For the past several issues of MET, “Tips and Techniques” has focused on techniques for getting your students beyond the “select, loop, and paste” syndrome and producing more-expressive music. In the November/December 2006 issue of MET (see “Tips and Techniques: Just a Little Melody”), I described simple arranging and editing techniques for manipulating melodies in a song. In this issue's column, I'll focus on arranging and mixing techniques for creating more-compelling bass parts.

FIG. 1: This effects rack in Propellerhead Reason shows three virtual effects processors—a chorus/flanger, a digital delay line, and a distortion unit—set up for processing bass parts. These effects can be heard in Web Example 5.

One of the easiest ways to create interest in a bass part is to mute it in the song at some point. Removing the bass track (and, if possible, the bass-drum part) in the middle of a song creates a sense of weightlessness or floating. Most listeners will hear a comparative lightness in the sound and will automatically focus their attention on the remaining musical elements in the arrangement. At the same time, however, listeners will anticipate the return of the bass and will feel a sense of completion when it returns.

Web Example 1 consists of a 2-measure phrase played three times. In the first two measures, the bass part is played at a normal volume. In the next two measures, the bass and bass drum parts are muted. Both parts return in the last two measures. (This effect is more dramatic in a longer song.)

You can also create interest in the bass part by using different pitch ranges in various parts of a song. For example, the bass part could start in a baritone range (nothing below the D string on a bass guitar) and gradually add lower notes. That can make a song sound heavier or deeper as it unfolds.

In the first four measures of Web Example 2, the bass part stays in the upper octaves, giving the track a lighter feel. In the next four measures, the bass part is played in its lowest note range. This big-bottom effect would have been lost if the bass had started out in the low octave. Another technique is to save the higher note range for only the B sections of an ABA song form. (The bass effect in Web Examples 2 and 3 are most apparent when played through speakers with good low-end response.)

You can also vary a bass track by layering the bass part in different octaves at various points in the song. Web Example 3 consists of a 2-measure phrase played three times. In the first two measures, the bass part is played in a high octave; in the next two measures, the bass part is doubled one octave lower; and in the final two measures, the part is doubled two octaves lower. Although this very low octave (similar to a 32-foot stop on a pipe organ) is often used in certain dance music, it is most effective when used sparingly.

You can also layer sounds by using different timbres. In Web Example 4, the bass part was created by layering a dark, sustained sound played in a higher octave and a bright, percussive sound played in a lower octave. The two tracks are gradually panned to create a wider sound.

Another way to create interesting bass parts is to use effects processing. Although most people don't usually think of adding effects to a bass part, the right effect, used appropriately, can create magic.

Web Example 5 begins with a 2-measure phrase that has a normal fretless-bass sound. In the next two measures, the bass sound is processed through a stereo chorus, producing a round, animated sound. In the following two measures the bass is processed through a delay, which smears the sound and reinforces the song's rhythm. In the final two measures, the bass sound is distorted, producing a fuzz bass. Each of these effects produces a distinctive sound.

The techniques I've outlined are just the beginning. Remind your student composers that the bass guitar doesn't always have to play the root of a chord (imagine the Rolling Stones' “Satisfaction” with a D instead of A in the bass part in the second measure). Sometimes the bass can play a separate, independent line (think of Bill Wyman's baritone obbligato with reverb on the Stones' “Heart of Stone”). Former Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh is a master of the independent melodic bass line, as was legendary jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius and R&B genius James Jamerson.

Most important, let your students know that some songs might not even need a bass part. For an example, check out Prince's “Kiss,” as well as certain contemporary pieces.

The easy part is learning arranging and mixing techniques; the hard part is learning when to use the right technique appropriately. Students who learn these techniques will more easily be able to create interesting, dynamic bass parts.

Don Muro (www.donmuro.com) is a member of the NYSSMA Technology Committee and the TI:ME Board of Directors.