Bass & Creativity: Rhythmic Phrasing Ideas
Today we’re going to be exploring two rhythmic directions for building new ideas in our solo phrasing.
First up is managing the “one.” As bassists, we know the first beat is important. It’s the landing point for our rhythmic cycles, so we have a strong tendency to emphasize the one. However, when we take a solo it’s nice to use that beat in a different way.
The second direction is examining our length of melodic fragments. We’ll practice alternating between short and long phrases to create more contrast.
Here’s a breakdown of topics in this video:
- 0:28: Ideas of the day: dealing with the 1 and phrases length
- 1:30: Consciousness of the 1
- 2:07: Avoiding & Circumventing the 1
- 3:12: Bb Blues
- 4:03: Shifting emphasis to and of 4
- 4:46: Emphasising 2 & 4 (starting & landing points)
- 6:56: Consecutive 8ths phrasing
- 8:58: Cm Blues & even 8ths phrasing
- 10:23: Getting back stronger on the 1
- 11:15: Alternating length of phrases
- 12:25: F Blues, alternate short & long phrases
- 16:03: Alternate between short rythmic figures & longer melodic ones
- 17:21: Wrap up & conclusion
