How To Make Basslines From Chord Charts & Lyric Sheets: Basslines From Scratch 6/9

[@8981USMC]

Your lessons are great. This is one of the reason why I love to play bass. You can take the chords, sync with the drummer and the creativity is endless.

[@BecomeABassist]

Thanks friend! Happy you’re into the lessons!

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

You're driving the bus, just so you know... --the drummer

[@mattcald]

This is exactly what I needed. I get handed chord sheets on either Thursday or Friday for church on Sunday. I listen to the songs on youtube, and listen for the bass lines. Then try to mimic what I hear.

[@BecomeABassist]

Glad to hear the video is what you needed Matt. Having access to recordings before you have to play them will make it much easier, and you can still use all the ideas from this video too. Thanks for he comment!

[@heidiedelman6840]

What you describe is my weekly situation also, chord charts each week for Sunday morning. It can be a challenge. The new more unfamiliar songs I keep simple until I know it better and on the ones we do a lot I try each time to add something new, different, and more challenging for me. I also keep my chord sheets in a binder because I write notes on them so when the song shows up again in the lineup I have all the info I learned before already handy. Have fun!

[@adamchapman6588]

Exactly what I was looking for. Knowing to use the chord after the '/' was new to me and a great tip.

[@tomw3241]

love this song. Robert DeLeo did a lot of great bass tracks and it's well worth to hear isolated original one. was hilarious to see you surprised while figureing out this simple song! :) keep up the good work Luke.

[@Serbu0]

Very useful and practical. Thank you!

[@BecomeABassist]

No worries Serban. Cheers!

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

In piano the slash chord tells you it's an inverted chord. Whether 1st or second would depend on the bass note, I imagine. "Separate Ways" by Journey used 2nd inversion in verses, root during chorus. If you study that guy's style, you won't always have to memorize the whole catalog today. And you can work on stuff he does a lot, especially if you're not good at it. If you were doing bass on that Eagles song, it has a busy bassline but it's the same pattern. An example of a song that likes to be open/root the whole time is Hotel California in Bm progression (Bm, F#, E, G, D, Em, F# and chorus: G, D, Bm-walk up to E, back to G, D, Em, F#)

[@christopherheckman7957]

It's not an inversion if the note in the slash chord isn't part of the chord itself. And if you know the guy/band's style, that's a good place to start new songs. I have a "generic Steely Dan bassline" that I use whenever I'm handed a new Steely Dan song.

[@thewomble1509]

Hi luke. this scenario happens to me nearly every week in my current band! Songwriters don't know the work that goes into creating something that is memorable and supportive of the song. many thanks for the tips.

[@BecomeABassist]

No worries @the womble. Thanks for checking out the video.

[@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823]

Talk about being unappreciated, try being the drummer, lol. "Oh, bring your whole kit for 3 songs at jam nite..."

[@christopherheckman7957]

There are some songs (Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2") where the bass over the first verse (or first part of the first verse) is sparse, and then there are more notes later on. This is also a good jumping-off point: Play long notes over the first part, listen to the rhythm of the other players, and then incorporate it. That way, you only have to focus on one thing at a time. The next step would be to watch for things like rising or falling basslines, if you play a different note in the chord. For instance, you CAN play E-D-G over Em-D-G, but E-F#-G sounds much smoother (the F# being a note in the D chord). Maybe that's in video #7, 8, or 9, though.

[@ianmackenzie686]

Great vid and great timing. Just joined ensemble which uses lyric sheets pretty much exclusively. This had been a great help, thanks!

[@michaelweiser6887]

Great lesson. 👍🏻

[@patrickhagen563]

Way to demo a cold go through (and scrolling!). Vulnerable, I feel much better as I get lead sheets and play right away.

[@kingcornelius865]

I am a drummer; still, you are very pleasant to listen to, and everything you say is interesting 👍

[@BecomeABassist]

Thanks King Cornelius! Glad you find it interesting.

[@brettverrender3167]

Really useful vid. Thanks

[@BecomeABassist]

You're welcome Brett!

