14.7: Distinctive Bass Lines

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14.7 Distinctive Bass Lines

Sometimes the identity of a song is in its repeated bass line (known as a “riff,” which is a short repeated pattern). Listen to the distinctive bass lines in the following examples.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Joseph Eastburn Winner, “Little Brown Jug” (1869)

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Lennon-McCartney, “Day Tripper” (1965)

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, “Good Times” (1979)

Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): John Deacon, “Another One Bites the Dust” (1980)

Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): Rick James, “Superfreak” (1981)

Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\): David Bowie, “Under Pressure” (1981)

Figure \(\PageIndex{7}\): Amethyst Kelly, Charlotte Aitchison, George Astasio, Jason Pebworth, Christopher Shave, Kurtis McKenzie, “Fancy” (2014)

Figure \(\PageIndex{8}\): Ben Haggerty, Ryan Lewis, Jacob Dutton, Eric Nally, Joshua Karp, Joshua Rawlings, Darian Asplund, Evan Flory–Barnes, Tim Haggerty, “Downtown” (2015)

14.7.1 Distinctive Guitar Riffs

You will also find distinctive riffs played by guitar in conjunction with bass, as in the following examples.

Figure \(\PageIndex{9}\): Ray Davies, “You Really Got Me” (1964)

Figure \(\PageIndex{10}\): Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, “Immigrant Song” (1970)

Figure \(\PageIndex{11}\): Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, “Walk This Way” (1975)

Figure \(\PageIndex{12}\): Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Brian Johnson, “Back in Black” (1980)

This chapter is meant to give you ideas about animating chords and chord progressions with accompanimental textures, including riffs. It is by no means meant to be exhaustive, but rather to encourage you to listen closely to texture and accompaniment.