Another simple yet very effective bass line that can be played over our drum groove is a steady stream of 8th-notes.

It sounds simple, but keeping rhythmic accuracy and consistency requires practice.

Note duration can really impact the feel of 8th-notes, too. In the following clip, the bass line employs staccato phrasing for the first 4 bars, then legato for the next 4 bars. Notice how the drums remain constant (they don’t respond to the bass part’s change in note duration as they typically would in “real world” situation - provided that the drummer was listening!), but the overall feel of the first 4 bars of the groove is very different from the last 4 bars.

Audio Example 1

Yet another example of how much the bass alone can affect the feel of a tune!

EXERCISE 1

Using our drum groove again...

Audio Exercise 1

...and just the E at the 7th fret of the A string, play a steady stream of staccato 8th-notes. Work to make them as rhythmically accurate, consistent and tight with the drums as possible.

EXERCISE 2

Repeat Exercise 1, but make the phrasing legato.

EXERCISE 3

Over 4 measures, play the 8th-notes pulse, gradually transitioning from staccato to legato phrasing. Over the following 4 measures, gradually return to the tight, staccato phrasing.