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Learning how to write a strong and cohesive bassline is key for giving your track the solid foundation, punch, and depth that it needs.
That said, not all basslines share the same exact patterns—in some genres, bass plays more of a supportive role, while in others, it’s the star of the mix. In this tutorial, we show you how to write basslines for a wide array of genres, including house, disco, trap, and more. We primarily use Serum and FL Studio, but the key takeaways can be applied with any DAW and synth plugins of your choosing.
Follow along to hear each bass part as it’s built from the ground up, and read highlights and get our free MIDI files and presets below—feel free to use the table of contents to navigate to a specific genre.
The genres we’ll cover:
Feeling ready? Let’s dive right in!
1. How to write a bassline for house
Both music theory and sound selection play important roles when it comes to learning how to write an effective bassline for different genres. For a lot of contemporary house music, the bass is voiced by a plucked sound that contributes to the genre’s signature bounce and energy. If you’re not reaching for a preset, try manipulating the ADSR envelope of your bass sound so that it has the short sustain and decay that are key to a pluck.
For the pattern, some syncopation (rhythms that evade the downbeat) can provide a nice contrast to house’s omnipresent four-on-the-floor grooves.
Go to 2:31 in the video to hear us create two different house basslines that embody these concepts.
2. How to write a bassline for tech house
Tech house features a lot of shared characteristics with house, so the same ideas around syncopation also apply here. In most cases, the bassline will likely revolve around a minor key. In addition, some distortion and occasional chromatic passing tones can also give it a bit more grit and tension.
Go to 9:44 in the video to watch us apply these ideas to a tech house bassline.
3. How to write a bassline for techno
We’re continuing with the use of plucks with techno—but unlike house, you generally won’t be making much use of syncopation for this genre. Instead, driving sixteenth notes are the name of the game for techno.
While the rhythms are simple, sidechaining the bass with the kick and using gradual filter sweeps drive the overall movement. You might occasionally jump up to the fifth or octave, but in general, the bassline is intended to be a consistent foundation as opposed to a highly melodic element.
Go to 12:16 in the video to watch us create our own techno bassline, and see our guide below for more on the nuances between house, tech house, and techno:
4. How to write a bassline for disco
For disco, we’ll want to use an electric bass (or a software emulation of one) as opposed to a synth bass. The blues scale is a great place to start, which is a pentatonic scale that features the addition of a flat fifth.
Syncopation is absolutely back on the menu here, and notes with short sustains will help give your bassline that infectious bounce. If you’re feeling extra funky, try connecting phrases with walking basslines—contours that feature stepwise ascending and descending motion—for some more character.
Go to 15:31 in the video to watch us sequence our own funky disco bassline with the Scarbee MM-Bass, and see our guide with expert producer and DJ Jafunk below for more on how to make music in the genre:
5. How to write a bassline for reggaeton
For reggaeton, we’ll want to make use of the cumbia bass pattern, which features the root, third, and fifth in a 3-3-2 syncopated fashion. In contrast with genres like house or disco, we’ll want to use a longer, sustained tone, and we can repeat the same figure as the drums drive the groove forward.
See 19:13 in the video to see us implement a simple but effective reggaetone bassline.
6. How to write a bassline for trap
Without a doubt, trap is best known for its use of 808 basslines. Paired together with the kick, these give trap beats their hard-hitting sound, and slides across intervals like octaves and fifths can also add energy in short bursts.
Go to 20:41 in the video to hear us program two basslines—one that’s tightly aligned with the kick as well as another that has more independence—using one-shot samples from Origin Sound and the king of trap himself, Southside.
7. How to write a bassline for drum and bass
Given it’s quite literally in the name of the genre, you can expect bass to be a prominent ingredient in drum and bass. While the basslines themselves are often quite simple, a heavy use of distortion and filter automation add a lot of movement to their sustained sound.
In addition to these effects, a use of out-of-scale notes like the raised seventh in a minor key and the flattened second (a note that’s characteristic to the Phrygian mode) can emphasize the dark color that’s a staple of drum and bass.
Go to 25:56 in the video to watch us program our bassline, and learn more about designing sounds for the genre with our tutorial featuring veteran producer Erb N Dub:
8. How to write a bassline for future bass
Last but not least, let’s quickly touch on future bass. For this genre, you’ll want to use a synth bass with a sustained tone—reach for a preset that uses saw waves if you’re not sure where to start. A standard bassline might follow the root notes of the track’s chord progression in whole notes, though there’s absolutely room for experimentation here.
Go to 28:42 in the video to watch us sequence a simple bassline for what could be the starting point of a future bass track.
Get free bass MIDI and presets
And there you have it! If you enjoyed any of the basslines we created throughout the tutorial video, you can download the 40+ MIDI files and Serum presets here.
For more, check out the MIDI basslines created by leading producers and sound designers in packs like Test Press’ UK Bassline and 25 Years of Technique Recordings. These should ultimately serve as powerful starting points—while you can use them as-is to kickstart a new project, be sure to manipulate them as you see fit to complement the grooves and chord progressions of your works-in-progress.
Which part of the tutorial was your favorite? Do you have any questions on how to create or apply any of these patterns in your own productions? Let us know in the comments section of the video, and subscribe to the Splice YouTube channel for more tips, tutorials, and insights.
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June 18, 2026
