Although your approach to time feel is critical toward creating a nasty bass groove, your note placement can also have some dramatic affects.
Combine a mastery of time feel with these 7 potent bass groove concepts and you’ll be sure to wreck the necks of anyone listening!
Funkify Your Bass Groove Using The Focus On The One Concept
Focusing your bass groove on beat 1 is probably the most common approach to creating a bass groove. As long as beat 1 is emphasized, anything else almost seems to work. This approach to bass groove is highly common in funk bass grooves.
The only thing misleading with this concept is that beat 1 is not necessarily the most important beat to focus on. There are many other resolution points within a measure that each have there own vibe to it.
For instance, you’ll notice that in Latin music, the focus tends to be on the “and” of beat 2 and also beat 4. Beat one 1 is often omitted, yet the music still has a groove.
Drive Your Bass Groove Using The Tic-Toc Concept
The strong can only survive if the weak exist.
When playing a bass groove, in a time signature of 4/4, the strong beats are beat 1 and beat 3, and the weak beats are beat 2 and beat 4.
To make this concept work, strike a balance between the strong beats and the weak beats of your bass groove. This can be accomplished by making your bass groove 2 measures in length.
On the first measure, focus the notes of your bass groove on beat 1. On the second measure, focus the notes of your bass groove on beat 3.
Adding to that, notice how forward motion can simply be created by placing notes on the weak beats, such as beat 2 and beat 4. This is because the weak beat has an innate nature to resolve to a strong beat. Tension and release is the key to making your music basslines groove.
Flip Your Bass Groove Using The Groove Clave Concept
A bass groove does not need to feel stable in its entirety. Clave’s found in Latin music are often two measure phrases that focus on the downbeats on one measure and the upbeats on the other measure.
This bass groove concept borrows its approach from clave’s found in Latin music.
This two bar bass groove focuses on the downbeats on one measure and the upbeats on the other measure.
You’ll notice that the rhythm of the bass groove feels like it flips when you get to the measure that focuses on the upbeats. This feeling of flipping is what gives this bass groove its unique vibe.
Build Your Bass Groove Using The Fibonacci Sequence Concept
In math, the Fibonacci Sequence is a set of numbers created by adding the previous two numbers. The first 7 numbers in the Fibonacci Sequence are: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8…
This sequence of numbers can go on forever simply by adding the previous two numbers.
A bass groove concept can be formulated by applying ratios of the Fibonacci Sequence to a two measure bass groove.
If the first measure has one note, then the second measure will have 2 notes. This ratio is 1:2. This ratio can also be flipped to make it 2:1. As long as the ratio is derived from the Fibonacci Sequence, the bass groove will work and both measures will seem to compliment each other.
Here are a few ratios from the Fibonacci Sequence that can be applied to any bass groove:
- o:1 or 1:0
- 1:1
- 1:2 or 2:1
- 2:3 or 3:2
- 3:5 or 5:3
- 5:8 or 8:5
- and so on…
Solidify Your Bass Groove Using The Jaws Concept
Similar to the jaws of a great white shark, where the top set of teeth fill in the gaps of the bottom set of teeth, this bass groove concept focuses it’s note placement on the gaps of a preexisting groove.
For this groove to work, another instrument must establish a groove. This is usually established by the drummer, but a harmonic instrument playing a set rhythm can also work.
Once a groove is established, play an opposing rhythm by placing your notes on beats that are not yet being played. In other words, fill in the gaps.
Every now and then you can create resolution in your bass groove by placing a note on a beat that is being played.
What you’ll notice is that this approach to bass groove has a very solid and locked approach. Every thing seems to fit, just like teeth. When you fill in the gaps, you’ll also notice that your bass groove will naturally create syncopated rhythms.
Don’t Waver Your Bass Groove Using the Stay Between The Lines Concept
This approach to bass groove is the exact opposite approach to the Jaws Concept.
Once another instrument establishes a groove, instead of placing your notes on the spaces of that groove, place your notes according to the pulse that is being established.
In other words, play the exact rhythm that is being played. This is probably the most “safe” approach to creating a bass groove. Because two or more people are playing the same rhythmic pulse, the illusion of groove will be present.
The most obvious way to accomplish this bass groove is to place your notes exactly where the bass drum is being played.
There are a few ways to make this approach less obvious, simply by focusing your note placement on these sounds instead:
- the rhythm of the ride cymbal
- the rhythm of the snare drum
- the rhythm of the tom drums
- the rhythm of a guitar
Mirror Your Bass Groove Using The Palindrome Concept
A palindrome is a word, phrase, or number that can be read the same way in either direction. The word “racecar” can be read “racecar” when you read it backwards.
This two measure bass groove steals its inspiration from palindromes.
You can place your bass notes anywhere on the first measure. The second measure plays the exact mirror image of the notes and rhythm you just played.
At first, you’ll most likely have to write everything out to make sure you are actually creating a palindrome.
I find it easier to write both measures at the same time. Place your first note on measure 1. On measure 2 locate the exact mirror of that note’s location and place your note there. For instance, if you place the note C on beat 1 of the first measure, place the same note C on beat 4 of the second measure.
Explore These Bass Groove Concepts With Odd-Meter
All of these bass groove concepts also work for odd meter time signatures. Before you explore creating bass grooves in odd meter, save yourself a lot of time and headache by making sure to grasp these concepts in typical 4/4 time signature first.
