How to Write Captivating Bass
Using Displacements for Variations
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includes MIDI + WAV file examples
Do you ever write a bass line (or synth/guitar riff) that you love, but after a few loops it gets boring? No problem, you think to yourself, being here in the Hack Music Theory community you know that you need to write a variation for it. So you get to work on that. Fast forward an hour, and everything you’ve tried resulted in the magic of your original version being lost. This is a common problem, and Thom Yorke (Radiohead) and his band The Smile have a brilliant solution for you!
In their song “The Smoke”, they use a super creative method for turning a one-bar bass line (and guitar riff) into an epic ten-bar adventure. And most importantly, they do that without creating a conventional variation anywhere in their line/riff*. How? They take their one-bar riff and repeat it a few times, then just as it’s about to get boring, they displace it. What on earth does that mean? Well, this is how the dictionary defines the word “displace”: To move something from its usual place or position. So in musical terms, what displacement means is to play the exact same thing but in a different place/position in the bar (i.e. the riff starts on an earlier/later beat).
However, they don’t just displace their riff, they also cut it up and displace those segments. The result is mesmerising, and we’re captivated by this displacement as our brains try to figure out what’s going on. They then repeat their ten-bar riff, and the second loop feels even more captivating, as it catches us off-guard because we weren’t expecting it to repeat after ten bars (but more on that in Step 1).
So, inspired by “The Smoke”, here’s our 5-step method for writing a ten-bar riff that will totally captivate your listeners with its displacements. But first… Tea!
*Thom Yorke (bass) and Jonny Greenwood (guitar) play the exact same thing in the main section of this song, so to keep things simple, we’ll just be referring to what they both play as a riff.
Step 1. One-Bar Riff
Change your tempo to 93 BPM, then create a ten-bar loop on your bass track (or guitar track, if you prefer). When you’re done writing your riff, you’ll duplicate the track and load up the other instrument (guitar/bass), so it doesn’t actually matter which one you use to write the riff. Now, open your MIDI editor, set the grid to 1/16 notes, and let’s get to it!
You’re gonna start by writing a one-bar riff. You really want to take your time here, as this one bar is the source material for the whole ten bars, so make it good! The Smile uses E minor pentatonic scale for their riff, so we’ll use it too. If you’re new to this scale, it’s just the natural minor scale without its 2nd and 6th notes.*
E natural minor scale
1 |
2 |
♭3 |
4 |
5 |
♭6 |
♭7 |
E |
F♯ |
G |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E minor pentatonic scale
1 |
♭3 |
4 |
5 |
♭7 |
E |
G |
A |
B |
D |
You can use any notes from the scale, but there are four rhythm rules to follow:
- use 1/16 notes exclusively
- use a few rests
- accent beat 1 by playing a note on it
- accent beat 3 by playing a note on it
*For help with writing in the minor pentatonic scale, as well as in the blues scale (a spicy variation of the minor pentatonic), use Hack 8 in our Songwriting & Producing PDF.
Here’s our one-bar riff:
One-bar riff, with the accented notes on beats 1 and 3 highlighted
Step 2. Repeat & Displace
The Smile repeats their one-bar riff four times, exactly as it is. Four bars is the absolute maximum you’d want to repeat such a short riff. Any more repetition than that, and it’ll not only be boring to your listeners, it’ll actually be annoying!
But, they’re very intentionally pushing their repetition to the max. The reason for that is because they need their listeners to be 100% familiar with the riff before they start messing with it. If the listeners don’t have the original version 100% stuck in their heads, then all the upcoming displacements would be completely disorientating, and therefore completely unpleasant to the ears.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First things first, let’s get our riff stuck in the listeners’ heads! So, copy and paste your one-bar riff into bars two through four.
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Lastly, are you new to music theory? Or are you experienced, but you want a refresher? Then download our FREE BOOK (link opens in new tab). It only takes 30 minutes to read, then you’ll have a solid theory foundation that you can instantly apply to your songwriting and producing. Enjoy!
Ray Harmony
Multi award-winning college lecturer