In this course, I’ll show you some of my favourite ways to generate bassline ideas from scratch when you’re feeling stuck or don’t know where to start.
Rather than relying on just one method, I’ll take you through a few different approaches using Ableton Live’s built-in MIDI tools, audio loops, MIDI from sample packs, Splice samples and finally creating a bassline completely from scratch and what theory I use when creating it.
The aim is to give you a selection of practical techniques you can come back to whenever you need inspiration, while showing you how to take an initial idea and develop it into something that feels more unique and your own.
Course Details
In this chapter, I give a quick overview on what we will cover in the course.
In this chapter, I’ll show you how I use Ableton Live 12’s built-in MIDI tools – Sting & Connect – to quickly generate new bassline ideas.
I’ll explore how these tools can help you create rhythms and note patterns when you’re starting with a blank MIDI clip, and how I then adjust the parameters to turn them into something that feels more musical and usable in a track.
In this chapter, I’ll show you how I take existing bassline audio loops and use them as a starting point for something new.
Rather than simply dropping a loop into a track and leaving it as it is, I’ll chop out sections I like, rearrange the pattern and combine small sections from other bass loops to fill the gaps.
This is a great way to quickly create a new groove while making the original samples feel much more unique.
In this chapter, I’ll show you a couple of different ways I use existing musical ideas as inspiration for new basslines.
First, I’ll take synth and melodic loops from Splice and use Ableton’s Convert to MIDI function to turn the audio into MIDI notes. I can then use those notes as a starting point for a bassline before changing the pattern and making it my own.
I’ll also look at using pre-made bass MIDI from sample packs. Instead of using the MIDI exactly as it comes, I’ll keep the rhythm as inspiration and change the notes pitches to create a completely different bassline.
In the final chapter, I’ll create a bassline completely from scratch, including building the bass sound itself using Ableton’s Operator.
I’ll show you how I think about rhythm, groove, repetition and space when writing a bassline, and why sometimes the simplest patterns can be the most effective.