Articles by Thomas “MarloweDK” Risell - Page 2

Here’s a fun lick you can use any time the music calls for a fat, dirty groove. This is in E?, built predominantly on a E? minor pentatonic fill (with a 9th added). To achieve this sound, you’ll need a couple of effects: an octaver and an overdrive. I’m using the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe, the MXR Bass Overdrive and...

Here’s a new lick for you to try with a half-time 16th shuffle groove and a hip-hop vibe. This lick is based on a G minor pentatonic scale. In the video below, I play it full speed before playing it at reduced speeds. Follow along with the transcription (standard notation and tab), and have fun! For the gear heads: I’m...

Here’s a new slap bass lesson for you to try out to incorporate cross-string hammer-ons into your playing. We’ll practice this with a line I put together in the key of E. In the video below, I play the line at full tempo, followed by half speed and finally super slow speed. Follow along with the video and this transcription...

I’ve found many bass players have difficulty with transposing bass lines, so here’s a lesson that should help. Transposing on bass isn’t terribly difficult, since we can rely on shapes and patterns up and down the neck, to play a line in several keys. In the video below I demonstrate how to navigate the neck, playing the same pattern over...

Here’s a cool new bass groove for you to try out and add to your bag of tricks. This is an A Dominant 7 lick, complete with harmonics and double stop chords. Follow along with the video below and this transcription. For the gear heads: the bass this time around is my 1977 Music Man Stingray strung with Dunlop nickel...

Here’s a new lesson in our ongoing series of bass lick lessons. This time, we’ll play around with a minor pentatonic, in the key of A. In the video below, I play the lick at full speed, followed by a demo at a reduced speed. Follow along with the video and this transcription (PDF). If you’d like a refresher, check...

Here’s a lesson I’d classify as beginner/intermediate level, but the truth is, it is something I think can benefit all of us. The goal of this lesson is to become comfortable with the entire fretboard, through learning the notes on every fret. Using a simple Rolling Stones-style rock groove backing track, this lesson focuses in on working our way through...

Here’s a new lick to add to your bag of tricks: a half-time 16th-note shuffle groove with a hip-hop vibe. The pattern is based on the G minor pentatonic scale. (Note: If you need some background on the pentatonic scale, here’s a good lesson to help you get started.) Follow along with the video and this transcription (PDF with both...

Time to get funky! In this lesson, we’ll play a groove in A minor using a left hand tap technique – one of Abe Laboriel’s many slap bass techniques, which was later popularized by Victor Wooten. This technique requires strength in the left hand, or low action. Download this transcription (standard notation and TAB), and follow along with the video...

Here’s a quick lesson about a little trick for manually fading a note without using a volume control. It really is all in the fingers, and I bet it’ll come in handy.

Today we’re going to dive in to some more intermediate level slap bass techniques. This lesson builds upon topics we’ve covered in the past, including beginning slap bass patterns and techniques, the double thumb technique and shakes. Follow along with the video and the transcription – standard notation and tab included. For the gear heads, I’m playing my Sandberg MarloweDK...

In our last lesson, we focused on using vibrato to your bass lines for better phrasing. This time around, we’re going to spend time working on trills on the electric bass. As you’ll hear in the video, playing a line without trills is not bad. But when you add those trills, the line has so much more life to it....