This post describes a bass groove created using backbeat mode. Release 20 of the app will add backbeat mode to the Bass screen. In backbeat mode, sounds can be played between foot taps. (Backbeat mode has been on the Groove screen for many releases now.) This post walks through an example of how to make a bass groove using backbeat mode. In this example, we set the number of beats per measure to 8 and the number of measures to 2. Enabling backbeat mode colours every 2nd note purple, showing that it is on the backbeat i.e. the spaces between foot taps. So this groove is really 4 beats per measure plus the backbeats between them.
An image will help here…
I got inspired to add backbeat mode to the bass screen because I was learning the great Carol Kaye's classic bass riff from Sonny & Cher's The Beat Goes On. I found a bass tab which I've repeated here and added some other info: a 4:4 count, the note names and their Nashville numbers in the key G:
G|------------------------------------------------|
D|------------------------------------------------|
A|-3-----1-----------1--3-----1-----1--------1----|
E|-------------3-----------------------3----------|
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
C Bb G Bb C Bb Bb G Bb
in key of G:
IV bIII I bIII IV bIII bIII I bIII
To create the bass groove, I simply added the note numbers to the appropriate boxes on the grid. The key is G since it's the lowest note used, the I in Nashville numbers. The other two notes are the IV (C) and flatted 3rd (bIII). You can see that Ms. Kaye accomplished a lot with 3 notes and some syncopation!
Here's a short video to show what it sounds like.
