Blues Archives
How to Use the Blues Scale to Level Up Your Bass Lines and Fills
Unlock your creativity by mastering the blues scale on bass. This lesson breaks down simple shapes to help you craft dynamic bass lines and fills.
How To Play A Blues Shuffle: Practicing Along To Drum Backing Tracks
In this Keep It Groovy bass lesson, Ryan Madora walks us through how to play a blues shuffle by practicing along to drum backing tracks.
Playing The 8 Bar Blues: “Key To The Highway”
This lesson focuses on one of the most popular eight-bar blues tunes, “Key To The Highway.” It features a shuffle feel, much like the version from Derek & The Dominos.
Funky Blues Bass Line Inspired by Albert Collins
Today we’re playing a funky blues bass line in the key of C. Inspired by the Albert Collins tune “If You Love Me Like You Say,” this groove combines chromatic motion and dead notes.
How To Play A Texas Shuffle In E on Bass
Today’s “Keep It Groovy” lesson involves playing a blues shuffle in the key of E, and more specifically, a Texas style shuffle. Inspired by the bass line from Albert Collins’ “T Bone Shuffle,” this takes us through a 12-bar-blues progression.
Keep It Groovy: Using Open Strings: How To Play A Slow Blues In C
Today’s “Keep It Groovy” lesson is all about versatility, understanding the fretboard, and integrating open strings. This one piggybacks off a previous lesson on playing a slow blues. This time, we’ll find the bass part in a different position.
Keep It Groovy: Rhythm Section Jam – Tips For Playing A Funky 12 Bar Blues
In this new “Keep It Groovy” lesson, Ryan Madora is joined by Derrek Phillips to chat about improvising a funky 12-bar blues bass line with a drummer.
Keep It Groovy: How To Jam In A Rhythm Section Jam: B Minor Blues
In this “Keep It Groovy” lesson, Ryan Madora references a popular minor blues groove similar to the B.B. King classic, “The Thrill Is Gone,” and uses it as inspiration for a new groove.
Keep It Groovy: Learn The E Minor Pentatonic And Apply It To A Blues
In this “Keep It Groovy” lesson, Ryan Madora shows how to play the E minor pentatonic scale across two octaves, both ascending and descending. Then, she adds a bit of rhythm to the scale to create a simple yet effective bass groove.
The Brown’stone: Playing The Blues Using Ghost Notes
This week in The Brown’stone on No Treble, Rich Brown is taking the ghost notes concept he talked about in a previous lesson, applying it to The Blues.
Bass Transcription Analysis: “I Start With The Blues” Bob Mintzer Sax Solo, Part 4
Our fourth installment on Bob Mintzer’s “I Start With The Blues” solo is a discussion of the crucial chord on bar 8 of a typical jazz blues. Almost always this is a vi chord – so in an F Blues like this one, it’s a D7 ( D dominant 7). In Letter A Bar 8 finds a D7 #9 chord...
Bass Transcription Analysis: “I Start With The Blues” Bob Mintzer Sax Solo, Part 3
Don’t be afraid to make some notes on your transcription! By that I mean to write in where there’s a cool diminished lick, a nice ii-V line, etc. If there’s a cool lick – outline that, and identify stuff you want to come back to. It’s so valuable to learn licks through the cycle of 4ths, so we’ll be taking...