Walking Through

Bernie Worrell’s Minimoog synth bass line on “Flash Light” introduced millions to the concept of using a synthesizer for bass. It was such a powerful line that it became the hook of the entire song. Let’s look at what makes this line so infectious, and how you can apply these discoveries to making sizzling lines of your own.

To play these examples, I’d shy away from realistic sampled electric or acoustic bass sounds and go for something more in the analog vein. The sound should be monophonic, which means that only one note can be triggered at a time. Also, you want the sound to cut off completely when you lift your finger off a key. This instant decay will help you get the funk into your bass lines.

A groove in 4/4 has strong beats (beats 1 and 3), and weak beats (2 and 4). The deeper, heavier kick drum plays on the strong beats and alternates with the higher-pitched snare drum on the weaker beats. You can really hear this on “Flash Light,” with the no-nonsense “boom-crack” beat played on drums by Bootsy Collins (who usually played electric bass in the band) while Bernie Worrell laid down the bass synth.

What does this have to do with the bass line? Whether you’re talking about a melody or a bass line, chord tones usually sound best on strong beats, though a diatonic scale tone can also be effective. But on the weak beats, you can spice things up with chromatic (from outside the scale) passing tones that create very strong movement. Dial up that funky synth bass sound and play through the examples to see what we mean.

The audio and MIDI files correspond to the lessons and full song transcription beginning on page 44 of the November 2007 issue of Keyboard. All files performed by Scott Healy.