Here’s an example of a rhythm & blues bass line in the style made famous by Motown.

Audio Example 1

Audio Example 1 (Drums)

 

IDIOMS

RHYTHMIC:

Bass lines from so many of the famous hits that came out of Motown were characterized by a lyrical, melodic approach that also was sparse enough to leave room for the arrangement to breathe.

Notice how the bass and kick drum in Example 1 are sometimes together and other times playing around each other. The rhythmic aspect of the bass line (and the bass/drum interaction) is critical to this Motown-esque approach. Many of the great bass lines in this style employed creative interplay with the drums, and (more specifically) frequently deviated from the kick drum pattern. However, the tapestry created by this contrapuntal bass/drum interaction was deliberate, and grooved HARD. The bottom line is that the bass and kick drum don’t have to play identical rhythmic figures...so long as musical discernment is used and the groove is served.

The time feel in this sort of groove is usually slightly laying back. However, there are a variety of ways to phrase a Motown-style bass line, depending upon the intended statement (up and driving vs. slow and mellow).

HARMONIC:

The meat and potatoes groove intervals are ideally suited for this approach to R & B. As a matter of fact, using them in nearly equal proportions tends to reinforce the Motown-esque quality. Chromaticism is frequently incorporated into the embellishments and variations.

SONIC:

The warm tone of a P-bass with flatwound strings played fingerstyle (or with a felt pick) is the tonal objective, generally speaking. Roll off the bright high’s on active basses with roundwound strings (and adjust your technique to minimize the hi-fi “zing”). An organic thud-like timbre will serve this approach well.

GENERAL:

Students of groove MUST immerse themselves in the Motown catalog and listen attentively to the brilliant contributions of the bass to all of those hits. This approach to the bassist/drummer interaction is enormously effective and can be tweaked and adapted to a broad spectrum of musical contexts in addition to playing in the Motown style.