How do I make the bassline talk????

P

Purpleb

New member
Hello I have reason and i am making like a depeche mode, new orderish kind of music. I have all these songs in my head and I know how i want them to sound. But how do you like make the bassline like talk or go with what you want your song or chorus to sound like.
It is hard to explain what i am trying to say. Like is there certain keys that equal certain syllables or words? I can make cool stuff in reason but its not like what i want it to sound like. I sit there for hours trying to make the bassline sound good and cannot get it the way i want. Like words going with it.
If anyone can help it would be greatly apprecaited thanks
 
Perhaps you are thinking of a vocoder? That is commonly used to make in instrument appear to be talking - might be more difficult with a bass than a guitar though becuase of the more limited frequency range, but it is worth a try.

Another way is with a piece of vintage gear called a "talk box", usually used on guitars. You actually speak into a tube while playing. Again, may not work as well on bass because of the relative lack of higher frequency content.
 
No i am not talking about a vocoder, or like actually talking, i mean like say when you here the music for hear comes the bride, or old mcdonald had a farm, you know exactly what the words are and the words and music go to together if you know what i mean.
 
I think you are saying that you want the Bass to harminize with the Vocals??

To do that you have to know what notes the Singer is singing each word of the song in and Play those notes on the Bass....

Sort of Like : Old Mc-Don-ald Had a farm , E I E I O....
Play It Like : G C C G A A G , E E D D C.....


This shouldn"t be very hard to Figure out if you Have a Good Ear for music and even easier if you can Play some instruments.....


Is this what you mean??

Cheers
 
Yes that is exactly what i meant thanks a lot, wow that is going to be hard actually hearing the vocals, thanks a lot
 
Oh, I didn't realize you were asking if it was at all useful to be a musician and/or have some musical skills when making music. My bad.
 
Please don't be mean :( , I am just starting off here. I have been reading, looking things up etc. for a while now, its hard being a one man band.

I understand notes and everything I just don't understand a lot about vocals matching up with the music like if someone would say "my dog is brown" how would you make the bassline go to that? Like how do you know that "my" is a c note, the word "dog" is a D#, "brown" a F?
Maybe I am asking my question wrong sorry
 
Maybe try hooking a MIC into a tuner and speaking out the words and see what notes it translates them too?


-jeffrey
 
Get a demo of Melodyne. Import or record the vocals and see which pitches/notes it falls onto. this is the cheap way(i do it sometimes as well) but a simple way to find notes and then create harmonies. it's really an ear training job. so yes, music theory is a must since you have to know how each key sounds.
 
Basslines, incredibly simply done...

What a bassline is doing is keeping the fundamental chord note while providing stylistically correct ways to anchor the music.

In a nutshell...

Find out what chords you like to hear behind your singing (melody line) and the name of that Chords (C major... Dmin) thats the one your bass note will be. Then learn about fills (moving between chords), patterns to repeat beneath chords. Theres lots of stuff, and it takes a lifetime. But, the easiest way to go is just play the root (the Letter of the chord) and lock in with the bass drum.
 
Well if someone Just says "My Dog Is Brown" then you can"t really make a Musical Harmony of it because just saying "My Dog Is Brown" isn"t musical But if you Sang "My Dog Is Brown" and sang every Word in a Different Note then you could Make a Bass Line or Guitar Line that Follows the Vocal as a Harmony....

If you had a Keyboard then it might be the easiest way of Figureing what notes are being sang and when you Figure it out you can then just Transpose the Notes over to bass....If you have the Notes in your head but just can"t figure out what they are then try Humming the Notes as opposed to singing the words.....

Good Luck


PS: Most of the Poeple who do Home recording are basicly "One Man Bands" with them being the only members in there bands...

I am a Drummer but I also Play Bass and Guitar so I have my Drum kit Miced up and i record the Drum tracks First and then I record the Bass Track and then a Couple Guitar Tracks and (I can not Sing worth shit I don"t sing and leave them out of my Music) then I do my Mix-Down......


