1. Set up a fair comparison
Choose browser playback; this exercise needs no MIDI permission. Set tempo to 120 BPM and Tune to 0. Keep waveform and sound controls fixed throughout the comparison. Setting Delay, Reverb and Distortion to zero makes the rests easier to hear. These are listening choices, not a universal acid patch.
The loading links ask before replacing your bass pattern and provide Undo for the last example load. They preserve tempo, rhythm and sound controls. Save an important sketch separately with DOWNLOAD before experimenting.
2. Enter version A one step at a time
Start at Base Octave 2. Every row below is one grid step: use ● for sounding notes and — for rests. Set the displayed octave numbers; steps 8 and 15 are in octave 3. A means accent and S means slide toward the following note. This exercise does not use ○.
| Step | Note | Octave | Gate | Accent / Slide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | 2 | ● | A |
| 2 | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | A | 2 | ● | S |
| 4 | C | 2 | ● | — |
| 5 | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | E | 2 | ● | — |
| 7 | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | A | 3 | ● | S |
| 9 | G | 2 | ● | A |
| 10 | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | E | 2 | ● | — |
| 12 | — | — | — | — |
| 13 | C | 2 | ● | — |
| 14 | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | E | 3 | ● | A |
| 16 | — | — | — | — |
3. Change only step six
Listen to A for a few loops. Then remove the E on step 6 and make its gate a rest. The higher A on step 8 now arrives after a longer gap. The E on step 11 stays in place, letting you compare how the same pitch serves the second half of the phrase.
This change does not prescribe a winner. A answers more frequently in the first half; B leaves more space before step 8. Decide by the feel of that entrance, not simply by counting notes.
Hear the difference
Listen for the extra space before the octave jump. Only step 6 changes.
| Version | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | A2 A | — | A2 S | C2 | — | E2 * | — | A3 S | G2 A | — | E2 | — | C2 | — | E3 A | — |
| B | A2 A | — | A2 S | C2 | — | — * | — | A3 S | G2 A | — | E2 | — | C2 | — | E3 A | — |
120 BPM · 2 bars · Same synth settings. Software-generated teaching audio, not a TD-3 recording. The example-loading link opens the original pattern described in the article.
4. Compare the recording with your grid
- Play recording A, then B. Each contains two bars at 120 BPM.
- Open either loading link and confirm. Press PLAY in the 303 section; stop the rhythm part for a bass-only comparison.
- Watch step 6: B should be silent there and A should sound E. The octaves of steps 8 and 15 stay the same.
- If the tone differs from the recording, compare note order and rests first. The clips use a separate educational software synth; they do not reproduce your current browser patch or a TD-3.
5. Keep a decision, then choose the next experiment
Name the result something useful, such as “A — denser opening” or “B — space before step 8.” In EFX / Notes, write the single edit and what you heard. DOWNLOAD saves a pattern image, not an audio recording or a device backup.
Check your work: is the final step a rest in both versions? Did only step 6 change? Did tempo or filter movement affect your judgment? Once those checks hold, try the accent and slide comparisons with notes held constant. To place the bass against drums, continue with the sixteen-bar arrangement exercise.