Bass Lesson Round Up: The Top 10 Lessons, Columns and How To’s in October

Just in time for your weekend, here are the 10 most popular how to columns and lessons on No Treble last month. Enjoy!

No Bass Amp? A Guide to Hearing Yourself Practice

1. No Bass Amp? A Guide to Hearing Yourself Practice

Damian answers this reader question: “My amp and most of my gear got confiscated when I got to college because they said it was a fire hazard. What do you recommend for some amp-less ways for me to get my sound amplified? I really have no idea.”

Victor Wooten: “Secret” Harmonic Technique

2. Victor Wooten: “Secret” Harmonic Technique

As part of our three part interview with Victor Wooten, we’ve shared several exclusive videos for the series. So many, we’re afraid some might get lost in the mix. And so, we decided to pull one out to share today. Here, Victor shares his technique for the solo on “Sword and Stone”…

Scale Pattern Work for Bassists

3. Scale Pattern Work for Bassists

I have mentioned previously that daily scale practice should include scale patterns, and indeed most scale books devote some space to such patterns. There are, of course, innumerable patterns that we can apply, but certain scalar patterns occur more frequently than others in the music we play…

What Makes A Great Bassist? Part 2: Expressing Yourself

4. What Makes A Great Bassist? Part 2: Expressing Yourself

With all the things to work on to improve ourselves, it’s easy to lose sight of why we play bass. That’s why we’ve been polling famous bassists and the community at large on what they think makes a great bassist. For part two of our series, we take a look at expression, creativity, and being yourself…

Connecting with the Drummer: A Discussion for Bassists

5. Connecting with the Drummer: A Discussion for Bassists

Damian tackles a reader’s question on making things work with drummers…

Diatonic Arpeggios: A Guide to Better Improvisation

6. Diatonic Arpeggios: A Guide to Better Improvisation

One way to quickly become fluent in a key is to familiarize yourself with that key’s diatonic arpeggios, i.e. the arpeggios beginning on each note of the scale. Facility in diatonic arpeggios is also necessary for true improvisational freedom and fluency…

Lesson: Metronome Exercise with a Slap Bass Groove in G

7. Lesson: Metronome Exercise with a Slap Bass Groove in G

This time around, I have two lessons in one for you to try out. The first part touches on the concept of practicing with a metronome. In this example, the metronome is counting on beats two and four. To make this fun, the other part focuses around a sort of offbeat, Larry Graham-style rhythm…

On Modes and Getting Away from the Root

8. On Modes and Getting Away from the Root

A reader asks “I have question about how to practice and apply modes that is killin’ me. We are constantly being being bombarded with the concept of getting away from root in our playing and practice… So now when we talk about modes, how do we practice and express them in our playing and practice? I mean, you can’t express D dorian without starting on D. Doesn’t that conflict with our ‘getting off of root’ mentality?” and Damian answers…

New Beginnings: Exploring New Bass Tunings (and String Counts)

9. New Beginnings: Exploring New Bass Tunings (and String Counts)

A reader contemplates exploring new tunings and string counts, and Damian offers words of wisdom in this Ask Damian Erskine column…

Play Other Instruments! Such as… Drums

10. Play Other Instruments! Such as… Drums

This installment of “other instruments” takes a look at playing the drums. Yes, they are fun. Yes, you can play loud and beat on things with sticks. No, you won’t have to fall victim to the jokes. On a more serious note, the attention paid to rhythm and feel is one and the same while playing bass…

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