Basslines
Write a slow bassline that hits with the kick, plays the roots of your chord changes, and adds an octave jump and an approach note.
Three jobs
A bassline keeps rhythm by hitting with the kick. It plays harmony by sitting on the root of each chord, which tells your ear where home is. And it adds a little melody: octave jumps and passing notes.
Start simple, add one move
Start on one note in the kick's rhythm. Then add an octave jump, then an approach note: a note a step away that walks into the next root. Add one move at a time, and stop when it grooves.
Leave space
Bass notes are long and heavy, so the gaps matter. In dub the bass rests almost as much as it plays, and the silence is what makes each note land.
Note length on the Model:Cycles
With GATE on, a note holds for its trig length (LEN) before it decays. With GATE off, LEN is ignored and only DECAY sets how long it rings.
Lesson 10
- Basslines.
- In this lesson you will write a slow bassline that hits with the kick, plays the roots of your chord changes, and adds an octave jump and an approach note.
A bassline has three jobs.
It hits with the kick, so the low end lands as one. It plays the root, which tells your ear what the chord is. And it moves a little: an octave up, or a note that walks into the next one.
The same bassline, built one move at a time over your beat.
Play the versions in order: each adds one idea. Then try the last one.
The octave and the approach note give it life. Too many notes, and the kick has nowhere to land.
This is the bassline you'll build.
Every bar has the same rhythm, but the root changes: A. Then F, D and E. Each root can carry its own chord, so the bass already tells the story.
Keep last lesson's riff
- With RECORD off, hold PATTERN + 1 and press RECORD.
- Then hold PATTERN + 11 and press and hold STOP until the countdown finishes.
- Stay on B01.
B11 keeps the riff. B01 is where the bass goes.
- Press RECORD, select T5 and clear its trigs with FUNC + PLAY.
- Open the SCALE menu (FUNC + PAGE), check that T5's LEN is still 16, and press BACK.
T5 is silent and one bar long, ready for the bass.
Make it a bass
- Hold FUNC and turn PITCH to -24 (two octaves down).
- Turn SHAPE down for a round, soft tone and DECAY to about 70.
- Press GATE so it lights: notes now hold for their length.
Tap T5: a deep, round note. If it vanishes on small speakers, use -12.
Lock it to the kick
- Place bass notes on 1, 11 and 15.
- Make the first one long: hold 1, press LEVEL/DATA until LEN shows, and turn it up to about 6.
A long root on the 1 and a push with the kick on 11.
Make 15 the octave jump: hold it, hold FUNC too, and turn PITCH up to -12, one octave above the other notes.
A little hop at the end of the bar that pulls you back to the 1.
Spread it over four bars
- Open the SCALE menu (FUNC + PAGE), press T5, set LEN to 64 and press BACK.
- The trigs on page 1 are copied onto pages 2, 3 and 4.
The same bar four times, for now.
Change the roots
- Press PAGE for page 2, hold 1, 11 and 15 together, press LEVEL/DATA until NOTE shows, and turn 4 semitones down.
- Page 3: 7 down.
- Page 4: 5 down.
A, F, D, E. You can almost hear chords that aren't there yet.
Add the approach note
- On page 4, place a note on 16.
- Then hold the trig, press LEVEL/DATA until NOTE shows, and turn it 2 semitones down, to G.
- Press RECORD, listen, and save (hold FUNC, long-press SETTINGS).
E, then G, then A at the top of the loop: the bass leans into its own beginning.
Your bass plays A, F, D and E, one root per bar. Which job is that?
Answer
Playing the root of each chord is the harmony job. It tells your ear which chord you're on, even before any chords are playing.
Bass on the root, with the kick. Then add one move at a time.
This lesson's challenge
Make bar 4's approach note come and go: on page 4, hold 16 in grid recording and turn CHANCE to 1:2. Listen to eight bars. Does the loop feel longer?