This article walks through a performance video of the bassline for “Feel Like Makin’ Love” — a classic 16-feel tune — along with an explanation of how to build a 16-feel bassline.
Contents
The Bassline for “Feel Like Makin’ Love”
Key Points for Building a 16-Feel Bassline
When you’re starting out, it’s hard to know how to put together a tight, funky 16-feel bassline.
The foundation is something like sixteen notes (sixteenth notes) packed into a single bar, as shown below.
That said, this is too busy on its own, so let’s try dropping in a couple of rests.
Still feels a bit busy.
So I added a few more rests.
I figured I could push the rests even further, so I went ahead and turned the back half of the bar into a half rest.
This is the kind of thing to think about when placing rests in a 16-feel bassline.
At first it’s hard to know where a rest will land naturally, so use the video above as a reference.
A Classic 16-Feel Tune: “Feel Like Makin’ Love”
This is a funk tune that comes up a lot at jam sessions.
Basslines that demand this kind of sharp, punchy articulation present a different kind of challenge than jazz walking basslines.
Here’s the track I was told is essential listening if you’re going to play this tune.
It’s often performed as a vocal tune, and a female vocal pairs especially well with its soul feel.
Hopefully this gives you something useful for your daily practice.
Want Personalized Feedback on Your Playing?
This is exactly the kind of thing that’s hard to fix alone — and where having a teacher makes all the difference.
At Line on Bass, I offer an online lesson service where you send me a video of your playing, and I give you specific, detailed feedback — every single day if you want.
Students from around the world are using this to fix exactly these kinds of issues and steadily improve their jazz bass skills.