Funk Bass Archives
Stuart Clayton Releases “Plectrum Funk for Bass Guitar,” A New Guide to Advanced Pick Technique
Stuart Clayton’s new book, "Plectrum Funk for Bass Guitar," offers 100 exercises covering advanced pick technique, ghost notes, chords, muting, and more.
The Dorian Mode for Bass: Patterns, ii–V Vamps, and Funky Groove Building
Learn the Dorian mode on bass: what it is, how it fits in theory, and how to groove over Dm7–G7 vamps for funky, pocket-ready lines.
How to Play “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley” on Bass: A Funk Lesson Inspired by George Porter Jr.
Break down the iconic funk groove from “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley” with tips on phrasing, theory, and George Porter Jr.’s signature slide.
Try This Funky Dorian Bass Line (Inspired at a London Music Store)
Explore this Dorian-based funk groove featuring double stops over a Dm7 vamp - perfect for adding harmonic depth to your bass lines.
Cold Sweat: A James Brown Funk Groove Every Bassist Should Know
Learn the iconic funk groove from James Brown’s “Cold Sweat” and how to use it as a foundation for building your own bass lines.
Make Your Funk Bass Lines Greasy with Slides and Hammer-Ons
Improve your funk bass phrasing with fretting hand techniques including hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides to bring out feel, articulation, and dynamics.
Dominant Chords on Bass: The Secret Sauce for Funkier Grooves
Learn to create funkier bass lines using dominant chords. Explore two essential chord voicings and easy methods to improvise with extra groove.
Master Funk Bass with This Killer Exercise Inspired by “Play That Funky Music”
Unlock the groove! This funk bass exercise, inspired by “Play That Funky Music,” will help you master fretboard fluency and rhythmic articulation.
Creative Bass Lines: Funking with the Dorian Mode and the Blues Scale
Welcome back to the third installment of Creative Bass Lines. Before we start, I’d like to take a moment to say a fond farewell to the amazing Victor Bailey who sadly left us way too soon a few days ago. Victor was an enormous influence on me, and his highly melodic yet super funky playing made an indelible impression on...
Lesson: Getting Funky with Trills on Bass
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....
Cody Wright: How to Play Funk Bass with a Pick
Last month we featured a burning track by the Jonathan Scales Fourchestra entitled “TNFJ“. The song really caught readers’ attention with sick drumming, other-worldly steel drums, and of course, the extra funky bass line by Cody Wright. Wright, who uses a pick to play, also wowed us with a driving and percussive solo. Here is his new video tutorial on...
Jan Urbanec: Acoustic Bass Funk
Warning: you’re about to experience some serious funkiness. The only problem, it doesn’t last long enough. Jan Urbanec is laying it down on his acoustic bass. He says he’s “…just messing around with one of my favorite grooves.” Oh yeah. And about that bass… I think it is a custom made archtop fretless acoustic, created by Procházka luthiers.