Bass guitars are versatile instruments. They fit in with almost any style of music, including R & B. R & B (rhythm and blues) originated in the late 1940s and is often referred to as “R & B/Soul.” It’s still one of today’s most popular styles of music. R & B is dominated by session players — musicians who record with numerous artists.

You can play reggae style grooves on the bass guitar. Reggae music is most often associated with Jamaica and the Caribbean islands. The trademarks of reggae bass are a thuddy sound (short, dark notes) and syncopation — offbeat rhythms (usually spelled and pronounced “riddims” by reggae musicians). Aston “Family Man” Barrett (who played with Bob Marley) and Robbie Shakespeare (who played with Peter Tosh) are two giants of reggae bass.

Two of the most common approaches to a killer bass line are the straight and syncopated rhythmic styles. In both cases, the harmony of the bass part stays pretty much on one note, usually the root. Where they differ is in their rhythm. In straight rhythm, the notes are played on the beat; in syncopated, some of them are played between the beats.

The bass guitar, more than any other instrument, is at its best when tightly aligned with the drums. Together, the bassist and drummer develop the powerful grooves that drive the song by constantly listening and reacting to each other. Here are ten classic bass-and-drum combinations (sorted alphabetically by the bass player’s last name) that have enhanced a multitude of songs.

You want your left hand to cover one fret per finger without causing any undue stress. By using one finger per fret on your bass guitar, you set up your hand to execute almost any musical figure without shifting, or moving your hand position to reach a note. (A figure is an independent and self-contained musical phrase, sort of like a sentence when you're speaking.

Blending a bass line means choosing the notes you play so they support the song perfectly without being overly noticeable. It’s almost like the hidden beams in the ceiling of a modern house — you don’t see them, but if they weren’t there, the roof would collapse. A bold groove, on the other hand, has a much more obvious role in a tune.

Bass guitarists can really mix it up with funk shuffle grooves. Funk shuffle (also called shuffle funk) is a hybrid groove style, which means that it combines several elements of other styles — funk, blues, and jazz. When funk, which normally uses straight sixteenth notes, is combined with blues and jazz, which use triplets, the resulting combination is a lopsided sixteenth-note groove (a combination of long and short notes) — a very cool combination.

Luckily for the bass world, Paul McCartney was one of the lead vocalists in The Beatles, and he learned to take the entire song — melody, lyrics, and all — into consideration. Most people want to hear the melody and lyrics of a song; they don’t want the bass in the way. Sir Paul developed an uncanny feel for when to get busy on bass and when to just support the vocals.

Double your pleasure when you double your bass line (musical phrase) with someone else, usually the guitar player or the keyboardist. Unison is very popular in hard rock and progressive rock styles, but it was also used much earlier by Paul McCartney in tunes such as “Day Tripper” (where he doubles the guitar line) and the more subtle “Drive my Car” (he doubles the guitar on that one as well).