Q: Bass notes to accompany chords?

[DarkStar]

Say I have a plain old C Major chord: C2 E2 G2. I can then add C1 as a bass note.

If I invert the C Major, to E2 G2 C3, which bass note should I use? C1 (following the root) or E1 (following the lowest note)?

Or, am I confused

[BertKoor]

which bass note should I use? C1 (following the root) or E1 (following the lowest note)?

The one that you find most suitable at that point in your piece of music!

am I confused

Not confused, I'd say ignorant. And you joined KVR a year before me!
The whole idea of "one bass note for a chord" is an offence to all bass players. Just listen to what bass players do, what melody lines synth basses do... There's a whole world of 12 notes over several octaves open!

[NAD]

The bass note defines the inversion. No matter what voicing you use to play a C major chord (i.e. deciding which of the chord tones to play in which octaves) if you plop down an E in the bass it will sound like a first inversion (i.e. a chord with the 3rd degree in the bass rather than the first, second inversion is 5th in the bass and so on). So remember, whatever you're playing in your right hand, the left hand will determine if it sounds like an inversion or not. In general always remember to mind the OUTER notes (i.e. the lowest and highest notes in a harmony) because those are the ones that stick out the most.

[BertKoor]

The bass note defines the inversion.

Not if you play with two hands. Inversion is only what the right hand does.

[edit] this is wrong, I was an eejit

[NAD]

The bass note defines the inversion.

Not if you play with two hands. Inversion is only what the right hand does.

What if you're wrong though?

[DarkStar]

II was not referring to bass instruments or players. Let's say it was a piano, which low note should be used?

[shawshawraw]

II was not referring to bass instruments or players. Let's say it was a piano, which low note should be used?

E1. with whatever permutation you have above it.

As NAD said, the lowest note serves as the comparison basis in the perception of the harmony. That's why inversions sound fundamentally different.

[Googly Smythe]

Surely it all depends on what follows...
One of my favourite chord transitions, for want of a better word, is D major to E major, which is quite ordinary, until you replace the D bass note with a B. Then you got something else.

And this applies, every time, unless you're taking a music theory exam. Music first, rules a distant second. Music is an art.

which bass note should I use? C1 (following the root) or E1 (following the lowest note)?

The one that you find most suitable at that point in your piece of music!
...

[A_SN]

Discussions like this scare me by reminding me of how differently people think about things like this compared the way I think of it. If you really are in a C major scale then you gotta keep in mind that the two most pivotal notes are the tonic (C) and the dominant (G), making them the ones that come up most often, however for a bass part I often hear it being more at home at the dominant than the tonic, sometimes it even seems like the bass and the rest aren't in the same scale and the tonic becomes the dominant or the opposite. My point is, while your main instrument has its own tonal context (which you could define as C major, but I feel like a way to use certain diatonic functions is part of it too), your bass might have its own related but different tonal context, meaning not necessarily the same scale or way to use the same notes (bass parts can often be more limited in which notes they use, like they might use only 4 notes of a scale, while on the other hand they might also be a lot more chromatic).

I'm not used to thinking with a major scale but another way I think of adding lower notes is by going down the scale by increments of two as this almost inevitably gives you notes that go well together. In a way this rearranges the pitch classes of the scale into a Möbius strip, so while on one "side" you'd have notes like C-E-G-B on the other side (or direction) you'd have notes like A-F-D. It's hard to tell you what would work with just one chord though, because in isolation you'd think only C (or maybe E depending on how you play the chord but it sounds a bit dull) works as a bass note here, instead of thinking about the problem purely vertically (which bass note goes well with a reversed major chord) you need to think of the problem in 2D, the bass plays a melody and so does your lead instrument, and things can sound very differently in that context, just like a chord or interval can sound vastly different based on context. For instance a major chord might not sound so major if the middle note is the root, and a diminished fifth (6 semitones interval) might sound undesirable on its own but great if you play for instance a minor chord (like A-C-E) followed by G#-D-E (go ahead and try it, it's amazing), or a diminished flat-sixth chord (like B-D-F-G#) might sound odd on its on but great and not out-of-place at all if playing in A minor. So when I try bass notes for your chord in a vacuum it's just very hard to tell if it would work in context or not.

So long story short, we need more context, but I'd say generally good places to start and try are the tonic (C), the dominant (G), notes that follow by increments of two downwards (C, A, maybe F, hard to tell without context), but who knows, maybe Ab would work too. I'm not sure if that helps

[BertKoor]

What if you're wrong though?

I have no problem with being wrong, except for when I'm not

So I checked wikipedia. I suggest you do so as well.

[edit] I was wrong. I was an eejit and apparently overlooked the slash chord section in the wiki article. [/edit]

Inversions are about triads. That's (usually) what the right hand does. With a chord on octave 2, a bass on octave 1 is not part of the triad. It's an added bass note, separate from the chord.

Pick which ever note you like to accompany. There's not really a rule to it. imho

[BertKoor]

Simple example, given this (part of a) progression

Code: Select all

| C   F   C   %  |

As a piano player I'd pick 2nd inversion for C and 1st for F: GCE - ACF - GCE.
Stable C, part of both chords smack in the middle. As a piano player you have all this freedom, since there is no hint given in the notation.

Now add a bass. Sure that is C - F - C.
If, as suggested, you'd add G - A - G, then what you are actually playing is:

Code: Select all

| C/G  F/A  C/G  %  |

That is not what originally was written, you are diverting from the schema. Not because of the inversion, but because of an added bass not being root of the chord.

Note that if the piano player picked 1st position (no inversion) for both chords (CEG - FAC - CEG) you'd think it is a total amateur playing.

[shawshawraw]

II was not referring to bass instruments or players. Let's say it was a piano, which low note should be used?

E1. with whatever permutation you have above it.

As NAD said, the lowest note serves as the comparison basis in the perception of the harmony. That's why inversions sound fundamentally different.

Sorry I read too fast and misunderstood.

I thought you *wanted* an inversion, but you may not..

Then it's all about "which sounds better to taste" (of course taste is expensive tho ) As A_SN pointed out earlier, bass is a moving melody too.

[Farnaby]

Not if you play with two hands. Inversion is only what the right hand does.

That is wrong. If you play a C major chord (any voicing) in the RH and and an E lower down in the LH, then you are playing C major in 1st inversion. The lowest note of the chord will define the inversion, regardless of instrument or hands.

[Googly Smythe]

Not if you play with two hands. Inversion is only what the right hand does.

That is wrong. If you play a C major chord (any voicing) in the RH and and an E lower down in the LH, then you are playing C major in 1st inversion. The lowest note of the chord will define the inversion, regardless of instrument or hands.

Agreeing with @Farnaby, here. I'd have thought music theory is irrelevant of the instruments being played - a chord may be made up of 4 clarinets, for instance. Or by the 2 violin sections, the violas, cellos and contrabasses.

[NAD]

Woo hoo!! Vindicated!