Bass Line Construction and Rhythm Section Playing Concepts

Bass line construction is an important skill for bassists, guitarists, pianists, arrangers and many other instrumentalists. A strong bass line is important in creating a solid musical foundation. Well constructed bass lines outline the harmony and provide a rhythmic pulse for the music. Bass lines can be constructed using chord tones, using scale tones and using chromaticism. Most bass lines use a combination of these approaches. It can be useful to practice each type of bass line. Below are examples of each type of bass line.

Chord tone bass lines outline the harmony and project a clear sound. They also increase finger board knowledge as you become familiar with the location of all chord tones in a given position. For starters, I suggest staying below the fifth fret of the instrument and finding all the chord tones available in that position.

Here is an example of a chord tone bass line for a C7 chord.
(click on notation for enlarged view)

 

 

 

 

Here is an example of a scale tone bass line for a C7 chord.
(click on notation for enlarged view)

 

 

 

Here is an example of scale tone bass line for a C7 chord that uses chromaticism.
(click on notation for enlarged view)

 

 

 

 

Rhythm Section Playing Concepts

The rhythm section consists of the bass, drums and chordal instruments – piano, guitar or vibraphone. These instrumentalists can be a part of larger ensemble with brass and saxophones or a small group unto themselves. Each instrumentalist in the rhythm section needs to fulfill their respective role in order to have a strong, solid foundation to the music. The bassists role is to project the harmony and provide a solid rhythmic foundation – supply the groove! Each musical part within the rhythm section (the bass line, the drum part and the chordal accompaniment) must be strong and able to stand alone.

You can think of the structure of music as similar to the structure of a building. The drum part is the foundation (or bottom layer). It supplies the rhythmic groove. The bass part is the second layer, it must connect to the rhythmic groove and also project the harmony. The chordal accompaniment (called comping) is the next layer. It supplies the harmony and rhythmically compliments the groove. Above these basic rhythm section parts can be many additional layers, the uppermost layer or part being the melody.  The foundation supplied by the bass and drums must be solid or the music will collapse and fall apart (just like the foundation of a building must be strong in order to support the upper floors). It doesn’t matter how strong the upper layers are if the foundation is weak. For the bassist, this means the bass line note choice is critical. The bass line must project the harmony in a clear manner and the rhythm must be strong (connecting well with the drum part) and supportive (not obscuring the melody, not too busy and not too loud). The rhythms sections job is to support the music, create a musical foundation and make others sound good. When your part is strong and you’re taking care of business on all levels (harmonically, rhythmically and accompaniment wise) then you are fulfilling your role within the ensemble. Music that sounds and feels good is the goal.

Check out these eight Blues Grooves for some great examples of blues bass lines and rhythm section playing.

Explore Blues Grooves

BOOKMARK & SHARE