Guitar, Bass

Hey Mr DJ! Let Your Fingers Do The Walking GUITAR BASS

Whilst synth is seemingly king in the electronic music world, don’t throw out your precious axes too hastily. Guitars too have played a big part in the overall sound incorporating riffs, licks and rhythms from a range of genres. Acoustic picking and rhythmic chord motifs, funk guitar lines and even punk-ish heavy power chord sounds all have been used to great effect. Production wise, guitar is often used for its percussive properties (which can be a nice contrast to keyboard sounds). Let’s take a look at some examples that might get you into the groove. Figure A is a four bar E minor sounding lick. Try playing this really staccato (short and sharp) with a combination of left and right hand muting – think Daft Punk, early Michael Jackson and Basement Jaxx (amongst thousands of others). The syncopated feel can sit really nicely over a straight drum groove and/or more legato synth part/bass line. A Strat would be a good starting point tone wise, try the second or fourth pickup position, a clean sound with a little reverb and compression to really emphasise the attack on the note and squash the dynamics! Super, crisp and clean works a treat. A solid pulse is so important to almost all styles of music. And, often this includes the role of bass (and drums) as the rhythm section. Together these instruments can lay the foundation for the rest of the band and have a say in nudging the groove in the right direction. Whilst some may think electronic music has diluted the inuence of these instruments somewhat, there are denitely artists and composers that have further emphasised the need for interesting bass parts. And this can be both harmonically and tonally. Note choice and rhythm are paramount but also is the sound and way the line is phrased and articulated. Check out Daft Punk, Louis Cole, Phoenix, Deadmau5, Kneebody, Sia plus so many more to get some ideas. Figure A works over a mid-tempo static Em groove. If the drums are playing a straight four on the oor pattern it can really work to make your line more syncopated. This contrast creates some energy and allows you to play with your tone – moving towards the bridge and digging in or getting rounder and warmer with less attack near the neck. You could also try a pick and remember to experiment with effects (Fuzz? Distortion? Filter?) to add to the overall vibe.

Figure B utilises chords in a disco/electro/funk style. Semi quavers and syncopated off beats make this idea really groove. Again, muting for the shorter notes works well before the contrast of the longer tied F#m7 chord in bar two. Nile Rodgers was one of the players that helped bring this sound into modern electronic music. For a little inspiration check out his work with the band Chic to hear it in a ‘70s funk music context.

Figure B might be more of an electro-house type sound. Combining low notes and octaves this line is more static rhythmically locking down the crotchet kick drum feel (as opposed to the more syncopated Figure A). You might hear this on a P bass with some gnarly drive or get a little wild and try it with chorus and an octave pedal to add some sub lows.

Figure C takes more of a neo-soul/funk/jazz perspective. A descending chordal lick try to hammer on/pull off the high D and B on the Em7 chord and C and A on the Dm7. You can also try sliding into the Cmaj7 and Fmaj7 from a semi tone below. Licks by Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, Hiatus Kaiyote and Tom Misch often utilise clean archtop and Strat tones with reverb and delay. Technique wise there is the subtle pushing and pulling of time (a la D’Angelo, Questlove etc) so try ‘oating’ a little through the A-G-E-D lick but make sure you then nail Beat One of the next bar. Guitarists such as Misch, Isaiah Sharkey and Mateus Asato make great use of chromatic slides in notes and chords, hammer-ons/pull offs and extended voicings to add a complexity to the overall sound.

Now – a quick word about taking your bass tones to the next level with electronic sounds. The advent of more electronic artists and indeed live electronic music and bands has seen the role of the bass player often expand further than just playing bass guitar. Enter the synth bass…..Roland SH01A, Minimoog, Taurus, Sequential Circuits Pro One, Roland TB-303, Micro Korg, Novation Bass Station and the list goes on. The ability to ll the low end with sounds that bass guitar can’t quite manage has made the bass player/keys bass player a valuable commodity. This doesn’t mean your role as a bass player is in jeopardy or that you have to rush out and buy a synth! But, maybe you should try brushing up on your keyboard chops (even if they are minimal or even no existent!) to experiment with some extra tonal options.

Lastly, where would we be without these types of voicings in Figure D? Literally splattered across Pop, Rock and Electronic music for the last few years these simple two note voicings are easy to play and great tools for song writing. Essentially Major or minor 3rds they are sometimes referred to as ‘10th’s (meaning the interval from the lower note to the top note) and are used to outline chords simply rather than using a fuller sounding chord. Sometimes heard on acoustic guitar these also sound great doubled on harder edged synths for big build ups and pumping dance progressions.

The two earlier examples could easily be transferred to synth, then try incorporating some pitch and mod wheel expressiveness and boom you’re away. The beauty of a lot of synth bass lines is that they’re typically single notes, and within a fairly small range. So, why not get your head around the notes on keyboard and see if you can incorporate some synth bass along with your bass guitar electro lines to really maximise your potential?

BY NICK BROWN

These are just some ideas – the best part is that there aren’t really any limits when it comes to electronic production. You can play literal guitar parts or chop them/sample them/ obliterate them into whatever you hear!

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