Music was my 3rd minor, that should count for something.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
Welcome to TalkBass! Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
+1
Even more interesting, I think, would be to find instances of rock music with a b7 in the bass (especially as a fourth inversion of a V7 chord) - not just as a passing note, but as a really prominent one. Dirt common in classical and jazz, but I couldn't come up with a rock example if I tried...
obviously you've never played in a 50's band .. !
the sound = no 'power'.
Interesting question. Here's an idea - a lot of rock music is blues based, with the minor third prominent in the guitar parts, even in tunes that might not be considered tonally minor. To play the major 3rd in the bassline could make that note too prominent - drawing attention to the major tonality may not be needed, so the bass might focus more on root/4/5/b7
Just a thought, haven't gone through any recordings, so no empirical evidence to back it up!
Just a thought, haven't gone through any recordings, so no empirical evidence to back it up!
Queens of the Stone Age had a few early on when Nick Oliveri was still playing bass for them. Mexicola, Give the Mule What He Wants, Song for the Deaf, and I think a couple others. I don't think Michael Shuman continued that trend when he joined, but their music did take a big turn after Oliveri left so that might be it.
This is kind of a weird question. Plenty of rock songs have harmonic movement (a chord change) that goes up by a major third and the bass follows.
As others pointed out, pretty much anything with a walking bassline will include thirds and others because they outline the chord tones.
Are we talking about basslines where the bass note is the major third of whatever is going on? I think that's less common because, well, unless you voiced for an inversion the 3rd sounds kind of weird as the accented bass note.
As others pointed out, pretty much anything with a walking bassline will include thirds and others because they outline the chord tones.
Are we talking about basslines where the bass note is the major third of whatever is going on? I think that's less common because, well, unless you voiced for an inversion the 3rd sounds kind of weird as the accented bass note.
Pretty much every Chuck Berry song has a major 3rd in the bassline.
Ok I get you now. I think it's because with how chords are often voiced in rock, authoritatively bailing the 3rd in the bass on a downbeat doesn't usually sound well. You're trying to force an inversion where no insertion was played.
On the unaccented beats you see them all the time as passing tones, and you definitely see them in walking basslines but for the most part you see root notes on the accented beats unless the harmony in the other voices of with so that the third sounds well. That's my guess anyway.
Ok I get you now. I think it's because with how chords are often voiced in rock, authoritatively nailing the 3rd in the bass on a downbeat doesn't usually sound well. You're trying to force an inversion where no inversion was played.
On the unaccented beats you see them all the time as passing tones, and you definitely see them in walking basslines but for the most part you see root notes on the accented beats unless the harmony in the other voices of with so that the third sounds well. That's my guess anyway.
Last edited:
AngelCrusher
Supporting Member
- Sep 12, 2004
- 5,145
- 5,904
- 5,067
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie, Tech 21, Taylor
Classic rock chord progressions were largely based on blues and so they use the minor 3rd a lot.
A million other forms of rock like punk, indie, numetal just to name a few, use major 3rds a lot more .
Just matters what you are listening to, really.
A million other forms of rock like punk, indie, numetal just to name a few, use major 3rds a lot more .
Just matters what you are listening to, really.
I like your guess. I was thinking something similar. I play thirds often during turnarounds and such, but not so often as part of holding down the groove. Seems like the 1 and the 5 rule this genre.
You can probably get away with more but it depends on the situation. If you're backing up a big fat power chord, even if it's major, the thickness of that root and fifth harmony is going to clash with a major third in the bass. If the harmony is real open and voiced nicely (hopefully without a root-reinforcing fifth) you can play around more.
Radiohead -- the national anthem
Grateful Dead -- Deal
Grateful Dead -- Deal
Lots of rock is based on power chords, so there's no third--just roots and fifths!
Agree that many rock songs are minor, but there are also a lot of blues based rock songs that will use the 5th degree scale mode (the one that is basically major with a flatted 7th). These are usually walking types of patterns. When True Blood was on the air, I played with a band that covered the theme song. When it pattern moves from E to B, the 2nd note in the B progression is a major 3rd (E - relative to the B). I'm sure there are many others, but for some reason this one came to mind first.
Lot of blues chords have really unclear minor or major tonality and often guitar will play both. Of course, in the 1-3-5-6-7-6-5-3, you play the major 3rd and that is a very common early bass line in blues and rock, but it doesn’t really work to just sit on the major 3rd because you don’t really have a major chord. In fact, on the same progression during the dramatic pause you might play 1-4-1-3-1 and there you play a minor third. It’s just really unclear when a major third sounds good and when a minor third sounds good but experienced blues players just know it by feel.
What you can’t do, however, is what you’ve done in this thread and say, well, people have made example after example to the contrary, but major thirds don’t work in rock when they clearly work in many songs because somehow you’ve tried fitting thirds where they don’t fit.
What you can’t do, however, is what you’ve done in this thread and say, well, people have made example after example to the contrary, but major thirds don’t work in rock when they clearly work in many songs because somehow you’ve tried fitting thirds where they don’t fit.
