Best of 2017: The Top 10 Bass Lessons
Our bass lessons are super popular with readers, thanks in large part to our excellent contributors in the various lesson categories.
Here are the top 10 No Treble reader favorite bass lessons for 2017.
1. Creative Bass Lines: The Chameleon Variations
In this lesson, I’ve taken a pretty classic and fairly easy to play bass part from Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon” and given you a few examples of how to use that as a springboard for creating other bass lines around that core groove. This can be really useful when playing under multiple soloists…
2. Creative Bass Lines: Lydian Triad Pairs
Today, we dive into something new – superimposing Major triad pairs derived from Lydian Mode Harmony over a Major 7th chord. The examples on the video are over an F Major 7th chord, and I am using a neat little looper for this. It’s a great practice tool…
3. Talking Technique: Sweet Emotion
There’s nothing like starting a song with a cool bass riff. “Sweet Emotion” by Aerosmith shines a light on the bass for sure! At the very top, we set the tone. To play this riff correctly and in time right out of the box is what it’s all about…
4. Advanced Bass: Giant Steps Plays the Blues
“Giant Steps” is well known as a challenging workout for all aspiring jazz musicians to learn. In this lesson, we’ll cover how to superimpose “Coltrane Changes” over the first 4-bars of the Blues with a fingerboard friendly symmetrical pattern that will open doors – both harmonically and stylistically into the world of John Coltrane…
5. Talking Technique: “Burps” in Walking
After the Talking Technique Episode on “Killer Dead Notes,” I got a question from Lionel who wanted to know about “the best technique and timing to get those really nice burps in walking baselines.” I love the way he phrased that question…
6. Bass Bebop for Beginners: Part 1
Today we’re starting with the first part of a new series on bebop bass, a topic a lot of my students are getting into lately. Our goal is to incorporate some great bebop vocabulary on the bass guitar. There is a ton of stuff out there to help you get started…
7. Talking Technique: Beautiful Practice in Minor
Last July, I published a Talking Technique lesson called “Beautiful Practice“. The lesson brought together music theory, comprehensive fretboard knowledge, and lots of technique aspects. I thought we’d bring the lesson back with a twist, namely playing the exercise in minor…
8. Creative Bass Lines: Increasing Fingerboard Knowledge – Part 1: Triad Visualization
This column finds us looking not at bass line creation, but some solid foundation ideas that help to increase knowledge of the fingerboard. We are going to start with some easy stuff and ramp up over the next few installments…
9. Talking Technique: Efficient Practice Hacks #3 – Put Your Bass Under Your Pillow
Installment three in my series on my favorite practice “hacks” may almost seem too good to be true. However, this has nothing to do with wishful thinking, the law of attraction (I am more of a “law-of-action” kinda gal), or superstition. It has everything to do with brain science and the power of the mind…
10. Bass Transcription: Bruce Thomas’ Bass Line on Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ “Oliver’s Army”
Tim Fletcher kicked off a new series of transcriptions featuring the work of unsung British Bassists, as prompted by conversations on the No Treble Facebook Group. The first one features Bruce Thomas’ bass line on Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ “Oliver’s Army”…
