LyMaker

Version 0.3

The bass line is controlled by the parameter groove. You can either generate a random bass which varies for each part instance or have an ostinato¹ bass. The bass line comes in a lot of flavours:

• 0 (offbeat) = funky bass. An off-beat bass line is generated consisting of eighth and sixteenth notes. Each bar is seen by the generator as a grid in the length of quarters multiplied by 4 (e.g. 16 slots for 4/4 time). Which slots and which note values are used is chosen randomly (based on the current chord of course). Hence, it can play between the beats. The generator, however, differentiates between down- and upbeats. For 4/4 time the downbeats should be slot 1 and 9 (beat 1 and 3) and the upbeats slot 5 and 13 (beat 2 and 4) but you can set the downbeats in the xml file. There is, however, never a rest on the one. The bass does not play on the first upbeat (slots 5-7). It plays eighth on the downbeats and sixteenths everywhere else. The last sixteenth before a downbeat (e.g. slot 8) is never a rest.

• 0 (onbeat) - an ostinato bass is generated. It plays the base note of the current chord on the downbeats only.

• 1 = walking bass. A walking bass is often used in jazz music, especially in tonal jazz. Usually it is played by an upright bass (contrabass). This bass line consists of quarter notes which always are chord notes and it runs on without rests and without variation of note durations.

• 2,3 (offbeat) as 0 but bass may play on slots 5-7.

• 2 (onbeat) = a normal time bass is generated. The bass plays the base note of the current chord at all down- and upbeats.

• 3 (onbeat) = a double time bass is generated. The bass plays the base note of the current chord at all down- and upbeats plus in the middle of the beats.

• 4 = shuffle bass. The shuffle bass line consists of triplets of 8ths but the first two 8ths are merged into a quarter. Since the whole triplet has the duration of a quarter this construction gives the piece a polyrhythmic feel. Shuffle bass was often used in Swing music. This is only supported for pieces based on quarters ( I.e. with time denominator 4).

• 5 = bass riff.

• 99 – mutes the bass.