When it comes to other styles, such as contemporary Latin, there are fewer rules and regulations confining your style to traditional approaches. As in modern pop styles, there is more and more cross-pollination from one style to the next. Although most modern Latin electric bass players combine all the styles of Latin music together, they might also pull ideas and techniques from jazz, funk, R & B, pop, and hip-hop. Just as radio, film, television, and the Internet have exposed people from different cultures to each other's way of life, musical styles have broadened and expanded over the last hundred years. In many respects, this is due to the same forms of media listed above. Consequently, the world has become smaller, and this has led to some really interesting hybrid forms of music.

Figure 14-3. Sixteen-bar modern pop chord progression with bass line.

There is really so much to appreciate regarding Latin-influenced music. Take a look at Figure 14-4. Here you'll mix a variety of different Latin grooves together. It can sometimes be challenging to switch from one groove to the next, so be meticulous in your approach. Also, don't forget to count the rhythms. In this figure, you'll see a samba mixed with Afro-Cuban and soca grooves.

Notice that by using a different groove in short spurts you are able to achieve a more songlike sound. In a sense, this is a technique for writing Latin bass lines so that each section of the song is set off or differentiated

Figure 14-4. Using a combination of Latin grooves

from the others. Try to make up your own combination of Latin grooves, something completely different, over these chord changes using the various Latin grooves you learned earlier in the book.

As stated previously, it's common to hear interesting hybrids of Latin, jazz, pop, and funk being played by bands today. What about mixing funk and jazz fusion with some spicy salsa? Why not? Figure 14-5 does just that.

Figure 14-5. Latin jazz fusion

Now you are ready to start your musical journey in South America and borrow from Brazil. Try a soft and mellow pop tune, not unlike something Nora Jones might perform, with some imported bossa nova bass lines.

When blending pop with other styles it's important to find balance. So that the tune does not sound overtly Brazilian, the bass line in Figure 14-6 tones down the root-fifth idea in favor of a simpler root-root approach. Some alternate bass notes are also employed.

Figure 14-6. Singer-songwriter pop with bossa nova bass