Off-beat bass
An off-beat bass plays one short bass note halfway between each kick, on steps 3, 7, 11 and 15 of 16, on the root of each chord. With a kick on every beat it gives house and disco their bounce.
Also called offbeat bassline, house bassline, bass between the kicks.
Play it
- Bar 1Am
- Bar 2F
- Bar 3C
- Bar 4G
Faded lanes are a guide: they are there so the pattern has something to sit against. The loop runs over four chords, Am, F, C, G, one bar each. Tap any box to change it.
Try this
Try this · change one box
Add a bass note on step 1, under the kick. The bounce turns into a thump.
Hear it without the grid
A short recording of the loop above at 124 BPM, made with Swung’s own sounds.
How it works
Kick and bass both live in the low end, so when they hit together they fight. Putting the bass in the gaps lets each one have the low end to itself, and the two lock together: kick, bass, kick, bass.
The notes follow the chords: here the bass plays A, then F, then C, then G, one bar each.
The pattern in words
- Bass: steps 3, 7, 11 and 15 of 16, each held for 2 steps.
| Part | Steps, 1 to 16 | Plays on |
|---|---|---|
| Bass | ··x–··x–··x–··x– | steps 3, 7, 11 and 15 of 16, each held for 2 steps |
x a hit, o a quiet hit, 2 or 3 a quick roll inside one step, – a note held on, · nothing.
Variations
Octave jumps
Every second note an octave up.
Doubled off-beats
Two sixteenths in every gap.
Short and tight
The same notes, cut short.
Where it’s used
Also common in Disco, Techno and Nu-disco.
Learn this pattern step by step
The course builds up to it from Unit 1, which is free. Sign up with Google and start with the first lesson; it plays in your browser, like this page.
Pick up where you left off
Carry on with Unit 1, then Off-beat bass comes in Unit 3: Low end.