Cheers
 
I would say, take the baseline into a dark room, shine a light in its eyes and wedge matchsticks under its fingernails one by one.
:D
 
Oh my gosh - playing the MELODY on bass - rad!
Who'd a thunk.
Of course doing that along with the vocals will be dire.
Doing it too often will be dull.
Doing it without regard to sometimes playing rhythm will be naughty.
New Order don't really do it - Peter Hook is melodious & hooky but not in a lyrical way.
How's that for bastardizing adjectives.
 
NOTE (edit): I WAS WRITING THIS BEFORE RAYC's POST ABOVE IT CAME IN. SORRY IF IT REPEATS SOME OF HIS SENTIMENTS...


You should also know that in most cases, you do not want the bass to double the melody line, except for brief hooks or maybe a signature riff.

In the simplest function, the bass usually plays the root of the harmonic structure, although it often also moves to the fifth or plays a linear passing sequence that takes it to the next chord. It also does this in a way that outlines the key rhythmic element of the groove - so for instance, in a shuffle the bass line would tend to have a syncopated triplet feel.

Now, in good songwriting, in most cases the bass would not double the melody, because that would mean the melody is centered around the roots of each chord, which frankly, tends to sound pretty lame or, at best, boring. Plus if the bass plays the melody, it is ignoring its function of reinforcing the groove.

That doesn't mean you can never do it. For example, let's take the classic Meters tune: Cissy Strut. If you don't know it, take the time and the 99 cents and download it from i-tunes, as it will help you to understand the point. There is a lot of doubling of the bass line with melody there, but notice that this works because this song is a funk/jazzy instrumental rather than a song with a lyrical melody.

Now, take another example - say Elvis singing "Can't Help Falling in Love with You" - a typical 12/8 50's-60's style ballad. Try recording this song with you either singing or playing the melody, and then having the bass play the melody too. You'll notice it doesn't sound right, because no one is taking care of the business of anchoring down the roots of the chord changes. Now switch to just playing the roots of the chords every dotted half-note, and all of a sudden it sounds much more like music.

The best thing to do is listen to commercial recordings you really enjoy in the style of music you are trying to emulate. See how the bass functions within that style, and try to imitate that.

The other thing you should be working on is ear training. Try to pick out melodies that you can sing in your head on your instrument. When you get the hang of that, try finding the right chords that go with the melody. With practice, your hands will become extensions of your ears - whatever you hear, you will be able to automatically play. Yes, it takes some time, but there is no real shortcut to becoming a real musician - assuming that is your goal.

Note: AndyK12's post is also a very good explanation.
 
Shirts idea is an interesting one but is liable to go no where as if you speak rather han sing the words you'll end up with very liimited modulation and not much in the way of melody.
There's also the prob of finding a tuner sensitive enough to do the task - a bass tuner wouldn't be very likely to & the tuner in Cakewalk isn't much chop.
 
Put it under a hot light in a dark room and approach it in a trench coat. That's sure to make it talk....

Seriously, though, bass lines usually walk the walk rather than talking the talk. This basically is (often contrapuntal) motion that are moving pretty much every beat (and maybe more frequently, depending on the style).

http://musicians.about.com/library/experts/bass_plus/bl_092402_walkinglines.htm

http://www.malletjazz.com/lessons/bassline.html

http://www.activeguitar.com/lessons/guitar/21-1.asp

http://www.stickmusic.com/html/walking.html
 
I think what you're looking for is melody - without a strong melody you have no idea where the song is going to take you. A bass line is meaningless outside of the context of the melody it supports.

Unless it's dance/rap/trance and then I don't know how to help you.

Try and work out the important details, like melody, key and tempo, before you commit the song to tape. Keep reworking it until you have all elements working together towards your finished tune.

Keep at it and remember to love what you're doing. There's no formula for success except trial and error.

Welcome aboard, BTW.

-Casey
 
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