The 4 Note Bass Line Creator

Creating you own bass lines and fills can often seem overwhelming when you're first starting
out. There are so many possibilities to choose from. Where do you start?
The ‘4 Note Bass Line Creator’ provides both a ‘rhythmic’ and ‘Harmonic’ framework (or
notes) to start creating your own fills. This simple ideas will work across many different styles
of music and many different types of chords. It’s also just a great place to start jamming and
having some serious fun!
How does it work?
The Rhythm
The 4 note bass line creator has a set rhythmic frame work which looks like this:

It’s one bar long and consists of a 2 beat note, followed by 4 x 8th notes, on beats 3, 3+, 4 and
4+.

The Notes

Harmonically we always play the root on beat one of the bar. We can then choose from either
the 4, 5, b7, Octave to fill up the 4 x 8th notes of the bar. This creates our classic box shape on
the neck. In the key of D we would use the notes D - G - A - C - D.

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Time to improvise…
Now this is where the fun starts… The root always goes on beat 1 of the bar and we hold that
for two beats, however, you can change up the last 4 notes however you wish. Just make sure
you stick to the ​4th, 5th, b7 & Octave ​and it’ll sound great!
Here are 6 examples for you to try out.

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

Example 4

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Example 5

Example 6

Top Tip
Once you’ve had fun playing the 6 examples above try moving the riffs into different keys. All
you need to do is move the ‘box shape’ up and down the neck. The note on your first finger on
the A string is always the root and will tell you what key you are in.
If you’ve enjoyed this lesson make sure you check out the Riff Masters Bass Course. Here we
take these concepts to the next level and get you moving them through different styles,
chords sequences, keys, tempos….
You can find the Riff Masters Bass Course in the Bass Lab Plus

Have you joined The Bass Lab Plus yet?

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coached by me personally, discover hours of bass lessons, step by
step courses, masterclasses and loads of cool resources. This is your
secret weapon to help you develop into the bassist of your dreams!
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Helping rookie & intermediate bass players develop into the musician of their dreams!