Does the bass always have to harmonise with the lead?

Question

I have written a half decent lead, at least for my level, and I am now trying to harmonise a bass with it. I am employing one of the most basic kind of methods to achieve this - playing the root note of the lead with the bass, to harmonise it with the lead. Well, actually I read that this method is used with chords (where it would be the root of the chord, not the scale), though I am only writing a monophonic lead, (i.e no chords) for now, since I am just starting out.

These are my lead and bass notes:

Lead (Portato): Bass(legato): Harmonic value:

C  *2         C                          Perfect consonance
A# *1         C                          Weak Dissonance
G  *3         C                          Perfect Consonance
F  *2         F                          Perfect Consonance
E  *1         F                          **Strong Consonance**
C  *3         F                          Perfect Consonance

I think an image is in order:

A few things:

1. The bass is two octaves below the lead.

2. That white bar before the red is only to show that the two bars are separate by the way, it's hard to see otherwise :)

3. Also note (haha, get it, note?), that the notes do vary, but the set up is configured to display the notes all on the same line to show which notes come from what sound at any given time.

So what am concerned about is the notes of E coming from the lead, and the note of F coming from the bass, it doesn't sound out of place at the time (remember that the bass is played legato), but this is really just for future reference in case say, half the notes don't harmonise well. Also, I have no idea what the implications of this may be if I was to try and apply EQ, or add certain effects, and so on.

Since bass lines are usually grounded, in that they are played smooth and constant, where leads are pretty much the opposite, I wonder what the status quo is when it comes to harmonisation. Are there any rules of thumb? How strict should we follow the rules of harmonisation in respects to basses and leads?

One thing I notice is that there seems to be less and less dissonance as we play notes further and further apart, even when purposely playing only two notes which would be very dissonant within the same octave, such as E and F#, to a certain degree, even E and F.

My personal though by no means professional theory, is that the lower the pitch of a note note X, the less sidebinds there are, thus leading to neither consonance or dissonance.

Thanks for reading my post, it's very much appreciated! :)

Answer 1

There is no "have to" in music. There are common patterns and conventions, but the only rule is, if it sounds good, it is good.

it doesn't sound out of place at the time

... and therefore it's OK.

I have no idea what the implications of this may be if I was to try and apply EQ, or add certain effects, and so on

EQ generally has very little effect on harmony concerns. The only exception I can think of is if your EQ filtered out the frequency range that gave a particular instrument pitch -- in this case it would hide any harmony/pitch problems.

Time based effects like delay could end up placing two pitches together which clash. Worry about it when it happens, and use your ears.

---

Sometimes discord works. Sometimes you want nothing but harmony; it depends what you're going for.

Two concepts that may be useful are "passing notes" and "resolution".

A "passing note" is a note within a sequence of notes, which leads from one note to another. It's pretty common for passing notes not to harmonise, but you don't stay on them for long, so nobody worries about the discord.

"Resolution" is when music hangs on a discordant combination of notes -- or some sound which otherwise causes "tension" in the listener, then returns to a "comfortable" combination of notes, releasing or "resolving" the tension. For example, a song in C major might end on a C13 chord, held for a bar, then going back to a nice clean C major.

Answer 2

A general principle for bass in most current popular forms of music is that "the bass should play chord tones on strong beats". Strong beats are typically the 1 and 3, and in addition, there is a strong tendency to play the root of the chord on the 1. Doing this is the most straightforward way for the bass to perform it's dual role of harmonic and rhythmic foundation.

In order to determine which chords your melody is implying you'll either need a good ear, or an analysis of the notes that comprise the melody.

There are various ways to stray from this general principle, since uniformly conforming to it can sound tired. A good example is adopting a "one-drop" rhythm where the bass does not play on the one; since this comes from Reggae music, it often lends that flavor, or is appropriate in the context of that kind of music.

However, being aware of the general idea that the bass should play chord tones on the the 1 and the 3, and when you choose to deviate from it

Answer 3

You are going to need at least some very minimal piano skills, knowing a few scales, etc. You can find these online.But an electronic dance track should be able to pack the floor with just the bassline and drums.

You really should start by focusing in your favorite of these genres and build a library of music. Then you need to start listening to them constantly and chart out what beats the various "signature" drum sounds appear on, e.g. 808 hand claps always come on an upbeat, in house the kick drum is typically on the 1, 2, 3, & 4. Then make your own beats based on your findings.

Then you write lines that have a catchy rhythm that isn't identical to the drums, but accents on the correct beats. Hip hop beats accent on 2 & 4, for instance. Refer to your notes. Until you get a handle on some theory, just raise or lower the pitch of the whole repeating lead pattern until it sounds good over the bassline.

If you are actually a fan of some other genre, learn that. Don't do dance music because you think its easy, if your heart isn't in it it will be a chore. If you love it, you'll get the hang of it soon enough.

And read the British magazines they are about 1000x as useful.