Ableton for Music Creators and Artists
Course 3: Bass

With your voice and beats in the batter, you’re going to start adding bass to set a great foundation by building on the root note and learning how to “root” the listener by laying down those fundamental progressions that’ll get them begging for the break. With Ableton and the techniques we show you, even the most complex bass patterns are at your fingertips. You’ll delve into MIDI, recording in MIDI, quantizing, modulation, finding variations, and tightening that bass.

As a music producer, it’s important to learn how to make the most out of every tool at your disposal. One such tool is the Low Frequency Oscillator, commonly known as an LFO. With the help of an LFO, you can add variation and interest to your tracks and make them stand out from the crowd. This feature allows you to modulate parameters like volume and filter frequency of an internal sound source.

By utilizing modulation from an LFO, you can create smooth transitions between different frequencies or keys without having to drastically change notes or chords each time. You can also use an LFO for subtlety purposes; while it’s fun to sustain big notes and roll out huge sounds, there’s also some wisdom in keeping back the bass a little here and there so that we don’t create too much mud or low-frequency bureaucracy where the bass interferes with other elements such as kick drums or hi-hats

In this week’s Listening Library, you’ll have a listen to Alicia Keys’ voice and sound in Here and discuss the production values of the album and any inspiration you may have taken away. You’ll also take a virtual field trip to Moog and investigate the predominant synthesizers in the business. You’ll finish up the bass of your songs and start considering how you plan on marketing yourself.