Bass lines
You will be given an 8-bar chord sequence from the middle-eight of a 32-bar song. You are required to compose a bass part.
Your bass part must be written in staff notation, so to convert staff notation to tab, click here.
Here is a 4-bar chord sequence: F |F |Dm |C
Step one: write out the notes of the chords in letter names and in the bass clef.
A good bass line will normally use a similar pattern for each chord, although it may be varied a little. If there is a pattern given in the first part of the exercise, then try to continue it. Aim for rhythmic interest and a smooth progression from one chord to the next. Complex bass lines are not necessarily better than simple ones!
Here is a simple bass line using just notes I and V of each chord.
(Click on any of the bass lines to hear them play)
Now, try using the same notes, but liven the rhythm up a bit
Now try an auxiliary note - instead of just I - V, you can go I - VI -V
Now we can add some chromatic passing notes to this idea, and a bit of syncopation
And all that using basically two notes from each chord!
A lot of bass lines are built around arpeggio figures - i.e. all three notes of the chord played in turn. Here is a simple one.
If we fill in the spaces in the arpeggio with passing notes, we get a walking bass - a staple in jazz, but also in Baroque music.
To vary this a bit, try making some of the passing notes chromatic, or adding a grace note or two.
A number of standard jazz patterns use variants of the arpeggio/walking bass idea. You could adapt one of these.
Try playing that with your left hand!
Don't let it get too clichéd though...