Contour Rule for Better Bass Lines

Learn how to write better bass lines by adding 3rds and non-harmonic notes!

0:00 INTRO
1:04 STRENGTHS
1:37 FAULT #1
1:59 FAULT #2
2:26 FREQUENCY
3:12 FIX #1
3:49 FIX #2
4:41 RULE
5:01 MORE
5:31 EXAMPLE
5:52 DJEND

STRENGTHS
Firstly, just to clarify. A fault is not a mistake! A fault is a weakness. In other words, an area for improvement. So, what’s the fault in this bass line? Well, to expose its weakness, let’s first explore its strengths. So, this bass line has a great rhythm, with syncopation to deepen the groove. It’s phrased well, which refers to where the music breathes through rests. It has a big range, which is the distance between the lowest and highest notes. And there’s plenty of movement between pitches to keep it lively. That’s a lot of strengths, so where’s the weakness?

FAULT #1
Well, believe it or not, there’s actually two weaknesses. Firstly, this bass line does not have a melodic contour. You see, a good melody doesn’t jump all over the place, like this bass line does. It should have a beautiful shape to it with relatively smooth ascending and descending lines, and the occasional big jump for interest.

FAULT #2
And the second weakness in this bass line is that it does not contain any non-harmonic notes, which are notes that are not in the chord. When the bass only plays notes that are in the accompanying chord, it blends into those chords because there’s nothing that makes it stand out from them. But, when your bass plays non-harmonic notes, it separates itself from the chords. This ensures your bass is perceived as an instrument playing a melody, and not merely as a frequency.

FREQUENCY
Seriously, this is a massive problem in music these days. Bass lines tend to be nothing more than root notes, and when they do rarely move off the root, they tend to go to the 5. But, playing roots and a few 5s will not add a melodic layer to your song (which is how musical depth is created), all it will do is fatten up your mix by adding low-end frequencies. Your music deserves better, though. Your music deserves a bass that plays actual melodies with creative contours! And by the way, our example is in the key of D Dorian, which is all the white notes from D to D, and the tempo is 90 BPM.

FIX #1
Right, let’s fix this bass line now. And to do that, we’ve got an easy two-step method for you. Firstly, add at least one 3rd somewhere, because the 3rd of each chord is what creates its major or minor emotion. Over our Dm chord, we added the ♭3 (F). Over our Fmaj chord, we added the 3 (A). And over our Cmaj chord, we added the 3 (E). If all these numbers and flats are confusing, then download our free book to learn all this stuff (and more!) through 12 simple hacks.

FIX #2
Right, step two is to add some non-harmonic notes, which are notes that are not in the chord. We’re using triads here, which are the most common type of chord, consisting of the 1, 3, and 5. So, the non-harmonic notes are the 2, 4, 6, and 7 over each chord. The non-harmonic notes we added are the ♭7 (C) over our Dm chord, the 7 (B) over our Cmaj chord, and the 2 (A) and the 7 (F♯) over our Gmaj chord. And if you’re wondering how we can have an F♯ in our bass line when the scale consists of only white notes. Well, that’s because F♯ is not in the scale, it’s what is known as a non-diatonic note. Unless you know how to play safely outside the scale, though, we definitely recommend staying in the scale for now.

RULE
Our Bass Contour Rule is that your bass line should have a big range with an interesting melodic contour that includes 3rds and non-harmonic notes. Because remember, if your bass is only playing the root of each chord and maybe a few 5s, it will only be adding low-end frequencies to your song, it will not be adding any musical depth!

MORE
Lastly, please be aware that the characteristics of a great bass line are slightly different to those of a great lead melody. For example, it’s normal for the bass to jump an octave or more, but that’s too big for the lead. If you wanna learn the characteristics of great bass lines, check out our tutorial:

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ABOUT
Hack Music Theory is the fast, easy and fun way to make music. Taught by multi-award-winning music lecturer Ray Harmony, and his protégé wife Kate. Ray started teaching music theory in 1995, and has made music with Serj Tankian (System Of A Down), Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine), and more!

