Early in the process of writing a song I usually start playing just the melody of the song, by itself.  Then I play the melody accompanied by just the bass notes.

I believe this often tells me more about the strength of my basic musical idea than hearing the entire chord/harmony.

Not that the full harmony isn’t important.  But the melody against the bass note(s) is at the heart of what we will hear and respond to, whether we know it or not.  A nice chord progression can sometimes cover up things that can be improved in other areas of the song.

So at some point stripping away the support system, musically speaking, can expose the musical truth.  One of the main things that I discover in this process is that sometimes the melody and/or the bass note in a particular spot could be stronger.

Concentrating on the bass note for the moment, it’s useful to try parts of the chord other than the root as the bass note of the chord,  In other words, if I have a C7 chord, instead of the root in the bass (‘C’), try the 3rd (‘E’), the 5th (‘G’) or even the 7th (‘Bb’).

This can potentially have a  positive effect in two areas: The melody may be stronger against a bass note that’s not the root. In addition, it can make for more powerful bass motion.

For example, just play the chord progression Aminor to G to C…

Now play Aminor to G/B (a ‘G’ chord with the 3rd – ‘B’ – in the bass) to ‘C’.

A difference of one note but… a whole different thing!  Same chords, but now the bass is rising up the scale – A to B to C, giving a dramatic feeling.  In American music I believe this goes back to (and continues in) Gospel music and then Jazz.

I first became aware of the powerful sound of bass substitutions when listening to Motown records, which used them a lot.

How much was written into the epic compositions of songwriters like Holland-Dozier-Holland and Ashford & Simpson, and how much was added by the genius bass guitarist James Jamerson, we’ll never know for sure.  But songs like Reach Out I’ll Be There, Stop! In The Name Of Love, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, and numerous others, made dynamic use of this device.

There are many other songs that make extremely effective and exciting use of non-root bass notes.  The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by The Band and Dancing Queen by Abba come to mind.  I’m sure you could (and hopefully will) add others to this list.

Bass substitutions – try them… you might like them!