Music Theory 105: Basslines

32 videos | 144 minutes | by Gregg Fine

Get ready to track the bass with producer Gregg Fine in this "groove-along" course that will break down the bass lines and show you how to create your own grooves...

How many of your favorite songs can you name just from hearing the bass line? It's probably quite a few. That’s because the bass, when played and programmed by the pros, stands alone at bottom of the production where it serves as the foundation of the track! A great bass line can really make a good song even better! A powerful base line can act both as the foundation of the track and as another melodic hook within the track!

With his carefully crafted musical examples, Gregg gives you a great sense of how a bass line can evolve as your song builds. He uses musical notation so you can see and hear the bass and how it complements the song. Gregg explains how the bass serves to reinforce the chordal structure of a tune by “landing” on the different notes of the chords. He also explains the powerful relationship between the bass and kick. After all, the bass IS a member of the rhythm section!

What takes this bass line theory to even higher ground are Gregg’s thoughtful examples and play-along grooves that allow you see and hear how great bass lines are constructed.

After watching this, you can study Melody, Harmony, Rhythm and Song Form in our ever-expanding collection of Music Theory course below: