Write BETTER Metal Basslines!
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- Опубліковано 4 чер 2019
- In which I show you how to improve your metal basslines.
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wish i had space for walking basslines in my apartment
You're a funny guy bro! You should start a youtube channel.
Heyooooo!
Sorry I could not help myself.
Rudy Ayoub bro you can come to my house we have a good hallway for them
2 5 1
Sé que sabes algo de español, así que muchas gracias por tus videos, me sacan de la depresión por unos minutos 🖤
This video got me compliments from my band within which I'm the least experienced player, thanks a ton man; truly quality content! :)
Very happy to hear that my dude, glad to help
2 years later how are you playing?
So ...
Yeah, bro...
Been practicing
And stuff?
We need to hear it!
make your band mad by playing the 5th instead of the octave. if your guitarist plays a drop A powerchord, dont play the low A, play the E. really changed the tone of the song and they cant do anything but angrily stare. consistently play every other root and every other 5th to make them question their tuning and ponder the mystery as to why that thing they did sounds different. never explain, never smile, just keep doing it.
If your guitarist doesn't understand what you're doing there and starts questioning his tuning and doesn't know why things now sound different, he deserves any musical punishment from you as a bass player. I'd say screw everything and play the tritone/augmented 4th/diminished 5th to their root.
All the power to you,
a guitar player
Blah Blahsen, an intellectual
They'll probably just think you're a shitty bassist
I love your attitude 👌🏼
love it!
Write your bass lines with the drummer then leave them to the guitarists to play over. Don't be an after thought. But also make sure you don't get Jason Newsteaded in the mix
Lead bass have your own technical melodies throughout the song
Maybe buy a used bass because apparently they all "cut through the mix great"
Keep it simple and add fills where it's needed. Don't overcompensate.
Carol Kaye, the legendary studio bassist, had some great advice. She said that it’s important for bassists to make use of their chord tones. Playing scales exclusively will ruin your ear and dull you to the tonal differences in different chords. Speaking of chord tones, an old trick from the Motown guys was using neutral notes for fills i.e. the fourth, fifth, and octave for fills.
Coming from a bassist, every video you’ve posted recently has been INCREDIBLY informative and accurate. Plus the tone is killer. Even the Gear Gods theme riff has awesome bass tone haha.
Long time subscriber, not changing that anytime soon. Thanks Trey’!
I play the bass too
Here is a heavy metal band with unique bass lines.. muddvayne
br br deng
BR BR DENG! BR BR DENG
Ryan Martinie is Criminally underrated
Primus as well.
And that was really only in their debut album. In all their albums the bass doesn't sound nearly as awesome. It's almost like the other band members got pissed that he sounded better than him and told him to tone it down .
I watched this video when it first came out, but I find myself continuing to reference it, years later, whenever I get stuck writing. Thanks for the great info!
I like that even though I am completely uneducated in music theory, from sheer sound alone I can do what Trey is talking about. Of course it would help immensely to KNOW what I am doing. And have the ability to communicate with my guitar player properly. But I still kick ass. And none of my basslines are too basic. Cheers.
Bass player here.
THANK YOU!
This is exactly what my guitar player needed to hear.
Looking to get a bass. Any recommendations
@@revel9243 what's your skill level and price range?
@@paganjay1085 Just starting out actually. I can play guitar decently nothing super special
@@revel9243 ok,so unless you can and/or want to, don't spend a shit ton of money starting out. Get something good,new or used,sit with it before you buy it. Won't be any fun to learn on if it doesn't feel good in your hands.
Try a Squire Jazz. $300 or less maybe for the Affinity lines. They feel pretty good,sound cool and they're upgradable.
This ain't gospel, that's the route I took and it worked for me. That's one of many routes. The rest is on you.
Good luck brother!
@@paganjay1085 Thanks a lot! Yeah I'll definitely look into that!
Pretty cool! Knowing the scale/mode that is being used is something that helps a lot!
I love slides too! I always put them in the bassline of the songs!
Love this video, really nice to see how you treat the bass as an important instrument.
I was a bass player and using these techniques and others already for a long time, and then I was asked to play guitar in a band and have been doing that since by happenstance. Thinking about things in terms of the key and notes involved as a bassist really helped me in writing guitar parts too. The whole thing works in reverse too! Great video.
