The Descending Bassline
Five chords, and really one movement: a bass that steps down five notes without a single leap. Play the bass line on its own and you already have a complete musical gesture. The chords above it are just a harmonisation of that line.
- 5 chords
- stepwise bass
- inversions do the work
same family
The progression
I - V/vii - vi - vi/v - IV
Why it works
In C the bass runs C, B, A, G, F. Neighbours all the way down, no leaps, no falling fifths. To get that, the chords have to be inverted: G becomes G/B, with its third in the bass. Am becomes Am/G, which is either the third inversion of Am7 or simply a bass note placed under a chord it does not belong to. Both readings are correct and both sound like a soft, faintly jazzy colouring.
Hear it in context
This reverses the way most people write chord progressions. Normally you choose chords and the bass follows. Here the line is the idea and the chords are found to fit it. That is also the difference from a line cliche, where the harmony stands still and one inner voice descends chromatically. Same feeling of falling, opposite technique.
Make it yours
- Play the bass line alone first
If it does not work on its own, no amount of harmony will save it.
- Continue to the octave
Eight steps down is a whole section, and it feels inevitable the entire way.
- Put the line somewhere other than the bass
The descent is the hook, so it can live in a guitar or a vocal instead.
When to reach for it
For verses, for outros, for anything that needs to move while the harmony stays where it is.
When to leave it alone
When the song needs a jolt. A stepwise descent is smooth by definition and will smooth over any surprise you put in it.