Bass Line Question

[wccook2]

Willie,

In "Go Tell It on The Mountain", I really appreciated you explaining how you developed the bass line.

Regarding the A minor chord (key of F), you chose the "B" for the bass line instead of the "Bb" because as you say "on a minor chord, you want to use the 9th and not the flat 9".

But - the A minor is the iii chord in the key of F, so the scale mode is A Phyrgian with the "Bb". And I guess what I am doing by thinking of staying "in the mode" is that I am still trying to do the F Major scale with the Bb.

How do I resolve this conflict in my head? (I do like the simplicity of "just use the ninth on a minor chord" and now I don't worry about what mode I am in.)

Bill

[dimwit]

Well I'm not Willie, but I feel like answering anyways.

I think it's just a matter of what sounds good.
Chords do exist relative to their diatonic function, but they can almost be seen as an island unto themselves as well.
Even though it's technically correct to see that Am7 as the iii, therefore the phygrian mode, functionally it's something else. Essentially a flat 9 against a minor chord has a much more jarring effect than the natural nine.
You can try it. Play an Am7 in your left hand and mess around with a F major scale in your right. It sounds really odd. The phygrian and the locrian are like the two ugly red-headed stepchildren of the major modes. :p
I mean I can't think of one example where they are the central feature to a tune or a jam.

It's like the idea of borrowed chords like in bar one where he uses the A7.
Now A7 is not diatonic to F. It was "borrowed" from another key center in effect. The tonality shifts for just a short time. But not enough for it to be considered a key change out of F. You could almost see that Am7 as a "borrowed" Am7 rather then just simply the iii.

So yeah the simplicity of just use the ninth on a minor chord is spot on.
Doesn't mean you should never ever use a flat nine on a minor chord, especially when you think of using it as a passing tone to the natural nine,
(i.e A Bb B ) but I would think 99.4% of the time you are going to rely upon a natural ninth on a minor chord.


Eric

[wccook2]

Thanks so much for that explanation!! It really helps me when I think of temporarily changing key centers.

Bill

[dimwit]

You're welcome Bill. :)

[williemyette]

Bill,

Remember that I am not always thinking of the diatonic function of the chords. So, Bb on the A-.

YES, A-7 is the iii chord, but the 'B' will sound better in the bass line because the 9th works better on the 9th chord in this circumstance.

[ministermike51]

Since the bass note actually NAMES THE CHORD, I would be careful to follow the original music or lead sheet as a basic recipe. While it is great to improvise and jazz things up, I still like to show "respect" to the original author by trying to follow his basic idea, but that is just my opinion lol. I sometimes like what I "hear" better than the original author, but then wouldn't you rather hear a song like it was written? I can't "get" some of the newest "urban/contemporary black gospel" because often times you wouldn't even know what song is being played if someone wasn't singing along!