I started on bass before guitar. Mark King, Cliff Burton, Les Claypool, Bootsy Collins and I cant forget Alex Weber are monster bass players and an influence as a musician
Honestly in pretty much all genres, it's really subjective to the composition of the song as to whether or not a bassist even has the freedom to do more than just roots. A lot of singers/guitarists don't realize that there is only so much frequency spectrum, and don't write songs with the idea in mind that other parts have to fit well into the mix. That is my experience at least, no shots fired there :).
Amen to that, the more leads and harmonies you add the less the bass can do imo
I really agree. Its hard to have a lot of that freedom in metal, especially coming from a background of jazz and blues. In those, the bass is driving force, and a bassist locked in with a drummer can make some truly tight rhythms. Honestly a lot of bass in metal is kind of treated as a pad would be in electronic music. Its just kind of there to fill out the low end.
Bassists sure do have freedom and flexibility they just dont put their foot forward enough because they're taught it "holds the glue" bullshit in some parts thats true.
@@619chrismc listen to Beyond Creation there whole band is centered around the bass lines.
@@steve00alt70 They probably specifically composed those songs to be around the bass though. That's kind of my point. If everyone puts their foot forward in song writing, then what does the listener actually focus on? The average listener can only really actively pay attention to two, to four things at once. Typically That's the snare, vocals, kick, and one more thing. (insert foot forward part here.)
What an absolutely amazing video! Thank you for sharing your ideas
Dude this video is awesome! Love the explanation of walking bass lines.
Really cool vid. I think doubling the guitar in some parts even on the higher end can really accentuate a riff or arpeggio if done sparsely. When you doubled the implied phrygian dominant it could really stand out positively if you don't double anywhere else in the song, sounded awesome. Helps to have a killer bass tone like that too though.
By the way, dude reminds me of this guy in an old tv show called Dead Last hahaha
Just subscribed! Awesome stuff man!
Excellent presentation and actual content...rare on the interwebs.
"SO MUCH ROOM FOR ACTIVITIES!"
Nice video gonna try to use these tips
Iv been playing bass for quite a long time, never was a fan of METAL bass or the music,
But I really love this video, and im starting to like metal much more.
Great video, Thanks
yeah!!!! EXACTLY the kind of tutorial video i was looking for
Really informative video Trey, thanks!
So much room for activities ! It’s making my head spin, so many activities you can do.
Just listen to Cliff Burton's basslines.
Well, most of them are sloppy and have a weak attack. if you are not taking about Orion or call of Cthulhu.
most of them is the same as guitar part. still a boring player
Matija Ravnik Cliff pretty much would just mimic the guitars. Listen to James Jamerson, Carol Kaye, and Paul McCartney -- players who knew how to lock in with a drummer and make a potent musical statement while propelling the song forward.
Don't listen to just his the studio music. Listen to live versions as well. There are also very noticeable occurrences in studio material, like For whom the bell rolls, Call of Ktulu, and Orion where he's not following the guitarists most of the way through the song, even having solos or adding to the song in ways that aren't traditionally a bass position.
80s Metallica, megadeth and Pantera have very heavily influenced my bass playing 🤘😈🤘
Nice. Excellent lesson. Right on it. The power of the bass in setting the overall tone chord. (guitars players don't like the admit).
Knowing Basic theory was literally the key that allowed me to understand the chord progression and harmony that I always eared in my head.
I finally know what note I can play and create my own bass line with arpeggios, rhythm... Using contrary motion with the guitars really add to the composition.
Great explanation and demonstration covering key elements to composing. I am sure this lesson will benefits many. Thanks. \m/
With 7+ strings guitars, if they come play in my low range, I like to go higher and support the melody or take the lead role 😏
Great video with some awesome concepts we can apply. My key takeaway: I can play on the other bass strings beyond the E.
Thank you! Good stuff for a guitarist taking up bass.
This is my favorite gg video ive seen so far
Really cool video, good stuff man!
This was great - thanks dude
Good video, honestly bassists watching this who dont know blues or walking basslines anything basic theory would benefits tremendously taking lessons.
That's a great video for sure! all the information is fantastic and the tone is beautiful in a brutal way. As a bass player you need to think about the band as a whole as if it was a single instrument in which every member is playing part of the harmony. You might want to keep in mind is all the possible voicings and inversions of the chords, you can use the bass to change the voicing the whole band is playing just by changing a single note. Also you might want to try piano, it'll boost your composition skills to a whole new level, the sinergies with the bass (specially if you're a finger player) are huge and the way chord voicings work on the piano will give you a ton of ideas. Plus it's great fun.
