes that they are using making a bass shouldnt be that big of a deal.

So lets say you found out your sample is in Eflat major, and the main progression is going something like
Cminor-Gminor-BflatMajor-Eflatmajor or a 6-3-5-1 progression
you could literally just take the root or the fifth from the chords and play it each bar to the rhythm of your kick maybe with a few passing notes in between if you wanted.

Basically you just really need to train your ears if you want to write over sample based music or use programs like melodyne online to find the key for you, but it won't help much if you can't write a good line in general. lol

So really i would just study the kinda music you end up sampling the most, figure out how they write their basslines with the rest of the music and try to think of ways to apply that in modern ways to your samples.

a couple different ideas for you hoped it helped a little.
 
Some interesting advice already but I'll give you 2cents.

Usually if you are looking to fit bass into a chord progression you are going to look first towards doubling the root of the chord (bass is your foundation, after all). This gets us to an interesting spot, because although it will strengthen your chords you may run into problems (this is called root motion, which basically is a term used to describe what the bottom note of a chord is doing..there are discussions at great length about "appropriate" root motion but they will not concern at the moment.

So the key to basslines? I would suggest that you should start with simple knowledge of chords. Although bass seem may seem simple since usually there is just one note being played, it is usually a bit more involved. Especially if you are sampling your melodies and chords you might have to do a bit of thinking. But lets run through an example of how to think about it a bit more openly.

Lets say you are dealing with a sample that involves a Cminor chord.

We know that the notes in a Cminor chord are C-Eb-G. Now we know that if you are dealing with subbass you mostly just double the root of the chord (in this case C). But if you want a more creative bassline this is where you are going to play around. Starting with chord tones..i'll post some resources, but practice knowing what notes comprise your simple chord structures (ie Major 1-3-5, Minor 1-b3-5). This will illuminate all the possibilities you can have as far as chord tones are concerned.

Also, it wouldn't hurt to look over the modes of a major scale. As we know each key houses 7 chords, there are also 7 scales that correspond to those chords (so think about that, every major scale has 7 chords which each have their own corresponding scale). These can be used as a great resource as they give you all your chord tones and notes diatonic to the key. I wont go into great detail on this stuff just because this post is scatterbrained enough.

/my advice is just think about your chords, there are a lot of things to go over here but if you have any more questions let us know.

Mode (music) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Modes And Modal Scales - Music Theory Lessons
How to Write Interesting Bass Lines Using Chord Inversions | Learning and Loving Music Theory
How To Arrange A Great Bass Line For Any Chord Progression
 
Some old posts of mine (Search is a wonderful tool)
bandcoach said:
Bass line theory is a bit more complicated than that, but in a nutshell, there are three techniques that hardly ever fail:

  1. Every time there is a kick there is a bass note.
    • It can be long or short
    • It can be the same note whilst it is still the same chord
    • A note from the same chord can be used instead of the root (naming) note of the chord
  2. Play on the one (the first beat of the bar)
    • Short or long duration
    • Same note as long as the chord stays the same
    • A note from the same chord can be used instead of the root (naming) note of the chord
  3. Play a more rhythmic line that syncs with the kick but has additional notes to the kick line
    • Short or long duration
    • Same note as long as the chord stays the same
    • A note from the same chord can be used instead of the root (naming) note of the chord
    • scale runs or non-chord notes to join up the chords

[MP3]http://www.bandcoach.org/audio/bass-line-examples.mp3[/MP3]

I've been playing bass since 1977 and the above three techniques have made it possible for me to be successful whenever confronting new music in the studio or live. One of my favourite tricks when working with a drummer I don't that well is to stand where I can see his kick foot and nail what he is playing on the kick.
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bandcoach said:
8<---snip--->8
Use the root and fifth of the chord at the current spot in your progression; i.e. in the examples I gave above, the outside notes, Aminor, would be A and E.

Sometimes you might you use the note a scale tone beneath the root - one or two keys below. So, for Aminor, that would be G

See example below i-bVII-iv-III:


hiphop.png

[MP3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/hiphop.mp3[/MP3]

Thinking about this overnight, if you want to move from chord to chord with the bass leading the way, you might apply the same rule moving by a note that is a scale tone a way from the target chord.

So moving to the Dmin from the G you use a C in the bass line (a tone below the D) andmoving from the C to the Aminor you use a B (a tone above the A):

hipHop2.png


[MP3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/hipHop2.mp3[/MP3]

Add 7ths and 9ths to your chords for more interesting sounds. Add some strings playing pizzicato and arco (plucked and bowed) and you begin to get a lush sound that can't be beat:

hipHop3.png


[MP3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/hipHop3.mp3[/MP3]

That's Aminor9 (ACEGB) - G9 (GBDFA) - Dmin9 (DFACE) - CMaj9 (CEGBD)

Tie notes together that are the same to make the movement more smooth in strings if you wish or just voice it (vertically arrange the notes) as sounds best to you.
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bandcoach said:
8<---snip--->8

the 6th chord was popularised by the writers of Tin Pan Alley at the start of the 20th century. It was mainly used to ensure that each chord had 4 different notes. this was because all minor chords were rendered as minor 7ths (1-b3-5-b7). Rendering a major chord as a 6th (1-3-5-6) meant that the sonority was the same throughout a piece of music because a major 6th chord is a minor 7th chord in 1st inversion, e.g.:

C6 ~ CEGA
Am7 ~ ACEG

This was done to avoid the harshness of the Major 7th chord, something that was later embraced.


11ths are used where you would use a chord V, as are 13ths; i.e. they have a dominant function
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bandcoach said:
copied from here

https://www.futureproducers.com/for...lines-sample-based-beats-367898/#post49123825


Sync with kick.

Use root notes (naming note for the chords).

Use the note a semitone or tone below the root note as an accented offbeat note then go back to the root:

G-G-G-G-G-G-G-F-G-G-G-G-.... or
G-G-G-G-G-G-G-F#-G-G-G-G-....

Use Octaves: B-B'-B-B'

Use the 5th above or the 4th below: A-E'-A-E-A

Only use the 3rd if you are sure you can use it as a passing note:

A-A-AABC-D-D-DC-B-A-...... or

A-A-AABC#-D-D-DC#-B-A-......
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bandcoach said:
Any low sound will do: take a cool lead synth and play at the right pitch and you will have rich, warm bass sound that may work.

Bass notes themselves are centered around two ideas:
  1. harmonic: what chord is playing and what notes are in the chord
  2. melodic: how can I make my bass line interesting from a rhythmic and melodic point of view

Harmonic rhythm usually changes slowly in dance music: 1 chord per bar or several bars. This means that you can play the same note under the(se) bar(s). Arpeggiating the chord (playing each note in the chord 1 after the other) can provide some melodic relief from what would otherwise be a monotone bassline.

The melodic flow of your bass line can provide a strong counterpoint to your main melody. Scale runs, skips of larger intervals (4ths and bigger) provide the means of creating this melodic movement. Add a strong rhythmic line and you create a bassline that is compelling and impelling, pushing the song forward.
Click to expand...
 
I had that same problem, but after awhile what I started doing was going back to my starting point. I use to play in the marching band throughout my high school and college years. So what I did for inspiration was sit and listen to different patterns used in the arrangement of bass lines created by the arrangers of that college band. Afterwards, I'd take pieces of some of those bass lines and infuse them into my beats. In some cases I'd use a moog FM SUB or bass guitar with a filter in order to create my lineups. So that's an idea. Go on YouTube and check out bands like FAMU MARCHING100 or JSU SONIC BOOM OF THE SOUTH for ideas on bass lines
 
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