Remaking the bassline from the 1983 song "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson can be great way to understand how the music you love is made. Here’s how you can build the "Billie Jean" bassline yourself, exploring it directly here in the browser via our embedded DAW below. Listen to the original, then follow the recipe step by step.
Original Audio
That hypnotic bass figure under Michael Jackson’s 1983 hit “Billie Jean”? It’s the engine of the entire track. The line drops in right after the four-bar drum intro and never rests for one moment. It’s a relentless F# minor riff that keeps snapping back to the root. Bassist Louis Johnson tracked it for Quincy Jones during the Thriller sessions, and that steady, rhythmic push is what makes the groove impossible to sit still to.
Our Remake of The Bassline
This audio clip is how close we've matched the original notes and MIDI bassline from the song "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson.
Challenge Yourself
Can you recreate the notes and rhythm by ear? Try it now in this interactive challenge where you'll enter notes into a real in-browser DAW. Hit "Start Challenge", and follow the steps that appear.
Can't figure it out? Scroll down for the MIDI Recipe and our DAW recreation.
MIDI Notes Recipe
The spec
- Key: F# minor
- Tempo: 117 BPM
- Time signature: 4/4
- Feel: Straight eighth note rhythm. A constant, driving pulse
- Loop: A short two-bar phrase that repeats almost the whole song
- Register: Low.
What makes it work
- Root-anchored. Every bar starts on F#, then bounces through the flat-7, 5, and 4 (E, C#, B).
- The flat-7 carries it. That E gives the line its funky, bluesy edge.
- It locks to the drums. Bass and drums both run straight eighths on one grid, and that lock holds the groove down.
The Pattern
Beats run across the top. A note name is where it starts, a dash means it’s still ringing, a dot is a rest.
| 1 | e | + | a | 2 | e | + | a | 3 | e | + | a | 4 | e | + | a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bar 1 | F# | · | C# | · | E | · | F# | · | E | · | C# | · | B | · | C# | · |
| Bar 2 | F# | · | C# | · | E | · | F# | · | E | · | C# | · | B | · | C# | · |
Build it
In the player below:
- Clear the current notes (erase button, bottom-left of the DAW).
- Using your own DAW? Set 117 BPM, 4/4. (The player below is already set up.)
- Root pulse: steady eighth notes on F#, two bars. Lock the pulse first.
- Shape the line: move through the 5, flat-7, and 4 (C#, E, B), not parked on F#. Stay in one octave.
- The flat-7 (E): the passing note that gives it the funk. Don’t skip it.
- Stay relentless: every eighth, no gaps, two bars straight. The nonstop motion is the groove.
Want it note-for-note? The grid above is exact, and so is the player below.
Make it yours
- Change the key: The shape travels. Move the whole pattern to another root and the riff keeps its character. Good for dropping into your own track.
- Lean on the flat-7: That E is the hook. Try landing on it harder, or adding a second one, and hear the bluesy edge get stronger.
- Keep the feel machine-steady: Whatever you change, stay tight on the grid. Billie Jean’s pulse is dead-straight; push or drag it and the hypnotic part falls apart.
- Now build the sound: You’ve got the line. To nail the actual tone, the synth-bass recipe is on Syntorial → Billie Jean Bass Preset Recipe.
DAW Recreation
Check out the notes yourself below in this embedded DAW. Play it, edit it, make it your own!
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