The main role of the bass guitar is to provide a musical foundation for the rhythm section, and together with the drums in particular, to play an interesting groove which drives the band along. In order to keep the audience involved, the bass line must often be fairly varied.

Consequently, whether you use a walking bass line, riffs, improvisation, or even a simple pattern, the fundamental purpose of the bass guitar is to play more or less repetitive phrases, solidly and with a good sense of t...