Bass line
Out of context: Reply #85
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- Wolfboy4
I read The Manual by The KLF many years ago and one of the tips I'll always remember (to have a number 1 hit record) is essentially to steal a killer bass line. The reason being is that people will sue at the first sniff of similarity in a melody, but bass lines largely get ignored when reused. This is a snippet of that part of the book:
'There are plenty of monster bass lines out there to try. You will know them, they are the ones that you can almost hum. The great thing about bass lines is that they are in public domain. Nobody, even if they do recognise it, will seriously accuse you of ripping somebody else’s bass line off.
Michael Jackson, who we cited earlier on for not being that adept at coming up with the killer Number One hit choruses, CAN come up with the bass lines. “Billy Jean” was the turning point in Jackson’s career. That song, on his own admission, took him into the mega strataspheres where his myth now reigns. The fact is, “Billy Jean” would be nothing without that lynx-on-the-prowl bass line; but he wasn’t the first to use it.'
If you've never read it, it's a great book:
- Interesting, but nothing about the instrument removes it from copyright law! That's just ridiculous.monospaced
- I can think of several cases where bass lines specifically were ripped off. They are not in public domain by default.monospaced
- Maybe the use of 'public domain' is a bit misleading in that paragraph. They don't claim it's a copyright free aspect of music, but they say it's very rare...Wolfboy
- ...anyone sues for a bass line. The key to the book is it's not about the purity of songwriting, it's about having a number 1 hit. So there are loads of...Wolfboy
- ...shortcut tips for writing and producing the track.Wolfboy
- basslines are not melodies pitched down (well most of the time) they have more rhythmic obligation. you can change almost all the notes in a bassline andkingsteven
- in the KLF sense its 'the same' but in a musical (or legal sense) passes. ie. i've heard daft punk's around the world and chic's good times referred to as thekingsteven
- same bassline... but they're musically nothing alike.kingsteven
- That’s true in a lot of songs, especially rooted in jazz blues. But as he says, some bass lines ARE the melody.monospaced
- I’m pretty sure any unauthorized use of MJs bass line from Billy Jean in a major track would bring swift attentionmonospaced
- billy jean is almost what i call the kim deal where is my mind effect - there's more notes to the bassline in your head than in the songkingsteven
- ie. there's a semitone run at the end thats not played. living on a prayer is the same bassline and drums and the vocal starts on the same notekingsteven
- but you wouldn't draw a comparison between the two as bassline is heard over multiple bars based on repetition of other melodic elementskingsteven
- Understood. And then there’s The Wailers. Lots of good bass carrying the songs.monospaced