CREDITS
© 2022 Revolution Harmony
Revolution Harmony is Ray Harmony & Kate Harmony
Script & all music in video by Revolution Harmony
Book promo filmed & edited by Maurits Nienhuis
All stock footage courtesy of Pexels

[WizardOfArc]

that chromatic walk from the last chord tone to the first one is SICK!

[PebsBeans]

aw, just as I thought I was getting good at basslines, you come and expose my faults 🤕
although I love your positivity, and how you don't act pretentious saying stuff like a single fault can ruin a song, like some overly negative people do
it really creates a more welcoming environment and it makes you want to write better music instead of just being let down by your current weaknesses, keep it up guys

[bigbroiswatchingyou]

Not sure if I've ever watched any of your videos before, but I was surprised with the quality. Informative, concise and really pleasant to watch, keep it up!

[andreturntobe]

That djending made me so happy, thanks yall

[BillGraper]

I love listening to the final result. This one was EPIC! The bass line alone makes the song a lot more pleasing & interesting. 😎

[charlesneuzil]

Oh Man! This was super insightful! Thank you so much. I saw your email this morning when I was at work that your video was up, and was looking forward to watching here when I got home. Thanks for the motivation and

[chrishillery]

Check out the music of Duran Duran for some great examples of detailed, even virtuoso basslines. John Taylor did a lot of really creative and unusual work under all those pop hits. It's unfortunate that he recorded mostly in a time where the fashion was to keep the bass low in the mix with almost no power behind it, so in a lot of cases his contributions are all too easy to miss.

[franzposcher]

Sweet!! I totally needed this. Good lesson

[BassBaseBerlin]

Yeah, I was digging for synth-bass videos as new hobby ... playing electric bass for decades. But at the end your videos nail it - for both of it. It's so interesting experimenting with synth bass and DAW - also _seeing_ it - while playing e-bass just "by fell" - so this will also help me to get better in both - synth and electric bass by doing bass lines more "concious" - Thanks a lot! Like and now subbed! Best regards, Stefan

[SuperJonSluggo]

Love the info, and the address, and djent dog!

[netuno]

Thank you guys. Great content. Creating a good bass line is always an important and mysterious part of my composing process.

[asdszf]

I love this videos so much. I've learned tons from you beautiful people, but mostly, tea.

[jefjahn]

That cinches it. I am convinced these two are _NOT_ Earthlings 😳 because their tips are out of this world 😊

[eyeball]

Nice to see more Reaper representation around!

[MarkFreedmanNY]

Great, as usual! Sometimes I feel my bass lines are too busy and all over the place. Still trying to figure out the right balance. Whose sweet dog is that?

[WillfoxPiano]

cool vid. hey what CST are you using that tone is mean

[nandakoryaaa]

Hi Kate and Ray! B-but, if we add 3's, they are still repeating what's in the chord, so they add nothing? Extended DJEND!!!

[V]

Hey, I got a Q, where can I find one of your vids which explains stuff from the start, like beginner guidance, i really need to restart learning stuff cus I skipped so much, and now, I am confused on so many levels.
Or do you guys have a playlist on step by step, like explain how keys work, which key is which key, and then melodies, etc, etc?
I mean I skipped such imported stuff that I don't really know what keys are lol.

Is like learning how to read but you skipped the alphabet, and now you're left confused 🤣

Cus for myself I've mostly learned what I've needed when I was making something, but because of this, now am stuck. I can't do melodies, and even if a managed to make a good melody I cant combine a good rhythm with the bass, or the drums, any beat I have made has been made out of luck from me trying different things for hours, some times days, and I didn't even know what I was doing 😅, i was like if it sounded good it was good!.
A lot of your videos have helped me on some stuff, but I really need a restart, so if you can make a playlist, or if you have one that be great.

[mrmohantyexperiments]

The theory was amazing but did anyone realize how good that bass tone is and the production is beyond measure on a music theory lesson. Great job. Subscribed and will share too

[arjunjsatheesh]

Which synth vst are you using? As usual the tutorial is a real eye opener