Your glen impression had me rolling.. well played sir
I’d love to see a vid on writing top line, vox and lyrical phrasing
Hi Trey,
Cool stuff.. that's one beefy looking Bass!
Thank you Professors Xavier 😜 but seriously, i know the premise of this video but the way you put it helped me think of the bass from a slightly different perspective. I’m going to try your techniques out. so a genuine thanks.
Love the vid, keep up the good work!
Tone is killer. Really informative video!
Plesea more videos like this more examples, excelent thank you
Loving this
A ton of power you say? I can't wait to tell my band this 😆🤘
only 9 minutes in so far. As a Guitar player with a University Music degree behind me (read: THEORY CLASSES!), who finds himself playing bass for the first time in a folk metal band, This video is heckin ace! I love this kind of content. Keep it up. We all have things to learn.
10:32 If the original chord is a major chord, using a 4th will be okay as long as it resolves to a 5th or the 3rd of the chord. In Music Theory, the basic rule is to always resolve to the tonic or chord tone of the chord if you play a note that is either not a chord tone or not in the key, sort of like a passing tone.
That bass tone!
Interestingly enough, at least for me I had apparently been implementing a majority of the techniques utilized here in your video on some music i recently had been working on. Strangely enough, I have no music theory training and I'm not a bass player. I play guitar and drums mostly. However your video was still fun and informative. Letting me know also that apparently I'm on a "good" path when it comes to this type of thing. Cheers and thanks for the quality content as well!.
That tone!!!
Man, that bass part at 17:15 is fire.
Loved this
I never heard of Low Interval Limit before! Interesting!
Much awaited content
Further recommendations to build on this. Build a lot of your rhythm off the kick. Something he didn't mention but it can help quite a bit.
Please tell us about the bass tone you have there it sounds great. what’s the settings etc
Sounds Like a sansamp Bass Driver or a darkglass
As a bassist this makes me happy.
Cool bass tone btw
Absolutely amazing video. I felt like I'm talking to a buddy who plays bass back in music school haha. Great information, and you did a great job of showing how you'd write the bassline but also cutting out any extra work too with the editing. Seeing the PT session at the same time was a great touch as well. I'm watching this as a composer who writes basslines and usually tries to play them in, will definitely recommend this in the future to others too.
11:12 I like when you plays the B2B
Jo, what Pickup are you using on that Stingray. They sound amazing!
This tone is amazing
Do have any videos on you recording equipment & process on how to do what you're doing doing in this video, minus the bass playing?
Prolly it was this guy. I found a video wit a song I really liked but then I couldn’t find it. Guessing YT took it down
Your Music Man is awesome! What tuning are you in for this?
excellent content, I really like all of your melodic choices! There's a little too much distortion though.. a cleaner tone would've sounded even better (most modern metal bands like Periphery, Gojira, and Opeth have cleaner bass tones especially because their bass lines are quite busy and creative). It's subjective, I know, but it makes a hell of a difference in the mix. Anyways, the focus of the video was not on tone but on songwriting, and in that sense you absolutely nailed it bro! Thank you for the thorough explanations as well.
this video holds so much value for me as a bedroomguitarist. not only does it explain bass lines, in some ways it explains how to write guitar riffs as well :D
This is so good! There are certain moments in SO MANY songs where the bass doing something other than the root could add so much movement & feeling... yet it's left basic and/or boring. I used to live for that shit when I still had the time & motivation to record music. Just a few extra notes here and there.... *insert dumb analogy of using spices sparingly in a dish that you're cooking
I love metal, I love bass, but I often hate metal basslines. So freaking boring so many of them. When I cover songs I add all sorts of extra notes, melody and/or other interesting things to the basslines, like you said we deserve better!
Another trick when both guitars are doing a fill is for the bass to follow and accent the drum pattern rhythmically. I personally think when the the guitars are doing a fill and the bass also does a sort of fill, the sound is quite "lush and displaced" and distracts from the cool part the guitars are doing.
Boa aula ! ❤🇧🇷
That bass tone though! I need it!
EzMix 2 Metal Guitar Gods 3 Pack, Ola Feared Bass preset. Instant devastation.
@@treyxaviermusic Thanks!
What pedals are you using for that tone? Sounds sick.
awesome video
I am 3 years late, so I am sorry... First, thank you so much this video helped me a lot! The way you explain things is so good.