[@garygardener9493]

Hi Luke ( trying to bend my head around it all, as you said in your lessons .. maybe over thinking . Or am I getting it ?? ) If your jamming / making a song In 2 5 1 progression in C Is it the Dorian / mixo / Ionian scales patterns What you would use ?? Any notes within those modes. Or just a major scale pattern starting from E G C ( 2 5 1) Regards. Gary

[@anandkamate2308]

Luke feel good to write u Thanks again for the video u made elaborate the lyrics chord sheet on which you have worked. but please do a video on actual prepared chord chart Waiting for your help. Thanks !

[@CG10CG20CG3]

Can you make a lesson about non chord tones (passing tones etc.) Btw. this lesson is practical and easy to understand. Thank you!

[@BecomeABassist]

I'm so happy you think so Ilove Peppers. What specifically about non chord tones did you want a lesson about? Do you have a more specific question you could ask?

[@CG10CG20CG3]

@@BecomeABassist thank you so much sir luke for replying to me! My question is about making basslines using passing tones, or some chromatic stuffs/using notes not in the key. I hope you understand my question thank you.

[@jmd01]

Good lesson! Thank you :-)

[@BecomeABassist]

Cheers John!

[@swarnavabhattacharjee8188]

Hey.. Can you make a lesson for metal songs??

[@jeanqster]

Helo Luke, I'm Jean from Brazil. I'm enjoing this videos. I wold like to know If exist some kid of lessons just for playing rock? I love the bass guitar on rock and pop but here in Brazil most of the bass professor just teach jazzístico or fusion or another stuff less rock.

[@jonviall5566]

LUKE IS AWESOME !!!

[@BecomeABassist]

Haha! Thanks Jon

[@mrzap1]

Love watching your videos Luke! Do you ever do lessons on Skype?

[@BecomeABassist]

I don't do so much of that any more @mrzap1, but if I ever do open up my private studio, the first people I let know are the ones who get the email newsletter on the website. If you're on there, you'll be the first to know if I open up my studio or do any kind of group classes.

[@craigatkinson2839]

On another note, I also play bass for my church and I did find this useful but I can only play the root notes on the E and A strings :/ I am really wanting to improve but I'm finding it hard to learn to expand

[@BecomeABassist]

Hey Craig - There's actually a sort of an octave 'trick' you can use to apply your knowledge of the E and A-string directly to the D and G. I talk about it in this video here: becomeabassist.com/learn-your-bass-fretboard-even-if-you-dont-have-time/

[@christopherheckman7957]

Each string on the bass has its own "tone" due to varying thickness; the same is true for guitar, but it's much more noticeable on basses. For that reason, you SHOULD stay on one or two strings if you want a consistent feel.

[@blakeg5949]

The idea of octaves confuse me because I do not know if I should play the chord high or low

[@BecomeABassist]

Hey Blake - there aren't any hard and fast rules about where to play the roots of the chords. In general though, the lower in register you play the roots of the chords, the heavier and more powerful they seem. If you want something to be full and thick, you can play the lowest-sounding version of that note. For example, you could play your open E-string. If you wanted something to feel lighter and more 'fragile', then you can play a higher-sounding version of that note. For example, you could play the same note - E - on the 2nd fret of your D-string or even the 9th fret of the G-string. It'll be much gentler up there. I hope that makes sense Blake. If you have more questions, just let me know.

[@musicbymikaelraymond]

👍

[@WizardOfArc]

The bass doubles the guitar an octave below in the riff

[@BecomeABassist]

It absolutely does! When I went back to listen to the real track with the bass left in, it was right there.

[@craigatkinson2839]

I must admit that for some odd reason I was trying to scroll down the lyric sheet during the song :/

[@paulwesterveld5900]

Ha, me too .... !

[@BecomeABassist]

Haha! I did the same thing when I was editing the video!

[@alexhamilton4084]

Who the hell plays in church?

[@BecomeABassist]

Heaps of people Alex. There's a whole church music industry in some parts of the world. I used to play in churches myself when I lived in Kentucky - it provided a nice weekly stream of income and I met some really cool people. There are also other people in this comment section who play in church.

[@GregTrader-g8u]

@@BecomeABassistthanks for sticking up for the church bassist! You’ve made me a follower. Plus your content is really good.

[@georgecanning1787]

Great lesson, many thanks.

[@BecomeABassist]

You're welcome George - thanks for watching.