Can you please explain one thing to me. I know you didn't want to get too much into theory, but at 14:00 you said you changed to final chord to Bmajor. How can I tell the chords, when the guitar is playing single notes? I know this is probably such a stupid question...
10:28 The fifth doesn't tell you the quality of the chord because the interval between that and the root is bland (perfect), so you can't tell for sure what chord it is, unless it is augmented or diminished, which tells you the chord there. The third does that. And yes, what you said about walking past the fourth is true, that makes it a passing tone.
Right it won’t tell you much about the quality but it will cement which note is the root, which defines the chord vertically among all the instruments present so you can hear what chord is implied, and that will tell you the chord quality
The fifth in the bass adds tension without changing the quality of the chord.
Roots reggae bass, for example, *is* the element of tension in that genre, and therefore lives on the fifth.
Basically he is saying think like a lead guitarist, the leads you play over power chords can implie a more complex chord than a simple root and 5th
Thx homie
Good video, just an inquiry! Outside of more 'artsy' genres in the more rock and prog range, it is very difficult for the bass to not be considered anything more than a hired gun that is second fiddle to the rhythm guitarist. Metal bands where a talented bassist, has its own voice, and is loud and clear are a rarity in metal. Does anyone have some suggestions to give me to listen to bands where this is the exception?? I am a guitarist that wishes to focus heavily on composing.
A few things I try in my DAW:
1. Give the rhythm guitarist a break from distortion and allow the bassist free reign within non-triad walks.
2. Gratuitous fills.
3. Fifths and octave rhythm complications.
4. Experimenting with thirds for harmonized parts almost like Melodeath cliches.
I'm wishing to learn by studying organic examples. What specimens do you suggest I take to my lab?
Any thing you get inspiration from. Probably repetitive to say but what you listen to should guide you. Maybe try listening to new types of music if you ever feel stuck?
@@mysterybotts That's just it. I start drifting away from metal when I wish to observe the bass in such a way that elevates the instrument. I'm afraid of becoming a convert to jazz-fusion. Heck, some of that stuff makes me wish I was a bassist. Some genres simply treat certain instruments better, or at least give them more opportunity to shine. That reminds me of a joke I heard somewhere on youTube:
A guitarist who played for many years decided that he wanted to play bass. His friends thought he wasn't serious, but they discovered to their shock that he was. Therefore, to his friends' urging, he went to see a doctor.
Doc: You sure you want to make this transition?
Guitarist: Yeah. I guess if it's good enough for Victor Wooten it's good enough for me.
Doc: Alright, but you will need to undergo a lobotomy. I could schedule one next week if you are still interested.
Sure enough everything was signed and the procedure attended to; except for one problem that was discussed with the guitarist as he woke up:
Doc: I am sorry. The younger surgeon arrived late and proceeded mistakenly; therefore the lobotomy was done twice. How are you feeling?
Ex-Guitarist: Give me... ... ... THE DRUM STICKS! (Don't forget the cheesy drum roll)
@@brianbergmusic5288 hahaha never heard that one before. But hey maybe you shouldn’t be afraid of becoming a convert? Maybe you don’t want to be as solely “metal” as you think you do? I just say that because I’ve felt the same thing. Almost feels like I’m betraying the genre I first loved. Now I really like jazz, modern classical, and world music just because sometimes they tend have more exotic “flavor”. But you can always mix and match with metal since it’s a very accepting genre, in my opinion. But then again I’m into the proggy stuff so if your not I could see how it detracts from that same feeling a bit. I hope you have fun experimenting anyhow!
@@mysterybotts I actually have no hatred towards any genre of music (except for "anti-music"/"modern music" usually found only in Universities where insanity is applauded or at least given a free pass). As a music consumer my philosophy is a "time for everything under the sun" kinda paradigm. As an amateur musician, I have grown towards metal because of a sense of jolly machismo that no other genre can supply as well. I chase that excitement that I have even found in post-romantic classical era music and filmscore. Jazz is most cerebral, yet abounds with freedom, and is even very entertaining to hear and analyze, but frankly, above my pleb-level abilities. Fusion appeals to me because it seems to have a lot of techy-fun with synths and simpler rock-lines and reminds me of awesome game soundtracks like some of the Gradius series -- fun grooves and themes with creative modulations.
There are probably many who wish they had the time to become uber multi-faceted musicians. If I had that background I would complete prog metal albums for days... play more than one instrument competently... end each collection of tunes with an tongue-in-cheek "Anime-end-credits-jazz-fusion-number" as a running gag. However, those pipe dreams have gotta be rooted in reality, and the cards that reality deals is not always friendly to dreamers -- especially someone with the bare minimum to accomplish one specific genre. Budgeting time and resources is wise, wouldn't you agree?
Whatever level we find ourselves, the journey is still a blast. I know I wouldn't even have a Soundcloud page if I existed a generation ago.
[EDIT] CASE IN POINT: Today, I gave up trying to get a LOW-A to work on my 5 string bass. The LOW A sounds like crap, even with a 175 gauge string!! The Squire Dimension 5 Bass simply doesn't have enough scale length to accommodate that, it even struggled in standard tuning with completely off balance output. So far, the D as the lowest note makes it feel like an instrument again and not merely a clunky tool micromanaged by a guitarist. This actually is a game changer for my humble setup, that is, if I'm dead set on using a real bass for DI stuff. Scale length woes... what a tangled web we weave.
I always hate writing bass lines because i just copy the guitar and its so boring. hope this video will help
I abuse pentatonic scales. Just dance around with scales, you don't have to do basic harmonizations or stick to root notes and what the guitar plays. I hope this helps
@@Tangalang22 ill work on it
excellent.
I kinda have a huge struggle.
I'm not the most expirienced musician. I played a long time but still are more or less just intermediate (maybe even worse than that) wrote a few songs on my own and play the bass in another band. Those guys make some killer songs. But everytime I try to come up with a bassline it's not quite what they want. When they want me to add some more, they're not satisfied because I'm playing to much - even though I don't play a whole lot.
Our frontman just wrote an amazing track in drop D and I play almost nothing more than the low D string - and I don't feel like that's any good.
Quality content
sick video
What gauge strings were you using for this video and tuning?
The frustrating thing why videos like this, for me, is that I almost completely track with everything that's going on in the video, when I try to put it to practice it just all falls apart.
I know the feeling. The key is to implement it one small step at a time and on a consistent basis.
Never stop practicing.
I understand what you mean completely, given that your comment is two years old this is probably pointless now, but make sure you have good tone, then just keep practicing bro
@@jeremiahschoonover2774 nope. It's just as accurate as when I first wrote it. 😑
@@ThatBeTheQuestion don't stop playing
i do feel like there is a place for super prominent bass lines in metal. punk has it all the time and it really works. i hear a song like hyena from rancid and think this could be made to work for metal. though it might be challenging.
obviously you wouldn't have it this loud, but that crushing growling sound i feel could really work in a mix. ua-cam.com/video/difaE4nOVa4/v-deo.html
The lower 5th is also nice to throw in.
I just got my sterling stingray5 string today
Trick.. jump back and forth between rhythm and melody, play the same riff one octave higher.
😉👍
As for me, I always put happy weird parts in my bass lines coz I know not everyone will hear it, but it's there. 😉👍
yeah, i do that too. people won't probably hear it but at least i'm not gonna die of root note boredom.
@@NotVerySkilledBass lol
Sick bass tone, how did you get that?
Possible he put it through a guitar tube amp, Glenn Fricker did it once and got an amazing tone from it
Look at other comment that he commented on.
Glenn Fricker impersonation was on point
Hey I was wondering what application I are using to record all of that
Pro Tools: peddlrr.com/xavier-pro-tools/
@@treyxaviermusic thanks soooo much!
17:45 Should but do they. or do they just walk around the root :)
I was just thinking "Man Glenn would say your giving bass players too much credit".
Golly that bass sure is swell...... For reals though, that's a dope ass bass for the price.
There’s a bassist on YT that has one with 2 of those phat humbuckers. I think he’s a russian dude, plays a lot of great metallica covers. But yeah, can’t go wrong with a musicman stingray.
Mystic _Gaemz andriy vasylenko? He doesn’t play a stingray
I've been playing for about 18 years and don't know anything but tablature 😕. I need help progressing but I feel stuck. I'm self taught.
If I owned that bass, I would remove that pick guard. You have a fancy veneer, but it is covered by a slab of plastic, which completely defeats the purpose of that veneer. It makes me twitch.
Guitar Nerd fairly sure there’s circuits under there and it’s not just an aesthetic choice
@@outsides0metimes I have a MusicMan Sting Ray, so I can confirm that pick guard is nothing more than a plastic slab screwed onto the body.
Ian Mann Underneath the clear pickguard that obviously doesn’t have the wiring harness behind it?